cold weather starting

[kevin maclaughlin]

Going through a cold snap here in nova scotia,canada along with lots of snow which means lots of tractor use.I have owned my Kioti CK20 HST for close to 2 years and it has done a great job.Just wondering if anyone out there knows if you can add anything to hydraulics to speed up the warming process during cold prolonged weather.I start my tractor up with no issues but the hydraulic pressue to lift my bucket seems to take at least 15-20 minutes before it can go through its motions.Is this normal and do I just have to be patient,lol.

 

[George2615]

We are also having the cold snap here. A block heater will help the engine warm up quicker as will a heated garage to keep the tractor in. If those are not an option then you have to be patient. Start the tractor, go back in the house for a cup of coffee and let it warm up 10-15 minutes. I don't know of a specific heater for the hydraulic system. If you don't want to waste fuel letting it warm up then just go slow till it does warm up. My hydraulics also are slow the first few minutes but warm up quickly with use. I usually start my tractor and let it run for 5 minutes at just above idle, then start plowing at 1500 RPM, a few minutes later it's up to temp so throttle goes to 1900-2000 to finish the rest of the plowing.

 

[RoyJackson]

Deere has hydraulic heaters available as well as engine block heaters. I don't have one and don't know much, other than they are available. Might be something aftermarket, if you look around. I think I'd use a torpedo heater, if I were you...15 minutes would likely do the job.

 

[buickanddeere]

15 minute warm up wastes fuel, washes down the cylinder walls , increases ring and bore wear, dilutes lube oil and wet stacks the exhaust .
Once the engine is started and has built oil pressure . Operate at a modest load at near rated rpms until the temp gauges raises some.

 

[Agvg]

How cold temps are we talking about?

 

[RockyNY]

How cold temps are we talking about?

0 to -20 F or -20 to -30 C
My power shuttle Mahindra is pretty sluggish in below zero weather. I find the best way to warm it up quick is to work it, it ususally gets better after 10-15 minutes of work. If I just let it sit at a high idle, the engine warms up but the hydraulics stay pretty stiff. In fact last year I plowed when it was 20 below and the loader and power angle plow never got very easy, even after working for an hour. But now I'm buying a hydrostatic and I'd be interested in some kind of transmission heater, in the hopes that it would allow me to get moving quicker.

 

[GManBart]

15 minute warm up wastes fuel, washes down the cylinder walls , increases ring and bore wear, dilutes lube oil and wet stacks the exhaust .
Once the engine is started and has built oil pressure . Operate at a modest load at near rated rpms until the temp gauges raises some.

Read his post. He's asking about hydraulics, not the engine.

 

[GManBart]

Going through a cold snap here in nova scotia,canada along with lots of snow which means lots of tractor use.I have owned my Kioti CK20 HST for close to 2 years and it has done a great job.Just wondering if anyone out there knows if you can add anything to hydraulics to speed up the warming process during cold prolonged weather.I start my tractor up with no issues but the hydraulic pressue to lift my bucket seems to take at least 15-20 minutes before it can go through its motions.Is this normal and do I just have to be patient,lol.

They make electric heaters that adhere to the hydraulic reservoir/pan/etc, but there might be a simpler way to get you through the winter. Check your manual to see if they address cold weather and they hydraulic systems first, but with some machines they recommend curling the bucket until the pressure relief valve kicks in, and holding it there for 10-15 seconds. You repeat that a few times and it'll warm the fluid up enough so things start working properly.

This company makes a bunch of different sizes, wattages, etc...and not all of them are just for oil pans. I'm going to put a small one on the oil pan of my Massey...it starts really well in cold temps, but I figure warming the oil for an hour before I start it in the cold can only help it last longer.

Wolverine Heaters - The Most Trusted Engine Oil Heater For Cold-Weather Starts

 

[Agvg]

In -30C everything is slow, and to work it without much load is the usual method, a heather would help but the question is how easy it is to mount it where it will be efficient.

 

[buickanddeere]

Read his post. He's asking about hydraulics, not the engine.

What are you talking about. Are you saying that the 15 minutes affects the engine and not the transmission?

 

[woodchipper]

If things are so stiff at start-up, then by all means let your engine rev up a bit for a good five minutes before putting the tractor to work. This way, your hydraulic pump has a chance to warm up a bit (as well as the engine). Check your owners manual, to see if you do have the recommended oil viscosity in.

 

[GManBart]

What are you talking about. Are you saying that the 15 minutes affects the engine and not the transmission?

I'm saying you didn't read his question. He's ONLY talking about the FEL hydraulics. He says the engine starts fine, and he makes no mention of transmission problems when cold.

He said: "I start my tractor up with no issues but the hydraulic pressue to lift my bucket seems to take at least 15-20 minutes before it can go through its motions.Is this normal and do I just have to be patient"

 

[GManBart]

This thread has a .pdf of Kioti's recommendations (last post) for how long to run the engine at various temperatures for a CK30...probably similar to what they recommend for the CK20S. You'll note that 10-20 minutes is recommended for the kind of temps the OP is talking about...even though it disagrees with what some posters here have suggested.

It's worth noting that the hydraulic system, power steering, and HST transmission use a common case, and one pump, so heating will help all of those systems, but it's a fairly large volume of fluid, so it'll take some time to heat up when cold.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/owning-operating/218837-hydrostatic-drive-slow-respond-cold.html

 

[MinnesotaEric]

Going through a cold snap here in nova scotia,canada along with lots of snow which means lots of tractor use.I have owned my Kioti CK20 HST for close to 2 years and it has done a great job.Just wondering if anyone out there knows if you can add anything to hydraulics to speed up the warming process during cold prolonged weather.I start my tractor up with no issues but the hydraulic pressue to lift my bucket seems to take at least 15-20 minutes before it can go through its motions. Is this normal and do I just have to be patient,lol.

On my tractor, I've two restrictions in the hydraulic circuit that add 10 degrees F to the hydraulic fluid at wide open throttle. The excess heat is pulled back out of the system by the hydraulic's oil cooler. At any-rate, my hydros warm up relatively fast.

The only thing I can suggest is putting a bit of cardboard in front go your oil cooler to make it less efficient as you do with the engine's radiator.

 

[kevin maclaughlin]

Thanks for the advice everyone.One thing I am going to do for sure is have a block heater installed on my tractor before next winter hits.