How long to warm up before using ?

[tk1469]

Like my 'signature' says - I'm planning on getting an L3800 in the Spring, but I'm wondering in the Summer - and in the Winter - how long should you let a diesel warm up before you start using it? I know that diesels run better - as they get warmer - but how long should they be warmed up before they're used - like pushing snow in the Winter???

Thoughts ?

 

[Eric McCarthy]

They are pretty much good to go as soon as you preheat with the glow plugs and fire it up.

 

[gktilton]

Mine gets about 30 seconds and its off to the snow plowing.

 

[IC-Smoke]

With all my diesel equipment I like to let them warm up for 5 min or so before running them hard. Dont forget your oil is a lot thicker and diesel motors run at a higher compression ratio. Also that cold air is more dense than warm air so your forcing the motor to work a lot harder when you start it up and give it the berries! Just some food for thought! Ever watch the guy with the diesel pickup that jumps in and just hammers down when its cold out? motor knocking the whole way.... that cant be good

.02
Ian

 

[Eric McCarthy]

You actually destroy the diesel more if you let it sit and idel then get in it and go at it balls to the wall. The sut and carbon builds up around the pistons and will choke the engine out over time. Other then working the motor right away idel it up high so it keeps moving.

 

[IC-Smoke]

I bump the throttle a little on the tractors and the truck has a high idle feature that brings it up to 1200 rpm.

 

[fruitcakesa]

How about all that cold, thick trans fluid in our tractors? Doesn't that need some time to get warm or does the machine need to be in motion for the trans to warm up?

 

[GWD]

My technique is to fire it up, wait about 30 seconds, and then drive it around for a couple of minutes at a high idle before putting it to work.

The FEL is on the ground when stored so that oil is circulated when it is lifted to move. Operating all of the levers will loosen things up as well during the little "drive around". It also confirms that everything is ready to go. Sort of like pilots do with their airplanes.

 

[L4740]

Like my 'signature' says - I'm planning on getting an L3800 in the Spring, but I'm wondering in the Summer - and in the Winter - how long should you let a diesel warm up before you start using it? I know that diesels run better - as they get warmer - but how long should they be warmed up before they're used - like pushing snow in the Winter???

Thoughts ?

This is all spelled out for you in the owners manual. They have a table of ambient air temperatures, and associated warm up times. It will even tell you at approximately what rpm to run it at during the warm up period. Typically 1/2 throttle. To steal a quote for a noted wood worker. And I paraphrase, "Before operating any power tools, it is important that you read, understand, and follow all the rules and information that comes with your power tool".

 

[steve l]

i wait until temp gauge moves before fueling over 1200rpm,summer or winter.i let the trators (9000,9540)idle about 10mins before shutting down to let turbocharger cool down.HAPPY NEW YEAR.

 

[TGReaper]

We have four diesel's around our house and they are all used the same as far as start - work.
We start them and leave them run 30 to 60 sec.to get oil circulation then work them easy until they are warmed up.
Ten years ,no problems.

Dan

 

[tk1469]

Thanks for all your suggestions. I guess the rule of thumb should be that you let it run longer when its really cold out - but not so long that it carbons up.

Thanks guys !

 

[Kubota_Man]

I have a block heater on my BX24. It lives in a shop that is kept above 32 degrees F or 0 degrees C for my northern friends. I still plug it in and give her the life of comfort when I'm not working her hard. My normal pre-operation checks or PMCS for my fellow Army guys. I check all fluid levels, do a walk around, start her up, open the shop door, raise and lower a few times all impliments ie. play a bit, pull her outside, ramp up the RPMs a bit, close the shop door and now it's time to go to work.

 

[Orange Tractors]

This is all spelled out for you in the owners manual. They have a table of ambient air temperatures, and associated warm up times. It will even tell you at approximately what rpm to run it at during the warm up period. Typically 1/2 throttle. To steal a quote for a noted wood worker. And I paraphrase, "Before operating any power tools, it is important that you read, understand, and follow all the rules and information that comes with your power tool".

I've always liked this one: "Be sure to engage brain before operating equipment."

Robert

 

[Eric McCarthy]

. And I paraphrase, "Before operating any power tools, it is important that you read, understand, and follow all the rules and information that comes with your power tool".

That phrase used to be plastered all over every piece of equipment you bought. Weather it was a bulldozer or a circular saw.

 

[aquaforce]

My objective when starting ALL my stuff weather diesel or gas is to warm up enough that metal "growth" is nearly finished so that wear is controlled to a minumum. For cast parts about 80°F is enough to have the pistons swollen and all the metal parts are well oiled and running in their normal state. For forged parts it takes a little more temp like 110° - 120° but like has been mentioned just running long enough that the temp guage moves is usually at these temps. Based on the outside temps is what determines how long it takes before the needle moves. Summer time very little time and in Winter time much more time of course.

Most diesel stuff has forged internals hence part of the cost.

 

[Bulldog]

I'll keep this as short as I can. In 97 we got 2 new CAT trucks and I got a new CAT loader. I always warmed mine up winter or summer before it was moved. About 10 to 15 min summer and 30 min winter. Used a yard stick to bring the idle up to 1200 rpm's. The drivers in the trucks would start them and were off as soon as they had air pressure high enough to release the breaks. Around 9,000 or so hrs the first engine went down in one of the trucks. The second spun a bearing at about 11,000 hrs. My loader was 11 yrs old and had 25,000 hrs on it when I got my new one and it still didn't burn any oil and ran as good as it did when it was new for the most part. All three machines were operated in the same enviroment and had the same PM schedule. The only thing I can see that was done different between the 3 was the warm up time.

I feel like this is very important to the life of any engine gas or diesel.

 

[jonyyuma]

That hard hammering when cold is the pistons trying to warm up and adjust to the cylinders...There is slack in the cylinder when cold, or else it would sieze up when running hot. Gagging a cold diesel is expensive, and it puts more fuel into the crankcase and oil...Cooling off on turbo equipment is important too, it helps prevent coking the turbos up.