engine heater?

Justin SE IOWA · Nov 20, 2011

I have a allis WD and she doesn't like starting in the cold. I have a magnetic heater that I put on the oil pan but I dont think it helps. I am thinking about getting a heater that goes into the lower radiator hose. What kind of heaters do you use? Thanks for your advice.

sixtyninegmc · Nov 20, 2011

Generally a freeze plug heater or two, and a glue-on pad heater on the bottom of the oil pan and transmission. The magnetic heaters seem to be very inefficient. The circulating pump heaters work pretty well, just less compact, though they are faster. Still want a pad on the oil pan, though.

Bob · Nov 20, 2011

"The circulating pump heaters"

Can you name ONE that has a "pump"????

bobs old iron · Nov 20, 2011

just like truck/car water heaters, they all warm up the h2o easier to make the engine spin easier, oil get some of the heat from upper engine, once it starts, then oil passes thru the warm passages and get pressure faster, less strain when warmer than a cold start...having a pan heater couldn't do any less help on better starting

gregk · Nov 20, 2011

Yup either a frost plug heater or a lower radiator hose heater are what has worked best for me. I have never had much luck with the magnetic ones either.My M Farmall has one plumbed in it that I have never used and since I have started that tractor to move snow at -15 I don't know why it's on there

Mike Bock · Nov 20, 2011

a good battery with good cables and a good starter with a shot of either it should start easy at 0 degrees

old · Nov 20, 2011

Yep heat the oil and all you get is hot burned oil but if you heat the coolant you get warm oil and a warm engine. But if all is right most engines will start when it is very cold but all has to be just right which is hard to get. So yep a coolant heater is the best way to go

DoubleR · Nov 20, 2011

I have used the lower radiator hose heaters with good luck and no problems. I got them at TSC for about 25 bucks for the last one I got a few years back. Just measure your lower hose and get it to fit intside it. They come in different sizes.

Lou from Wi. · Nov 20, 2011

BOB, Don't you wish everybody was as knowledgeable about nothing ,as you are? The fellow was probably wondering about the KATS CIRCULATING HEATER rather then a pump.Does this information satisfy your hunger for knowledge??? Try taking up a musical instrument for self enjoyment. LOU
poke here Mr Expert

bob featherstone · Nov 20, 2011

my 8n is the same put a lower rad hose heater in, let it run a couple hours to warm it all up, plus i hang a trouble light against the carb/ intake area & it fires up no matter how cold
bob

Bob · Nov 20, 2011

Hey, LOUIE... Circulating, YES, pump, NO!

Good to see you are still around helping to perpetuate old mechanic's wives' tales!

Lou from Wi. · Nov 20, 2011

Well you want a pump, here ya go BOB, They still make them,unlike your OLD wives tales a pump type heater is true.
LOU
try this BOB

john *.?-!.* cub owner · Nov 20, 2011

I do not know about the new ones, but the old KATS did pump water. They had 2 check balls in them and as they warmed the water expanded and pushed out the top. When the heater cycled and it cooled the coolant in the tank contracted a little and the op ball blocked water and it cmae in through the bottom one., then the cycle repeated.

Bob · Nov 20, 2011

Yep, they make 'em. But, at that price, he ain't got one. And, neither do you!

BTW, THANKS for playing!

Lou from Wi. · Nov 20, 2011

Bob Just because you might not be able to afford one. don't presume he hasn't the funds to purchase one THAT HAS A PUMP!!!!Folks will supprise ya that way. Wondering how you would know his finances??? lol. Just another assumption on your part? LOU.

