Engine Block Heater

Jack C

Just wondering is anyone using a block heater those mornings. I think you plug them in to a normal power outlet and they heat up the coolant in the block which warms up the whole engine before starting. They sound like a good job, especially for this weather.

pakalasa

Ya, i was looking on the net for them when the cold weather started.
Could only find 110V ones like these; they're oil pan heaters.
http://www.padheaters.com/description.html
It's say they are very common in the states.

Obvious, I know, but you got to add heat in some way to get the tractor started.
What I do, is heat the air going into the engine with an electric hot air gun (like for stripping paint).
I also put an oil filled radiator in under the tractor with a timer to come on about 2 hours before I get home from work. Like this one;
http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/4151601/Trail/searchtext%3EOIL+FILLED+RADIATOR.htm
I build up straw around the tractor to keep the heat in. Only do when tractor is cold. Dangerous fire hazard, I know but it wont start otherwise. I've a 35 yr old David Brown. Anyone that has one, will know how hard they are to start.
I give the engine a few turns over first, when I sit up. It gets the battery going. Then used the heater for about 20 secs, It usually goes then, no problem, even at -5C.

Also - Very good article in this weeks journal about starting tractors in cold weather,

Jack C

Those pan heaters sound like they'd be a good job. Pity they're not available here. I got This JD 6310.Great runner but a pig to start if it's anywhere near zero or below. Heater plug is working ok. I've used everything from a small fan heater under the sump to one of those microwavable hot water bottles against the battery (don't laugh).
I'd imagine one of those block heaters would be the ideal solution as I think they heat the coolant and circulate it through the engine and you can have it on a timer to come on an hour or two before starting.

Ford4000

At -7 my 135 needs the heater plug for about 15 secs and away she goes !!! Il sell er to anyone having bother starting

BeeDI

Ford4000 wrote: »

At -7 my 135 needs the heater plug for about 15 secs and away she goes !!! Il sell er to anyone having bother starting

Every single roofed space I have is filled up with either animals or hay. Consequently the tractor has to stay out.
I had to start it last Friday morning 6am, as I hadn't been home previous evening. It's a Zetor 7745, and it was minus 7 degrees. I was sure I was going to have trouble, BUT, it started first turn. Not a bother on it:)

Bitten & Hisses

BeeDI wrote: »

I had to start it last Friday morning 6am, as I hadn't been home previous evening. It's a Zetor 7745, and it was minus 7 degrees. I was sure I was going to have trouble, BUT, it started first turn. Not a bother on it:)

Built in what was then known as Czechoslovakia, sure that yoke would only sneer at an Irish winter.
I've been having some serious problems with diesel freezing. I leave the tractor parked in the slatted house every night, but since Friday morning, she's either been spluttery for a few minutes, or just gives a kick and cuts out again. There's no problem turning the engine over or firing up, but fuel supply is a big issue. As Borat says, it is pain in my a$$holes!

Dupont

Bitten & Hisses wrote: »

I've been having some serious problems with diesel freezing.

your diesel must be old as in summer disel because i think they put something in winter diesel so it doesnt freeze as handy

Bitten & Hisses

Dupont wrote: »

your diesel must be old as in summer disel because i think they put something in winter diesel so it doesnt freeze as handy

Possibly, although I thought they put the winter additive in all diesel. Actually, i may be misleading a bit. When I said freezing, I reckon it's that the viscocity is increasing with the cold, rather than forming a solid lump somewhere.

Dupont

yeah dats what i was thinking. it doesnt freeze as such but gets thicker like a sludge/gel and cant flow through the lines

blue5000

Hi Bitten and hisses

You might just have a bit of water in the bottom of the tank, or filter. Do you have a glass bowl at the bottom of the filter? If so you could let the water off by opening the tap there slowly.

Another quick fix for freezing diesel is to add 250ml (half pint aprox) of petrol, yes I said petrol to about 15gals of diesel in the tractor tank.

AFAIK diesel sold here is ok down to -9 C, some places it may have been colder then this last week.


Blue:cool:

Bitten & Hisses

blue5000 wrote: »

Hi Bitten and hisses

You might just have a bit of water in the bottom of the tank, or filter. Do you have a glass bowl at the bottom of the filter? If so you could let the water off by opening the tap there slowly.

Another quick fix for freezing diesel is to add 250ml (half pint aprox) of petrol, yes I said petrol to about 15gals of diesel in the tractor tank.

AFAIK diesel sold here is ok down to -9 C, some places it may have been colder then this last week.


Blue:cool:

There's no water in the tank, as I had it drained not too long ago and I drained the filter on Saturday. This evening, I treated it like freeing an airlock and got on better. I also added about 5 litres of petrol to the (200 litre approx) diesel tank, so we'll see how it goes. The odd thing is, during the prolonged cold spell last year, which saw lower temps than this year, I had no problem.
Incidentally on the topic of mixing in petrol, I remember in the owners manual for the Mk2 Golf & Jetta that you could add up to 20% petrol for extreme cold weather!

reilig

Bitten & Hisses wrote: »

I had no problem.
Incidentally on the topic of mixing in petrol, I remember in the owners manual for the Mk2 Golf & Jetta that you could add up to 20% petrol for extreme cold weather!

I posted that on the Boards.ie motor forum last year. I had an old 1.6tdi passat a few years back and the manual said the same thing. I nearly got death threats from people who were horrified by what I was saying. Those Jetta's, golf's and passats from the 80's would run on anything though. I know a mechanic who has a 1984 Jetta running on burned engine oil mixed 50:50 with diesel. He has to do a lot of filtering on it and it clogs the very odd time, but she runs very well on it albeit quite a bit of black smoke and he has a hell of a job to clean it out for the NCT every 2 years. As he says himself, only 4 years to go till she's a vintage and no NCT.

Ford4000

BeeDI wrote: »

Every single roofed space I have is filled up with either animals or hay. Consequently the tractor has to stay out.
I had to start it last Friday morning 6am, as I hadn't been home previous evening. It's a Zetor 7745, and it was minus 7 degrees. I was sure I was going to have trouble, BUT, it started first turn. Not a bother on it:)

You wont beat a Zetor for a cold start, hope t scrabble up a bit a cash and buy a 4wd Zetor this yr sometime, 7245 or 7745 something like that

tabby aspreme

A company in Tullow Co Carlow called High Precision Motor Products do a lot of work on fire engines , a lot of which are fitted with engine block heaters and could be worth a call .

I put petrol into tractor diesel in cold weather and never have any bother, but not sure about it with modern high pressure injector systems as they are lubricated by the diesel as it passes through them and petrol would not have much lubricant in it

vanderbadger

Ford4000 wrote: »

You wont beat a Zetor for a cold start, hope t scrabble up a bit a cash and buy a 4wd Zetor this yr sometime, 7245 or 7745 something like that

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ZETOR-7711-TRACTOR-2WD-/160517642284?pt=UK_BOI_FarmingEquipment_RL&hash=item255f98d82c
not 4wd but v clean looking

reilig

vanderbadger wrote: »

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ZETOR-7711-TRACTOR-2WD-/160517642284?pt=UK_BOI_FarmingEquipment_RL&hash=item255f98d82c
not 4wd but v clean looking

That is a very clean Machine

quietsailor

The engine block heaters the OP talked about are fitted as standard on most standby generator sets. They are fitted so that the machines are constantly warm and they can immediately start and go on load.

If ye know someone in that business local to ye they can point you towards a supplier. For those around Co Limerick/Limerick city PM me and I;ll ask a friend of mine who sells generators where he sources his.