Warm Up Time

[rider9403]

I have a hyro tran. on my tractor (DX45). My question to you all is what is enough warm up time in cold weather below 30 and many times below 0?
I usually let the tractor idle for 10 min to 15 min. Should I let it idle more?

 

[9973720wb19]

I have a JD 4720 hydro. and I purchased the tech. manual for the engine. I noticed it said not to allow the engine to idle more than 5 mins. stating "if the engine is going to idle more than 5 mins, turn it off" I thought this was kind of short. it claims more will cause build up. reading more and between the lines, it appears they don't want you put the engine under very much load until it's warm.

Just telling you what the books says...What i do is let it idle for 5 mins. and slowly drive it to where i need to work...that's a good warm up.

 

[kevinj]

I have a hyro tran. on my tractor (DX45). My question to you all is what is enough warm up time in cold weather below 30 and many times below 0?
I usually let the tractor idle for 10 min to 15 min. Should I let it idle more?

I warm up till the temp gauge is about 1/2 of normal then light use till warm.

 

[Chilly807]

I generally start mine and increase the idle to about 1200-1300 for 5 minutes or so before I put it to any real work. As soon as the temp gauge is reading somewhere near normal, it's ready to go. Mine isn't hydro.

Sean

 

[merrickvilleguy]

My manual (mf1635) says the same thing (to not idle too much) ... so to warm it up I just give it a slow drive up and down my road till the heat comes up, then its good to go for heavier load

 

[TripleR]

I warm mine up at 1200-1500 until I have two bars on my heat gauge.

 

[CompactTractorFan]

Here is my procedure:

#1 Start tractor at about 1/2 throttle
#2 Wait until it stops smoking and engine sounds normal
#3 Pull out of garage and park tractor
#4 Run at 1/2 throttle for a minute or two
#5 Proceed to job site and start light work...

 

[RalphVa]

I start my HST tractor and immediately put it to use at temperatures as low as about 10 F. Just don't rev it to "PTO" speed right away, but it is started up with the throttle set to get about 1,200-1,500 rpm. I usually keep it below about 2,000 rpm until it gets fully warmed up.

The local JD dealer recommends use of the low vis hydro fluid here in Virginia. If you used the higher vis stuff, you probably need to let it warm up some more.

If you run an HST in temperatures much below about 0 to 10 F, I'd be in favor of getting a warmer for the HST. Just a small heater placed underneath the HST oil reservoir area for an hour or so before startup ought to be enough. Be probably more economical and safer (for the engine) than letting it sit and idle for a long period.

Ralph

 

[AKfish]

I have a hyro tran. on my tractor (DX45). My question to you all is what is enough warm up time in cold weather below 30 and many times below 0?
I usually let the tractor idle for 10 min to 15 min. Should I let it idle more?

Does the manufacturer have a transmission heater option for your tractor?

For less than $60, I installed a heater element for my Hydro transmisson.

I plug both the engine heater and the tranny heater in whenever it's gonna be in the teens. Piece of mind and I don't have to worry a great deal about "operating temps" cause the gauge is generally where it's supposed to be right out of the blocks!

AKfish

 

[RoyJackson]

Since my 4400 has a folding ROPS I have to lower when I park it, my warm up time consists of pulling out of the garage, raising the ROPS, smoking a cigaret while looking over the machine for loose fasteners. All told...5-8 minutes.
Then I start, but pretty light work for a few more minutes.

Worked for me the last 10 years (except for the folding ROPS part).