block heater

Plowboy1

Member
So...we"ve got this "foreign" (most of them are now) tractor and it"s kinda hard finding a block heater that will fit (not much room or hoses to work with). I personally don"t care too much for the oil heaters BUT...why can"t you put one of those stick-on types on the bottom of the radiator? will it get hot enough to make a difference?
 
NAPA sells Block heaters for the freeze plug holes. I got one for my 1715 N/H for $27.95 one of the best envestments I have made along with the 1000 amp battery. plug in and in about an hour will start like it was summer.
 
I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if the radiator tanks are plastic. It's good enough for automobiles so it won't be long and the little machines will have them (if they don't already). You would probably do a good job of making a nice warm radiator and that's it. For heating coolant either put one in the bottom hose or in a welch (freeze) plug.
 
Waste of electricity to heat a radiator, heating the block is what works. Also, if you were to actually post the make & model of the tractor, somebody might be able to steer you towards a frostplug style heater which most guys prefer.
 
Wrong side of the thermostat. You don't want to heat the radiator.

A magnetic heater on the oil pan will put a little heat into the engine block, where you want it.

Frost plug heater in the engine block is the ticket.

Paul
 
I have used the lower radiator hose heater on three different tractors and never had a problem They have worked good for me. I have seen allot of those frost plug heaters that seem to be leaking a little. I always figured I would just buy a new hose if it didn't work out. But I never had too. Just my opinion.
 
I just wanted to add that on the tractors I have put the hose heater on you can here the water circulating after it is plugged in for a few minutes. You have to put it on the lower hose. I have one on a Massey 231 and you can feel the block warming up after an hour or so. It will start below 0 without the preheater being plugged in a for 90 minutes or so.
 
I totally agree with you guys that the best way to go is the lower radiator hose. This is a Mahindra 4500, basic tractor..no computers.. easy to understand. But there is very little room in between the engine and the radiator. I guess maybe a couple of longer hoses might work. Thanks for the input.
 
Make sure you have a couple of inches of straight lower radiator hose to install it. Also you don't want to alter the flow of the hose or radiator any.
 
Check the wattage of the magnetic ones; I've never seen one that has enough wattage to transfer much heat.
 
Here in Ohio I have a tractor with the lower radiator hose heater, and a similar tractor with a circulating engine block heater (we call them tank heaters). They both work, however the tank heater works about 2x better than the lower radiator hose heater. In fact once it warms up a little, I am going to install a tank heater (~$50 with associated parts) on the tractor with the lower radiator hose heater. It seems to more quickly and thoroughly warm the engine for only about $20 more.
 
Your NAPA dealer can contact the manufacturer, find the right block/freeze plug heater for you. They just did that for me. (Now if I can just get a day with reasonable temperatures to install it!)
 
I prefer the tank, or "percolator" heaters. One word of caution, with their circulating function, they HAVE to be installed vertically, or nearly so. too much of an angle, and they get trapped air in them, and rapidly burn up. On your Mahindra, look for a block drain fitting, on the side of the block, that can feed a tank heater. on top of the head, often there is a pipe plug somewhere that be used to pump the warm coolant into. Just be sure it's for coolant, not oil, LOL!
 
The tank idea sounds easier than doing a lower radiator hose. Been too cold here to do much, but will have at it when it gets around 30. thanks again.
 

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