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

 

[Charliebrn]

The mystery clears. The dealer called and said they got in the heater. Turns out their book was wrong and it was indeed the screw-in block heater and not the radiator installed one that they said it was. Thanks for the install instructions, going to install it this weekend....

 

[pcmem]

Charlie,

Good luck with the install. Other than the large hex wrench and large socket (1 1/16" I think) you don't need anything special. They were going to use a plumbers spanner to install it but I had a socket to fit and preferred that to slipping off. Biggest problem was there wasn't an easy, actually neat is a better word, way to drain the radiator without making a mess. Try a tube or go slow and be sure to let it cool first so you don't burn your fingers. And remember you don't need to torque the heater plug in like it is a head bolt, it only needs to stop leaks for about 15lbs of pressure in the cooling system. You'll need some teflon tape as I don't recall it included any.

Good luck and have fun,
Michael

 

[Charliebrn]

I'm going to install it this weekend.

Anybody interested in me taking any pics of the procedure to go along with the already excellent instructions Michael posted??? If so, I'd be happy to do it....

 

[MikePA]

Pictures would be great!

 

[oombala]

the block heater isnt designed to help in the actual startup, of the engine its designed to keep the oil heated so it flows as soon as the engine starts, there by keeping the engine lubed it will last longer. my dealer explained it to me this way, makes sense.. he also said dont keep it plugged in all the time, unless you like paying for electricity. he suggested plugging in for 20-30 minutes prior to using it .

 

[Anonymous Poster]

<font color=blue>...dont keep it plugged in all the time, unless you like paying for electricity. he suggested plugging in for 20-30 minutes prior to using it...</font color=blue>

Unless you have stock in the electric company, run the block heater off a programmable timer {as has been mentioned numerous times}...

Most mfrs. of block heaters recommend a minimum of 60 minutes "ON" time... to get a "20 degree" difference from ambient air temp for easier starting...

 

[cowboydoc]

Oombala,
The block heater most certainly does help with start-ups. I can't even think about starting my Deutz, 4020 or my skidsteer unless they have been plugged in. Yes you are right about it heating either the oil or the coolant, depending on the system, but in addition the engine being warmed will allow it to start. Most older diesels and such won't even think about starting, even with glow plugs, without being plugged in or alot of ether and good batteries!

 

[Bob_Trevithick]

I had both the block heater and the hydraulic heater put on my JD 4300 before delivery.

I'm not clear about why a block heater is considered preferable to an in-line coolant heater. Seems like heating the coolant, and also pumping it around within the block, would be a better solution? Wouldn't it heat the whole block, instead of just the spot the block heater is installed in?

Bob

Bob Trevithick

 

[cowboydoc]

In my opinion you're right Bob. I've used both in every kind of equipment from farm machinery to dozers to vehicles and I think they both do a fine job. If I had a choice I'd go with the inline heaters just for the fact that they are readily available at any farm or parts store, they are about a fourth or less of the cost of a block heater, and they are easy to get to and install if you need to put a new one in.

 

[rja]

I just installed one in a l300dt. It came from kubota. I had to knock out a freeze plug, (after draining the antifreez) , install a bushing that had threads in it's inside, and then screw in the heater element. Not so bad and the clearence behind the freeze plug was so small that there was no way to loose the plug inside the cooling jacket. Don't know how much use this will see, but it's nice to know it is there.

Rich