Farm tractors hard starting in this cold

[PaintearthCounty]

How are all the farmers on AO making out with this wicked cold, in getting their loader tractors started for feeding cows , hopefully not too many problems

[4thredneck]

Funny thing with farmers is they are usually prepared. This isn’t anything out of the ordinary weather wise as much as the media would like you to believe.

[PaintearthCounty]

Originally Posted by 4thredneck

Funny thing with farmers is they are usually prepared. This isn’t anything out of the ordinary weather wise as much as the media would like you to believe.

l

That’s true, just wondering if certain makes of tractors are giving issues starting , most farmers have a heated shop so a huge help

[W921]

Our cows got a weeks worth of round bales before it got cold. Self serve for them. Tomorrow I will have to feed again but it will be with the bale truck.
Yesterday was fun hauling water! Had to bring the truck batteries in the house to thaw out. Propane heater under oil pan for 6 hours with small bales of straw around truck to keep wind out.
Horses are cranky and blame me for cold weather.

[mac1983]

Block heater, magnetic pan heater on engine oil pan and one on the hydraulic oil tank good to go.

[Drewski Canuck]

Originally Posted by mac1983

Block heater, magnetic pan heater on engine oil pan and one on the hydraulic oil tank good to go.

That, and a can of starting fluid, a Tiger Torch, and a prayer that the GD batteries are not frozen!!!

Problem is alot of modern diesels have in line heaters on the air intake and you cannot use starting fluid. Then there is the belief that starting fluid will "blow off" the tips of glow plugs where the engine has them in the cylinder head.

Great fun at these temps.

Propane is a "liquid" at - 40C. In other words, for the Tiger Torch to work, you have to take the propane tank inside somewhere warm to get the propane to flow as a gas.

Then when the tank cools back down, or the tank drops in volume to 2/3 to 1/2, it won't flow again!

I have a couple of batteries in a Dodge that are now sketchy, and will not turn over. Glow "heater" in the air intake of the 6.7 is hard on the batteries.

I will get the tarps out this evening, and see if I can get the truck to warm up with a fresh tank of propane, a tiger torch, and alot of prayers.

Love this weather.

Drewski

[mac1983]

Originally Posted by Drewski Canuck

That, and a can of starting fluid, a Tiger Torch, and a prayer that the GD batteries are not frozen!!!

Problem is alot of modern diesels have in line heaters on the air intake and you cannot use starting fluid. Then there is the belief that starting fluid will "blow off" the tips of glow plugs where the engine has them in the cylinder head.

Great fun at these temps.

Propane is a "liquid" at - 40C. In other words, for the Tiger Torch to work, you have to take the propane tank inside somewhere warm to get the propane to flow as a gas.

Then when the tank cools back down, or the tank drops in volume to 2/3 to 1/2, it won't flow again!

I have a couple of batteries in a Dodge that are now sketchy, and will not turn over. Glow "heater" in the air intake of the 6.7 is hard on the batteries.

I will get the tarps out this evening, and see if I can get the truck to warm up with a fresh tank of propane, a tiger torch, and alot of prayers.

Love this weather.

Drewski

Yep, always seem to end up burning myself on the stovepipe, lol...

[cody j]

It’s no fun, but they gotta eat and they need a lot more when it’s like this.

[nebcfarmer]

No problems so far, finally hit -40 here. As stated, it’s all about plugging them in.

[Drewski Canuck]

Growing up my Baby Brother and I spent a lot of time on a farm near Winfield (A Suburb of Hoadley). We would spend time at Christmas, Easter, and in the Summer helping with the cattle.

Always amazed me how tough cattle are, but a wind was their big enemy, and low willow bottoms were the answer for shelter/ That and a lot of straw for bedding.

All the same, a few calves and piglets where brought into the heated porch to be warmed up for a few hours on occasion, or put in with the few dairy cows being milked in the barn.

Jans Magnuson was an incredible man, and I thank him.

Drewski

[Puma]

Circulating block heater, good batteries, magnetic heater on oil pan.

Biggest issue is water. Brand new 1000 watt heater in trough and im chipping through 6 inches of ice.

[Dr. Phil A]

Have them in a heated shop so starting is not an issue. Being outside all day in the wind and the remote hydraulics like the grapple fork get slower and slower.

Been feeding every day and bedding along with it. Just upping the feed so they can compensate for the wind and what not.

That being said I saw a flock of geese at 430 pm on Monday night heading south. Freeze dried goose jerky. Saw another flock on Sunday heading out too. I live in Cental AB so not sure if they were believing the hype around global warming or what...

[amosfella]

I've had a bit of trouble with the farms tractor this cold snap. I'm however thinking that the problem is more to do with the posts being corroded. I got them cleaned up, so we'll see how it spins over in the morning.

I've got battery blankets on the batteries, that has helped a lot. I replaced the block heater this winter, luckily on a warm day. I'm wishing now that I had put in a recirculating one.

I put Cat 0w40 oil ultra low temp oil into it. That's been the biggest help.

[liar]

i keep mine in that 23c garage i was talking about in a previous post good to go anytime .

[mac1983]

Careful with the circulating block heater, it boiled my old cat engine the other day. I guess i will have to upgrade to a thermostat controlled one, or not leave it on so long.

[6.5 shooter]

Instead of ether to start those cranky engines use WD-40 It will not dry out the cylinders like ether.

[Gammaboy]

Originally Posted by 6.5 shooter

Instead of ether to start those cranky engines use WD-40 It will not dry out the cylinders like ether.

