Do you regularly start your diesel tractor as maintenance?

[skyhook]

Yep...Just look at the folks mining in Alaska and the Yukon....their equipment sits for months, and left with no battery tenders, block heaters, etc....if they were running into problems every Spring you have to think they would do something about it.

True, but don't forget, they don't use their machines during the winter, so why start them.
For myself, I have a snow contract, so I need this machine on the ready.
For instance, last week, went to start er up and it wouldn't start, would turn over but no start?
Turned out ( after a few hours of searching) that the fuel solenoid was not getting power.
Kept blowing the fuse, was it the solenoid,,No, it was a short but it could have been the solenoid,
took another couple hours to figure this out, had it been blowing snow and minus 20 outside, I would not have been a happy camper, nor my clients.
In my case, my machine does not sit idle for weeks in the "winter", when i turn that key, I want it to start and run well, so every 3rd day or so, I start er up and let er run for a good 1/2 hour, do my circle check and shut er down if not needed, i mean, what can happen in 3 days without starting it,,plenty.
Mine sits outside by the open river with wind gust's that are a real pain in the caboose.
Put your new Case outside in the cold weather, blowing winds etc, etc, take a look at er outside from your warm home and tell me, it won't be crying out to you to,,"start me up please, my nuts are frozen",,lol

 

[wmonroe]

FWIW, my l2850 manual says "When starting the engine after long storage, first pull the engine stop knob and then activate the starter for aboiut ten seconds to allow oil to reach every engine part."

This is similar to my parents B8200, it has a decompression knob that can be pulled and the engine more easily turned over. We normally do this if it's really cold to get the oil circulated. Haven't seen this on any newer tractors though.

 

[GManBart]

Put your new Case outside in the cold weather, blowing winds etc, etc, take a look at er outside from your warm home and tell me, it won't be crying out to you to,,"start me up please, my nuts are frozen",,lol

Luckily, it has a block heater. I decided to test it yesterday, just to see if it worked. I let it go for maybe two hours while I was installing exterior outlets (ongoing barn project) and the block was warm to the touch when I unplugged it. It definitely started a touch quicker and seemed smoother, like it had been running for a couple of minutes already :drink:

 

[skyhook]

Luckily, it has a block heater. I decided to test it yesterday, just to see if it worked. I let it go for maybe two hours while I was installing exterior outlets (ongoing barn project) and the block was warm to the touch when I unplugged it. It definitely started a touch quicker and seemed smoother, like it had been running for a couple of minutes already :drink:

:drink: Yes, a block heater definitely makes a big difference, I'd say, "a must have" for a diesel.:drink:

 

[meos1]

I did not start mine for three weeks, but I ran it for a solid two hours yesterday. I might catch two hours a weekend. In the summer that is a lot longer, say four hours.

 

[ultrarunner]

Absoluteley not , if your not paying the bill or in extreme conditions but 5 hours with a propane circulating heater plumbed to the block will start will start my 1968 Cat D7e in -30c

Do you have block heaters over there ..? Back in the UK it was a major event to get machines started if we had -5c overnight .

The only block heaters I have ever seen in the mild SF Climate are on Hospital Gen-Sets... they must be able to start and pick up the load in less than 10 seconds.

 

[Powerhorse]

He said several things...

One is steel tracks can seize over time

Two... the older equipment with clutch disks can bond to the mating surface

Three... always wanted all of his equipment work ready...

When he started out he worked for a competitor that is long since out of business... he said they were always have reliability issues... equipment put away with empty tanks... some sitting all winter with no care for the batteries... etc...

I know this is a discussion of diesels...

My first job with payroll withholding was working at a Dealership... every Saturday it was my job to wash and start all the cars on the lot... made sure we had the keys... just about eliminated battery issues, etc.

My job of the last 23 years requires regular exercise of Hospital Gen-Sets... they are all Onan Cummins units with block heater 24/7... some date from 1995 and so far so good... from start to load always under 10 seconds by mandate.

Engines like this? We run this one once a month at the bank I work for.. 1250DFLC

 

[Powerhorse]

Double post

 

[GManBart]

Engines like this? We run this one once a month at the bank I work for.. 1250DFLC

Does it have a pre-oiler? Many similar units do.

 

[Powerhorse]

Does it have a pre-oiler? Many similar units do.

This one does not have a pre-oiler. It has 2 block heaters that run all the time.