Snow BX25 did not start - first time in 10 years!

   / BX25 did not start - first time in 10 years! #1  

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Elite Member
Joined
Sep 26, 2008
Messages
4,002
Location
Dorset (cottage country) and Toronto, Ontario, Can
Tractor
2009 Kubota BX25
I started it up when I arrived at the cottage last night, and it was about -13 Celsius. after running it for a couple of hours, I stopped and plugged it in, and then this morning, it would not start. Turns out I forgot to plug the other end of the extension cord into the wall, so it had not in fact been hooked up to the block heater.

Tried a few times this morning, and then quit because I was worried about the battery going down. That has been a great battery, and has survived in as low as -30°C weather.

Plugged it in properly this time, and left for home. Will be back up again on Friday, and hopefully then it will start.

So, I guess I can no longer boast about what a great starter it is!
 
   / BX25 did not start - first time in 10 years! #2  
Might be time for a new battery. I started mine yesterday, about 3 below zero and it started but didn’t like it. No block heater.
 
   / BX25 did not start - first time in 10 years! #3  
Plugged it in properly this time, and left for home. Will be back up again on Friday, and hopefully then it will start.

It sounds like you are going to leave the heater on from Sunday to Friday. That sounds a bit long.

If so it will be interesting to see how warm the block is after such a long time.
 
   / BX25 did not start - first time in 10 years! #4  
I started it up when I arrived at the cottage last night, and it was about -13 Celsius. after running it for a couple of hours, I stopped and plugged it in, and then this morning, it would not start. Turns out I forgot to plug the other end of the extension cord into the wall, so it had not in fact been hooked up to the block heater.

Tried a few times this morning, and then quit because I was worried about the battery going down. That has been a great battery, and has survived in as low as -30°C weather.

Plugged it in properly this time, and left for home. Will be back up again on Friday, and hopefully then it will start.

So, I guess I can no longer boast about what a great starter it is!

----------------------------------------
Wow, -13 Celsius is only +8.6* Fahrenheit -- that's not THAT cold. I'd been worried about how my new Kubota RTV-X 1100C (my first diesel) would do in the cold, but no problems so far. It's stored in an unheated shed, no block heater, and started right up the other morning at -8*F (-22 Celsius). I used the glow plugs, of course, but there wasn't the slightest hesitation once I turned the key all the way, fired up instantly. (Knock on wood it keeps working this way for another 20 years or so.)
 
   / BX25 did not start - first time in 10 years! #5  
Your cheapest starting aid is a battery blanket plugged in all the time. Batteries lose their cranking capacity at an alarming rate as the temperature drops, and as a double whammy, will not not charge as well while you are running in the cold. As a bonus, these heaters cost peanuts to keep plugged in, and probably extend the life of your battery.
 
   / BX25 did not start - first time in 10 years!
  • Thread Starter
#6  
Your cheapest starting aid is a battery blanket plugged in all the time. Batteries lose their cranking capacity at an alarming rate as the temperature drops, and as a double whammy, will not not charge as well while you are running in the cold. As a bonus, these heaters cost peanuts to keep plugged in, and probably extend the life of your battery.

Hey, wingnut, thanks for the heads up! I did not know that battery blankets use little power. My block heater uses a fair amount of power. Will have to pick one of those blankets up.
 
   / BX25 did not start - first time in 10 years!
  • Thread Starter
#7  
Well, it was -13 Celsius when it did start up Friday night, but on Saturday morning when it would not start it was -23. And I believe it would have started even at that temperature if I had in fact not forgotten to plug in the other end of the extension cord, so that it would have been plugged in for a couple of hours before I tried starting it.

Also, it turned over quite nicely each time I tried to start it on Saturday morning. It just wouldn’t fire. We will see this Friday if I had run the battery down so low that it will not even start after having been plugged in all week.
 
   / BX25 did not start - first time in 10 years!
  • Thread Starter
#8  
Also, the stupid ATV battery ran out of Juice, so I have that on the Battery Tender. Hope something works, because there’s a big whack of snow coming this week!
 
   / BX25 did not start - first time in 10 years! #9  
I don't even bother with block heaters or blankets.

I have an onboard battery tender on my machine. Keeps the battery fresh for a long time.

Been doing this for years and it works well.
 
   / BX25 did not start - first time in 10 years! #10  
Check,

I had to use my portable battery jump pack to give my ATV a boost since it was -10F when I tried to start it.

I highly recommend you look into the jump packs, they are life savers. Mine has beat around my truck box for a few years, and is always ready to go.

This is the one I have,

https://www.amazon.com/Clore-Automo...&pf_rd_p=70036c91-61b6-5265-8b12-253e202ce97a
but when it comes time to replace it (if ever this things a tank) I'll be looking at the Li-Ion packs that are a 1/3 of the size.

Man I love Amazon reviews:

Q Will it jumpstart an AGM Optima battery or any Deep Cycle Battery?
A: In my opinion it could jump start a dead cow back to life. Hasn't failed me yet.
 
 
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