Snow Warm Up Time -tractor not you.

[Al Mac]

A couple questions about warm up time.
My B2920 is in the unheated part of the garage. It has no warm up heater ( it didn't come with any) to plug it in. How long should it warm up after started when it is a few degrees below 0 (0 to -10) . Blowing snow is hard on a the unit as it is wide open from when I start.
On my old hydro unit I always had the clutch in when starting ( to take the pump load off the starter) after it was running the clutch was released to warm the pump up. Is that how others do it?

Al

 

[53gravely]

I have my tractor in southern VT. I have the factory plug but rarely use it. I have started without it down to -5f. When it's that cold, I usually let it run for 5-7 minutes before moving it. Once started, I usually engage the rear PTO and quickly flip the seat up to override the seat deadman. I know little about hydraulics but I figure it gets the oil moving. The bucket controls are very slow for the first ten minutes until the oil warms a bit.

It's beyond me how a Canadian Kubota dealer would omit the heater when ordering his inventory but it shouldn't be too bad. If it's below 10 below you could throw a tarp over the tractor and put a 500watt work light under the tractor for a couple hours to heat the block a bit.

 

[oosik]

My Kubota OP manual has specific warm up times - based upon temps. If its really cold, below zero, I will let it stand and idle for 10-15 minuets. I watch the temp gage and will not put the tractor under heavy load until its fully warmed. Once the temp gage shows its approximately half way to totally warmed - I'll put it in gear, move out of the shed and head out to do my work. Driving down the driveway warms the tractor quickly and places very little load on the engine.

My point being - - whatever the outside temps are, I will never put the tractor under heavy load until its fully warmed.

 

[tcreeley]

My Kubota OP manual has specific warm up times - based upon temps. If its really cold, below zero, I will let it stand and idle for 10-15 minuets. I watch the temp gage and will not put the tractor under heavy load until its fully warmed. Once the temp gage shows its approximately half way to totally warmed - I'll put it in gear, move out of the shed and head out to do my work. Driving down the driveway warms the tractor quickly and places very little load on the engine.

This is how I think of it also - re warm up. I plug in all of the time, just easier on the tractor, but the transmission oil is still sluggish and needs warmup time.

 

[RoyJackson]

This question pops up on TBN almost every winter...

If your manual states a minimum, go with that.

What I do is start the tractor (which is in an attached but not heated garage) get the RPM up to about 1500 as soon as the oil light goes out (which is within a second or two of start up) and move it out of the garage.
It'll idle around 1500 RPM until the temperature gage starts registering. I'll start work then, but not use the PTO until it's up to normal operating temperature. This, with all three Deeres I have owned, normally takes 5-6 minutes.
Unless I'm using the PTO, I normally operate around 2000 RPM.
I have a block heater, but don't normally use it unless the tractor is parked outside for an extended time.

 

[Dave M7040]

Here is the Kubota warm up chart I use in Canada.
The cost of damaging the hydraulic system is so great I see no reason to push the limits.

Dave M7040

 

[Al Mac]

Tks for the input.
I did read the manual. That is why I went to the next level (TBN). Over the years I have found that books only give me enough info to let me think I know what to do. I never learned how to read between the lines
It is that experience thing that the book never has. Learning can get expensive when the boys toys get more expensive.

Al

 

[RalphVa]

Zero.

Start and go, gently until it fully warms up. Heck, we're only talking about 1500-3000 rpm.

Ralph

 

[MHarryE]

Really should let it warm up per the manual times. Hydraulic oil at zero F is very viscous and the back pressure as it circulates can get very high. Kubota's, having a suction filter, will incur pump cavitation if run at full throttle before the oil has a chance to warm up. We purchased a company that had a product with a suction filter and transferred production to our Minneapolis plant. Oc cold winter mornings we could not get enough oil through the filter to stroke the hydro pump so we had to carry machines scheduled for the next day's shipments inside with a forklift overnight when scheduled for delivery the next day until we could redesign to use a pressure filter. Then the problem was if an operator ran the engine at high idle before it warmed up it would blow the gasket out of the charge oil filter. My Kubota has both a suction hydraulic filter and pressure charge oil filter so a double whammy unless warming up on cold days.

 

[MossRoad]

I don't have a Kubota, but I do have an all hydraulic contraption, if that's what you want to call it. When its cold, I start it, set it at about 1/3 throttle, and go and shovel the steps and sidewalks inside the gates where the tractor can't go. That takes 10 minutes. By the time I get back, the hydraulics are warmed up enough to not be stiff when I steer or operate the FEL arms where the plow is.

 

[BruceMc]

It's beyond me how a Canadian Kubota dealer would omit the heater when ordering his inventory but it shouldn't be too bad. If it's below 10 below you could throw a tarp over the tractor and put a 500watt work light under the tractor for a couple hours to heat the block a bit.

