Do you regularly start your diesel tractor as maintenance?

[NoTrespassing]

Hey All,

I was wondering whether or not you start your diesel tractor as maintenance and if so, how often and how long do you run it?

I've had my tractor for over eleven years and average less than 25 hours of use per year. I think it had just over 400 hours on it when I bought it and I still haven't hit 700 hours yet. I store my tractor in an unheated shed with a dirt floor that isn't always dry.

My thinking is that I should probably be starting it at least once every two weeks and allowing it to get up to operating temperature. I have to admit, I don't always do that and sometimes it may sit for a month without being started.

What is your opinion?

Kevin

 

[buickanddeere]

Get a pto generator 20KW or larger and a transfer switch so you can operate your tractor under load to warm everything up.
"Idling" does not warm up a diesel as the extra unused airflow at idle just cools the combustion chamber and carries the heat up the stack. Idling to warmup will just wear the cylinder walls and dilute the crankcase oil with unburned fuel as the exhaust ports soot up with slobber.

 

[George2615]

My tractor only sees about 50 hours a year. During summer I may use it a few times a week. Winter it depends on when we get snow as it is my main snow removal tool. If no snow falls in a given week I usually find a reason to run it on the weekend anyway.

 

[KiotiKowboy]

Like you, my tractor sees low hours - 2 years and still under 100. I live about 5 miles from the acreage/barn, sometimes going out several days in a row and at other times it may be several weeks. I try to run my tractor, UTV and generator for 10 or 15 minutes once a month.

 

[Racer11]

My B2400 Kubota averages about 40 to 55 hrs a year. During the winter it sits unless I need to blade snow and in the summer it will sit several weeks at a time. I have never started it up just to run it, it has never failed to start and run normally after sitting any length of time. I agree with a previous post about diluting oil etc etc.

 

[TomSeller]

I would run it often and under some load, certainly at elevated RPM, on a regular basis and for as long as an hour. As mentioned, it needs to come up to temp for a period of time to evaporate out moisture. Some of mine sit for a month before they get used, hasn't been an issue. But when they get used, they will be running for hours under normal use at higher RPMs.

 

[GManBart]

Sitting unused for a while doesn't hurt the machine as much as running it for short periods of time intermittently, without getting it up to temperature (which boils off condensation). Sitting is bad for the battery, so if you can find a way to keep a smart trickle charger on it, that will extend the battery life, and make it more likely to start right away when you need it.

 

[chevy]

My tractors only run when I need to use them for something.

That is the same way farmers in this area do it also. Some of the larger farmers have tractors & combines that get used maybe 2 or 3 months out of the year. They just set the rest of the time.

 

[KiotiKowboy]

Interesting. I hope others will chime in on this.

Looks like I'll be changing my procedure.

 

[skyhook]

Get a pto generator 20KW or larger and a transfer switch so you can operate your tractor under load to warm everything up.
"Idling" does not warm up a diesel as the extra unused airflow at idle just cools the combustion chamber and carries the heat up the stack. Idling to warmup will just wear the cylinder walls and dilute the crankcase oil with unburned fuel as the exhaust ports soot up with slobber.

I'm not to sure on this theory, check your temp gauge next time you let it idle to warm up,
being retired, I start mine in the winter every second or third day and let er run for 1/2 hour.
Move it around if I feel frisky...lol, in the summer, I don't mind letting it sit for a few weeks at a time,
but the darn thing keeps calling out to me, hello, hello, did you forget about me.

 

[MAN IN BLACK]

I never start a machine in the cold for nothing if not needed !
What about running a woodsplitter all day at close to idle speed ? BAD??? or ok ? on the engine

 

[wmonroe]

I don't start mine unless I'm going to use it. While you may start it and get the engine up to temp it takes longer for the hst and a lot longer if a gear drive tranny to get to temp, so if you shut down before the tranny is at temp you will get condensation. Put a battery tender on it and let it sit. I've never let my Kubota idle long enough to see if it will get to normal operating temps, once it is started and has good oil pressure I bump rpm's to about 1200 to start warmup, it is a well documented fact that idling a diesel in cold temps is not recommended. My truck is factory programmed to idle up to about 1100 rpm if let idling too long in cold temps.

 

[murphy1244]

Letting your machine idle for long periods of time not good for engine. I keep a tender on the battery and only run when needed. No wonder the manufacturers can give 3 to 5 year limited warranties when most owners are lucky to break 100 hours in that time.

 

[paulfun9]

Not working the tractor is better than a half hearted attempt at warming it up. Sitting doesn't hurt it but not burning up moisture and condensation does and just sitting at idle will not burn that up but will in fact create more.

I only run one machine during the winter unless something unexpected happens and only so much can fit inside the heated garage. So I do pull the batteries out of anything that will sit in cold storage and alternate them on the tender. I would need 11 battery tenders to cover everything so rotation is best for me.

 

[buickanddeere]

You have more time and money than the rest of us. Time to start you tractor, money to waste fuel and money for an early engine rebuild.

 

[kevin37b]

Not working the tractor is better than a half hearted attempt at warming it up. Sitting doesn't hurt it but not burning up moisture and condensation does and just sitting at idle will not burn that up but will in fact create more.

I only run one machine during the winter unless something unexpected happens and only so much can fit inside the heated garage. So I do pull the batteries out of anything that will sit in cold storage and alternate them on the tender. I would need 11 battery tenders to cover everything so rotation is best for me.

Exactly . A half *** warm up and shut down only increases the condensation problem . Either work it or leave it sit .

 

[IgroRockwell]

Been around heavy forestry and ag equipment all my life and been doing my own repairs for 40 years or so, including transmissions, engines, differentials and final drives. Not claiming to be an expert, but in my experience the only time that I have ever seen rust on the inside of a casing was on machines that have sat for long enough to let the oil coating dry off the casing and internal parts above the oil line. It can happen quite quickly in areas where there is significant temperature variation like here in Maine. A warm day and followed by a cold night causes condensation on any metal surface, including gear surfaces, wet brake disks, etc. I always start each of my tractors at least every two weeks in winter and take them for a ride in the snow. They get heated up nicely, I get to look around my place, the housings, bearings, and surfaces in the machine are recoated with oil, the battery gets recharged nicely, and my neighbors wonder what the **** I'm doing. All very worthwhile outcomes. My $0.02 worth.

 

[Buggs67]

Thanks for all the info. I can see the warm-to-operating once you start it. I think I'll have reason to start it every 2wks-month. I can always take a ride around and confound the neighbors.

 

[oosik]

I only start/run my tractor when I have work to do with it. Otherwise, it sits in the shed with a Battery Tender attached.

 

[RPW]

Only start it when I need it which in the winter is about once a week to put out hay. Unfortunately it doesn't allow for a complete warm up.