Winter Tractor Tips – How Do You Handle Snow, Storage, and Maintenance?

[grsthegreat]

Had to unhook the plow and hook up the snowblower today to clear the snow that shed off of barn roof. I cant believe it, but i simply could not get one of the 3/4” flat face couplers to release the male end. The female end is fully opening, but no luck releasing hose.

I tried hammer, screwdriver prying fitting, everything. Im stumped. I mean its just some ball bearings.

I ended up ordering a new set of them off amazon to be delivered tomorrow……then im tearing this damn thing apart to see what happened. Ive never had a connector do this before….ever.

Ive had ones pop out the retainer clip internally years ago, but that wasnt a connected fitting. There’s absolutely no pressure on the line.

 

[Camofurever1]

One post wonder newbie!

I only start my tractor(s) if I'm gonna use them ...

I also have the dual drain plug shaped Kubota oil pan that the front driveshaft goes up between ...

"One post wonder newbie!"

There is always one in every crowd......

 

[NH TC25D]

What I've more or less done for the past 24 winters.

1. Synthetic hydraulic fluid.
2. Autumn oil and filter change.
3. Autumn coolant change if needed or scheduled.
4. Winter fuel with anti-gel/cetane booster.
5. Block heater plugged in for an adequate time before starting.
6. Warm up the motor at idle rpm.
7. Check the tension on the chains.
8. Do not start the tractor unless needed.
9. Battery maintainer. And replace the battery if load tester notes it is time before the onset of real cold.

Storage is in the garage.

Snow removal. Usually first snowfall just the FEL bucket and rear blade. Gravel driveway. Usually leave at least couple inches that gets packed down by driving the truck and tractor over. Reverse the back blade and drag the driveway surface smooth. Then remove it and attach the 3pt snow blower. Worse case event is a significant (>1ft) Lake Effect snowfall over ground that has not frozen. Then it is the snowblower on day one, but lifted a few inches.

 

[DarkBlack]

The tractor will start without being plugged in with one cycle of the glow plugs, even at -40 F. But it has to sit and warm up for 20-30 minutes before I can use it, and I really don't like doing that unless I have no choice (for instance if we got "pounded" with snow while I was at work and I need to clear the driveway when I get home - so timer has been off all day).

If it was me, in that -40F situation, I think I’d manually plug in the electric heaters, and let let them do their job for 30 minutes, rather than cold start at -40 and wait 30 minutes for it to try to warm itself, which really won’t happen, idling at -40f
I mean, you have to wait half an hour either way, and electric block heating is less wear on your engine than a -40f cold start.
Just my 2 cent opinion