New owner. Deutz-Fahr!

[shui5612]

Hello guys, I ended up deciding and getting an almost new tractor (200h on clock) this summer. A Deutz-Fahr Agroplus 430. I absolutely love it, starts at -20C without being plugged in. Beast of a machine.

I was wondering if anyone here knows if there's anything to watch out for?
And does your tractors temperature gauge always read in the middle? Like a cars gauge? Or does it simply move around in the operating range ? Mine basically hovers between 1/4 (under 1/4 it's cold) and 1/2 but never stays at 1/2 like a car does. Being somewhat new to tractors I'm unsure if I need to buy a "grille/hood blanket" or simply leave it as is.

On a side note, I was on the market for a utility sized tractor but unfortunately they were all priced the same or MORE than a full "agricultural" machine. And I simply couldn't resist.

Cheers,
Ian

 

[DeutzFahr85]

Congratulations. You won't regret it.

 

[JLinder]

You will love that tractor. We recently sold this Agrofarm 420 with a Quick loader. One of my favorite tractors we've ever sold.

 

[shui5612]

Mine has the Stoll loader with a hydraulic exit, sunroof option, power shuttle 40-40. 3hyd exits. 540 and 1000 rpm pto with the ECO gearbox.

I also have a small yanmar sc 2450 tlb.

Couldn't find one machine to do what I wanted so I decided to get two and ruin the lawn even more hahaha

Cheers

 

[wmonroe]

Very nice.

 

[daugen]

Both of those tractors look good.
Are these conventional diesels or aircooled as in the past?
air cooling makes sense to me when you have the room to do it, and a tractor usually has
plenty of engine room space.

If I lived in Canada, I'd plug that diesel in anytime it got below freezing.
diesels love to be warm... and gets oil where it needs to be I believe a little faster.
I had some old Detroits that just loved their warmers. Like diesel pacifiers...
Modern synthetic oils down to 0W make it much different than 50 years ago though.
Didn't the Russians build wood fires under their tractors?

And a sunroof too. Pretty deluxe tractor. Congrats!

 

[shui5612]

These are conventional diesels now,

The smaller ones are made by SAME (Sar-mey is the pronunciation apparently) but starting from the agrofarm range, they are still made by deutz and the whole tractor is made in germany.
(Specs are 4L 4 cyl, turbocharged with intercooler. Develops 110 hp at in the 1700 to 2100 rpm).

I had a 1986 deutz allis 7085 (air cooled, 85hp pto) prior to this as a loaner to see if this size would fit in my yard, etc. And it was air-cooled. Until -5C it started right up. And at -10 took some cranking. While at -20 it took a small shot of brake cleaner. That thing had 10 000h on the engine, nothing to warm the engine up, no glow plugs, nothing.


Ironically these new Deutz dont have glow plugs either. Instead they have a big mesh that heats up the air intake and diesel.

 

[coldsteelva]

The Cummins diesels use the grid heater in place of coventional glow plugs too.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

A grid heater is a big improvement over glow plugs...

A HOT heat gun aimed at the intake of a diesel is a good "cold weather starting" helper, in extreme cold too.

SR

 

[daugen]

I almost bought a too large tractor because I thought a buddy seat would be cool to have, take kids on rides, wife
come along. Turned out just too large for my uses, and using in the woods. Though I really could use much more FEL lift.
I personally think my Kubota is a bit wimpy on the lift, but then my L is like a 4720 JD, not a 5 series.
And I should have bought an M Kubota...

You should have plenty of FEL lift with that tractor. When you go to pick up a stump or big tree trunk, you will smile when
it all just lifts up nicely.
Your Deutz 110hp relates to a JD 5 series or a heavier
6 series? More like a new Kubota model 5 perhaps? Sometimes those big tires, which I love, can make the tractor look bigger than it is. Euro tractors always seem to use wider flotation tires, preferring jumbo singles over duals. I'm sure there's a good reason. Deutz is competing against Fendt, like Mercedes and BMW, though maybe they are all owned by Agco now. Not much isn't.

You Canadians see more interesting Euro machinery than we do down here. You have to have a support network to sell these things and interesting the Germans have not pushed their tractors much at all in the US. Anyone know why?

Now I could say I have a Lamborghini and a Porsche in my garage, and they wouldn't have to be cars either. Some cool old Euro tractors out there.

If you can stay off the lawn usually, weight is your friend.