Cold start during break-in period?

[motownbrowne]

Should I avoid doing this? It's -7F here, and I don't need to run the tractor today. My chores could wait for a couple of days till it's in the twenties, but since the tractor is brand new I'm having a hard time holding back. What do you think?

 

[batwing]

Good things happen to those that wait!

 

[dodge man]

They designed the thing to work in the winter didn't they? I personally think the entire break in thing is a lot less necessary then it used to be.

 

[BeezFun]

It doesn't have anything to do with breaking in, I don't use mine when it's really cold if I don't have to. The first few seconds after starting are the most wear on an engine, if the oil is cold the wear is greater. A battery at that temp has probably lost 60% of it's capacity, and the starter is trying to spin a frozen engine. Can't be good for anything. If you really need it use it, if you can put things off a day or two I'd wait.

 

[Chilly807]

I don't see a real problem, although cold starts are never good for an engine. If you have a block heater definitely use it for at least an hour or two before starting, and let the engine warm up before working it.
If you're not comfortable, it definitely won't hurt anything if you DON'T run it..

Sean

 

[TexasBoy]

The main issue I could see is oil viscosity,, do you have a block heater? If the oil / block are plugged in, no worries.

 

[DarkBlack]

You know the tech answer, wait a couple days

 

[Deano]

Is your tractor sitting outside??? It is cold here, but garage is in the 40's. Does the break-in period call for no starting below a certain temp??

 

[motownbrowne]

Tractor is outside. Air temp is -18 this morning. The manual doesn't say anything about cold starting, but I thought I'd see what the opinions were. I started it yesterday at 7 degrees after two hours on the block heater. Started just fine, but I won't be trying today. I'm sure it would work, but it's supposed to be 30 tomorrow, so I can hold off.

 

[rsallen]

You'll be sorry if that snow starts getting wet.
Just do it, it cleans up better if it's colder and that skim that's left behind has a chance to melt and run off went it does warm up.

 

[motownbrowne]

I guess there's that side of the coin too. Luckily we don't have any fresh snow on the ground. There is snow along with those warmer temps forecast tomorrow, so I'll get to go play then. I will say that it was pretty incredible to move two pallets of firewood, one refrigerator, and a wood stove yesterday, without bending over. I think I can get used to this.