How long do you warm up your tractor?

[fisher]

The following is from the operators manual for my B1750HST:

'Do not operate until the engine is well warmed up. If operation is attempted while the engine is still cold, the hydraulic mechanism will not properly function and its service life will be shortened.'

This is in the postion control section (lift the 3 point). I park the tractor in a garage attached to the house and don't want to run it there for long so I manually lift and chock the 3 point to raise the belly mower and push it outside to warm up.

My father in law has always just started his up, immediately raised the 3 point and backed out of the barn.

What do you guys think? Am I being overly cautious?

 

[hodge]

My tractor is in an equipment shed, with the front being open. I start mine up, let it run for a minute or so, then back it out. It has 770 hours on it, and runs perfect. I would imagine that 90%+ operate theirs about the same way. I doubt that there is an empirical way to know whether the life is shortened or not, but these tractors get serious hours racked up on them before major problems. So, my comfort level is that it isn't a big issue. Whether you shorten the service life by moving it too soon, or rack hours up letting it idle for 10 minutes before using, is kind of a trade-off.

 

[fdcapt50]

My B 2920 tractor sits in unheated garage. I start it, let it idle for about 3-5 min. The do what I need. I do the same in the hot summer months. This is my 3rd Kubota, have always done the same. If I was going to work it hard with high rpm,s I would make sure it,s warmed up good. Good luck!!!

 

[bosshogg]

Mine sits in a 40 degree garage. I start it and immediately back it out of the garage at low rpms. Once outside I let it warm up for 5 to 10 minutes or so be beginning to move it. I keep the rpms low and take everything easy until the temp gauge starts climbing.

 

[Lil Foot]

Mine is stored in a garage- I start it, let it run for 3 or 4 minutes, then back it out, at idle, in low range. (takes another minute or so, no load on anything) Once it's outside, I let it run another 2 or 3 minutes while I close the garage, grab my hat, gloves, safety glasses, chainsaw, or whatever, then go to work.

 

[TripleR]

I pretty much go by the manual and especially now as my main tractors have turbos. I warm them up at half throttle as per manual. We however have a 60's model Case and 80's model Massey Ferguson that have spent much of their lives with little to no warm up unless in the winter; neither has ever had an engine problem.

 

[bcbull378]

I check the oil then fire the tractor up( except for the Cats check the oil with them running ) and let idle while I top off the fuel tank , grease all fittings and give it a once over looking for anything that may need attention. My father was a maintence freak and it shows one of our Cats at the ranch was built in 1946 ( D-2 ) and has never had the head off of it. I always warm up all equipment, no sence in getting in a hurry what you dont get done today will be there tomorrow.

 

[Gundoctor]

Yesterday it was -30 below here in Vermont. I plug the block heater in for 3 hours and then start it. I let it run for 20 minutes before going out.

David Pidgeon

 

[tempforce]

i fire it up, set low throttle. lift the bucket. start moving at low speed. bring up the throttle to about 1600 rpm and head for the work site.. buy the time i get to the work site 400-500 ft. the hydraulics have gotten quieter. so i bring the engine speed up to use the bucket or other equipment.. i don't use pto speed until the engine has warmed up a bit more… i do the same for my on the road vehicles.. easy on the fuel ( accelerate easy) until the engine is up to temp or close to it… then i stay with traffic… and use the power...

 

[Bulldog]

Myself, I'm a firm believer in warming equipment up. I'll give you this example from my past and you can judge it for yourself.

In 97 we got new Cat equipment at the quarry I worked at. 2 769D haul trucks and I got a 980G loader. From the day it was new I always warmed it up year round anywhere from 15 - 30 minutes. The trucks for the most part were cranked and as soon as the air was built up they headed for the pit and hauled rock. The first truck spun a main bearing at about 10K hrs. The second one went down at about 13K hrs. When I got my new loader 11 yrs later my G model had 25K hrs and still ran great. It didn't burn any oil between changes and the engine was strong as it was new.

All of this equipment was serviced at 250hrs, oil came from the same bulk tank, Cat filters used on each machine and the were all at the same job location. I can't say that warming up was the difference, I like to think it was. All I know for sure is that mine was running and the others were broke.

