2520 Cold weather warm up?

[dmay]

I was wondering what everyones practice is on how long they let there tractors warm up before heading out into the snow for cold weather work? How long should I let my 2520 run before I put her to work in the winter months? Take into concideration I have a heated garage thats kept at 50 degrees constantly.

Whats your thoughts?

Thanks

This might sound simple but.. Do you need to let your car idle and warm up outside before you drive off? If you do, then let your tractor do the same. If you dont need to let your car idle and warm up before you drive off, then you probably dont need to let your tractor idle and warm up.

 

[Jriffe108]

That guage looks real nice. Can you tell me what make it is and where you purchased it. Thanks

Hey Rogator,

Its a spa technique dual gauge. Model # is DG203. I ordered it from king motorsports online who had the best price. There are two models, one with red or green backlighting and one with blue backlighting only. It comes with the gauge and the thermocouples with sending units. They also have different models for voltmeters, pressures, and levels.

 

[Gizmo2]

My garage is about the same-50* or so. I start it up, open the GD and drive it outside then close the GD, I leave the tractor running for 3-5 minutes before I start really working it.

Heated garages are for wimps!

 

[kennyd]

Heated garages are for wimps!

Hey Giz, don't be a hater-your just jealous!

 

[Gizmo2]

Hey Giz, don't be a hater-your just jealous!

Darn Right!

 

[larry8818]

I have over 335 hours on my 2520 & have owned it since August of 2006. It is stored in a non-insulated, un-heated shed. This is my starting procedure in all conditions:
1. Move throttle lever to lowest idle position.
2. Turn the key (always starts almost immediately).
3. Once started the engine goes into an automatic high idle.
4. The engine automatically comes down to true idle (without moving throttle lever) after a short period of time. I have never actually timed it, but I would say it seems like 2-3 minutes.
5. Once this all happens I'm ready to go & work it.

Because I bought this with hard earned dollars, I take care of my equipment. I never go right into high effort tasks without making sure my machine is fully warmed up

The manual says nothing about this automatic high idle upon initial startup. The key requires only three things:
1. Move the throttle to lowest position.
2. Turn the key.
3. Touch nothing & wait & listen.

This is one tough, capable little tractor.
How many of you others notice this automatic high idle during initial starts with your 2520's?

 

[MattG]

Larry,

I have a 2720 and I think it does what yours does. But I always thought of it as just getting quieter (ie. less combustion knock). I will have to pay attention to the RPM's next time.

As far as starting goes, I start at idle, let it idle for a few minutes and don't work it hard until it warms up. But then it never gets real cold here in western Washington.

Matt

 

[pdp11]

As cold as it gets here in central North Carolina, I don't have any difficulty starting my 2520. I just let it cycle once on the glow plugs, then start it up. I do tend to let it run a few minutes in the hopes of warming up the hydraulic fluid in the transmission more than anything else.