Heat lamp for cold nights?

[Youare]

Some where I heard of rubberized magnetic heat blankets attached to the transmission to warm the oil and metal parts. I have used these type of heat blankets that wrap around drums to heat the contents at work and they really warm things up. However they are not inexpensive.

I wonder if an engine dipstick type heated inserted into the transmission fill hole would help to heat the hydraulic oil? I would be concerned that too much heat from an element could affect the oil. Mositure in the hydraulic oil can be a problem. I used to help a friend get coal with my pickup. The store had an old 1710 Ford tractor for loading the coal. Several times he would need coal in January on a 10 degree, or colder morning. The tractor was left outside under a trap, we usually got it started but once there was enough mositure in the hydraulic oil to freeze the FEL and 3PH hydraulics until the tractor sat and idled for almost an hour.

I would let my old 8N warm up for about 15 minutes before moving snow with the plow mounted on the loader bucket and never had a problem, I think your's and my Kubota will do just fine with the block heater and a sufficient warm up period.

Randy

 

[cowboydoc]

Bob,
Your main concern is the motor. After you have the motor started the rest will warm up just fine. There is no need to heat your hydraulics as well. Just let the tractor warm up for 5 or 10 minutes and you will be fine.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

http://jdpc.deere.com/pimages/MP95/MP9524_________UN01JAN94.gif
Hydraulic/Transmission Heater for JD4300

http://jdpc.deere.com/pimages/MP40/MP4066_________UN01JAN94.gif

Engine Block Heater for JD4300

...Try starting out with the engine block heater and hydraulic/transmission heater on timers and go from there...

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by Muhammad on 12/05/01 07:39 PM (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[Bob_Trevithick]

Just one more question.. I'd just as soon have the warm up period occur outside if possible. If I were to start it up, let it warm for a minute, then put it in creeper reverse and gently ease it outside of the garage, I could then be putting up the folding ROPS and checking wheel bolt torque, etc., while the warmup continued. Would even this be inadvisable? Should I just let it sit where it is, and then air out the garage by leaving the door open for a while?

Thanks,
Bob

 

[Bob_Trevithick]

Thank you, John.. I didn't even know there was a hydraulic heater available. The dealer has ordered it.. so I will have engine block, trans, and hydraulic heat. Since there is small but non-zero chance that I will trailer this up to Canada at times, I think these are probably well worth the investment.

Anyone got a link to some good timers to use? I have no idea how much current these things will draw..

Appreciate all your help, folks!! Hopefully someday I'll be able to help answer questions instead of just asking them. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Bob

 

[billboe]

Snowman could be right... When I was growing up (Northern NH), we never plugged in, covered, garaged, etc. our equipment. You had to hold the glow plug for a WHILE, but, as long as it had a good battery, everything seemed to start... We only had trouble on the coldest mornings (30-40+below!).

Cars were a different story! Altho, it was hard to beat my old slant six... Plug her in and she would always (almost/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif) start!

Billboe

 

[Anonymous Poster]

<font color=blue>...Anyone got a link to some good timers to use? I have no idea how much current these things will draw...</font color=blue>

Most timers will handle up to 15 amps, so you can buy a cheap simple mechanical timer @ WalMart/Home Depot for $7-8. or splurge for a digital unit for $30.+...

I don't know exactly how many watts each "heater" uses, but on the average is 400-600 watts ea.... so that translates to about 3.5-5.25 amps draw per unit, in essence should be able to power up both the block heater and hydraulic heater with one timer...

 

[snowman]

I start it up and move mine out of the garage to let it warm up. If I didn't, I'd have to open the garage door to air out the fumes, and I'd rather not have snow and cold blowing into the garage as much as I can prevent it.

Just picking up the implements and moving it to a different spot won't hurt anything.

 

[Bob_Trevithick]

Is condensation ever a problem when a tractor or various parts of it are at a higher temperature than surrounding air?

Anyway, I think I'm all set. Got my yellow diesel cans, got some "Power Service", and the dealer is putting on the block and trans/hydraulic heaters before delivery. Now all I need is the tractor! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Bob

 

[MikePA]

My TC25D has a collar that surrounds the fuel filler opening that catches fuel overflow. The collar has a tube attached that runs to the bottom of the engine and exits right above the front of the mmm. The other day, when it was actually cold /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif, I had been using the tractor in the afternoon. When I went out in the garage later in the evening I saw evidence of a dripping fluid in the accumulated dust on the deck. It was a few drops of water that had come from this overflow tube. I double checked to make sure it was not from the radiator.