Mowing Clearing the radiator of debris

[AlmostThere]

Hi all,

While brush hogging I've been getting plant debris and dust that gets by the screen clogging up the AC condenser and the radiator. I don't have a water outlet or electric at the property, so far I've been clearing it with a brush and canned air. That has helped but it isn't getting it as cleared as I would like. Today the AC was mediocre and the engine tended to run warm despite my attempts to keep it clear so I'm looking for a better way.

I have pond, thought about trying to get some kind of 12V pump to spray it out but I'm not sure I would get enough pressure. I've thought about a portable air tank that I could refill with a 12V air compressor while there. Another thought was a portable hand pump sprayer as is used with herbicide/insecticide applications, but again I'm not sure there would be enough pressure or volume to clear the debris.

I'd love your ideas/experience/suggestions.

Thanks!

 

[bruceatlam]

I use a gas powered leaf blower ---------- works great!!

 

[skipmarcy]

We've been dealing with this on our Mahindra 4110/3510 tractors for over a dozen years on this website. Our radiators have a very tight weave and get clogged easily. Water is not your friend, especially low pressure water, it will just cement the debris in there worse. I always use my compressed air from the back side of the radiator first, then from the front, then backside again and so on until it gets cleared reasonably well. The only way water will work is if you use a pressure washer and then you have to be careful not to bend fins over with the high pressure. The air has worked for me now for 14 years in some pretty serious bushogging. A small portable tank might help some but you really need many minutes of solid air volume to do the job.

 

[franklinute]

Leaf blower is a good idea. I bought a used tractor last month
that had two brackets sticking out in front of the grill. A 5" pipe was
hanging from the brackets. The brackets were bolted to the front axle.
My first thought was that this alerted the driver before he ran over an
obstacle. Then I realized the pipe pushed the grass over just enough to
keep a lot of the grass seeds from getting into the radiator.

 

[Turbys_1700]

All these are good suggestions. I typically use compressed air from the shop. When out in the field I keep a paint brush to sweep the radiator clean. Works well in the field.

 

[oosik]

I use my pressure washer - on VERY LOW setting. Its a cold water washer but I also put my suction tube into a detergent/water mix. The added detergent really helps loosen and remove the dirt/dust/gunk. I don't have to do it that often because I don't do those nasty dust raising activities - such as brush hogging.

I get plugged up enough with the dust/pine pollen & all the other stuff that the wind kicks up around here.

You might want to set up a cleaning station down by your pond. A small gas powered pump with a water hose & nozzle could do wonders cleaning the radiators. I've even seen nozzles with an injector port & suction hose thats designed to dispense liquid fertilizer but I'm sure it would dispense liquid detergent just as well.

 

[AlmostThere]

I use a gas powered leaf blower ---------- works great!!

I like this idea, something I had not thought of.

The idea of a gasoline powered pump by the pond I've considered. I could also use that to clean the tractor and implements.

Thanks everyone for your ideas and input!

 

[RSKY]

If you bush hog you will plug your radiator. There is no way that I know off to prevent it. My little Kioti has a removable screen to catch most of the trash. The bigger old Ford does not. If we wait until October to mow we usually stop after three or four rounds in a twenty acre field to clean em out. Mowing in June/July is not so bad.

Anyway you have to keep one eye on obstructions and the other on the temp gauge while mowing.

RSKY

 

[zmansmac]

I had the same problem when I used to mow with a MMM on my Kubota, especially if the grass was dry. The grill screen, the screen in front of the radiator and even the radiator itself would get clogged and start overheating the engine. The 2 screens were easy enough to clean with your hands, but not the radiator. The best solution I found without going back to my air compressor was to use a draftsman's brush. It looks like a bench brush from the side but it's only about a half inch thick so it gets into the tight space that I needed it to. I have since found a better, albeit more expensive, solution. I now mow with a ZTR.

 

[Turbys_1700]

Is there anything out there that you could spray on and in the radiator to repel dist? Don't know if anyone has tried anything with success or not.

