GreensvilleJay
Well-known member
Equipment
BX23-S,57 A-C D-14,58 A-C D-14, 57 A-C D-14,tiller,cults,Millcreek 25G spreader,
yes, the rad (well whole engine compartment) should be 'covered' to reduce air flow. I don't know th 'number' for diesel engines, but my gasser loves a 160*F thermostat. Anything less(cold) it's not 'happy', get too hot, really NOT happy, so you should do 'whatever it takes' to keep the engine happy.
Old tractors had manual shutters in front of the rads,so old farmers KNEW when adn how to adjust them to keep the $$$ engine running right. Common sense says if you take xx thousands of BTUs(heat) FROM an engine, it WILL be colder, won't run 'proper.' Same thing about no tractors seem to have air preheaters in them. Dang sucking in -30 air to run an engine isn't nice or easy on it(YOU try breathing in -30 air !!). Most cars of the 60s (my Mustang for one) had an automatic air 'valve' that'd direct warm air into the carb. Idiot HVAC guy,35 years ago ran a cold air return OUTSIDE in a crawlspace...my 1st gas bill was 2x my oil bill.
Old farmers install 'heat housers' on their tractors,for a dang good reason ! Ove rthe decades since, common sense seems to have vanished. Heating a cab for you, is a 'robbing peter to pay paul' situation. In this case 'paul' , you get kinda warm and 'peter' the engine ,gets left out in the cold, literally. One of my '67 stangs never got hot in winter,removed the fan blade ,it finally got warmish to the point the defrosters worked, never overheated in hot summers either. 'Thermodynamics'...big fancy name for the science but at the end of the day, you have to play, adjust,modify the 'stuff' to get what you want. No sense installing a 30k BTU heater core if the engine's only supplying 10K,cause it's running in -30 temps with no covers on it.
BTW, one trick with cars/trucks. Put HVAC controls to Air conditioning mode. That sets the air gates to recirculate the air(stay inside the vehicle),unlike 'heat' which draws air from outside...
Old tractors had manual shutters in front of the rads,so old farmers KNEW when adn how to adjust them to keep the $$$ engine running right. Common sense says if you take xx thousands of BTUs(heat) FROM an engine, it WILL be colder, won't run 'proper.' Same thing about no tractors seem to have air preheaters in them. Dang sucking in -30 air to run an engine isn't nice or easy on it(YOU try breathing in -30 air !!). Most cars of the 60s (my Mustang for one) had an automatic air 'valve' that'd direct warm air into the carb. Idiot HVAC guy,35 years ago ran a cold air return OUTSIDE in a crawlspace...my 1st gas bill was 2x my oil bill.
Old farmers install 'heat housers' on their tractors,for a dang good reason ! Ove rthe decades since, common sense seems to have vanished. Heating a cab for you, is a 'robbing peter to pay paul' situation. In this case 'paul' , you get kinda warm and 'peter' the engine ,gets left out in the cold, literally. One of my '67 stangs never got hot in winter,removed the fan blade ,it finally got warmish to the point the defrosters worked, never overheated in hot summers either. 'Thermodynamics'...big fancy name for the science but at the end of the day, you have to play, adjust,modify the 'stuff' to get what you want. No sense installing a 30k BTU heater core if the engine's only supplying 10K,cause it's running in -30 temps with no covers on it.
BTW, one trick with cars/trucks. Put HVAC controls to Air conditioning mode. That sets the air gates to recirculate the air(stay inside the vehicle),unlike 'heat' which draws air from outside...