The new wd40 uses co2 for a propellant, its not flamable and doesn't replace ether.

[DiabeticKripple]

Originally Posted by 6.5 shooter

Instead of ether to start those cranky engines use WD-40 It will not dry out the cylinders like ether.

Brake clean works too.

We had a hell of a time getting our tractor trailer units running today. Even plugged in, many wouldn’t start. Had to get a frost fighter under the hood for 45 mins to thaw everything out.

[MountainTi]

Originally Posted by Drewski Canuck

Propane is a "liquid" at - 40C. In other words, for the Tiger Torch to work, you have to take the propane tank inside somewhere warm to get the propane to flow as a gas.

Then when the tank cools back down, or the tank drops in volume to 2/3 to 1/2, it won't flow again!

i

The tank should never cool down when you have a tiger torch in your hand...

[ceedub]

My Kubota has started every morning so far, in a cold shop and plugged in. Warm up for 30 minutes before using. Got a small hydraulic oil leak that I didnt have before the cold, but it can wait until it warms up before I see what's going on with it.

Craig

Sent from my SM-A505W using Tapatalk

[Reeves1]

[Drewski Canuck]

Originally Posted by MountainTi

The tank should never cool down when you have a tiger torch in your hand...

Why do I get the strange feeling that you are a future member of the

"HOLD MY BEER AND WATCH THIS ...." Club???

This is sort of the Canadian version of that movie scene where the male fashion models where having a gasoline fight at a gas station, and then lit a cigar to celebrate (a Tragic FREAK Gasoline Fight Accident)

Drewski

[Giles]

If your a farmer in Alberta that needs to feed cows ,investing into a heated shop / barn will pay for itself in the long run when weather like this hits. Just having the place to park the tractor in on the really cold days is so nice to have and is easier on the expensive equipment you are trying to protect . I'm so thankful to have a heated shop big enough to park in . If I didn't have one and had cows I would be making plans for the near future to get on built cause you will thank your self in the long run .

[hayseed]

Originally Posted by Drewski Canuck

Growing up my Baby Brother and I spent a lot of time on a farm near Winfield (A Suburb of Hoadley). We would spend time at Christmas, Easter, and in the Summer helping with the cattle.

Always amazed me how tough cattle are, but a wind was their big enemy, and low willow bottoms were the answer for shelter/ That and a lot of straw for bedding.

All the same, a few calves and piglets where brought into the heated porch to be warmed up for a few hours on occasion, or put in with the few dairy cows being milked in the barn.

Jans Magnuson was an incredible man, and I thank him.

Drewski

Grew up in Breton I did, knew The Magnuson family fairly well.
They all were a great bunch.

[Puma]

Originally Posted by mac1983

Careful with the circulating block heater, it boiled my old cat engine the other day. I guess i will have to upgrade to a thermostat controlled one, or not leave it on so long.

What does "boiled my old cat engine " mean ?

At 1000 watts of heat and the mass of a diesel engine filled with coolant, how ever do you do damage ?

[Big Grey Wolf]

Only way to start tractor in -40oC is good battery, block heater and can of ether! It will go! However heated shop is best.

[mac1983]

Originally Posted by Puma

What does "boiled my old cat engine " mean ?

At 1000 watts of heat and the mass of a diesel engine filled with coolant, how ever do you do damage ?

It is an old circ heater that's always on when plugged in. Boiled means the heater got the coolant hot enough that it boiled out the rad cap. No damage was done.

[4thredneck]

Originally Posted by Drewski Canuck

That, and a can of starting fluid, a Tiger Torch, and a prayer that the GD batteries are not frozen!!!

Problem is alot of modern diesels have in line heaters on the air intake and you cannot use starting fluid. Then there is the belief that starting fluid will "blow off" the tips of glow plugs where the engine has them in the cylinder head.

Great fun at these temps.

Propane is a "liquid" at - 40C. In other words, for the Tiger Torch to work, you have to take the propane tank inside somewhere warm to get the propane to flow as a gas.

Then when the tank cools back down, or the tank drops in volume to 2/3 to 1/2, it won't flow again!

I have a couple of batteries in a Dodge that are now sketchy, and will not turn over. Glow "heater" in the air intake of the 6.7 is hard on the batteries.

I will get the tarps out this evening, and see if I can get the truck to warm up with a fresh tank of propane, a tiger torch, and alot of prayers.

Love this weather.

Drewski

I’m pretty sure you’re wrong on the propane. People that haul and use propane would probably disagree with you as well.

[amosfella]

So, in the last week, I've made a few adjustments to the tractor to get it starting better in the cold.

First off, I cleaned all the battery connections including the one to the starter and ground on the frame. All of them had a bit of corrosion. Sprayed them with dielectric grease to hopefully slow down corrosion. Tractor is starting better now.

Second, hydraulic oil was replaced with Cat 0W20 multigrade hydraulic oil. Stuff runs like water at room temps. It's pretty fluid at -30. The 30 weight stuff we were using before was like molasses in the cold. Hard on the pump, hoses, and seals. Also changed the filters.

Third, a recirculating block heater was purchased (but not installed yet). That's likely this week. Still have to read a bit more about that.

This is on top of changing the engine oil to a 0W40 oil.

While I technically have access to a heated shop, it's so full of dad's half finished projects that one can hardly walk in there. And if he didn't insist hat he was going to finish every one of those projects, a lot of them would have been cut up, what was usable saved, and the rest going to the scrap yard. Unfortunately, I'm not in charge....

[urban rednek]

It might be hard starting in the cold, but how does it sound?