Rotella for cold climate Winter use

[3930dave]

I use Rotella T5 10W-30 year round. It is a good balance of price and quality. About the only thing I buy at Wally World.

That 10W30 seems like good value - I started this thread in part to highlight the product to other budget minded folks....

Good feedback Tom, thanks. What kind of low temperatures do you start your diesels in, w/o plugging them in; and what are your worst-case Winter low temps ?

Rgds, D.

 

[5030]

I use Rotella T5 10W-30 year round. It is a good balance of price and quality. About the only thing I buy at Wally World.

Menards is cheaper that WW.

 

[3930dave]

Not specified what you are using the oil in, but it really doesn't matter if you have an oil pan heater. I use them on all my tractors and such that have to sit i the cold. The oil flows just fine, like a warm summer day, and has been stated by Gary, the oil is going to be whatever the spec is, 30w or 40w, at the operating temp of the engine. The oil pan heaters are truly great. They not only keep the oil at around 70F, the heat from that rises into the lower block and helps starting. And they are relatively inexpensive and last the life of the vehicle and don't use a lot of juice to operate. I got sold on them in Alaska when I lived there, and still use them in Iowa during the winter.

This brand isn't the only game in town, but it is a good starting point to see what if available....

Wolverine Heaters - The Most Trusted Engine Oil Heater For Cold-Weather Starts

That's a great link CuHead, thanks. In the distant past, I've used lower wattage versions of those type of pads in other applications (keeping LCD displays alive, in Northern Canada), but hadn't thought to go looking for high wattage ones....

The 10W30 I'm considering would be used in my 7.3L Econoline. The factory block heater does a good job, as it's 900watts at least.

I'll keep those Wolverine pads in mind for my 3930, as they would likely have better heat transfer performance than the mag-mount heater I currently use. Removing paint is a big factor, the rest is the thermal characteristics of the adhesive.

There are some industrial epoxies that have good thermal transfer characteristics, which I could use to cement a mag heater in place; but that seems wrong for a few reasons..... In contrast, I like the thin profile of these Wolverine pads.

If I used a Wolverine pad on a road going vehicle, I'd make a point to often recheck the silicone bead edge seal you have to apply..... with the brine used on the roads around here, oil pans rust out pretty fast, even if you don't intentionally remove paint.

Wolverine lists some pads for ribbed pan applications..... it would be interesting to know how they make that work well....

Rgds, D.

 

[bp fick]

Up here, where it is brutally cold in the winter, if your Kubota dealer does the oil change, you get Kubota dino 10w-30 for year around. No big deal.

Extrapolating that the T-5 Rotella 10w-30, semi, is just fine. I used it during many winters. No issues, but then, I tend to pre-heat the engine anyhow, using the block heater I have now. I used to have a magnetic, oil pan heater but other than sucking electricity, I don't see it having done an awful lot.

 

[3930dave]

Up here, where it is brutally cold in the winter, if your Kubota dealer does the oil change, you get Kubota dino 10w-30 for year around. No big deal.

Extrapolating that the T-5 Rotella 10w-30, semi, is just fine. I used it during many winters. No issues, but then, I tend to pre-heat the engine anyhow, using the block heater I have now. I used to have a magnetic, oil pan heater but other than sucking electricity, I don't see it having done an awful lot.

Good data.... UP winters are similar to what I have here.

Short of a big tarp, and a healthy salamander, applying heat externally is a tough go. Immersion block heaters in the water jacket are my personal favourite too.

Rgds, D.