Snow Warm Up Time -tractor not you.

[Al Mac]

A couple questions about warm up time.
My B2920 is in the unheated part of the garage. It has no warm up heater ( it didn't come with any) to plug it in. How long should it warm up after started when it is a few degrees below 0 (0 to -10) . Blowing snow is hard on a the unit as it is wide open from when I start.
On my old hydro unit I always had the clutch in when starting ( to take the pump load off the starter) after it was running the clutch was released to warm the pump up. Is that how others do it?

Al

 

[53gravely]

I have my tractor in southern VT. I have the factory plug but rarely use it. I have started without it down to -5f. When it's that cold, I usually let it run for 5-7 minutes before moving it. Once started, I usually engage the rear PTO and quickly flip the seat up to override the seat deadman. I know little about hydraulics but I figure it gets the oil moving. The bucket controls are very slow for the first ten minutes until the oil warms a bit.

It's beyond me how a Canadian Kubota dealer would omit the heater when ordering his inventory but it shouldn't be too bad. If it's below 10 below you could throw a tarp over the tractor and put a 500watt work light under the tractor for a couple hours to heat the block a bit.

 

[oosik]

My Kubota OP manual has specific warm up times - based upon temps. If its really cold, below zero, I will let it stand and idle for 10-15 minuets. I watch the temp gage and will not put the tractor under heavy load until its fully warmed. Once the temp gage shows its approximately half way to totally warmed - I'll put it in gear, move out of the shed and head out to do my work. Driving down the driveway warms the tractor quickly and places very little load on the engine.

My point being - - whatever the outside temps are, I will never put the tractor under heavy load until its fully warmed.

 

[tcreeley]

My Kubota OP manual has specific warm up times - based upon temps. If its really cold, below zero, I will let it stand and idle for 10-15 minuets. I watch the temp gage and will not put the tractor under heavy load until its fully warmed. Once the temp gage shows its approximately half way to totally warmed - I'll put it in gear, move out of the shed and head out to do my work. Driving down the driveway warms the tractor quickly and places very little load on the engine.

This is how I think of it also - re warm up. I plug in all of the time, just easier on the tractor, but the transmission oil is still sluggish and needs warmup time.

 

[RoyJackson]

This question pops up on TBN almost every winter...

If your manual states a minimum, go with that.

What I do is start the tractor (which is in an attached but not heated garage) get the RPM up to about 1500 as soon as the oil light goes out (which is within a second or two of start up) and move it out of the garage.
It'll idle around 1500 RPM until the temperature gage starts registering. I'll start work then, but not use the PTO until it's up to normal operating temperature. This, with all three Deeres I have owned, normally takes 5-6 minutes.
Unless I'm using the PTO, I normally operate around 2000 RPM.
I have a block heater, but don't normally use it unless the tractor is parked outside for an extended time.

 

[Dave M7040]

Here is the Kubota warm up chart I use in Canada.
The cost of damaging the hydraulic system is so great I see no reason to push the limits.

Dave M7040

 

[Al Mac]

Tks for the input.
I did read the manual. That is why I went to the next level (TBN). Over the years I have found that books only give me enough info to let me think I know what to do. I never learned how to read between the lines
It is that experience thing that the book never has. Learning can get expensive when the boys toys get more expensive.

Al

 

[RalphVa]

Zero.

Start and go, gently until it fully warms up. Heck, we're only talking about 1500-3000 rpm.

Ralph

 

[MHarryE]

Really should let it warm up per the manual times. Hydraulic oil at zero F is very viscous and the back pressure as it circulates can get very high. Kubota's, having a suction filter, will incur pump cavitation if run at full throttle before the oil has a chance to warm up. We purchased a company that had a product with a suction filter and transferred production to our Minneapolis plant. Oc cold winter mornings we could not get enough oil through the filter to stroke the hydro pump so we had to carry machines scheduled for the next day's shipments inside with a forklift overnight when scheduled for delivery the next day until we could redesign to use a pressure filter. Then the problem was if an operator ran the engine at high idle before it warmed up it would blow the gasket out of the charge oil filter. My Kubota has both a suction hydraulic filter and pressure charge oil filter so a double whammy unless warming up on cold days.

 

[MossRoad]

I don't have a Kubota, but I do have an all hydraulic contraption, if that's what you want to call it. When its cold, I start it, set it at about 1/3 throttle, and go and shovel the steps and sidewalks inside the gates where the tractor can't go. That takes 10 minutes. By the time I get back, the hydraulics are warmed up enough to not be stiff when I steer or operate the FEL arms where the plow is.