What have you done with/to your GC Series 2300, 2400, 1700 Tractor TODAY

[ray66v]

Well, the LRB got to do some real work yesterday... and last night... and then again this morning... not done yet...

Gets longer veery year, I think, to do a complete snow removal job! So far, however, everything's been working well. Still waiting to se the result of a somewhat pricey addition from last year, a custom-made --of hardened steel-- blower scraper blade.

Using the factory blades (from Kubota -- prices more reasonable than from M-F!), I seem to get only about 4-5 events before I have to either flip the blade or replace it, due to my "scraping down to the pavement" operation. We'll see how long this hardened blade lasts.

I have it tough here too, we got 3"of snow. ....I almost put the snow plow on.

In other news,

The O'Riley Battery in my GC is 8 years old. So, we may have a winner, if anyone is currently in need. Interstate and NAPA filed to go that far.

It's supposed to be made by Deka.

Also trying one in my Sedona. Nothing has lasted longer then 4 years, in it.

Even better, I have an account at O'Riley's, so I get a pretty good price.

 

[irvingj]

Well, that DEKA battery I put in a year or two ago is still working well. LRB rarely needs help, but it's been getting cold enough lately that I've begun to use the block heater. It then starts quickly/more easily, a lot less black smoke, and is faster to idle smoothly -- but it never did fail to start without the heater. It'll be interesting to see how many years I can get out of this battery.

Not sure if I mentioned this, but I can't seem to get more than 7-8 years out of a battery in my 2005 Jetta TDI wagon....

 

[ray66v]

Well, that DEKA battery I put in a year or two ago is still working well. LRB rarely needs help, but it's been getting cold enough lately that I've begun to use the block heater. It then starts quickly/more easily, a lot less black smoke, and is faster to idle smoothly -- but it never did fail to start without the heater. It'll be interesting to see how many years I can get out of this battery.

Not sure if I mentioned this, but I can't seem to get more than 7-8 years out of a battery in my 2005 Jetta TDI wagon....

What is the temp where you are getting smoke/rough idle, without the block heater?

 

[Dmacleo]

got 4" snow other day. I am considering picking up rest of fall stuff and mounting blower this week.
-4f this morning, brr. didn't bother to see how well gc2400 started as just plain did not feel like doing it

 

[Racer4]

If I had to start mine today, I would’ve had to use the block heater! 2 this morning.

Filled it up Wednesday with fresh diesel and put some PS anti gel treatment in the can beforehand.

 

[ray66v]

If I had to start mine today, I would’ve had to use the block heater! 2 this morning.

Filled it up Wednesday with fresh diesel and put some PS anti gel treatment in the can beforehand.

I have a video of mine starting at 6F, without a block heater, and it fired right up.

No smoke, no rough idle.

 

[irvingj]

It was in the teens, Ray -- but as usual I had the throttle all the way down to idle. I'm gradually beginning to bump it up a bit more each time, experimenting -- that's beginning to seem like a good idea.

I'm with Dave -- it was so cold yesterday I didn't even bother -- had to hit the driveway 3 times the day before, trying to keep the "snow squall" stuff cleared off before somebody drove over it and packed it down.

 

[Dmacleo]

I'm with Dave -- it was so cold yesterday I didn't even bother -- had to hit the driveway 3 times the day before, trying to keep the "snow squall" stuff cleared off before somebody drove over it and packed it down.

1 deg f out right now 0800am. I may not do anything today either.

 

[Cycledude]

Battery in my Ford 6610 never lasted more than 5 years……………until I bought a charger with desulfurization mode, the battery in my 6610 is now over 10 years old and still working fine.

 

[Shawn T. W.]

I too use a tender with the desulfate feature, mine is from BatteryMINDERS ...

This morning even though it was kinda miserable out ...

With a heavy fog and light wind ... I decided to go out and change the coolant in my Little Baby Fergie, I took her for ride up to the gate to get a package FedEx delivered last night, to warm her up, and hopefully my fingers later on ... And while I had the drain plug out I was gonna put in a petcock instead of the plug! Last time I made a mess, this time too!

Because once you remove the plug, it will shoot out all over everything, and it's hard to catch, I wasn't fast enough this time to get a picture, but this is from the 1st time ... It shot out over the frame, then it slowed down ... To dribble down the block and over the axle!

