Oil change interval on low use tracto
- Thread starter Guv
- Start date
Weapon cleaner/lube/protectant (CLP) had a good shelf life.
(But, of course, used correctly…. it won’t HAVE a long shelf-life.)
(But, of course, used correctly…. it won’t HAVE a long shelf-life.)
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I have always changed engine oil in all of my low use equipment, tractors, on road vehicles, air cooled engines, etc., each fall after last expected use on seasonal equipment. Seasonal equipment, e.g., lawn mowers, etc., are then started with fresh oil, fogged and winterized. Engines then stored with fresh oil inside.As the title says, those of you with low use (hrs) tractors; how many months/years would you feel comfortable with going between oil changes.
I had an illness last year that cut into my quality time with my B2601resulting in, 4 hrs use!
I have always gone with a year no matter the hrs (mine are always under recommended limits) but am seriously rethinking this.
I'm retired so my tractors are my recreational, hunting vehicles and are very babied.
Thanks
Steve
FWIW, apparently General Motors believes that elapsed time is important regarding oil life. I bought a new gasoline powered GMC PU , delivered in September and have not yet sold my car so the PU has been driven only about 330 miles, about 300 of which were travel miles from the selling dealer. Despite the 330 total miles, the computerized oil life monitor is down to 67% oil life.
I listened to Lake Speed Jr (The Motor Oil Geek) because as a certified Tribologist that's what he's dedicated his life's work to. Bottom line, as temperature and humidity change that gets trapped in the crank case even if the engine isn't running. Additive packages degrade due to use (anti-corrosion) and age (chemical reaction and breakdown). Manufacturing engineers don't just say, "Change it for the sake of changing it," they look at how to maintain the engine and extend the life verses the cost in doing so.
Now, there are EPA regulations and some (typically German) manufacturers saying to extend oil dumps as a marketing ploy, Kubota is not one to play that game.
Oil is cheap compared to the cost of your machine, change the life-blood as directed in the Kubota manual.
Now, there are EPA regulations and some (typically German) manufacturers saying to extend oil dumps as a marketing ploy, Kubota is not one to play that game.
Oil is cheap compared to the cost of your machine, change the life-blood as directed in the Kubota manual.
I guess maybe in my case lesson here is rather than do a spring/early summer change out of oil and filter move that to fall around my last leaf chopping/lawn feeding time period and then the unit will over winter with fresh(er) oil and filter. Save the mower deck gear box, coolant, and transaxle changes for late spring/early summer. Just I've always been a "fresh season fresh start" type
Blue2Orange
Active member
Equipment
BX2380 with LA344S & QH05. SB1051. SG0554. BB1248. RB0560, Vassar dirt bucket
New I changed oil and filter annually even with usually less than 100hrs of run time. Eventually the hours dropped to ~50hr/year. Started stretching up to ~18 months after my neighbor who grew up farming and is now retired and back on the family farm noted my maybe excessive maintenance schedule on everything. That's sort of my limit considering how relatively inexpensive oil and filters are. Spring one year. Then Autumn the follow year cycle. Didn't seem to hurt the tractor. Averaged out to 2 oil/filter changes every 3 years and less than 100 hrs of run time mostly in relatively dust free conditions.
BX was a new purchase last April. Plan as with the NH is change at least annually until the warranty period is over. Incentive to purchase a land plane
. If I owned a land plane would routinely take a few runs up and down the driveway to maintain the even surface. Use the balance of the hour plus of running time to smooth out sections of the trail. Maybe consider take out the rumble strips that form on the township gravel road down both directions from where my driveway exits. Tourist. Exceeding the speed limit then braking on the other side. Rush to get nowhere. One of these days will hear the crunch of steel as a speeding SUV, pickup, or whatever meets a logging truck.
BX was a new purchase last April. Plan as with the NH is change at least annually until the warranty period is over. Incentive to purchase a land plane
. If I owned a land plane would routinely take a few runs up and down the driveway to maintain the even surface. Use the balance of the hour plus of running time to smooth out sections of the trail. Maybe consider take out the rumble strips that form on the township gravel road down both directions from where my driveway exits. Tourist. Exceeding the speed limit then braking on the other side. Rush to get nowhere. One of these days will hear the crunch of steel as a speeding SUV, pickup, or whatever meets a logging truck.Bingo.
