Winter...

[beenthere]

......... but I am worried about the snow when it melts off the tractor after using it this winter. have no floor drains in the garage. Instead, the floor is pitched about 1/8" per foot to drain the water to the front towards the door. The problem with this, is it will hit my door seal and pool to the sides, which will then hit the wooden base of my work bench which is simply not acceptable...
.................
:confused2:

First, I don't think the tractor needs to be stored inside.

But the reasons you listed for not storing it inside shouldn't keep you from doing that. IMO

Put the work bench on blocks to keep any moisture from contacting the wood base. And minimal effort clearing some melted snow/water from the tractor will (should) keep the door from freezing down and water pooling. I wash my car in the garage in the winter, and some of the water pools against the garage door rubber astragal and doesn't present a problem.
And very little salt will take care of it if it does.

 

[flyingcow]

We use our 4320 with blower and store in an unheated steel building without floor drains. Doesn't seem to be a huge issue, although it's a big building at 40x60. Do use a block heater, plug it in a few hrs ahead if it's cold. I do take 15 minutes or so after blowing with a broom to get rid of most of the snow from the tractor and blower which helps a lot. It also prevents refreezing water blocking important blower parts. I park on some cardboard for oil drip reasons anyway, this would probably also catch small amounts of water and allow it to evaporate intead of running off. If it is consistently cold out the stuff that isn't near engine or warm parts won't melt quickly in the building anyway.

Good advice

 

[devongarver]

Wow thanks for all the good responses. I guess I just worry that my tractor isn't made to withstand the same elements as larger tractors, or construction equipment. We have been looking at the tarp/fabric style car ports to atleast keep the snow/sun/rain off of the tractor. Does anyone have any experience with using these? I have found some I like, but they are 650$ and up shipped, and for something "temporary" I am not sure if I want to drop that kind of cash. I found a cheap one at good old Harbor Freight for 220$, but it is not long enough to fit my tractor in with the box scraper attached out back, let alone the brush hog. We have plans to build another garage in the future for the tractor and for a lift to work on the cars. But, that's not happening any time soon, that's for sure.

 

[BXRICK]

I'd do something like the carport.
As you can tell form the previous posts, the temperature isn't the big deal.
To me, the big deal is having to clean off the tractor before using it, and then, because you didn't feel like doing a perfect job cleaning it off, sitting in some snow, and putting your feet in some snow, while you use it.
I kept my BX outside for a couple of seasons. It was a pain.
Now, I keep it in an unheated shed, and it's much more convenient.

Oh, and I know it isn't the main point of this thread, but make sure you use a liberal amount of fuel additive all the time. Just dump it in. Dump it in the fuel tank of the tractor, as well as the can you're using to fill it. Don't worry if you're using a little too much. Get in the habit. Do it summer and winter. You never know how long the fuel in the tabk will be there. And, summer fuel needs it more. Fuel issue are the number one thing that can ruin an otherwise glorious winter day moving snow.

 

[devongarver]

I use this from walmart, and I usually add a 3 oz bottle to every 5 gallon can which I only fill with about 4.5 gallons. I assumed that should be enough? I cannot remember for the life of me how much it recommended putting in, but I remember when I thought it out that 3oz would be more than they recommended. I wanna say maybe it was 1 oz to every 2 gallons?

 

[DiezNutz]

I use this from walmart

Perfect! :thumbsup:

Yeah I think we should qualify "dump"... follow the label directions. A little extra won't hurt since it says you can use extra for "cleanup". But there's no point in wasting it, plus I'm sure there's a point at which too much is not a good thing.

Otherwise I agree, get in the habit of using it year round.

 

[rd_macgregor]

Look at the second post in this thread: Two more Kioti owners - TractorByNet.com
Because my tractor is a cab model, it won't quite fit into one of those tarp mini-garages, though I was tempted by an RV version that I saw for sale last spring. I'm pricing machinery storage buildings now, since I can't bear the thought of all my implements rusting outside all the time.

My Kioti DK45SC came with a block heater, which I used the first winter (pluggin in an hour or two before starting up). I haven't used the block heater since then, though; it starts up fine without it. It seldom gets very far below zero F here, though.

BOB

 

[djradz]

I live in southern Michigan, so our environments are not all that different. For years I stored mine in a ricketty old small wooden shed with a dirt floor, which at least kept the snow off of it. Biggest problem was with mice getting in around the engine and chewing on things, but until they severed a starter wire, it always fired up with just using the glow plugs. I did have a block heater, but never left it plugged in. If it was extremely cold, say below 10 degrees, I would plug it in a few hours before hand, if I remembered. I never wanted to leave it plugged in because it drew a lot of current. Maybe something of lower wattage, like ~ 100-200 watts could be left plugged in longer term. The mice would have really appreciated that!

If you really want to pull it into your garage (mine is now in a semi-heated barn/garage) you might want to consider just disconnecting the blade (or whatever your plowing device) and brushing off the snow on the tractor with a broom or brush. I"ve done this for years and other than a little snow stuck to the wheels (because they're warm) very little is left to melt. For what does, I've got a couple of towels I sometimes throw behind the wheels to soak the small amount of resulting water up.

 

[devongarver]

Mice...Blasted flipping mice...I HATE mice. Any good tips to rid them? I have atleast one in my house right now that seems disinterested in any source of food I put in my traps...But I know he is still around because I find new little mouse droppings every few days...

I am debating building a shed to store it in...until I can build a garage. Does anyone here use any other types of sheds than a carport? I would have no issue building one from scratch, except that I am so **** rententive I would probably end up with a 30x40 pole barn instead of a shed lol. Oh, I need space for this too, if I am going this big, just a little bigger won't cost much more. Over and over again and i will have a 15k$ building or more...

 

[DiezNutz]

Mice...Blasted flipping mice...I HATE mice. Any good tips to rid them?

I assume you're familiar with the conventional methods...

If mice want to snuggle up to your nice warm tractor, it doesn't make much difference whether it's sitting outside in the open or in a shed.