Mowing Removing Chaff From Tractor Radiator

[JakeBrake]

I'm working on my final bush hogging of the year after frost has killed the weeds. This year the rag weed (?) chaff is awful. The weeds are 4' to 6' tall with the chaff heads at the top by the air intake.

My Kubota L3830 has a digital temperature gauge. Normal operating temperature is four bars. When the radiator is clean the tractor will operate all day at PTO speed in 95 degree F heat without a problem.

After hours of operation the radiator screen will clog and I will have five bars. So, I clean off the radiator screen and brush off the radiator. The temperature gauge will go down to four bars for a while, but then it goes up to five bars again.

The effect is cumulative. Despite the radiator screen the radiator will become clogged. So my "normal" temperature will be five bars with six bars coming up eventually. I don't let it go any further than that. When I'm through with this year's bush hogging, I will tow the tractor 40 miles to my house and thoroughly wash it down with normal water pressure when the tractor is stone cold.

My question is. How would a gas powered leaf blower work to blow the chaff out of the rear of the radiator in the field? Has anyone tried that? I would get a gas leaf blower small enough to carry on my tractor. The blower would also be handy to blow the chaff off the bush hog and tractor. Chaff will be 6" deep on the bush hog.

Does anyone have a better suggestion?

Thanks.

 

[Utopia Texas]

If this is your property cut it earlier next year when the weeds are lower. Otherwise you may need to make your own pre-screen to clip in front of the radiator though you might have to brush it off a few times a hour. A clogged radiator can cause many problems and could be costly so the trouble of brushing off a pre-screen might not be so bad after all.

 

[jeff9366]

I use an inexpensive "pancake" air compressor to blow air through the radiator, from inside to outside, after 'hogging. I also use compressed air, not water, to "wash" the tractor.

 

[855atty]

+1 on the compressed air!!

 

[Wolfy]

The air compressor won't help much if you were in a field though. I think a gasoline leaf blower would work well. A tank of fuel would probably last all day.

 

[Thomas]

For on the job site blower good idea,you may want to blower out air filter also cover air filter intake.

 

[RoyJackson]

The air compressor won't help much if you were in a field though. I think a gasoline leaf blower would work well. A tank of fuel would probably last all day.

I keep a small brush in the tractor's storage compartment.
To make the brush most efficient, buy a 2 or 3 inch paint brush and cut the bristles down to about an inch. Then the bristles are stiff enough to do a good job removing the chaff from the grill and radiator.
As others wrote...compressed air works great, but as you wrote...no source of compressed air in the field.

I'm sure most of you know to not shut the engine down when it gets hot...this may be in your operator's manual (it is in Deere manuals). And if the engine stalls, restart it immediately. A hot engine shut down is basically a heat sink for that hot coolant...not good.
Another thing, if you have a cab tractor with air conditioning, turn the AC off...better you sweat then a busted tractor.
AND, another thing...with an open station tractor (or a cab tractor with the doors off or windows open), you're breathining in the same stuff that's clogging the grills. Might want to consider a mask of some sort.

 

[JakeBrake]

Thanks for the replies. I forgot to mention that I don't have a convenient source of A/C power. The A/C compressors I've seen use A/C power. So I'm back to towing the tractor 40 miles to my house. I have a generator that I haul on my truck, but that's not too convenient either.

 

[Wolfy]

Roy your posts always are full of info. Im going to have to try that sawed off paint brush trick.

 

[Papasmirf]

Measure the size of the screen. Go to your local air conditioning supply house, cause they're a lot cheaper than the Lowes and HD, buy the standard filter the size you need, 1" thick. Install in front if screen and when it's dirty throw it away, clean the screen and radiator and put another filter in. Works well for me.

 

[Hill Farmer]

I use a leaf blower regularly when I mow. Works great for cleaning off the bush hog and will blow a lot of the junk off the radiator. Blowing the dust off the windows helps too.

The best way to clean the radiator is compressed air and a long wand with a sharp bend in the end. Let's you get behind it and blow the junk straight back out. Hard to do in the field though, unless you carry a compressor and generator.

 

[chim]

I use a leaf blower regularly when I mow. Works great for cleaning off the bush hog and will blow a lot of the junk off the radiator. Blowing the dust off the windows helps too.

The best way to clean the radiator is compressed air and a long wand with a sharp bend in the end. Let's you get behind it and blow the junk straight back out. Hard to do in the field though, unless you carry a compressor and generator.

10-4 on that. To blow the air where I wanted it I made an extension for the blowgun. It's a simple piece of 1/4" copper like you'd use for an icemaker. The end is smashed shut, and about an inch from the end I made a cut a little less than 1/2 way through with a hack saw to create a slot in the side. The copper bends so it can be snaked around the fan blade and reach almost all parts of the radiator.

 

[C4Ranch]

For remote air, get yourself a small co2 bottle and fill at a welding shop. Nothin beats air for cleaning out the corners of the rad. You can also use for tires and air tools. You'd be amazed at how much air comes out a small tank. I pieced mine together back when I was 4wheelin. They make great kits ready to go but can be pricy. Do a search on powertank

HTH

 

[Coyote machine]

You could have a portable compressed air tank on the tractor, to use sparingly a couple of times a day to blow out the rad, when the chaff gets to be too much.

 

[Degolyerent]

I carry a brush in tractor toolbox and a hand held gas blower in the truck. I stop every so often and brush it off and when I am taking a break or having lunch I use the blower at the truck and I use it for air filter also.
John

 

[TripleR]

I use a combination of brush and leaf blower for in field clean outs, works fine. When I am near a shop, I use compressed air with a want with curved end or side ports.

Sometimes I can't mow for a full hour before a clean out.

 

[dieselcrawler]

Mine gets a mask like that too... looks like my tractor grew a beard. Yours looks like a superhero mask... 'I am tractor man!'

I do my best to just keep the grill clear by hand one an hour or so and air hose when I get back to the barn. The gas leaf blower might work if you can get a flexible end of the hose to get behind the rad to blow chaff back out the way it came in. Anything is better than nothing... even if its just a few minutes at idle to cool then hand cleaning with the brush idea once you shut it down for a few minutes. Gives your ears a break from the ear plugs too....

 

[stuckmotor]

My grandfather used to fasten an old piece of screen wire like used in a window around the grill of his tractor to keep put the chaff.

 

[EMB5530]

Measure the size of the screen. Go to your local air conditioning supply house, cause they're a lot cheaper than the Lowes and HD, buy the standard filter the size you need, 1" thick. Install in front if screen and when it's dirty throw it away, clean the screen and radiator and put another filter in. Works well for me.

That's a darn good idea. I like it.:thumbsup:

Heck, you could even use the washable blue furnace screens if you are a tightwad like me

 

[jimainiac]

I have a Kubota L3830 also, and depending on the conditions, have to stop every so often to remove the chaf. I carry a thin brush that was a cheapie snow and ice scraper. it's thin enough to get in around the front of the radiator. Between that and pulling out the pre-screen and brushing it and the grill off, I'm Okay. But if you have even worse dust and chaf, nothing wrong with blowing it out with the leaf blower, too.
I'd be leery of putting an air filter in front of the radiator as some have suggested, for fear of restricting the air flow - I don't think the air going through the radiator has to be that clean.