engine heater for cold winters

[zekeman]

Engine Heater, any recomendations /any negatives to using one , considering using a 2 amp 180 watt magnetic heator for winter, This part of NY last year had -teens. This is first winter with my Mahindra 4110, might make it easier to start for snow removal ?
Ron

 

[NIXON]

Ron .
Your 4110 will most likely start even without heat . But It probably won't be happy about it . Now this is just supposition on my part . But ,Mag . heaters heat the oil pan ,and there is very little heat transfer to the block . You get warm oil but still have a cold block .
Block heaters do just that .. Heat the block . As a diesel requires heat to start, I'd go with a block heater .
A few Quarts of warm oil hittting a cold soaked block aren't going to stay warm long . A few quarts of cold oil hitting a warm block will not pull down the blocks heat appreciably ,and will tend to warm the oil . I could be totally wrong on this and it wouldn't be news . JMHO John

 

[snowman]

I'm in CNY; keep the tractor in an unheated garage during the winter, so it does get cold. I don't have any heater on it and it's always started right up, so you should be okay. I do always make sure that the fuel tank and cans have plenty of Power Serve in them though to prevent gelling.

 

[LarryRB]

last year we had minus 20 for 6 or so days straight, and I live on a large reservoir so the wind is constant.. With my 4110 Mahindra, only once during this below 0 time frame, I had to hit the glow plug four times in a row then it fired.. Other than this, even zero days, and they seem to be predominate here, no problem starting,

 

[zekeman]

LarryRB
this past week, A.M.temps have been in the high 20's, up to using the glow plug two times back to back to get a clean start, was unsure how many times (glow plug) it would take to start if it was below 0, tractor is stored in a unheated garage also.
RonNY

 

[dmccarty]

Ron,

My JD4700 start just find down into the teens. It does not get much colder than that here in my area of NC. The tractor is stored in the woods and takes whatever MommaNature throws at her. My trucks I hook up to a block heater. One thing I did last year or early this year was to switch the truck over to synthetic. This does help start the truck when its cold out. The truck does not NEED the synthetic but it sure sounds better than regular dino oil. Eventually I'll change the tractor over to synthetic. I have alway had a block heater on my trucks and I think its the way to go.

Later,
Dan

 

[bandit67]

I'm a believer in block heaters. Yes, most properly maintained engines will start without one, but it is much easier on it if you start it after it's been warmed up a little. Not only does a block heater heat the metal components, but it also heats up the fluids, and even luke-warm fluids flow better than those that are sub-freezing. And I prefer to see the normal black smoke on startup, rather than white smoke pouring out of an ice cold diesel for a couple of minutes.

Many glow plug systems do not shut the glow plugs down for a couple of minutes, even after the light goes off and the engine has started. So, you can turn the key to heat the plugs, let the light turn off, and continue to hold the key in the warm-up position until you want to start it. The whole time the key is in the warm up position (and during the first minute or two of the engine running), the plugs should be heating.

 

[Bob_Young]

Maybe shouldn't piggy back on another's thread, but how long do y'all use the block heater before starting? The folks down at the NH/Kubota dealership say to keep the tractor plugged in whenever it's not being used. In other places I've read that such usage tends to encourage internal engine corrosion because moisture is kept in the state where it can do the most damage.

Back in the '60s, when all diesels were hard to start, the farmer I used to work for as a teenager would plug in the block heaters about the time he started the morning milking. Around 7:00 or 7:30AM they had a couple hours preheat and were ready to go. Seemed like a reasonable approach to me.

 

[RickB]

Two to three hours with a properly sized block heater should be enough. The only downsides I know of to round the clock heater use are power cost and heater element life. I can't see any basis for the corrosion concern you mentioned.

 

[gugy]

Hello Ron,
My opinion goes to the block heater.But anyone is better than none at all.I keep my tractor up in Delaware County too.
The garage is not heated and last year with tempertures below zero I had no problem with start ups.This summer I did install a block heater just in case I have a problem.For your information I'm in Downsvile N.Y.Between Rosco & Walton.