 

[prs]

I have faced this for quite a long time. Brush hog on IH 424, MMM on JD 650, and two seasons now with front mount mower with rear discharge. Used water on the first two, but the radiator would eventually clog with the cement mix of dust, mud and veggie juice. When that happened, I sprayed radiator with hydrogen peroxide and kept it wet with it for about an hour. Then I would rinse it clean with garden hose. I like the detergent idea, but not the pressure washer. Now I use my EGO electric leaf blower.

prs

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

Have any of you ever tried the Radiator Genie? Radiator Genie | High Pressure Air and Water wands for cleaning radiators and condensors

 

[Jkott]

I haven't, but I've made something very similar 10 years ago to wash out atv radiators after mudding.

Take a section of 1/4" copper ice maker line, put a bend in the end, and flatten out the opening so you get a nice fan spray instead of a point. Compression fitting to garden hose, and add a shutoff and you are good.

I made an extra long one for the excavator.

My excavator has hydraulic, air conditioner, and engine radiators all sandwiched together. They were clogged solid. Compressed air got a lot out, but not enough. Water did pretty good, but hitting it with a heavy mix of dawn and water in a spray bottle, let it sit, and then flush with the tool above took all the debris out and it's as clean as new.

 

[rod330]

Have any of you ever tried the Radiator Genie? Radiator Genie | High Pressure Air and Water wands for cleaning radiators and condensors

I've been using the Radiator Genie with my air compressor for my mowing tractors this summer. It works great. For a quick cleaning to get back in the field, I use my Stihl blower but the Genie does a more thorough job if there's sufficient air in my compressor tank. I haven't tried the Radiator Genie with the garden hose outlet yet.

 

[MessickFarmEqu]

never never never clean a radiator with water. It turns the dust to mud and it will never come out. A leaf blower is the ticket.

 

[Ford850]

I use a leaf blower most of the time, and use it often. About once a year I take the time to soak the radiators with water and a mild detergent, and keep them wet while I'm doing something else. Then I come back to them and spray them clean from the front and the back. I repeat until they are 100% clean, and don't stop until they are. As others have said, water can set the dust to be like concrete. But if you take your time you can use it to get all of the gunk out. Just be sure to only use water if you have the time to do it right.
I made a cleaner from a garden hose watering wand. It has a spring loaded grip lever to turn it on/off, an aluminum tube 2' long or so, and had a sprinkler head on the end. I cut off the sprinkler head and flattened the aluminum tubing to create a flat spray at a 90* angle from the tube. It works great!

 

[Turbys_1700]

Here is a really cheap alternative to the Radiator Genie...
You may be able to modify it somewhat if needed...

Air Blow Gun with 2 ft. Extension

 

[JRobyn]

My daughter just had her A/C evaporator coil cleaned. The tech showed us before/after pics. The difference was amazing. I don't know what kind of chemical/detergent he used, but it did not involve compressed air or any significant amount of water. Maybe one of our resident HVAC techs can comment, or give your local HVAC supply shop a call to see what they sell the most of.

 

[flusher]

Hi all,

While brush hogging I've been getting plant debris and dust that gets by the screen clogging up the AC condenser and the radiator. I don't have a water outlet or electric at the property, so far I've been clearing it with a brush and canned air. That has helped but it isn't getting it as cleared as I would like. Today the AC was mediocre and the engine tended to run warm despite my attempts to keep it clear so I'm looking for a better way.

I have pond, thought about trying to get some kind of 12V pump to spray it out but I'm not sure I would get enough pressure. I've thought about a portable air tank that I could refill with a 12V air compressor while there. Another thought was a portable hand pump sprayer as is used with herbicide/insecticide applications, but again I'm not sure there would be enough pressure or volume to clear the debris.

I'd love your ideas/experience/suggestions.

Thanks!

Never had a radiator clogging problem with my 2008 Mahindra 5525.



The radiator itself is enclosed by the hood on top, the battery tray structure on the bottom, and the nose of the tractor that carries a screen that keeps crap off the radiator. It's a lot easier to clean that nose screen in the field than to clean the radiator air passages. One of the things Mahindra got right on the 5525.

Good luck

 

[Jkott]

never never never clean a radiator with water. It turns the dust to mud and it will never come out. A leaf blower is the ticket.

But when the previous owner likely ran the unit in the rain after a dusty environment....then it's already plugged with "mud" and just air isn't going to budge it anyways. Air alone certainly didn't clean mine, but I did try it first. It took detergent and water to get it clean.