Part of the dealer winterization package here included both the block heater and a pad heater on the hydraulic reservoir. The tractor is new and the coldest it's been at my place so far this winter is -10º F, but plugging in for even an hour or two makes a huge difference.

 

[skyhook]

Plug mine in about an hour before I start it ( anything more than -10)
Then, start er up and let it warm up until "I" get warmed up, usually takes a good cup of tea,
couple of cigarettes and a trip to the can
All in all, about 30 minutes after start-up. Sometimes I say "the heck with it" shut er down and go back to bed....lol

 

[boggen]

one thing i hate about winter, is how gooey oil gets when cold. it goes from liquid hot butter in summer, to a snail pace jelly in winter. causing me to triple check oil levels if i had to add some oil.

viscosity = lamen terms = how runny something is... kinda like pancake batter. not enough water and you have lumps and it is like gum. to much water and it becomes like water. for engine oil and hyd oil. we want liquid hyd oil. and that means raising the temperature up.

most folks on the forum own a open center hydraulic tractor setup = hyd pump continually pumps hyd oil through all the valves all the time when tractor is on. if you can get that initially warmed up. then make thought to when you start using 3pt hitch and other hyd cylinders. they may act slow. due to oil in them still has not been moving or has chance to warm up. you may need to operate the hyd cylinders "fully retracting / fully extending" a few times to remove the cold hyd oil in them and put in warmer hyd oil into them. the fully extending / fully re-tracting the cylinders, should expel all the cold hyd oil. in them, but it going to take a couple times to also get that cold hyd oil pushed through the hoses that connect from the hyd cylinders to the valves.

hyd pumps should not put a huge amount of force on an engine. when starting up cold. or less you are using hyd oil not rated for a warmer climate. and you are trying to use something, just setting there letting it warm up should be fairly easy on the engine.

your power steering may be a slight sluggish as well. when starting up in cold. you may need to crank wheel both ways a couple times to the stops, after warm up, to clear out the cold hyd oil in the hyd cylinders for power steering.

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a reminder for diesel fuel, it can GEL up. in cold times. if you have old fuel setting in tractor since a couple months ago. (have not ran tractor enough to refuel it yet), you might want to see about adding something to the fuel.

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i live up on a hill and fields all around me, and i swear it is like a wind tunnel through this place in winter. keep an eye on your temperature gauge. old school farmers, have placed cardboard or like in front of the radiator with some bungee straps. to help reduce wind chill and keep the engine warm. and/or simply keep the colder wind off the engine. during start up.

 

[Thomas]

Good 15 mins plug in or not,than rise loader cure bucket couple times my game plan.

 

[DHD]

Cold starts for my Kubota B7800 (in unheated garage) are usually just before snow blowing.
I plug in my block heater 30 mins before starting engine. After starting engine and at idle, I engage the pto for my rm snow blower, and raise the operator seat, (so pto will operate without passenger in seat) and let the tractor run for 5-15 min depending on outside temp.
For the first 10-15mins. of snow blowing I run the snow blower at a reduced amount of about 60% of the 540 pto rmp and use very slow ground speed.
After 10-15mins. I'm run my 540 pto at about 75% and occasionally at 100%.

Al Mac ..... I highly recommend getting a block heater for your B2920.
I've started my B7800 with the pre-heating and without the pre-heating on similiarly cold days.
When you witness how much better your engine reacts to the pre-heated start vs non-pre-heated start, you'll always pre-heat on those colder days.

 

[bigbull338]

i crank my tractor and let it warm up while i check things over on it.usually about 5 mins.also let it cool down 5mins.

 

[tcreeley]

I never add anything to the diesel fuel. I buy at the same pump in town that sells diesel for the semis and diesel cars/trucks on the road. If they adjust the fuel for winter use (probably do around here) then good - but never had a problem with jelling. Home heating oil is adjusted automatically by the sellers. Friend of mine with a Kubota says his tractor likes to warmup before use. I tend to get going faster than he does. I try never to use the bucket until after it is warmed up.

 

[tcartwri]

1200 rpm idle, wait until the pump stops whining, and then give er.

 

[Tractor Tom]

I just can't see a downside to a warm up idle before use or plugging in the block heater on real cold days. These toys are to expensive to mess with, and diesels don't like the cold. The colder the day the longer the warm up. Usually 10 to 15 min for the Kioti.

 

[tcartwri]

I just can't see a downside to a warm up idle before use or plugging in the block heater on real cold days. These toys are to expensive to mess with, and diesels don't like the cold. The colder the day the longer the warm up. Usually 10 to 15 min for the Kioti.

That's fine except that the engine will not warm up significantly without a load.