Cold weather start, with glow plugs and block heater. Why does my tractor not start at minus 20 C?

[irvingj]

Ray -- NAHH-HH-H!

I'll admit the battery in my '05 Jetta TDI Wagon was last replaced in Dec of 2013 (8 yrs) and is now (apparently) due for another change... but that tractor's battery is still holding up amazingly well. No plans to swap it... yet.

Today, temps were milder (starting at -2, rising to 18), and the little red beast started with no problem after running only the block heater for 2 hrs; no additional help. Fired right up for another scrape at the driveway.

Hey -- I may be cheap... but I'm cheap!

 

[ray66v]

and yet the battery will lose any heat caused by its chemical reaction due to wind.

everyone that talks about wind chill and body heat seems to want to avoid that point.

Not avoiding that at all.

My statement was concerning the engine.

The battery could suffer from the wind, if it is able to blow on it.

But, at those temps its not going to get the job done anyway, without having some kind of a charger on it.

A good 2 amp or more maintainer is able to produce enough energy to deal with the wind, and have it ready for duty.

 

[Dmacleo]

Not avoiding that at all.

My statement was concerning the engine.

The battery could suffer from the wind, if it is able to blow on it.

But, at those temps its not going to get the job done anyway, without having some kind of a charger on it.

A good 2 amp or more maintainer is able to produce enough energy to deal with the wind, and have it ready for duty.

got a 2amp maintainer in it. I just forgot to plug the damned thing in sigh,never an issue last year cause I remembered.

 

[Dmacleo]

high of 3 deg f today. wind chill running on average -20f.
water in house freezing up. kero heaters save the day.
tried to start gc2400 she tried to run. after 5 attempts gave up. this was with 90 second or more glow plug runs.
battery maintener WAS plugged in.
plugged in block heater for 20 minutes purring like a kitten.
didn't move it but she ran 25 minutes no issues came up on power when called for.
I've used this heater more in last 2 weeks than since I got tractor in Oct 2019.
good 150$ investment.

 

[ray66v]

high of 3 deg f today. wind chill running on average -20f.
water in house freezing up. kero heaters save the day.
tried to start gc2400 she tried to run. after 5 attempts gave up. this was with 90 second or more glow plug runs.
battery maintener WAS plugged in.
plugged in block heater for 20 minutes purring like a kitten.
didn't move it but she ran 25 minutes no issues came up on power when called for.
I've used this heater more in last 2 weeks than since I got tractor in Oct 2019.
good $150 investment.

For the record, what were you using for the throttle setting on the cold start?

 

[Dmacleo]

For the record, what were you using for the throttle setting on the cold start?

I generally run setting that gives me 14-1500rpm when warm.
historically thats been the best setting.
set to low no fire/sputter/run, too high same thing.
that 14-1500rpm setting seems to work best.
now I PROB could have done few more glow plug runs and made it work but....plug something in walk away come back and running. easy lazy way...

at this setting when it starts it runs 800 rpm or so for 30-45 seconds then starts climbing to the 14-1500 rpm slowly.
after 45 seconds usually at 1100 rpm (mine idles warmed up at 1K rpm) so not super high rpm for cold starts.

 

[ray66v]

I generally run setting that gives me 14-1500rpm when warm.
historically thats been the best setting.
set to low no fire/sputter/run, too high same thing.
that 14-1500rpm setting seems to work best.
now I PROB could have done few more glow plug runs and made it work but....plug something in walk away come back and running. easy lazy way...

at this setting when it starts it runs 800 rpm or so for 30-45 seconds then starts climbing to the 14-1500 rpm slowly.
after 45 seconds usually at 1100 rpm (mine idles warmed up at 1K rpm) so not super high rpm for cold starts.

I'm not sure what the current owners manual says, but my 2310 actually calls for full throttle on a cold start. Which sounds bad, but if you close the throttle as soon as it fires, it doesn't ever reach high rpms.

I have not found that to be necessary. Mine starts on the first try 95% of the time at about 1/4 throttle. No smoke, no sputtering or chugging.

Never been able to figure out why there is such a difference between these. It's certainly intriguing.

 

[irvingj]

"Never been able to figure out why there is such a difference between these." Ditto. I've tried advancing my throttle slightly --as Ray has suggested numerous times-- when she becomes obstinate... but that seems to make no difference. (I generally leave throttle at idle when starting.)

I was just mentioning to my daughter last evening that these older GCs seem to all be a bit different when it comes to starting. I've just come to terms with mine being just a bit "cold-blooded."

 

[ray66v]

Warm weather starting, I keep the throttle closed.

In cold weather the air is denser, so it makes sense to add more fuel to the mixture.

Same reason most gas aircraft engines don't require priming in warm weather. But, won't start without it in the cold.

 

[Dmacleo]

I'm not sure what the current owners manual says, but my 2310 actually calls for full throttle on a cold start. Which sounds bad, but if you close the throttle as soon as it fires, it doesn't ever reach high rpms.

I have not found that to be necessary. Mine starts on the first try 95% of the time at about 1/4 throttle. No smoke, no sputtering or chugging.

Never been able to figure out why there is such a difference between these. It's certainly intriguing.

mine says half to full throttle and...that always fails.
1/4 runs around that 14-1500rpm and when 5 deg F or higher always works.
just sub zero is issue so...plug in the heater I paid for and in few minutes starts smoothly.
plug in, walk away for 20 minutes, then 30 seconds of glow plug and 10 revolutions tractor running smoothly.
course where hydro I let sit a bit before using.

"Never been able to figure out why there is such a difference between these." Ditto. I've tried advancing my throttle slightly --as Ray has suggested numerous times-- when she becomes obstinate... but that seems to make no difference. (I generally leave throttle at idle when starting.)

I was just mentioning to my daughter last evening that these older GCs seem to all be a bit different when it comes to starting. I've just come to terms with mine being just a bit "cold-blooded."

lot of factors, age/mtx level of tractor, air temp, etc.
I'm not far by air from gulf of maine (30 miles or so) and thats a huge humidity driver. affects a lot of crap around here LOL