Warm up time

[Jerry/MT]

I am always harping on my father to let the tractor warm up longer. Diesel engine. Take yesterday, about 65 degrees outside , gets on starts up, backs up out of garage, sits for 1 minute and takes off. There is still black smoke billowing out of exhaust and a few misses. By the time he gets a few 100 yards down the road it is cleared up and fine. Should he let it warm up longer before he takes off or am I crazy. He is better in the winter about letting it warm up. I usually let it idle 3 to 5 minutes minimum before I even get on above 50 degrees sometimes 10 minutes plus in the winter . In the winter also I have a lower hose heater and blow the 100k salamander on the center of the tractor for 15 minutes or so if it is below 10 degrees out. Also have dryer vent to put on the stack so it can sit inside and warm up.

Unlike a gas engine that runs at near constant peak gas temperture, a diesel runs with variable peak gas temperature. That's because there is a wide variation in fuel to air ratio with a diesel engine.

So warming it up by idling it will take along period of time. In cold weather, using a block heater will allow coolant to be heated and allow for faster warm ups. At temperatures above 40F, I genrallly start our diesels and let them idle for 2-3 minutes before putting them in gear. In temps below 40F with the block heater being use, I follow the same procedure. I don't really load the engine I mainly use the tractors to feed large round with a bale spinner so I don't really put a severe load on the ngine.

 

[Guesseral]

I start it wait for all of the lights to go out and drive it out. I never put any type of load on it for atleast 3 to 4 minutes because well lets face it no work is that close to the garage, and if I didn't have an implement on it in the garage well there is more time till she really does any work. So inadvertantly I do do warm up, but I know all of the above so I just don't let it set and idle. Now if it was sitting in the field all night and I was going to just jump on it and go, yea I would give her some time to warm up. In the winter my garage is very seldomly under 40 degrees so I do give her some time but really not a lot mostly just long enough for the hydraulic fluid to warm up. Oh yea my tractor is gear so I don't really worry about the fluid in the summer.

 

[Clint S]

Usually a short drive down the road before anything is done and then the exhaust is clear and working as it should be. I just was worried about all the unburnt diesel (black smoke) causing issues.

 

[MBTRAC]

Depends on the machine temperature/ambient temperature, all varies on the season & if the machine is left in the "paddock" or shedded:

- used in heavy applications close to start up our large farm tractor,pump or earthmovers, trucks & combines in Spring c.10minutes+ & longer in Winter (basically left after start up to fast idle until registering operating temp & while it's greased)
- a small tractor below 50hp usually warms in c. 5minutes

The critical factors are after initial start up not to let them idle too long below "fast idle" & let the engine reach operating temperature before using higher rev's or imposing high torque loads/power demands (including hydraulics/hydrostatic loads) otherwise glazing, premature wear or catastrophic failure may result

 

[Clint S]

Under a lean to in the summer, in an unheated pole barn in the winter with the lower hose heater plugged in.

 

[daugen]

with the cooler mornings, I'm finding the Kubota's glow plug red light goes out a little slower, but never preheats more than about 15 seconds. If I hold the key on, does it keep heating? Seems to belch a lot of blue smoke but of course it clears up quickly. I don't mind holding the heat on for another fifteen seconds, but am I accomplishing anything? The light goes out so I have no idea what's happening. I'll be using the tractor all winter for firewood activities, and it's in an open shed, with no electric available. Also, it seems to take a very long time before the first heat bar comes up on the temp gauge. Jeez I wish they would use a real temp gauge, but I guess it's easier to tell people "don't move it until the first bar comes on" or whatever. The temp gauge is the canary in the mines for so many things, and it's been my experience that protective overheat circuits come on too late to prevent a lot of engine abuse.

 

[RoyJackson]

I move the tractor out of the garage (30' or so) right after I start it.
Then it sets for about 5 minutes or so (long enough to smoke a cigaret) while I do my preflight check.

I don't put a load on it until it reaches normal operating temperature.

 

[pedalstomper78]

I will add to the same thing everyone else is saying. I'll start it. Let it sit for a few seconds to let all of the fluids move around, move it out of the garage, check everything, then have at it. Extreme loads on a cold engine can cause some premature wear. A bearing at 15 degrees has much more clearance than one at 160 degrees. Simple physics. Let everything warm up a bit before you push it and you'll be fine. Block heaters are a great thing to use. They give you 30-40 degrees of extra temperature before startup. For most compact tractors, about 2 hours in a cold garage with a block heater and it'll start like a warm summer day.

 

[Soundguy]

i do a basic precheck.. start them up.. then walk around and do a more than basic precheck.. grab my gloves.. get my coffee magnet mug set.. grab hat.. ear plugs.. etc.. etc.. laod tool box.. etc. by then something is warming up.. probablty safe to go.. i don't load em full for 5 minutes or so from start.. on shutdown, after fiull load.. I do like to idle them a bit.

 

[RaydaKub]

i do a basic precheck.. start them up.. then walk around and do a more than basic precheck.. grab my gloves.. get my coffee magnet mug set.. grab hat.. ear plugs.. etc.. etc.. laod tool box.. etc. by then something is warming up.. probablty safe to go.. i don't load em full for 5 minutes or so from start.. on shutdown, after fiull load.. I do like to idle them a bit.

Hey Soundguy, I know this could sound snide, but I really don't mean it that way. In central Florida, how long does it take to warm up? I think it's gonna take a lot longer to warm up where I'm at. I mean, it was 45 here today as a high.

I was cleaning my garage today and drove my BX out the door to sweep. I let it run from probably 5-6 minutes at a fast idle while I finished up sweeping and then went to mow a small area about 50x30 feet, mostly to just shred leaves and blow them off the lawn. By the time I got done with that, I don't think my temp gauge had moved yet.

Last winter, I'd start my BX in the garage. I'd drive out the door and lower the bucket to scrape the snow as I drove out. I was just barely moving, but had to get it out of the garage for the exhaust. I let it sit another minute, but I figure it will warm up faster if it is doing something than just sitting. I know my '85 6.2L Jimmy would actually cool down while sitting still. I drive very slowly but am working both the hst and the hydraulics. Even at 10 degrees, it was starting to loosen up in about 10 minutes. I understand the idea of warming up to prevent damage, but I think the warm up can come a tad faster under very light load.