Marveltone
Veteran Member
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2010
- Messages
- 1,485
- Location
- Somewhere north of Roseau, MN
- Tractor
- Fordson Major Diesel, McCormick Deering W4, Ford 1510, John Deere L111
Last year, while while cutting firewood, we decided to leave the tractor in the swamp overnight to save on fuel and time. The weather was very nice for that time of year, as temperatures were in the mid 20's, so we felt the engine would fire up after a few tries. Luck was on our side, as it started, but it certainly didn't like it. Knowing how Minnesota winters are, and knowing most of the time, there was no way the tractor would have started without being plugged in, I decided an alternate solution was needed for such an occasion.
My uncle, who was with, said he had an old propane block heater in his basement for the last 20 years that he had meant to rebuild and install on one of his tractors but never got around to it. He wasn't really interested in selling it, but couldn't stand to see it unused any longer, so he said we could "probably do a long term borrow."
My dad's eyes perked up at the thought of another retirement project to challenge his considerable skills, so we took the offer and went to work. The heater was rusty and had a few holes that needed filling. A few hours with a wire brush and little brazing, add a few coats of black stove paint.and it's good as new. My dad also added a piezoelectric igniter to top it off. We then gathered bits and pieces of copper plumbing, heater hose and hydraulic quick couplers and went to work on the tractor.
Since the tractor already has an electric block heater, we inserted the quick connects between the electric heater and the engine block. Normally, the propane heater will be completely disconnected from the tractor, as the electric heater works just fine and will be completely unaffected. When we need to use the propane heater, we just hook it up, put a modified vise-grip on the hose between the two heaters to keep the coolant flowing in the proper direction and, VIOLA! Remote engine heat!
Joe
My uncle, who was with, said he had an old propane block heater in his basement for the last 20 years that he had meant to rebuild and install on one of his tractors but never got around to it. He wasn't really interested in selling it, but couldn't stand to see it unused any longer, so he said we could "probably do a long term borrow."
My dad's eyes perked up at the thought of another retirement project to challenge his considerable skills, so we took the offer and went to work. The heater was rusty and had a few holes that needed filling. A few hours with a wire brush and little brazing, add a few coats of black stove paint.and it's good as new. My dad also added a piezoelectric igniter to top it off. We then gathered bits and pieces of copper plumbing, heater hose and hydraulic quick couplers and went to work on the tractor.
Since the tractor already has an electric block heater, we inserted the quick connects between the electric heater and the engine block. Normally, the propane heater will be completely disconnected from the tractor, as the electric heater works just fine and will be completely unaffected. When we need to use the propane heater, we just hook it up, put a modified vise-grip on the hose between the two heaters to keep the coolant flowing in the proper direction and, VIOLA! Remote engine heat!
Joe
