What does your tractor start like in cold weather?

[MapleLeafFarmer]

What product do you use to keep the diesel fuel from gelling?

for me normally if not colder than -30 or so I use nothing.
Regular pump diesel already formulated for winter use is good enough.
Although if colder than this just for insurance I add a little Power Service supplement and cetane Boost which is a winterizer and helps geling when really cold.

I also ALWAYS keep a small glass jar of the winter diesel on my work bench so I can easily see if the fuel is starting to wax up or not.

30+ years in cold weather and never had gelled fuel as I guess the Shell station where I get my fuel does a good job.

 

[buickanddeere]

Mine start like it was a summer day at 0F. A couple of hours block heater operation and they are good to go.

I did have to make an unexpected start at 20F with the JD 1640. No glow plugs, no manifold heater, stone cold. no ether. Destroked the hydraulic pump, set the throttle to 1/2. Thought about the extra ground cable I installed between the battery and starter mounting bolt. Pushed the clutch and she started on the 3rd turn All the smoke and noise scared the daughter's pet miniature donkey. He now brays every time I get on the tractor now.

 

[tractchores]

My '10 Kubota b2920 starts well in all temperatures so far. The coldest has been a few degrees below zero. It needs glow plugs for 5 - 10 seconds and then starts fine with a single puff of black smoke. It'll start without the glow plugs, but definitely is better with them.

 

[Chilly807]

And the sticker from mine, non-turbo, non-egr 3 cylinder '09 model year.. interesting that the timing is the same as member's 4240.



Sean

 

[AceDeuce]

0-5 F is about as cold as it gets here. No block heater. I cycle the glow plugs for about 10 sec and she usually starts on the first or second try. Definitely cranks slower at that temp, even with the highest CCA battery i could find that will fit, and it idles very low for a minute or so before waking up. You can practically count the revolutions for the first 30 sec. Never hasn't started though!

 

[Katahdin]

Can Yanmars play too? Here's mine, the official in-town temperature being reported was -5 F/-20 C. The block read -2 on my infrared gun.

Yanmar LX 4500 Cold Start -5 Degrees - YouTube

I forgot to mention in the video the oil pan is filled with Rotella 10W30. Enjoy!

 

[Dan W]

for me normally if not colder than -30 or so I use nothing.
Regular pump diesel already formulated for winter use is good enough.
Although if colder than this just for insurance I add a little Power Service supplement and cetane Boost which is a winterizer and helps geling when really cold.

I also ALWAYS keep a small glass jar of the winter diesel on my work bench so I can easily see if the fuel is starting to wax up or not.

30+ years in cold weather and never had gelled fuel as I guess the Shell station where I get my fuel does a good job.

Boakley, you remind me of my time (3 years) in three Yukon as a field service tech, trying to get stuff started at -50.
It was -29C in Ottawa last night, still cold this evening but nowhere as cold as you, we get plenty of hot air from parliament hill:thumbsup:
I run Howes fuel conditioner year round in mine. Winter fuel is typically late arriving in my area and I've had issues with fuel gelling. I used Shell too...
Otherwise, an hour of block heater and both tractors start fine, other than the newer one that crashes and bangs a while longer than the older one.

Dan

 

[2458n]

My tractor is old- and it just got older since going to 14. Makes it 35. If it stumbles alittle after starting I was told to go back to the glow plugs while it is running. Takes care of the 15 second sputtering.

 

[Chilly807]

Nice to see some different brands, gives us Kubota guys something to compare with.

I've heard the "glow plugs while running"approach before, and I think it's a good one. If the engine is missing, what can it hurt? I don't have that option without modifying things, my glow plug switch is actually also the ignition switch, you turn the switch back past the "stop" position to turn the glow plugs on. As for an auto-cycle glow plug system, I have mixed feelings on that. My manual says to use longer glow plug cycles in colder temps, which makes sense. I'll check later today to see what is recommended for times and temperatures.

Sean

 

[buickanddeere]

Just because the engine will start with glow plugs in freezing weather. It doesn't mean that ore-heating with a block heater isn't a good idea.
There seems to be the mind set out there not to use a block heater unless the engine won't start without it.
The same people that worry about engine life, running at reduced rpms etc. Yet they are the same ones who run engines with cold cylinder walls and thick lube oil.