I have had no problems starting and running my current diesel tractor, a TYM or the Kubota I had previously in temps that get into the teens. I have always used seasonal road fuel from a station close to me and add the power service additive. My tractors are kept inside my unheated barn
As many already know in the Northern part of the country a good cold snap is coming in, they are predicting temps well below zero in my neck of the woods. I also expect a good shot of lake effect snow. So there looks like there is going to be some major snow removal to take place and at the same time there will be sub zero weather.
My question is does there come a point where the temps become so low that they interfere with these tractor's diesel engines where they can not be operated properly even if they get started and warmed up???
Al
The two major problems with cold diesel operation are turning the engine over and getting fuel to the injection pump. The physics of the situation is you need more power from the battery with a cold diesel at the same time that the battery output is down due to temperture. Enter the block heater. It warms the coolant and subsequently the cylinder liners and that reduce the starting requirements substantially.
The issues with fuel are water contamination at temperatures below freezing and fuel gelling at temperatures lower than ~-30F ish. Water contanimantion can freeze at the tank outlet, in the water separator and on the fuel filters shuting off the fuel.
To deal with this, keep the tank full, change your fuel filters before late fall or before any predicted cold snap, add something like PS White to the fuel to help disperse the water so the filter can take it out, drain the water separator and the ful filter before and after every use, and keep a spare filter handy. The fuel additive will keep the water in suspension so the filter can take it out and f some time it'll freeze on the filter. Then you replace the filter. That's a lot easier than dealing with a frozen tank outlet. You can still freeze a filter if your fuel is really contaminated with water in real cold temperatures so you really have to focus on having "dry" fuel.
Our friends in the great white north have to deal with fuel gelling as do the people in the really cold spots of the US. Fuel gelling is the waxes in the fuel (that provide energy in the combustion chamber) begin to percipitate out at temperatures around -30F plus or minus. .They can clog the tank outlet screens and fuel filters with a wax type coating. I mix 1 part of #1 diesel with 2 parts of #2 diesel to reduce this possibility and use PS White per the label to help disperse waterand to lower the pour point.
Once you get the tractor started and can keep the fuel flowing, the problem becomes one of getting the hydraulics warmed up which I do my alloewing the hydraulic pump shear the fluid down and then i drive it around so the rear axle can help.
In really cold weather, you might have to use lower vis lube oil and hydraulic fluid and your coolant has to be mixed for lower temperatures. There's nothing per se about the diesel that says it won't operate at really cold temps you just have to deal with the problems mentioned above.
