Kubota L3200 block heater

[Garandman]

I have a Gerbing heated jacket from my motorcycle. I'm wiring it in so I can have some heat. Makes a huge difference: those WWII bomber crews were on to something!

 

[lonegunman]

I have an L-3200, in the winter I park it in the garage or shop. They stay at freezing and a little glow plug fires it right up. We have had about 25 inches of snow so far and the county is big on plowing 3 foot tall, rock hard frozen berms in front of my driveway and mailbox. Before my tractor, it would be shoveling and a snow blower for three hours to remove them, after my tractor it is a 30 minute job to remove everything and it is kind of enjoyable.

My neighbor put a block heater in his 3800 and didn't mention it being too particularly tough.

 

[Chilly807]

I've used a drill and a small slide hammer with a hook attachment to remove frost plugs before, on a Chevy small block. No problems at all. I know the usual way to remove them is by tapping on one side, but I also had concerns about knocking the dam* thing into the water passage.

 

[KyleH]

Like others have mentioned, pretty easy to knock the plugs out, tap on one side and when it flips grab it with some pliers and pull/pry it out. Even if they do fall into the water jacket, it's easy to get them out with pliers and a magnet.

Was -28 deg C here today, tried starting the B2650 and it just wasn't happening no matter how long the glow plugs were on for. Plugged the block heater in for 30 minutes or so and it started just as easy as a warm day. It really does make a huge difference, and would do it more often if there was power in the shed I park it in, but have to run cords from the house for now.

 

[macxr250]

Hi DEK. I very recently installed a block heater in my L3400(01/10/2016). Not a difficult job about half hour. I did drill a few 1/4" holes in freeze plug, after draining coolant, and yes the cylinder wall is close but its cast iron, your not going to hurt it. Do not push hard while drilling, let the drill bit do the work. I drilled 4 holes to "fatigue" the plug and placed a seal puller in the hole to pop out the plug, worked great. No hammers, no getting the plug sideways(there really is not enough room for that), pretty straight forward. red locitie or loctite gasket sealer will work just fine to seal it up. As for actually tapping the block heater fitting into the block, I used a bearing race installer. You could also use a 2x4 about 3" long a be sure to tap it in the center. lightly seating the fitting prior to using the 2x4 would be best. the block heater along with running a good winter grade oil(a hugh important factor) and a fresh battery and away she goes, no "cackling" or hard idling. good luck !

 

[DEK]

Thanks to all for the encouragement and personal experiences in removing frost plugs and installing heaters. It has been real cold for the first part of January, but the last week has been milder. I think I'm going to wait until late spring or summer to install the block heater. I don't want to be fumbling or hurrying because of cold. Meanwhile, I'm keeping my eye out for a used 3 point snowblower, probably 6 foot. I'm hoping that if I take my time I'll find a lightly used one for a good price.