Issues with leaving hydraulic and engine block heaters plugged in during the winter?

[rmonio]

My daughter’s boyfriend is a Diesel mechanic for an implement chain and he said that it was ok to leave the my block and hydraulic heater’s plugged in on my JD 4600. I thought you couldn’t do that…. Is it ok to leave them plugged in?

We’ve had some really cold temperatures up here in Minnesota, so I have been going back and forth to plug it in. He said to leave it be. Thoughts?

Thanks!

-Bob

 

[4570Man]

It waste a decent amount of electricity to leave it on more than required but it won’t damage the machine to leave it plugged in continuously.

 

[oldnslo]

What type of hydraulic oil heater do you have on that tractor? A possible problem is that they can cause more condensation under the right conditions.

 

[camshawn]

We kept block heaters on all the time at work….but, they were thermostatically controlled. Too hot will cook the gaskets on the engine. A tractor sitting in an unheated building is not the same thing. If the block heater is on all the time, you are just spending money that you don’t need to.

 

[rmonio]

I have the standard JD heaters on my Tractor.

The power situation isn’t an issue for me. However, if it does damage to the tractor gaskets then I will take it off. Perhaps I will just put a timer on where the extension cords plug in and engage that when it necessary in the winter.

Thank for the insight!

 

[4570Man]

I have the standard JD heaters on my Tractor.

The power situation isn’t an issue for me. However, if it does damage to the tractor gaskets then I will take it off. Perhaps I will just put a timer on where the extension cords plug in and engage that when it necessary in the winter.

Thank for the insight!

You’d have to get well over 200 degrees to hurt any gaskets. Limiting the use to the winter time there’s absolutely zero chance of that happening and plenty of people leave them plugged up 24/7 in the winter and that doesn’t happen.

 

[RayIN]

Many fire trucks are plugged in 24/7, but the fire station doesn't pay the electric bills. This practice prevents engine damage from startup to heavy throttle in minutes.

 

[RjCorazza]

Depending on your circumstances, there are a lot of options in timers and switches to automate the heaters. I use a wifi switch that can be programmed to come on and then off at whatever date / time I want, or manually turn on the heaters from a phone app.
On a day I will be using the tractor, I have a "rule" that I enable that turns on at 0200h and turns off at 0600h.
As far as the original question of whether 24/7 will damage anything, no it won't (other than costing $ in electricity use)

 

[EscapedSuburbia]

I don't know about a tractor, but in the aviation world the engine manufacturers warn against it. They claim the warmer air inside the engine can hold more moisture then if there's a sudden temperature drop that the heater can't keep up with, that moisture can condense and cause corrosion. Having said that, pretty much every airplane owner I know who lives in a cold climate, including flight schools, leave theirs plugged in all winter and I've never heard of them having corrosion issues. Corrosion in aircraft engines is almost always due to lack of use. And Tanis, who is probably the largest maker of aircraft engine warmers, recommends leaving them on all the time because it's less likely to cause corrosion then constant cycling between hot and cold.

 

[WM75Guy]

Many fire trucks are plugged in 24/7, but the fire station doesn't pay the electric bills. This practice prevents engine damage from startup to heavy throttle in minutes.

Fire trucks typically don't have a block heater wired into the shoreline. It powers a converter that keeps the batteries charged for the truck and any equipment wired to it, such as flashlights and medical equipment. Many departments are switching over to battery powered rescue equipment instead of hydraulic or gas, so there is a considerable power need for the battery chargers. When disconnected, it switches over to the truck batteries for power. It may also power a small compressor to maintain air pressure, so you don't have to wait for it to build up before responding.