grm61
Platinum Member
Eric, Ive been thinking about your concerns with the warm up on you NX series tractor
Your a smart guy and very determined..
So take whatever you want of this, if any, of this and put in your think tank.
I'd like to share some of observations of my DK45 in cold weather.
Some things to ponder...My tractor for instance....is 2.2 liters in displacement, it holds 8 quarts of ice cold oil....a 7.4 or 8.1 liter big block chev gas pot holds 7.5 quarts .....over three times the displacent.... and gas...holding less oil than the little tractor motor.... d.That is a lot of oil to warm up for a small displacement diesel motor with aluminum oil pan dissipating heat rapidly with the engine fan blowing cold air accross it./B]. on top of that diesels run cool.
The tractor is not going to make any heat at dead idle when it's cold out.
I'm sure you probably have a point and shoot infrared thermometer...take some reading on your oil pan.
I fired my tractor up last winter at O degrees F, the reading on the oil pan was +1F, after 15 to 20 minutes of running approx. the coolant temp had reached normal operating temp..needle was between the dots...the oil temp was up to 27 degrees F:shocked: It takes quite a while when it is cold out for these little motors to heat all that oil and coolant, and cold cast iron...also remember diesels run cold, yours should do slightly better with the oil being pumped through the turbo.
.
When you were talking about your coolant leak...you referred to the block heater as a heater core...probably just a mix up in terms....
FWIW, the heater core, (think small radiator) is in your roof, the coolant lines you will see going up through the cab frame to the top, the heater fan blows cold air across this also....I/m sure you probably know this, but just throwing it out there to not leave anything out.
I know your tractor has auto throttle, and I don't know if you can turn it off??
Things I noticed on my 45...when COLD out...I fire my tractor up At idle, after a couple minutes I bump it up to 1250 to 1300 let it run for 7 minutes or so then bump it up 1450 to 1500..a few minutes after that the coolant temp it up between the dots.
If I do that same procedure, and turn the heat on (think water valve) and turn the heater fan on it will barely come off cold during that time....So I don't turn the heat temp up (water valve) until I have heat in the motor... If I do things in this order it will warm up fine...but not at idle, I follow this routine in the summer as well, takes less time though, When it is real cold I will run it for twenty minutes or so before I use it, lots of cold iron and oil to get warmed up, I run the pto as well to help warm the hyd oil.
When I'm clearing snow and need to get off the tractor for a while I leave it run about 1400 to1500 with the heater blowing and it will stay up at normal, if I knock it back to idle it will slowly cool down.
For me, not a big deal to modify my driving style a little in the winter, these thing are made to work hard in all seasons.
You will figure out this winter what works for you, hope maybe some of this might help.
Good luck
My tractor also has a aluminum oil pan that dissipates heat very well, the engine fan also moves a lot of air that aids in the cooling effect of the oil as well.
Your a smart guy and very determined..
So take whatever you want of this, if any, of this and put in your think tank.
I'd like to share some of observations of my DK45 in cold weather.
Some things to ponder...My tractor for instance....is 2.2 liters in displacement, it holds 8 quarts of ice cold oil....a 7.4 or 8.1 liter big block chev gas pot holds 7.5 quarts .....over three times the displacent.... and gas...holding less oil than the little tractor motor.... d.That is a lot of oil to warm up for a small displacement diesel motor with aluminum oil pan dissipating heat rapidly with the engine fan blowing cold air accross it./B]. on top of that diesels run cool.
The tractor is not going to make any heat at dead idle when it's cold out.
I'm sure you probably have a point and shoot infrared thermometer...take some reading on your oil pan.
I fired my tractor up last winter at O degrees F, the reading on the oil pan was +1F, after 15 to 20 minutes of running approx. the coolant temp had reached normal operating temp..needle was between the dots...the oil temp was up to 27 degrees F:shocked: It takes quite a while when it is cold out for these little motors to heat all that oil and coolant, and cold cast iron...also remember diesels run cold, yours should do slightly better with the oil being pumped through the turbo.
.
When you were talking about your coolant leak...you referred to the block heater as a heater core...probably just a mix up in terms....
FWIW, the heater core, (think small radiator) is in your roof, the coolant lines you will see going up through the cab frame to the top, the heater fan blows cold air across this also....I/m sure you probably know this, but just throwing it out there to not leave anything out.
I know your tractor has auto throttle, and I don't know if you can turn it off??
Things I noticed on my 45...when COLD out...I fire my tractor up At idle, after a couple minutes I bump it up to 1250 to 1300 let it run for 7 minutes or so then bump it up 1450 to 1500..a few minutes after that the coolant temp it up between the dots.
If I do that same procedure, and turn the heat on (think water valve) and turn the heater fan on it will barely come off cold during that time....So I don't turn the heat temp up (water valve) until I have heat in the motor... If I do things in this order it will warm up fine...but not at idle, I follow this routine in the summer as well, takes less time though, When it is real cold I will run it for twenty minutes or so before I use it, lots of cold iron and oil to get warmed up, I run the pto as well to help warm the hyd oil.
When I'm clearing snow and need to get off the tractor for a while I leave it run about 1400 to1500 with the heater blowing and it will stay up at normal, if I knock it back to idle it will slowly cool down.
For me, not a big deal to modify my driving style a little in the winter, these thing are made to work hard in all seasons.
You will figure out this winter what works for you, hope maybe some of this might help.
Good luck
My tractor also has a aluminum oil pan that dissipates heat very well, the engine fan also moves a lot of air that aids in the cooling effect of the oil as well.