Today I cut down a water jug, think I could get it in against the block ... It just made a mess ... Spilled about a quart on the ground ...

But that's why I didn't do it in the barn, as I don't want that mess in the barn, or around my cats, this way I can at least rinse everything down with the hose when I'm done, I parked one side up on the pad, so the left side was slightly lower, and over the gravel ...

While it works, I'm gonna get a small maybe 3/4" - 1" long brass pipe, and a 45° elbow, to bring it out a bit farther to make it easier to both get the hose on, and to operate the petcock, as the block has a couple of ridges, and it's close to the oil filter ... I dumped some water in to test it, then later dumped a little coolant in to flush the little bit of water out.

Sucked out the reservoir, while it is supposed to come out, it is very tight, and with the cold, I didn't want to crack it ...

Last time I switched it over to the orange, from the factory green ...

Then came inside to warm up and updated my spreadsheet ...

 

[irvingj]

Couple of updates:

1) Yes, I also agree those de-sulfator-mode chargers/tenders are a great idea. I have a couple and do use them, though I haven't had to touch the battery in the tractor yet.

2) First report on the new hardened-steel blower scraper blade:

A) In the past, using the OEM mild steel scraper blade --and remember I take mine right down to the pavement surface, with no "feet" on the blower at all-- I get about three "edges" used up per season. That is, after some usage, I flip the scraper around and use its other edge, then have to replace the blade altogether before the end of the season.

B) What happens is that the starting-out "square" edge. 1/4" thick, first gets ground off to a knife-edge. As it gets worn further, it eventually begins to grind off the bolt ends on the underside of the blower housing, then the nuts. Yes, I keep a jar of replacement short carriage bolts, washers, lock washers and nuts on hand.

C) So far, I've used the blower for four "snow events," each of which entails a number of trips up & down the driveway as well as a large turn-around area at the bottom in front of the garage.

D) Did my first inspection today -- so far it looks great, with only about 1/16" worn off the bottom front edge of the 1/4" thick blade. Ordinarily, I'd be looking, after four uses, to see if it was time to flip the blade around yet!

So it remains to be seen just how much longer this expensive hard steel blade lasts, but it's looking very good so far.

3) Shawn, if you think it's tight getting a draincock on your tractor.... try fitting an oil quick-drain on an O-320 plane that has tricycle gear!

 

[Shawn T. W.]

Oh, it wasn't too tight to get the petcock in, but once in, the "spout" for the hose is very tight against the block because of how the block is shaped in that area, not sure why it's cast like that ...

This is a guy I know from over on the green tractor talk forum that started his own retirement business, he lives in the snow belt of Michigan, and has come up with all kinds of solutions to "wear edges" for snow removal ... He loves a challenge, and if he doesn't have what you need, he will work with you as long as you can take pictures and run a tape measure ... SulleyBear Solutions

I got another 300 gallons out to my trees again this afternoon in two trips ... I was hoping to be able to start using my Kubota ... I picked up my new three point forks yesterday, and to my disappointment they were built to cat 2 spec's, not the cat 1 I wanted, and had ordered, so I took it back so they can fix it the way I want it ... Yes, I could use it the way it is, as the Kubota has cat 1/2 capabilities, but it defeats the purpose of the quick hitch ... I have 2 cat 1 quick hitches, one for each tractor, so I can share attachments ... The Kubota can lift 3900 Lbs on the 3 pt, so I figure I'll give my poor overworked Little Baby Fergie a bit of a break on that job ... Carrying 50 gallons up front, and towing 100-150 gallons in the back, plus the 700+ Lbs ballast box is a lot of sloshing weight to pull up and across bumpy hills ...

 

[Shawn T. W.]

Last night shortly before coming in from my creek project I noticed the BH control tower was wobbly, rocking forward and back, this morning I took the plastic cover off, and 2 of the 4 mounting tabs have cracked! While I could weld it mounted on the tractor, I prefer to wait until I take it off to weld it ... In the meantime I used a rachet strap to secure it.

Today I dug out the generators and welder, and headed out to the barn ...

I ended up taking the whole tower off ...

