Cold Starts

[alltherage]

What temperature, or other factors, constitute a "cold start"?

I know it does an engine no good, so I'm trying to avoid them. We keep the tractor in a garage with a pellet stove that I only run at certain times. If I know it's going to be very cold and snow, I'll run the stove so the tractor is warm in the morning when I start it.

Sometimes I go through tractor withdrawal and just want to take a ride. Tonight was one of those nights...so when I got home from work I jumped on her and drove down to the neighbors. The garage was 32 or so degrees when I started it. Is that a cold start??

 

[alltherage]

not 1 response??lol

i was chompin at the bit all day at work waiting to read em

I guess I'll consider anything in the 20's and below as a cold start till i hear otherwise

 

[Bigfoot62]

I don't live in NY, but I'll throw in my :2cents: worth.

Unless the engine has been run in the last few minutes, it's a cold start. The oil has drained back down into the pan and the metal parts are not up to operating temperature. That means the engine needs to run for a few minutes without a load on it before it is "worked."

BTW, you don't say what tractor that you have, but any engine with a turbocharger needs to be idled for a minute or two before shut-down.

 

[namesray]

i have noticed that a lot of engines i have started in cold weather seem to start "ok" down to around 20*f. (kubota diesels, gas vehicles engines,..) getting down below 20*f or around 15*f, i notice harder starts and different low end sounds (whines, vibrations) in oil pumps and such. (example: at these colder temps 18*f or below my kubota rtv 900 starts a little harder then usual and there is a slight vibration in the hydrolic pump a short while after. my kubota b7800 also starts real rough around 20*f or below if i forget the block heater (i use electric space heater)). on the vehicles also notice short vibrations in engines around these temps shortly after start up. any time the temp is 20*f or below i allow equipment/vehicles to warm up atleast 15 minutes before running. as far as oil draing back down after shut off, my way of thinking is if it has sat for a couple of hours (5 or more...) i will let it run a short while before operating. if it has sat over night i let it run it's full normal warm up. anything short of about five hours, i still consider oil residue to be on moving parts and pretty much take right off if it is not winter temps. on my equipment if the temps are around 32*f or below, i always try to warm the engines/equipment up somehow before the first start of the day by either block heater or torpedo heater in the shed. this is just my way of thinking and hope this kind of feedback is what you were looking for. of course different peoples equipment and conditions will vary.

 

[jpm1]

[QUOTE around 32*f or below, i always try to warm the engines/equipment up somehow before the first start of the day by either block heater or torpedo heater in the shed. .[/QUOTE]

I did this a time or two when it was really cold with a JD skidder and several of my diesel tractors. I put a tarp over the skidder, torpedo heater under the tarp and let it run for a couple of hours. To my suprise, instead of warming the block and starting easier the heater drove the frost into the engine making it almost impossible to start. :confused2: A half hour job turned into an all day project in -40 degree weather. Good thing we didn't want to work that day. No work, no pay but . . . at least no mosquito's out that day! . . .John

 

[alltherage]

I have a new cub/yanmar ex2900. I baby it and let it warm up every time. I start it, idle it as I move it out of the garage in low range, which takes a couple minutes. Then i put the rpms at about 1200 to let it warm up, which is what the manual calls for.

 

[namesray]

[QUOTE around 32*f or below, i always try to warm the engines/equipment up somehow before the first start of the day by either block heater or torpedo heater in the shed. .

I did this a time or two when it was really cold with a JD skidder and several of my diesel tractors. I put a tarp over the skidder, torpedo heater under the tarp and let it run for a couple of hours. To my suprise, instead of warming the block and starting easier the heater drove the frost into the engine making it almost impossible to start. :confused2: A half hour job turned into an all day project in -40 degree weather. Good thing we didn't want to work that day. No work, no pay but . . . at least no mosquito's out that day! . . .John[/QUOTE]

JPM1, not saying i don't believe you but how do you think adding heat drove frost into the engine? i ask because i do not want to have this problem. i have used an electric space heater for over 2 years now and never had any problem what so ever. i set the heater on a small piece of plywood right next to the engine (about 6" away) and wait for about 2 hours. the tractor starts like it was just shut off on a summer day. i have felt the engine block, oil on dip stick, radiator, everything in the engine compartment feels warm before i start it. how would it put frost in or even make it anything but warmer? do you think it was due to such extreme cold of -40*f and the cold just overpowered the heat from the torpedo heater? i have only done this in temps down to around 8*f, nothing like MINUS 40*f. that's COLD!:shocked:

 

[MHarryE]

Cold starts result in greater wear when there is metal to metal contact, but is that really a concern? An oil film stays on the cylinder walls, and the bearings are still loaded with oil - at least every engine I've pulled down still has oil everywhere. So should cold starts be avoided at all costs? Our 6610 John Deere starts every day for feeding cattle. If it is below about 20ｰ, we do plug in the block heater so the engine will turn over, but that just warms the water jacket and the lower end doesn't really see that much benefit. It has 4,500 hours now and we are trading it because of age. Engine still runs like new. So from mid-November to mid-March, for the past 12 years, it has started at least once daily with engine temp below freezing. The only other thing different that we do with below freezing starts is letting it idle before really using it. The colder it gets, the longer we let it idle.

I talked about this JD because it is the one we use the most, but we have a New Hollnad that is always started in the winter - its on our grinder mixer. My sister has tractors they use daily on their dairy farm, all sitting outside in the cold, and only a block heater used when gets colder than 10ｰ or 20ｰ. No problems except for the usual summertime problems of running really old machinery in tough conditions - mostly transmission / driveline issues. Around here we just don't think of cold starts, meaning starts below freezing, an issue. They are a fact of life.

 

[MF RED in MT]

This is what my MF owners manual says about "cold weather starting", .
Use the #1 diesel fuel below 39 degrees F,
Installation of an engine block heater for cold weather conditions is
recommended,
normal starting use of glow plugs is 5 to 7 seconds & cold weather starting
use of glow plugs is 10 to 15 seconds,
32 degrees F and up engine warm up time is 5 to 10 minustes,
15 to 32 degrees F engine warm up time is 10 to 20 minutes,
-5 to 15 degrees F engine warm up time is 20 to 30 minutes,
-5 degrees F and less requires engine warm up time of 30 or more minutes, :confused2:.
I usually plug in my engine block heater when my unheated garage is about 32 degrees F, only takes about 15 minutes at this temperature. When my unheated garage gets to about -10 degrees F, I will plug in the block heater for about 1 hour prior to starting the tractor, :thumbsup:. Hope this answers some of your questions, . KC

 

[northpolefolks]

We get pretty cold weather up here in the winter. As a rule of thumb if it's below freezing we plug in the block heater on engines for a few minutes. If it's colder than 20 we give it 30 minutes. Colder than 10 we give it an hour. Colder than 0 we give it two hours.

A circulating heater works the best as it heats up your whole block and all the antifreeze. We also have a pan heater on the oil to make sure there is no added wear on the oil pump.

As -20 tractors/trucks start up no problem if we follow the above. My Ford 3550 has 4800 hours on it and runs perfect after being run all year and every year. My Duramax has 150K miles on it and same with it. Just changed the oil two days ago and not a sign of wear.

If you run equipment in real cold weather and park it in a warm shop/garage at night make sure you are periodically checking torque on key bolts and wheel studs. Expansion and contraction are powerful tools.