Is it too cold to start my tractor?

[jonnmero]

MY poor Kubota lives outside, and I've used it all winter to clear my driveway. I run a Battery Tender cable from the garage to keep the battery fully charged. In sub-zero temps I run the glow plugs longer than normal (45s-1min), and I let it warm up for at least 5min before doing anything. The hydraulics are sluggish at first, but when they warm up, they're fine. The Battery Tender is one of the best investments I've made. (I own 3).

Sounds about like my previous, the Ford 3000. It did not like the cold, but a new 100 Ah 800 CCA silver-calcium battery gave it no options but to start. But I had to occasionally top up the silver-calsium battery as they need 14.7 V charge to remain happy. But boy, - what a battery!

 

[jonnmero]

I'm always surprised why no one uses a 3-4KW genny to preheat in times like this. just install block heaters, rad hose heaters and a battery heater. Plug them all in and let the genny run for an hour with a blanket over the tractor engine.

What about some smaller versions of the Herman Nelsons? And then some blankets, like they do on the old planes in Ice Pilots NWT? A Herman Nelson might be a bit of an over-kill though.

 

[Cameron Smith]

A block heater installed in one of the freeze plug holes on the engine works wonders on my very cold blooded 1900 Ford. 45 minutes or so is usually required. I have also found that a heat gun on high directed down the air intake while cranking can make a big difference as the 800-900 degree air gives a real boost to the diesel ignition. Shut it off immediately when it starts. 17 below here this morning.....I think I'll wait a bit before going out to play!

 

[JEH412]

The block heater is the only thing that gets my old Satoh fired up in this weather. An hour or so with the heater plugged in and a battery tender keeps the old girl going. The only problem I've had was the last time I went to plow. The plow went up when I hit the button but wouldn't go down on command. It has an old (understatement!) Meyer ElectroLift and the release valve froze up. I had to run a heat gun around the base of the pump for about 5 minutes before it would let the plow down. First time for that.

John

 

[jonnmero]

A block heater installed in one of the freeze plug holes on the engine works wonders on my very cold blooded 1900 Ford. 45 minutes or so is usually required. I have also found that a heat gun on high directed down the air intake while cranking can make a big difference as the 800-900 degree air gives a real boost to the diesel ignition. Shut it off immediately when it starts. 17 below here this morning.....I think I'll wait a bit before going out to play!

Isn't there an air intake pre-heating device on the Fords? If I turned the ignition key to next point beyond the glow, then that air pre-heater was activated, which made the engine start quicker. Never really checked out as it was working ok.

 

[vtsnowedin]

Isn't there an air intake pre-heating device on the Fords? If I turned the ignition key to next point beyond the glow, then that air pre-heater was activated, which made the engine start quicker. Never really checked out as it was working ok.

If you use the intake pre heater on every cold startup you'll notice a lot less blue smoke on startup. It doesn't do anything for the coolant in the water jacket or the bearings however and a block heater that warms up all these parts lets the starter whirl her over with a lot less effort and reduces the time it takes for the oil pump to bring pressurized oil to all the bearings. Saves a lot of wear and tear compared to a bunch of frozen shrunken parts clattering around dry trying to warm up.

 

[ernie69]

boost it with battery cables! Always works for me!

 

[Jeff Lary]

I run a block heater in my kubota, i just had it put in this fall when it was in for some hydraulic service. If it gets more than -15 or so i only have to run it for maybe 30 minutes to an hour. If it is warmer than minus -15 i just use the glow plugs. Now i was talking to my Kubota dealer this fall and the parts desk man told me his opinion on glow plugs.
I have an L-2950, " He said well i tell ya somthing you have a 3 cylinder engine. If you could look inside you would see one of two things happening. 1) there are two pistons up and one down or 2) one piston up and two down. To use glow plug's correctly let them run 30 seconds then " bump" the starter to reposition the pistons then repete the 30 seconds again. In this way you will be heating all 3 cylinders and not one or two of them".
One other thing i will tell you believe this or not it is the truth, i bought that tractor used back in 2003 i think? and it had an old battery in it then. I have cleaned the terminals and topped of fluid in it but that same battery is in there to this day and will be until it fails me. I use the tractor about once per week no matter the tempeture.

 

[oldpilgrim]

To use glow plug's correctly let them run 30 seconds then " bump" the starter to reposition the pistons then repeat the 30 seconds again.

If I did that, it would probably start !


Sorry to gloat.

 

[Walkin Horse]

Somebody suggested to run the pto while the engine is warming. I've been doing that and the hydraulics warm up much faster.