BX normal Operating Temp?

[RET]

When I mow at ~7/8 throttle on the BX2200, the operating temp. lines out at about 1/8" below the red line - keeps me very concerned and constantly glancing at the gage. I don't know if this is normal for BX's, or if my temp. gage is a little out of calibration, or if it is actually running a little on the warm side. BTW, I've noticed that the gage is reading this high when the outside temp. is above 85.
I keep her clean (including radiator and radiator screens), oil and coolant levels are good, and the grass I'm mowing is at "normal" mowing heights (no perceivable strain on engine).
At any throttle position below 3/4 or so, the temp. runs at about 50% of scale.
Any comments from the Bx'ers?
Thx
rt

 

[TresCrows]

Mine gets warmer in hot weather than I would like when mowing. Usually I have found the screen full of lint and when cleaned it will drop back to about 70% of scale. When doing loader work etc it stays about 30-50% scale. Your guage may not be accurate. One thing I did and it helped alot on both tractors is I dumped the coolant out and recharged both tractors with a quality coolant mix of antifreeze and DISTILLED water. I mixed the BX a little light but still plenty sufficient for my winter temps (Kansaw gets very cold). Water transfers heat much better than antifreeze. You must maintain at least a 30% volume of antifreeze for proper lubrication of the pump and internal protection. A little water pump lube added at a lower antifreeze level would not hurt. J

 

[RET]

Tres,
I may try replacing the antifreeze. It's the same as when I got the BX several months ago....maybe the dealer put in a very rich mix???
If that doesn't drop the temp., and everything else seems fine, I'll probably just conclude that the gage is off a little....and learn to look for unusual increases above its unique "typical" temperature.
thx,
rt in Louisiana

 

[Hoosier_Daddy]

Mine never gets past the "E" in Temp. I never mow with that high of an RPM though. Maybe just a little over half throttle. Have never needed to run the mower much past that to do a fine job. Last Saturday it was about 95 out and it never moved over the "E". Maybe my gauge is a little on the low side...... I always wonder how accurate gauges are. I have a friend with a heat gun he uses for checking hot spots on his crane. Maybe I will have him shoot and see what he comes up with. Interesting........ Tom

 

[RET]

I normally mow at a high throttle position 'cause I just gotta have that speed. If I mow too slow and the CFO notices, she's sure to remind me of one of the major reasons I used to justify the tractor purchase -"But honey, a new tractor will cut my mowing time in 1/2!". In actuality, it's closer to a 1/4 improvement (at high throttle) but i sure ain't gonna tell her that!
rt

 

[TresCrows]

You know, I think that falls into the "my transmission was low on fluid and so I continued to use it for another 3 hours" catagory.
How does using a high throttle setting make you go that much faster. Even at about 60/70% power my BX will scoot along faster than is comfortable to stay on it. Now I agree, your BX should be able to mow at PTO speed without over heating but you do not really need to run it like that to get an excellent cut and going at a lower engine RPM is so much quieter!! Your forward speed is impacted most directly by the hydro pedal and I doubt the 1 or so MPH difference between 70% power and wide arse open is going to be noticeable to your wife. J

 

[RET]

J,
Yep. You're right. I don't need 90% throttle, but I do it quite often anyway. Here's my excuses to push her hard.
1. 1 MPH is equivalent to 26,400 ft^2 of mowed area in one hour (5 ft wide by 5280 ft long swath)
2. There's been plenty of rain here lately and grass is thick/high and requires high blade speed to make clean cut while still maintaining decent ground speed.
3. I have some of those ear muffs with built in radio so noise is of no concern
4. Temp. has never gone into red....but if it has a tendency to head that way I want to find out now before the warranty expires.
5. I only go 90% throttle on ~1 of the 3 acres I mow weekly - I just go high throttle when I think it is advantageous.
6. Everybody here keeps saying "do what the manual says". Well, the BX manual calls for ~90% throttle for mowing.

I did do a thorough tractor cleaning yesterday and took extra time to thoroughly clean the radiator fins. No significant debris found in the radiator - but there was some dust/dirt in it (like you see on your ceiling fan blades in the house). Maybe that will make a difference. I've read several posts of folks experiencing overheating....appears that there is little/no overdesign in CUT cooling systems to handle the dirty conditions of the real world, huh?

PS - I ain't gonna keep going if temp is in the red or if hydro fluid is below the stick, or if the Bud frogs keep calling my name on a sweltering hot day!

 

[crawdad]

sounds to me your running a little hot.i would have my dealer look at it or at least get it on paper that there may be an overheating problem so down the line they cant come back and say its not covered under warranty for one reason or another.
my bx22 runs real cool even at 95 deg.and working hard.
i still do not like the temp guage, my ford truck has the same type guage,drives me crazy.
i want to know weather its 180 deg or 185 deg not some guage that doesnt tell you what the real temp is.
i will be replacing that guage with an aftermarket one that shows numerical degrees.will do it when im bored over the winter so its ready for next spring
good luck
scott

 

[RET]

I think I'll contact the dealer today and discuss this problem.
A couple of days ago, I mowed the yard with the throttle straight out at the 3 o'clock position. The outside temp. was ~86F and the skys were overcast. The BX temp. guage ran at just a touch past 12 o'clock. After mowing the yard, I mowed about a 1/2 acre section of my beighbor's yard that I regularly maintain - but had fallen behind lately. The grass/weeds were getting a little high and thick, and darkness was creeping up fast, so I throttled up to near 90% for this last section. By the time I finished, the temp. had crept back up to to about 2 o'clock.
r

 

[Anonymous Poster]

It might be worth changing out the thermostat. If it's not opening fully, then coolant flow at higher rpms would be restricted just enough to heat things up.