300U and 32 degree start.

Dave H (MI)

Well-known Member
Finally getting a chance to see if all the work I did last Spring did any good. Been starting well with temps in the 40s. Last night down in the 20s and 32 when I opened the shed. Tractor started first pull with open choke, then stalled a few seconds later. Repeated 3-4 times and then it would fire no more. So I gave it a whiff of starter fluid. It fired right up and kept running. I would like to improve on this if anyone has ideas. Hey, at least it will run now!!!
 
When its that cold you will need to leave the choke mostly closed after it starts and open it as the tractor warms up. Close it enough to keep the tractor running right each time you move it. It will take a few minutes to run smooth without any choke.
 
I would also advise using the choke lever as an analog device with unlimited adjustment between the stops rather than a digital one at full out going immediately to full close. Start at full rod out and push it back in slowly, a little increment every couple of minutes.

In essence this is your air/fuel adjustment. Definitely need to run overfuel/rich for a reliable start in cold conditions. Especially with a carb- wet manifold system where there's this giant mass of cold metal which is efficiently condensing the fuel vapor back into liquid that coats the intake walls down thru the piston & head itself. Eventually by the time it gets to the spark, there is insufficient fuel vapor to support combustion in the chamber. So, the time tested method is to just send more vapor until the engine warms up.
 
I've been starting mine since I was a kid,8-9 yrs old,in the winter.It has always been 6 volt.It might barely crank over,but,it will fire up after a revolution or 2.You have to leave the choke almost closed after it fires up at about 1/2 throttle.It might take several minutes of gradually opening the choke,depending on how cold it is,before it runs clean.
I have thought about enriching the fuel mixture so it is not so cold natured,but since it runs well after warm up,I never have.
When I was a kid on our dairy farm, we had a 340u also and it was my job to haul manure in the winter starting at age 9 or so_On frozen mornings I would start the 300u first(it was the loader tractor),leave it run on part choke, and then the 340u,which really did not need to be choked.Then I'd hook the 340u to the manure spreader and take it behind the barn.By that time the 300u was warmed up and ready to go.And I'd go load manure and spread it! This was starting in the mid'60s.Back then it had maybe 12 - 1500hrs and now it has over 7600hrs,still starts and runs the same.Mark
 
This is the sort of response you pray for when you ask a question here...all the same. So I have a lot of old equipment. I would say I am a pretty fair hand on the choke. Indeed I have been using the choke on this tractor. This consensus of opinion makes me thing that my choke is not working. I put a new cable on it last Spring because the old one had broken. I need to check tomorrow to see if the new one has come loose and stopped moving the choke. Appreciate all the responses! Hope everyone is enjoying a turkey dinner!
 
I would check and make sure if it has the choke flap as part of the choke butterfly that is has a good spring on it. If that flap sits open due to a bad spring it does not choke like it should
 

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