block heater

[Egon]

Egon....You may or may not know this but, the wind has no effect on temperature. In other words, the iron on your tractor does not "feel" the cold wind chill. Only us humans do.

If the temp is zero and the wind is blowing 40mph, the temperature is still zero

Oh yes, I'm fully aware those facts.


But; the cold wind, blowing on a tractor that is heating up takes away some of that heat essentially making the heater less efficient. Takes a little longer for all the fluids and metal to heat up.

Given the right cold temperatures and wind speed it could logically take away heat as fast as it is generated!:thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[Reverend Blair]

Wind will cool down anything more quickly because it increases the heat loss. So while a tractor fender will be the same temperature as the ambient temperature without he wind, a tractor engine/cooling system will cool off more easily in the wind, will warm up more slowly, and the block heater will have less effect.

By the way, we cover the front of our vehicles here in the winter.

I use a battery blanket on everything air-cooled, since they don't have block heaters. Just wrap them around the engine as best as possible, and plug them in for an hour or two before starting. Makes all the difference on earth.

 

[HSSC]

The first thing I bought for my tractor was a block heater. It was one of the few things the original owner didn't have on the tractor. It was a Calfornia tractor so "whats a block heater". Any time is good before start up but a good hour or more is better.

 

[MF1652]

Everyone i know would dissagree with that . Keeping a tractor behind a bale stack or in a barn makes a huge difference to starting and always factor in wind chill .

It may seem like it makes a difference, but it can't. Inanimate objects can't feel wind. Our bodies keep warm by putting out a layer of warm air around our skin. The more hair you have on your body, the better you are at keeping that warm air around your body. That's why we wear layers in the cold. That's why animals in the actic climates often have a lot of hair. Windchill is the rate at which the wind wicks that layer of warm air away from your body. The faster the wind, the colder you feel because your body can't keep up with the wind by leaving that layer of warm air around your body.

 

[flyingcow]

Hi All Just Wondering How Long You Guys Keep Your Block Heaters Plugged In I Have A International Tractor That I Just Got And Thought I Would Plug It In To Make Sure It Worked When I Plugged It In It Started To Make A Sizzling Sound Which I dont Know If Thats Normal Or Not But Appeared To Heat Up So I Left It On For A Couple Hours And When I Checked It The Valve Cover Was Warm and Antifreeze Was Warm Is That All The Longer It Takes To Heat Up Temp Outdoors Was Around 28 F Thanks For The Help

if everythings working right..2 hours usual. If below -10 f or colder, longer. As posted earlier, if I have to get up early, plug in when I go to bed. This is what I do for my trailer truck. 11 gals of oil and 10 gals of anti-freeze. The block heater works, and do the same if i ever left my tractor outside. The coldest my garage gets, might be 20f, and yes I'm spoiled!

I have had a V-8 perkins(145hp) MF1155, plugged in at -40 below. Hooked battery up to pickup before starting. Just to be safe. Never a good thing to get behind starting a piece of equipment.

 

[picker77]

Dang, I feel for you guys. Under those conditions I'd have to forget the block heater, buy a compass, start driving in a direction opposite from where the needle points, and keep going until I was sure I'd never, ever need a block heater! :laughing:

 

[Don87]

It may seem like it makes a difference, but it can't. Inanimate objects can't feel wind. Our bodies keep warm by putting out a layer of warm air around our skin. The more hair you have on your body, the better you are at keeping that warm air around your body. That's why we wear layers in the cold. That's why animals in the actic climates often have a lot of hair. Windchill is the rate at which the wind wicks that layer of warm air away from your body. The faster the wind, the colder you feel because your body can't keep up with the wind by leaving that layer of warm air around your body.

It not only 'seems like' it makes a difference, but 'it does'.
In the wintertime, if I park my tractor trailer with the nose into the wind(at 10 below), it won't start. If I put the nose away from the wind, it will start.

Wind plays a big part in the starting.

 

[flyingcow]

It not only 'seems like' it makes a difference, but 'it does'.
In the wintertime, if I park my tractor trailer with the nose into the wind(at 10 below), it won't start. If I put the nose away from the wind, it will start.

Wind plays a big part in the starting.

+1 big time. If at possible keep the vehicles out of the wind. Common sense for us in the north.

 

[Ford tractor]

Hi All Just Wondering How Long You Guys Keep Your Block Heaters Plugged In I Have A International Tractor That I Just Got And Thought I Would Plug It In To Make Sure It Worked When I Plugged It In It Started To Make A Sizzling Sound Which I dont Know If Thats Normal Or Not But Appeared To Heat Up So I Left It On For A Couple Hours And When I Checked It The Valve Cover Was Warm and Antifreeze Was Warm Is That All The Longer It Takes To Heat Up Temp Outdoors Was Around 28 F Thanks For The Help

At 28F (positive, right?), all you need is 15-20 minutes. Modern tractors should start with out any aid down to 0F pretty easy. Sure, it's easier on them if you warm them up first, but not required.

 

[milkman636]

It may seem like it makes a difference, but it can't. Inanimate objects can't feel wind. Our bodies keep warm by putting out a layer of warm air around our skin. The more hair you have on your body, the better you are at keeping that warm air around your body. That's why we wear layers in the cold. That's why animals in the actic climates often have a lot of hair. Windchill is the rate at which the wind wicks that layer of warm air away from your body. The faster the wind, the colder you feel because your body can't keep up with the wind by leaving that layer of warm air around your body.

Cooling of inanimate objects is accelerated by wind in the same way that cooling of people is accelerated by wind. Why does blowing on your soup helps it to cool faster? It is exposed to a greater volume of cool air in a given amount of time, it is able to give up more heat to the increased volume of air. Why do you think there is a fan on your radiator? It helps the inanimate water to cool faster than it would without one. The fan is "wind chilling" the radiator.