Short term I don't think you will see the damage being done by operating a cold machine. The damage will show it's ugly face years from now when it's way to late to do anything about it. JMHO

 

[kc8fbl]

I'll start mine and let it run at idle for a couple minutes. After that, I'll idle it up to 1300 rpms and let it run for about 5 minutes before going out and using it.

 

[tempforce]

makes me wonder if the dump trucks were operated against the governor most of the time. where the loader you set the engine speed and just kept busy...

 

[Bulldog]

I don't think the truck did anything out of the ordinary, just in and out of the pit all day hauling rock. My loader didn't have cruise control so the rpm's changed depending on use. I had about 50 acres of stockpiles and roads to maintain and keep all the customer trucks loaded so it stayed pretty busy most of the time.

 

[Stumpy]

My preference with diesels is once they're lit I'll give them 30 seconds to a few minutes of idling to let the pistons tighten up a bit and the chambers warm up. Once the engine smooths and the smoke subsides I'll use it gently, preferably till the coolant is up to temp, before I start working it hard. Doesn't always happen especially with tractors but just letting it idle till the coolant is up to temp takes much longer than with a little load, wastes fuel, and adds hours to the engine to little purpose, in my opinion.

This is one of those questions like what brand of oil is best. Everyone has a strong and varying opinion on the subject because there is little concrete data available on the subject.

 

[gssixgun]

One cup of coffee


During the winter I go out fire up the tractor, come back into the house have a cup of coffee.. Then I take the time to make sure I am all bundled up and warm, then head out to clear the road..

About 15 minutes

Question, does it hurt anything to keep the engine heater plugged in 24/7 ???

 

[roostersmasher]

If the temps are below 20 F I use a small torpedo heater and point it underneath the tractor for about 10 to 15 minute. I keep it about 5 to 6 feet away. I then turn the key for approx 30 seconds for the glow plugs to warm. When I do this and fire the tractor up I get very little black smoke and no chugging of the motor. When I do not do this it just seem like such a violent start up and she labors to keep running for the first 15 seconds.

This is my new B3200 with 70+ hours on it in a unheated garage. I then pop the garage door open and let her warm for 15 minutes or so.

 

[bobkeyes]

I am quite a newbee to Kubotas, but when I was a teen on the farm, that's been 50 years ago, we had 2 OLD AC's and an new MF. The winter temps were in the 0 F. range. I opened the unheated barn, started the old AC, set it on a high idle for about 30 min. then ran it. It ran for years and years.

In my Kubota or in my cars I don't run them full until they have been moving for a few miles. The folks behind me sometimes get annoyed, but my cars and trucks last for at least 10 years with only normal maintenance. I think the warm up is essential to a long life. Oil and especially grease is very thick until it is a little warm. Just my 2 pennies.

 

[chim]

When I recently plumbed the heater in my L3200 I put brass valves in the cab so it could be bypassed on warm days. On a cold night last week I started it up and drove it around a little to see how the heater would work. Started it up and backed out of the shed, then proceeded to the mailbox at idle speed (about 100 yards). By the time I got to the mailbox, the heater valves were warm to the touch.

I normally don't rev the engine or do anything hard for a few minutes after a cold start.

 

[bosshogg]

If the temps are below 20 F I use a small torpedo heater and point it underneath the tractor for about 10 to 15 minute. I keep it about 5 to 6 feet away. I then turn the key for approx 30 seconds for the glow plugs to warm. When I do this and fire the tractor up I get very little black smoke and no chugging of the motor. When I do not do this it just seem like such a violent start up and she labors to keep running for the first 15 seconds.

This is my new B3200 with 70+ hours on it in a unheated garage. I then pop the garage door open and let her warm for 15 minutes or so.

Just be careful nothing catches fire...I am positive hundreds of tractors have gone up in flames by warming in a similar manner.

 

[Iowan]

When it gets around freezing I plug the block heater in for two hours or so then start and run for ten or fifteen minutes. I was told by a Kubota tech. that it's important to warm the hydro before running and putting a load on the pump etc. even then I go easy for a few minutes to circulate the hydraulic fluid. I operate my BX at -20 at times so I'm not worried about the extra time time on the clock from warming it up but I am concerned about busted parts from running it cold.