I've adhered to a late fall oil change schedule for decades especially for seasonally used machines.
For those who worry about condensaton from humidity…..(each day/night…..crankcase breathing In…. breathing Out…breathing In ….) and water collecting in the crankcase….. I’ve recently read an Air Force manual on oil sampling that prescribes a “crackle test” ….to determine if crankcase oil has water in it.
Run the engine for several minutes to circulate the oil …. Draw a sample of oil…. (methods to do this include a plastic or vinyl “dip-tube“ stuck down the dipstick-tube…. place a finger over the ned fo the tube and withdraw the sample… or do it via the drain valve…. or take it out of a spin-on oil filter) …. SHAKE the sample up….to make certain any water is well-distributed in the sample….
Anyway, to test for water in the oil:.. Heat a steel plate (or iron skillet, etc) to about 300-degrees F…. and then Drop the oil onto the steel plate…. Any water in the solution will “Crackle” as it turns to steam, leaving the oil to smoke.
I haven’t tried this. I only read it.:
Run the engine for several minutes to circulate the oil …. Draw a sample of oil…. (methods to do this include a plastic or vinyl “dip-tube“ stuck down the dipstick-tube…. place a finger over the ned fo the tube and withdraw the sample… or do it via the drain valve…. or take it out of a spin-on oil filter) …. SHAKE the sample up….to make certain any water is well-distributed in the sample….
Anyway, to test for water in the oil:.. Heat a steel plate (or iron skillet, etc) to about 300-degrees F…. and then Drop the oil onto the steel plate…. Any water in the solution will “Crackle” as it turns to steam, leaving the oil to smoke.
I haven’t tried this. I only read it.:
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Does a positive crackle test mean you have too much water in your oil ?
NO - its not quantitative and susceptible to too many other variables
What test will reliably tell you how much water is in your engine oil?
Karl Fischer titration
What exactly does a Karl Fischer test tell you?
Percent emulsified/free water content by volume
What level of water contamination makes an engine oil unusable?
Generally 200/300 PPM or greater.
Can I do a Karl Fischer test at home?
NO
How much does a basic commercial Karl Fischer test cost?
$40 and up
Dan
NO - its not quantitative and susceptible to too many other variables
What test will reliably tell you how much water is in your engine oil?
Karl Fischer titration
What exactly does a Karl Fischer test tell you?
Percent emulsified/free water content by volume
What level of water contamination makes an engine oil unusable?
Generally 200/300 PPM or greater.
Can I do a Karl Fischer test at home?
NO
How much does a basic commercial Karl Fischer test cost?
$40 and up
Dan
I purchased a tractor back in 2021 with the intentions of retiring within a few months, that changed into years with only 27 hrs on the tractor, with 9 hrs in the fall of 25.
So, does a person wait until the 50 hr. initial service, which may be yrs, or should they change the 4-year-old oil now and then again at the 50 hr mark or extend the first oil change if it's changed now?
So, does a person wait until the 50 hr. initial service, which may be yrs, or should they change the 4-year-old oil now and then again at the 50 hr mark or extend the first oil change if it's changed now?
What is YOUR desire..?? Are you wanting to meet some “standard” established by the mfr’r..? ….or do you want to give your machine Good Care commensurate with the investment it represents..??
If it were ME…. in the case you describe…. I’d change it after one year…and then again yearly …until I begin to use it more regularly.
JMO
Link didn’t open anything but a blank page. On mobile anyway. But, as you said, it’s not really in storage. It’s in use.
I did change it a year after I purchased it, I was interested in what people thought because I've seen two schools of thought, you must follow the recommended service procedure. There's plenty of videos from dealerships that say you must wait until the 50-hour mark and those that have the experience to understand why one may not wait, extended time frame, before they change their first change.
Some young man/woman walks into a dealership after their first purchase of a tractor and doesn't have any experience, walks up to the service department, there's a wise old man standing there and the young person asks the very same question, because they did what everyone told them to do and that was to read the owner's manual first. The wise old man says to them " I think a little common sense works here. "
LMAO
You appear to possess both a sense of humor and common sense so I see a long and joyful tractor ownership in your future.
Stay warm and safe up there!!!
Dan