Block Heaters

[Egon]

Block Heaters:
I come from Alberta,Canada where everything has a heater of some type. Buy a new car or truck and they come with one installed.
Farmers like to keep their tractors in a shed that is just below the freezing point and plug in the tractor heater.
There is no difference in performance in the block type or in line variety except the inline may also incorporate a circulating device of some kind. The dip stick heater isn't used as it does not preform that well at -40C.
The use of the heater will save a lot of wear and tear on the engine and hydraulics. Exspecially on seals. Usually two to three hours is all the time needed to heat up the engine.
The inline heater on my b7100 stopped working one winter and I covered the tractor with a tarp and used a in car heater to warm it up so it would start.
Egon

 

[Bird]

I think this topic has been pretty well covered, and I especially agree with Cowboydoc and Egon about the need for the heater, and the inadvisability of using magnetic and dipstick heaters. I don't have one and don't really need it. We have very little subfreezing weather, the tractor is stored indoors, and I know my tractor won't start in subfreezing weather because I won't start if it's that cold, except in an emergency and that hasn't happened yet./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif However, I've had relatives in Alaska for many years. And even here in Texas, I have a neighbor with an old Oliver that sits outside and he knows he's going to be using it to put out hay no matter how cold it is, so he installed one of the heaters in the radiator hose that both heats and circulates the coolant and thinks it was one of the best investments he ever made.

 

[RSeymour]

Bird, you are getting pretty fancy there, I like the new sig. I thought you said you were computer challanged. Pretty soon you'll be setting up networks.

 

[Charliebrn]

Thanks everyone for their responses, but I guess I'm left confused. After listening to all your pros and cons of heaters, I decided to order one, if not for starting, (which wasn't a problem for me last year), just for the reduced wear of a cold engine, it seemed worth it to me. Anyway, I called the dealer, and they said that Kubota only sells and recommends the radiator style for the BX2200, and that the engine block installed "soft plug" replacement was for the BX1800. Any thoughts on this??? Does anyone have the radiator style installed on the BX? If so, what circulates the warmed fluid, convection?

Thanks in advance!
Scott

 

[cowboydoc]

Charlie,
Not sure on the tractor but on my skidsteer and my tractor they have a little pump that moves the water through them and circulates it through the engine. You can hear them working when you plug them in. They are on a temp. deal that they shut down when the temp. is reached and then turn back on again. On the older stuff you might as well forget EVER getting them started without plugging them in.

 

[MikePA]

I'd imagine that the best place to get a block heater is from the dealer who sells the brand tractor you have?

Is there a place that sells the water heater/circulation kind?

 

[cowboydoc]

Those you can just buy at any farm store Mike. You just have to have the diameter of your radiator hose.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

It seems to me that the best option would a pre-oiler. These are small electric motors used to circulate the
oil to the bearings, oil galleries, and rings. The real wear and tear on the engine is cranking/starting PRIOR to the oil circulating. On aircraft engines (I'm a flight instructor, CFII, MEI), I can get normal operating oil pressure (50 PSI) PRIOR to starting the engines so that the moving metal is well lubricated when the engine is turned for starting. Of course the ultimate would be to circulate warm oil so that the viscosity would allow for thorough lubrication. It just depends on how much money that one has....

 

[pcmem]

Jim,

Sorry for the delay getting back to you. The block heater was ordered from my dealer but was not marked kubota in any way. After it was installed I checked at the local Farm & Fleet and they had the same ones on the shelf. I wouldn't be suprised is they could lookup the actual part number needed for the BX (or any other tractor). Also you could measure the plug size and reference it on the packages.

Hope that helps,
Michael

 

[pcmem]

Scott,

Maybe you should check with another dealer./w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif I ordered my block heater from my dealer for the BX2200. It wasn't a "soft plug" if you are referring to the expansion rubber plug style. It was a metal plug to replace the existing screw plug in the block. The short story is unscrew the existing plug, screw in the heater plug, connect wires. For the full details see my earlier post.

As for the option you could install the radiator style in the hose. The simplest ones are convection. I prefer the cleaner install of the block plug and the idea of heating the block directly.

Later days,
Michael