L4200 block heater.

[Luath]

Hi Guys,

I've discovered an old block heater (no cables) on the tractor and as I'm taking the machine to Manitoba I felt it would be prudent to replace it. The hex nut is some 28mm and the replacement is 17 mm. Is there liable to be a problem with the actual fitting? I assume it's best to replace but I did wonder about leaving the old heater and using a new cable (if it fits) but I was unsure as to how to test the heater. Do I need to drain anything before removing the heater. The heater is located in a frost plug? at the level of the starter motor and the oil filler cap.

Any advice gratefully received.
Dave.

 

[Fallon]

Plug it in to a gfci outlet with a good breaker & see if either pops. If not, come back in 20 minutes & see if things are warm.

If breakers & gfci don't pop & it puts out heat, why change it?

 

[Luath]

Hi Fallon,

Pardon my ignorance, I'm from the UK and I'm not familiar with the meaning of gfci outlet. Perhaps a word of explanation?

Many thanks,
Dave.

 

[zoltanthegypsy]

GFCI - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[varmint]

Or, stick a volt-ohm meter across its terminals. An open circuit- no voltage flow, means... it's shot. Some resistance is good. No resistance to voltage flow means it's shorted out- shot. At least I think that's correct. Maybe someone with more experience will offer better advice?

 

[Fallon]

Or, stick a volt-ohm meter across its terminals. An open circuit- no voltage flow, means... it's shot. Some resistance is good. No resistance to voltage flow means it's shorted out- shot. At least I think that's correct. Maybe someone with more experience will offer better advice?

Pretty much. How to test water heater element talks about water heaters, but is otherwise right on. A block heater will be much lower wattage, so have a much higher resistance. Maybe a couple hundred ohms id guess.

Somebody else already answered the GFCI... Safety device to prevent current leaking to ground, required on all outside & potentially wet locations by US code. Id imagine the UK is similar. Its been a couple decades since I lived there though. Not strictly required, but a good idea.