Oil pan heater for hydraulic sump

[Kioti Dave]

For what it's worth, I have had a pad heater on my transaxle for many years.

I chose a low wattage pad, running for long periods of time, rather than a high powered one, right before use.

140 watts heating probably 4 gallons of oil, and the axle, takes a day or two in an insulated building to make the lower part of the housing slightly warm to the touch. You only need to keep the oil from getting cold soaked, you do not need to bring it to operating temperature.

I plug it in when snow is forecast, and sometimes I leave it running for a week or two, if the weather suggests snow accumulation.

Just running synthetic oil, doesn't mean you don't have to do a warm up. (I run Amsoil ATH). If you compare the actual viscosity's of regular hydraulic oil, and synthetic oil, there really isn't much difference until you get to -30 or -40F.

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Thanks for the reply and photo. That's more or less my plan. Just keep the oil above ambient temp. Will make the warmup period shorter.

 

[Kioti Dave]

Boy, I'd think with all this global warming talk you'd be down to maybe only a month or so of below zero weather...lol.

I'm assuming the Kioti NX in your signature is the tractor in question?

There may be an additional port on your loader valve block that is unused, or a plug in the side of the transmission casing somewhere. In that case, you can measure the bolt that comes out and purchase a frost heater that fits the opening. Often, these are 500W and the advantage is that they are heating the fluid directly rather than heating thriugh the casing.

Never heard of anyone doing this!! Thanks for the idea!