L4200 block heater.

   / L4200 block heater. #1  

Luath

Member
Joined
Jan 7, 2015
Messages
36
Location
Canada
Tractor
Kubota L4200
Hi Guys,

I've discovered an old block heater (no cables) on the tractor and as I'm taking the machine to Manitoba I felt it would be prudent to replace it. The hex nut is some 28mm and the replacement is 17 mm. Is there liable to be a problem with the actual fitting? I assume it's best to replace but I did wonder about leaving the old heater and using a new cable (if it fits) but I was unsure as to how to test the heater. Do I need to drain anything before removing the heater. The heater is located in a frost plug? at the level of the starter motor and the oil filler cap.

Any advice gratefully received.
Dave.
 
   / L4200 block heater. #2  
Plug it in to a gfci outlet with a good breaker & see if either pops. If not, come back in 20 minutes & see if things are warm.

If breakers & gfci don't pop & it puts out heat, why change it?
 
   / L4200 block heater.
  • Thread Starter
#3  
Hi Fallon,

Pardon my ignorance, I'm from the UK and I'm not familiar with the meaning of gfci outlet. Perhaps a word of explanation?

Many thanks,
Dave.
 
   / L4200 block heater. #5  
Or, stick a volt-ohm meter across its terminals. An open circuit- no voltage flow, means... it's shot. Some resistance is good. No resistance to voltage flow means it's shorted out- shot. At least I think that's correct. Maybe someone with more experience will offer better advice?
 
   / L4200 block heater. #6  
Or, stick a volt-ohm meter across its terminals. An open circuit- no voltage flow, means... it's shot. Some resistance is good. No resistance to voltage flow means it's shorted out- shot. At least I think that's correct. Maybe someone with more experience will offer better advice?
Pretty much. How to test water heater element talks about water heaters, but is otherwise right on. A block heater will be much lower wattage, so have a much higher resistance. Maybe a couple hundred ohms id guess.

Somebody else already answered the GFCI... Safety device to prevent current leaking to ground, required on all outside & potentially wet locations by US code. Id imagine the UK is similar. Its been a couple decades since I lived there though. Not strictly required, but a good idea.
 

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