Pan Heater?

[AndrewB]

I'm a new, novice PT owner. Fortunately, my 425 showed up before the last two snowstorms here in Iowa -- I've already used it a lot for snow clearing. Although this is may be a bonehead question, I'll ask. I've had a few cold weather starting troubles, mostly with temperatures below 20 F. My tractor is stored in a shed, unheated, but out of the wind. Does anyone have experience with putting an oil pan heater on their PT?

 

[J_J]

I'm a new, novice PT owner. Fortunately, my 425 showed up before the last two snowstorms here in Iowa -- I've already used it a lot for snow clearing. Although this is may be a bonehead question, I'll ask. I've had a few cold weather starting troubles, mostly with temperatures below 20 F. My tractor is stored in a shed, unheated, but out of the wind. Does anyone have experience with putting an oil pan heater on their PT?

Welcome to the PT forum.

You didn't say what engine you have in your 425. I would throw an insulated blanket over the engine compartment and run some kind of heater under the PT. Could be heat lamps, or electric radiant heaters, or propane turbo heaters, etc. Some of the northern PT owners may have a bunch of good ideas.

 

[catsco]

Andrew -

Not sure if I mentioned this in a previous post, but my PT-425 has the Kohler engine which is also hard to start sometimes below 20 degrees, very difficult to start at 10 degrees, and impossible to start at 0 degrees or below.

Since we often see minus 15 degrees or so, I've found that (in my 3-sided shed) putting 1,000 heater under the motor for about 60 to 90 minutes makes it start like it's summertime. That gives me time to shovel the walks, a path to the woodpile, clear the front porch, and warm up with hot chocolate before plowing when it's so cold I should stay inside!

Not terribly convenient, but less effort than installing a permanent heater which has to be plugged in or turned on anyway.

Regards,
Mark H.

 

[AndrewB]

My machine has the Robin engine. I appreciate the suggestion. Thanks.

 

[MossRoad]

Welcome to TBN!

 

[Rip]

Some years ago I made up a 1/8" steel plate to bolt to the bottom of the aluminum engine block of my stand-by generator so I could stick a magnetic heater to it. Works great.

If you do not have room in the engine tub of your 425 to do that, an infrared heat lamp bulb placed next to the engine along with an old blanket or moving pad over the engine cover should do the trick at little cost. A simple timer can be used so the light is only turned on for a few hours or there are plug-in thermostats preset for about 40 deg that could also be used.

 

[SpringHollow]

I use (2) 300 watt magnetic heaters on my PT1850's 20 gallon hydraulic tank and it warms it up to about 50 - 60 degrees when it is 20 degrees out. Lessens the load on the engine since there is no clutch on the pumps.

Ken

 

[AndrewB]

I asked Terry at PT about it today. He suggests that the cold problem is not so much with the Robin gasoline engine, but rather that the hydraulic oil should be warmed, making it easier for the engine to turn over. That might account for Rip, J_J and Castco's success with heating the entire machine. Trying to avoid that whole scheme, I took his advice and purchased a $25 magnetic oil pan heater from the auto store. I'll try it on the hydraulic oil reservoir tonight and let you know how much success I have. I'm a little skeptical however, because, although Terry has so far been excellent help (and has certainly received high praise on this forum), I'm not sure he understands issue of seriously low temperatures -- he thought today's 40 F temperature in Tazewell was pretty darn cold! At my place we have over 2 feet of snow in the last 8 days and haven't been above freezing for weeks. Ah, the joys of winter.

 

[AndrewB]

Thanks ksimolo. We were typing at the same time. We'll see how my system works. Judging from your experience, I may be on the right track but without enough wattage.

 

[RegL]

Andrew -

Not sure if I mentioned this in a previous post, but my PT-425 has the Kohler engine which is also hard to start sometimes below 20 degrees, very difficult to start at 10 degrees, and impossible to start at 0 degrees or below.

Since we often see minus 15 degrees or so, I've found that (in my 3-sided shed) putting 1,000 heater under the motor for about 60 to 90 minutes makes it start like it's summertime. That gives me time to shovel the walks, a path to the woodpile, clear the front porch, and warm up with hot chocolate before plowing when it's so cold I should stay inside!

Not terribly convenient, but less effort than installing a permanent heater which has to be plugged in or turned on anyway.

Regards,
Mark H.

Shovel? For some reason, all my paths end up being the same width as the lm bucket.lol.