Oil warmer for winter

[miro]

I have an older ( 50 years) b5100, small 2 cylinder 12 HP engine. I have tried a rad hose block heater - now twice - both have failed after 1 winter. There's no water pump - a thermo-syphon system.

A conversation with a Kubota tech suggested an oil warmer or crankcase heater. Except most are a magnetic attachment type. His suggestion is based on making the oil warmer so it gets pumped as soon as the engine starts,
rather than trying to pump molasses like oil.
I get -20 C temps here in the winter - - 15 C is common for a week at a time.

The dipstick heaters I've seen are far too powerful for my little engine.

So, has anyone figured out how to attach one of the magnetic crankcase heaters to an aluminum case?

I'm pretty mechanically and can do sheet metal work OK.

Suggestions are appreciated

miro

 

[Edke6bnl]

I put a glue on silicone heater on the bottom of my oil pan. They have an internal temperature controller built in and cheap. https://www.amazon.com/Engine-Heater-Silicone-Block-Protector/dp/B0BDKNM949/ref=sr_1_1?crid=153N7YL7CXEX8&keywords=glue+on+oil+pan+heater&qid=1694352269&sprefix=glue+on+oil+pan+heater,aps,187&sr=8-1&th=1
I do not get anywhere near your low temperatures.

 

[TheOldHokie]

I have an older ( 50 years) b5100, small 2 cylinder 12 HP engine. I have tried a rad hose block heater - now twice - both have failed after 1 winter. There's no water pump - a thermo-syphon system.

A conversation with a Kubota tech suggested an oil warmer or crankcase heater. Except most are a magnetic attachment type. His suggestion is based on making the oil warmer so it gets pumped as soon as the engine starts,
rather than trying to pump molasses like oil.
I get -20 C temps here in the winter - - 15 C is common for a week at a time.

The dipstick heaters I've seen are far too powerful for my little engine.

So, has anyone figured out how to attach one of the magnetic crankcase heaters to an aluminum case?

I'm pretty mechanically and can do sheet metal work OK.

Suggestions are appreciated

miro

Super effective block heater:

 

[GreensvilleJay]

what oil type are you using ?
I'd add a battery warming blanket. At those low temps, poor battery's only got 1/2 ? the electrons available...

 

[DustyRusty]

Put the tractor in the living room. Just tell the wife that it is a family member that helps with snow removal. I would start with a lighter-weight oil for the cold winter months, a battery blanket heater, and the heater that is recommended above that you glue in place. Possibly you can find a freeze plug heater that will fit.

 

[Lug66]

I remembered this when I installed Tania heaters. There is some really good information in this document. It is aviation oriented but the installation principles that work on an airplane or a helicopter will work on a ground vehicle.

 

[85Hokie]

I have an older ( 50 years) b5100, small 2 cylinder 12 HP engine. I have tried a rad hose block heater - now twice - both have failed after 1 winter. There's no water pump - a thermo-syphon system.

A conversation with a Kubota tech suggested an oil warmer or crankcase heater. Except most are a magnetic attachment type. His suggestion is based on making the oil warmer so it gets pumped as soon as the engine starts,
rather than trying to pump molasses like oil.
I get -20 C temps here in the winter - - 15 C is common for a week at a time.

The dipstick heaters I've seen are far too powerful for my little engine.

So, has anyone figured out how to attach one of the magnetic crankcase heaters to an aluminum case?

I'm pretty mechanically and can do sheet metal work OK.

Suggestions are appreciated

miro

AS you may have noticed - or will notice, warming the oil does not do a lot for the engine heating up. Warming the water and even if the water does not circulate much - it will heat the metal surroundings and thus make the engine heat up a bit.

The hose heater or block heater works well. I know you have had 2 go south - maybe switch to another brand? AND how long did you leave the heater on? SHould only be on about 2 hours to do its job.

IF you glue a warming pad to the underside pan - when that goes bad, it will be a mess to clean up.

Old Hokie's idea - is simple, and effective - and it will/could provide heat WHEN YOU NEED TO WORK on something else too. Killing two birds with one heater!

 

[RBsingl]

My diesel standby generator (40 KW powered by Mitsu 3.3L turbo diesel) has both a block heater and a silicon oil pan heater which is attached with adhesive. They are controlled by a thermostat in their power feed and come on if the ambient temperature in their partially in ground section of the barn drops below 32F. The oil pan heater has its own thermostat that cycles when its temperature rises above its normal point to avoid cooking the oil.

I also use a solid state relay that controls power feed to the heater thermostat and it kills power to the heaters when the generator starts producing output.

This is probably a little bit overkill in terms of making the generator happy because the auto transfer switch has a programmable transfer time after it first sees stable generator output and I have mine set to allow 4 minutes warmup before it transfer the house over to the genset. This four minute delay also allows for compressors in the HVAC systems along with the refrigerator, deep freeze, and dehumidifiers to equalize so that they won't try to restart under load.

Rodger

 

[OlFerguson]

I have a block heater on mine and it works awesome especially if your unit is outdoors . Make sure you make the plug in end long enough , disconnecting and reconnecting it will be a pain otherwise

 

[GeoHorn]

Keeping a heater employed all the time will accelerate corrosion/rust inside your engine…and can contribute to condensation issues…. so generally it’s better to warm the engine just before use only.

Multi-grade oils were invented to solve this problem. A 15W40 oil will do just fine down to sub-zero temps, and lower temp grades may also be available in certain areas.

A “milk house” heater may be all you need however. Set it up beneath the tractor and aim it at the sump (I pop-rivetted a corrugated aluminum dryer hose/duct to to one and use it to heat a personal airplane engine for cold winter flights) ….perhaps on a timer to get it ready for dawn if that’s your plan…. for several hours before start-time…. Cheap and effective.

Another advantage of a hot-air type heater is it will also warm other components around the engine. If you aim it right…the hot air will also affect your coolant in the radiator and surrounding equipment.

$25 at WalMart.

or: https://www.amazon.com/1500-Watt-Mi...-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

and perhaps a more “directional” type: https://www.amazon.com/Dura-Heat-EU...words=milkhouse+heater&qid=1694409392&sr=8-19

 

[miro]

The tractor is used to blow snow ( front mounted) whne I come up to our cabin.
I do that infrequently ( 3-4 weeks) so there's usually quite a bit of snow to deal with. And the tractor has been sitting on the cold.

I did some digging into my collection of documents and found a "owners manual) for the block heater that "failed". It's written in very very small type - had to use a magnifying glass - and sure enough - there's the instruction to turn on the block heater for 2 hours.

So I measured the resistance and - yup - the heater was still OK. No where in the manual indicates the presence of a thermostat. I reckon that's on me - as usual - operator error.

Thank you all for the discussion and hints.