Post Emissions tractors

[piper184]

Just a little north and west of Slowpoke Jim and I can confirm his description of our winters. I have a 2006 Jinma 284 and have plowed snow when it was blowing 30+ MPH and -22F. (neighbors plow broke down so I bailed him out). There were times when the hydraulic fluid would get so cold I could barely raise the loader. The wind blowing on the exposed cylinders was extracting head faster than the poor little pump could inject it. Sure glad I had a geared transmission that day!

Pre-T4 and with a coolant heater (1000W tank heater) and proper use of the glow plugs the little beast will start as long as the battery is good and the starter is well maintained. One time I had to run the knipco at the starter under a tarp to get it warm enough to turn over.

Anyway, with no emissions stuff at all, my tractor has never had an engine start or run issue except when the thermostat failed in such a way that it opened at way too low of a temp. I replaced the 180F with a 195F and it helped warm up times and the exhaust does not smoke as much as it did when the engine never got warm enough. That poor tractor sits for weeks sometimes between use and sometimes it gets abused a little but has always been maintained (by me) and I can rely on it with no worries. Emissions stuff probably helps air quality in some places but out here we have air that hasn't been breathed yet! I am grateful to not have yet another system to learn and maintain.

The neighbor mentioned above bought a 50 (ish) HP Branson and has about worn out my trailer hauling it back and forth to the dealer. Well, that was until the dealer went belly up, now he just wants me to fix his issues....

 

[ljjhouser]

Just a little north and west of Slowpoke Jim and I can confirm his description of our winters. I have a 2006 Jinma 284 and have plowed snow when it was blowing 30+ MPH and -22F. (neighbors plow broke down so I bailed him out). There were times when the hydraulic fluid would get so cold I could barely raise the loader. The wind blowing on the exposed cylinders was extracting head faster than the poor little pump could inject it. Sure glad I had a geared transmission that day!

Pre-T4 and with a coolant heater (1000W tank heater) and proper use of the glow plugs the little beast will start as long as the battery is good and the starter is well maintained. One time I had to run the knipco at the starter under a tarp to get it warm enough to turn over.

Anyway, with no emissions stuff at all, my tractor has never had an engine start or run issue except when the thermostat failed in such a way that it opened at way too low of a temp. I replaced the 180F with a 195F and it helped warm up times and the exhaust does not smoke as much as it did when the engine never got warm enough. That poor tractor sits for weeks sometimes between use and sometimes it gets abused a little but has always been maintained (by me) and I can rely on it with no worries. Emissions stuff probably helps air quality in some places but out here we have air that hasn't been breathed yet! I am grateful to not have yet another system to learn and maintain.

The neighbor mentioned above bought a 50 (ish) HP Branson and has about worn out my trailer hauling it back and forth to the dealer. Well, that was until the dealer went belly up, now he just wants me to fix his issues....

Interesting description. That was the missing link - where - ND. That is cold. Sorry to hear about you neighbor. Sounds like he may wind up trading or selling to change brands or machines (hopefully while the tractor is fixed). It is really bad when the dealer goes out. Makes you feel abandoned. Best wishes, Larry

 

[daugen]

At one point I had three diesel tractors and it was interesting to see how the different engines worked.
The older tier 2 engines put out some black smoke on starting but otherwise ran fairly clean but smelly. All engines were 27hp and more.
Tier 3 engine was much less stinky and I could tell the difference on the early Tier IV I had.

I also read that using DEF allowed
the manufacturer to tune the engine for slightly more power. Heresay but what I read.
I've also owned a Farmall Super A that put out a steady stream of light smoke all the way down the potato rows.
Now I expected that driving an antique gas tractor but modern diesels have been pretty clean for a long time.
And so are cars unless you get behind an old MB 240D.

I've put DEF in my Cummins Ram and in my last Massey 70hp tractor. Both ran flawlessly.
I think the issue is more fuel contamination and the inability of common rail fuel injection to handle anything but
pure fuel. I ran both a sediment and water filter on my farm diesel tank and never had any problems at all.

One thing I learned from having diesels in a boat, they sure love preheaters and oil/coolant warmers. Warm the engine up a bit
and they sure seem happier starting. The clatter of a very cold diesel makes me cringe...

New tractors have a lot of features we want that just aren't on some of the old machines,like hydrostatic, cruise control, etc.
I want features, performance and reliability, anything else is a bonus.

I can imagine pulling back into the barn and having the tractor lock into regen when you just want to shut it down and go in and take shower...that might be annoying.

If you had to pick the one emissions tier to avoid, what would it be? Tier 5 I know...