Happy Block Heater Day!
- Thread starter GrumpyFarmer
- Start date
This does not match my own observations. I dare to say it's the other way around. And maybe, with your obviously limited mental abilities, you missed the subtle fact that all vehicles and machines are being designed by engineers and not by mechanics.
And the tests done by Volvo design engineers are facts.
But you are certainly entitled to your opinion.
You have the honour of being the second person now on my "ignore" list, so no need to reply, I will not see it. The ignore function in this forum software is absolutely outstanding.
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Another new member with absolutely nothing of value to contribute.
I could not agree more. Similar to that other guy that was the first one on my ignore list. Everything Kubota engineers did was bad design and he too knew everything better.
But the forum ignore function is really good, makes the offending person disappear completely. Helps reducing blood pressure and avoids nasty, unnecessary arguments that we do not need or want here.
I don't use the ignore feature. I've never had a problem with conflict, and I can still learn from someone even if for the most part I disregard most of what they say. I don't need a "safe space".
Back in the 80's and 90's I had a couple semi tractors I installed Espar brand heater {run with diesel fuel} on because the drivers parked the trucks where using a plug in block heater wasn't an option.
Well I am a very flawed individual and I am not taking the bait today to respond directly. It’s usually pretty clear when someone is off their meds (or a new dosage) and not sure what they are able to process.
that being said, this is an important enough topic, at least it’s in my manual, kubota thought it important enough to not only have a section on ‘starting Engine in Cold Weather’, but also a section that gives a shout out to ‘Block Heater’….pages 62, 63,64…it even has recommended warm up time based on ambient temperature.
when in doubt, check yer manual.
keep the rubber side down.
that being said, this is an important enough topic, at least it’s in my manual, kubota thought it important enough to not only have a section on ‘starting Engine in Cold Weather’, but also a section that gives a shout out to ‘Block Heater’….pages 62, 63,64…it even has recommended warm up time based on ambient temperature.
when in doubt, check yer manual.
keep the rubber side down.
All the machines were well maintained and serviced correctly, some used glow plug system others used heaters and even air cooled applications. My point is in my opinion you don't need it and 90 % of equipment working in cold temperatures don't have one, its optional.
I didn't vote..... Don't have one on my new Kubota, and I would buy another one IF I still lived north of the Mason Dixon Line. But these days, if it's cold enough to use a block heater here, then I'd enjoy the work less anyway. It'll still be there when the temps come up.
RCW
Well-known member
Lifetime Member
Equipment
BX2360, FEL, MMM, BX2750D snowblower. 1953 Minneapolis Moline ZAU
I don’t have one on my BX2360.
After 14 winters, I’m okay without a block heater.
Rotella 5w-40 helps a lot, along with a decent battery tender.
After 14 winters, I’m okay without a block heater.
Rotella 5w-40 helps a lot, along with a decent battery tender.
About 99% of cars, trucks and equipment around here have a block heater (at a minimum). Standard in this part of the cold world. You don't say where your experience is, but the notion that you don't need one at -40 is silly.
Runs With Scissors
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L2501 TLB , Grappel, Brush Hog, Box Blade, Ballast box, Forks, Tiller, PH digger
Again, this is another case of “life's complicated” ……….
My truck (with a 5.9l Cummins) has a block heater…………But I can never remember to actually plug it in, so I have never used it.
It has seen quite a few “cold starts” in it’s day, but has always managed to start.
But admittedly, it spends most of its life in the garage at home. (not heated, but rarely below freezing)
Now my tractor spends its life in an unheated “metal pole barn”, and I usually remember to plug it in.
If I were to guess……(and I am guessing, because I have no way to quantify the next part), the tractor seems to “start easier” (whatever that means).
As for “more wear” on a cold start? That sounds plausible, but I only have 293,000 miles on the truck, so I’ll get back to ya when I wear it out, and let you know.
My truck (with a 5.9l Cummins) has a block heater…………But I can never remember to actually plug it in, so I have never used it.
It has seen quite a few “cold starts” in it’s day, but has always managed to start.
But admittedly, it spends most of its life in the garage at home. (not heated, but rarely below freezing)
Now my tractor spends its life in an unheated “metal pole barn”, and I usually remember to plug it in.
If I were to guess……(and I am guessing, because I have no way to quantify the next part), the tractor seems to “start easier” (whatever that means).
As for “more wear” on a cold start? That sounds plausible, but I only have 293,000 miles on the truck, so I’ll get back to ya when I wear it out, and let you know.
There are lots of ways to get to 293,000 miles on a truck and lots of different conditions during those miles. Some people have a 100 mile round-trip commute to work five days a week and others might only have a 20 mile round-trip commute to work five days a week. Let's compare those two scenarios without any additional data such as where the owners live, ambient temperature, time allowed for the engine to warm up etc.It has seen quite a few “cold starts” in it’s day, but has always managed to start.
As for “more wear” on a cold start? That sounds plausible, but I only have 293,000 miles on the truck, so I’ll get back to ya when I wear it out, and let you know.
Assuming the need to start the truck to leave the house, and when leaving work, the first owner starts their truck 5,860 times in those 293,000 miles. The second owner starts the truck 29,300 times in those 293,000 miles. So one truck sees 5X the number of starts during those miles. If you're a Volvo engineer you can bet that you've got every variable covered and considered in the data set before you make sweeping comments about whether or not a block heater is a good thing.
As a Design Engineer I'm okay with that statement. I see a lot of designs that I shake my head at, but manufacturing constraints, government regulations (in more than just one country), Warranty requirements, parts availability, assembly constraints, replacement-parts-generating-revenue to offset OSHA mandates, design budget caps, and managerial directives dictate outcome more than Engineers do, Engineers are expected to work within all those constraints and produce a 3-D design, tooling requirements, fixtures, build process...in not near enough time and somehow magically make it affordable.
BUT, the only people who really understand that are Engineers, and they're not afforded the latitude to complain about it, and if they were nobody would listen to their "boring" explanation of....it doesn't matter. Look how complex a fuel cap is vs. how simple they were years back because someone somewhere did something wrong and said the cap was designed poorly, that must be the reason. Or the gas can caused the spill, not the guy not watching the fuel level as he filled the tank--do you think Engineers wanted those crazy gas cans politicians forced on us? For hundreds of years simple stuff worked fine, but now we somehow need regulations to fix all our problems.
I realize the statement I quoted is really meant for the people at the top, the ones that make the decisions, the ones most people are afraid to speak out against because of the difficulty in being heard and resulting retribution. Plus you'd likely need an Engineer to explain what you're trying to say since things are so dang complex.