Welded a piece of 1/8" thick 1" angle iron just above the broken off tab, then turned it over and welded the little broken off piece to the angle iron and the tower ... It really is kinda wimpy thin steel, I didn't measure it, but it was thinner that the 1/8" angle ... I'm far from a good welder, but it's much sturdier than before ...

Then since I had the welder and generator our I went out back to add a cross tie to my future gate post ...

 

[Dmacleo]

well....9 deg and wind chill around 0 this morning, presently 16 with wind chill of 8. tractor left in wind stupidly.
guess what happened.
so I just tossed some diesel 911 in tank and plugged block heater in.
I'll swap filter shortly I keep 3 or 4 on hand always as it fits 3 other masseys here i deal with.

 

[MF RED in MT]

Last weekend with about 15" of new snow really forced me to get motivated and finally install the GC's

tire chains front and rear, install the rear weight box, install the front quick hitch with the PTO drive

shaft, and install the MF Dozer Blade.

The tractor started right up without the block heater since it wasn't too cold, only about 18F.

Lost about 5 trees with this "cement type heavy snow" which we don't get too often.

I did feel old and had sore bones and joints yesterday, KC

Attached are 2 bad pictures taken in the back of the property where some of the trees went down:

 

[Dmacleo]

decided I needed to keep 3 more 3608255M1 fuel filter elements on hand. checked amazon, 17$ per element (last order was 12 per...) but I would not have to drive 35 mile round trip.
hmmm.
so called dealer.
11$ per and 50 on hand and now 3 set aside for me. I'll go to breakfast in morning with friends then drive to dealer.
its crappy outside, prob gonna just unplug block heater and call it a day. I can see the wax in my bowl. just not able to lay in snow today.
anyways more products from powersave ordered that will be here soon.
meant to service that filter earlier but physical therapy on lumbar crap took its toll.

 

[MF RED in MT]

decided I needed to keep 3 more 3608255M1 fuel filter elements on hand. checked amazon, 17$ per element (last order was 12 per...) but I would not have to drive 35 mile round trip.
hmmm.
so called dealer.
11$ per and 50 on hand and now 3 set aside for me. I'll go to breakfast in morning with friends then drive to dealer.
its crappy outside, prob gonna just unplug block heater and call it a day. I can see the wax in my bowl. just not able to lay in snow today.
anyways more products from powersave ordered that will be here soon.
meant to service that filter earlier but physical therapy on lumbar crap took its toll.

Sorry to hear about your fuel issues.

I have only and always used the Power Service in the white bottle in my offroad diesel in the winter

and also the summer ever since the MF was new.

Summer I used the #2 and in the winter I use #1 winter blend, both with about 2 times the

recommended dose of the Power Service.

My tractor has always been stored in an unheated garage and our winter temperatures frequently

drop to -20F and usually have a few as low as -40F to -45F (the lowest).

I have never had a fuel issue due to the cold (I'm knocking on wood now), KC

 

[Dmacleo]

yeah I was out of power service treatment. ordered but not yet arrived. so letting some 911 soak in and tomorrow will swap filter. just other crap like fiber internet being installed today that took precedence. if needed I got 2 massey GC units and a 1532 I could use but not needed.
look at filter bowl now and you can see differentiation between wax and fuel. if was emergency I'd toss a kero salamander on it but not emergency. unplugged block heater as was waste of electricity, filter is BAD.

 

[ray66v]

well....9 deg and wind chill around 0 this morning, presently 16 with wind chill of 8. tractor left in wind stupidly.
guess what happened.
so I just tossed some diesel 911 in tank and plugged block heater in.
I'll swap filter shortly I keep 3 or 4 on hand always as it fits 3 other masseys here i deal with.

Not that this will make you feel any better,

The wind chill temperature is how cold it can feel to people.

It affects people, because we generate heat. Wind will remove heat faster than just the ambient air, making you feel colder.

It can only affect equipment in the sense that it will remove any heat in there, faster.

Since the wind temperature is usually no colder than the ambient, it's not going to get colder than the OAT.

 

[Dmacleo]

true, never gets colder than OAT but...battery is chemical reaction that creates heat. wind removes heat faster. it all matters. and if I had not parked tractor with filter bowl in wind the residual heat from running it earlier may still have been there.
it all matters.