Extreme cold

[Too many Kubotas]

Anyone using any additives during the cold weather? Broke out the BX1870 yesterday and it was bogging down and running rough. Was thinking of throwing some Diesel 911 in it to see if that helps any.

The 911 is, as the name implies, for emergencies.

There a several readily available anti-gel additives that should be used ahead of time, avoiding the need for desperate measures.

 

[Shawn T. W.]

Stay in out of the cold!

 

[Jframe]

I grew up logging in northern New England, the Live Free or Die state. Mostly I used a crawler tractor in the southern part of the state where I was tethered to the state university by the need for 12 or more credits every semester or else I would be carrying an M14 for $36/month. But I also logged up next to Quebec where the "jobber" provided the rubber-tired skidder. Everything was done on piece work, as a matter of fact the owner of a tiny sawmill that bought most of my white pine sawlogs was famous for successfully taking the state to the state supreme court to determine that workers' comp wasn't required for any work paid by the bd. ft. or cord. So the provided skidders were tired and indifferently maintained. Temps routinely hit minus 30, and I once saw a thermometer on a bank that said minus 44. I don't like starting ether, even today and don't use it. Something that worked far better and never failed was that after cooking breakfast, when I was heating water for dishes I also heated the approx. 4 gallons of crankcase oil, which I had drained the night before. Still need antifreeze of course, but did sometimes log with people who also drained the coolant each night.

 

[Shawn T. W.]

When I was a young mechanic at a big truck shop in Vermont, some of the loggers had connections on the front of their pickups or log trucks, that they hooked the hoses to there skidder out in the woods, then opened the valves, they basically were doing a "flush" by circulating there hot coolant from the truck, into the skidder ... Finish there coffee, and start the skidder, do the opposite when they were ready to go home ...

 

[Jstpssng]

Yes.

?

This is the composition at night.
What is it during daytime?

 

[RayIN]

If you start it cold, don't run it fast until it warms up a bit. Let it idle a while to get the oils circulating.
Also depends on how cold of a cold you are talking about. Probably not too cold in Ohio, compared to northern Minnesota.
Just don't race the engine for the first minute or two.

Yup; this is what Cummins engine says on this subject.
Temperature Range Warm-Up Time
Below 0°F (-18°C) Up to 7 minutes
0°F to 50°F (-18°C to 10°C) 3 to 5 minutes
Above 50°F (10°C) 1 to 2 minutes

 

[dnw64]

When I was a young mechanic at a big truck shop in Vermont, some of the loggers had connections on the front of their pickups or log trucks, that they hooked the hoses to there skidder out in the woods, then opened the valves, they basically were doing a "flush" by circulating there hot coolant from the truck, into the skidder ... Finish there coffee, and start the skidder, do the opposite when they were ready to go home ...

I always thought it was a waste of energy to not hook your daily driver (Civic or 1-ton) into your house heating system.

 

[Shawn T. W.]

Or ... Just park it in the garage?

 

[dnw64]

This is the composition at night.
What is it during daytime?

I dunno. Are you going to tell us, or are you Jstpssng?

 

[dnw64]

Or ... Just park it in the garage?

My tractor (even though it's pretty small, but because it has a Cab, with HEAT and A/C) will not fit in my [heated to whatever I want] garage... I've made two places on my property to keep it out of the weather with 7'6" clearance.

 

[TractorGunn]

Single digits here, and the LS started fine.

 

[Jstpssng]

I dunno. Are you going to tell us, or are you Jstpssng?

If air is 78% nitrogen at night, what is it during the day?

 

[ultrarunner]

Yup; this is what Cummins engine says on this subject.
Temperature Range Warm-Up Time
Below 0°F (-18°C) Up to 7 minutes
0°F to 50°F (-18°C to 10°C) 3 to 5 minutes
Above 50°F (10°C) 1 to 2 minutes

I’ve got coolant heaters on my Cummins Diesel Generators and in hospital service they go from stop to full speed and transfer the load in 8 seconds… no time for warm up as to meet hospital requirements it all has to happen in 10 seconds or less…

Never like hearing these start full throttle from cold but some have been doing this 30 plus years…

 

[bullopa]

Hello. Many of you, we are settling into extreme cold here in the far north. I don’t usually worry about things like this, but when the temperatures go down well below zero and stay there, I’m a bit worried about a couple of my tractors. I have a farmall 656 gas And a Farmall 856 diesel that are in an open front unheated shed. They of course have antifreeze in the cooling system, but I have not tested it. The gas has a circulating coolant heater and the diesel has a freeze plug heater. I have them both plugged in and just sitting there; I don’t plan on using them. My thought was to keep the heaters on during the worst of the cold. Is this a good idea? Do you guys ever do that? any other tips for extreme cold? Thanks.

I keep a heat lamp on mine. Cover it with an insulated tarp used on concrete pours

 

[Too many Kubotas]

Yup; this is what Cummins engine says on this subject.
Temperature Range Warm-Up Time
Below 0°F (-18°C) Up to 7 minutes
0°F to 50°F (-18°C to 10°C) 3 to 5 minutes
Above 50°F (10°C) 1 to 2 minutes

Even at -10, I take off as soon as having started the engine.

Of course, I'm only doing 4-5 mph while driving to the gate a 1/4 mile away, and the engine warms up quicker than if just idling. Even on high idle. Besides, I hate idling engines.

Then there's a mile to the main road where it take it quite easy. After that it is already getting warmish and from there on the speed depends on the weight (if any) of the load on the trailer until the oil is up to temp.

 

[outdoorsman123]

Was -40 here a couple of nights and close to that for several others for the last week.
I reached out to Phillips and Temro,who make the grid heater and block heater on my Deere. They recommend leaving it plugged in 24/7.
I plugged in the tractor for 7 hours and it wasn't enough to help it start.

 

[Rusty Ford]

Cold is when the coolant in your ancient VW freezes!

 

[Rusty Ford]

Brother, that is cold!