NCWayne · Nov 20, 2011

Kimhotstart makes engine heaters with pumps also. Used one years ago for a company to help an old MP22 Murphy get to a normal operating temp when used in a very lightly loaded condition. They work great and for the price they ought to........
Poke here

Bob · Nov 20, 2011

"Bob Just because you might not be able to afford one"

LOUIE, how you would know my finances??? lol. Just another assumption on your part? Bob

Lou from Wi. · Nov 20, 2011

POOR FOLKS ALWAYS SPOUT OBJECTIONAL TRASH TALK .I couldn't care less about your personal finances as I didn't presume(because the item you was in doubt about, having a pump built in the heater)was to pricey to afford after we showed you that they(Heater/pumps) was available. NOT QUESTIONING "PUMP"? Your guestion is right up there with Sanding the mag wheel on Briggs Gasoline engines.Seems everybody would remember,WOULDN"T YOU THINK SO? Briggs says YES you say NO. JUST A REMINDER and EXAMPLE ! LOU.

thurlow · Nov 20, 2011

I've seen that "hot burned oil" posted on here numerous times, but I've never seen anyone post any proof. Most of the 4020s sold by the local dealer had a dealer-installed oil pan heater and I've personally owned 5 of them. The 2 that I fed with for better than 3 decades were 'plugged in' from December thru March, except when they were running. They ran better than 15,000 hrs before being overhauled; no telling how long they would've lasted if I hadn't burned that oil!

Jon Hagen · Nov 20, 2011

lower hose heater works fine,IF you can mount it in a section of the lower hose that turns "UP" to the tractor engine at atleast a 45 degree angle.
Do not mount one in a flat portion of the hose, or in a part that curves "UP" to the radiator.

Steven-Id · Nov 21, 2011

Get either a lower radiator hose heater or a soft plug heater as they work much better. My FIL has a wd45 that if it will turn over it will start. He always called it old reliable. My uncle had an old mccormick M that would start at very cold temps but, the farmhand F11 loader would not move until you ran the tractor for about 15 minutes to get the oil circulating. That is where we used the magnetic heater was on the hydraulic tank to help warm the oil.

Steven

SparepartsTN · Nov 21, 2011

I remember my father trying to start an early sixties IH truck on very cold winter mornings in New England in the mid seventies. That gas V-8 didn"t like cold weather. He cut the bottom off a 35 gal can to make a pan with six inch high sides and built a small wood fire in it every morning, shoved it under the engine and went off to do the chores. This was a two ton truck, when he came back a while later it would start. I figured that some day he would toast it, but I guess he lived a charmed life.

sixtyninegmc · Nov 21, 2011

Gee, I was getting ready to name a few, and Lou beat me to it. Sounds like you two have a good rapor, I`ll let you work it out amonst yourselves. As for burning oil, there are bolt on, open element pan heaters that generate quite a bit more heat than the silicone pad type, they MIGHT get hot enough to burn oil, I doubt it though, oil has to get over about 270 degrees before causing harm from overheating, good luck getting there. And yes, it is a very good idea to heat the oil in the pan, it has already passed through the pump and galleys before it gets high enough to absorb heat from the water jacket. You can see the difference by looking at the oil on the dipstick with and without heat in cold weather, and pay close attention to the oil pressure guage during cold starts.

And I have to say that the notion that if an engine starts it does not need to be plugged in, is missing most of the point. Plugging in an engine (and preheating oil) avoids accelerated wear from cold starting engines, they may start but it is not good for them. Most fire departments plug in there vehicles even in the summer, and most big standby power plants keep the engines pre-heated year-round to avoid wear and gaurantee full power available on startup. Your engine will last much, much longer if it is preheated.

All of this has been published by engine manufacturers, and any amount of cold weather experience will confirm it. And no, Missouri is not cold weather experience.

Josh
Fairbanks, Alaska
Currently -30F (and my car is plugged in)

El Toro · Nov 21, 2011

These work fine. Hal

Billy Shafer · Nov 21, 2011

Just my two cents worth after 35 years on the road.With back up generators.
Lower radiator works fine if installed correctly.
Freeze plug types work good. Just make sure the element does not touch the block.
Kim and some others. Make heaters that you can install if you have the room.Also you need a place on the block to run heater hose to. The lower hose would go to the intake of the heaster. The upper hose goes to the outlet side.Then you can set the tempature that you want. To keep the block at.

Blackhole49 · Nov 21, 2011

Hey you two, you know what they say happens when you get in an argument with a fool.

old · Nov 21, 2011

Well I have seen burned oil and it is not good. But that said if again things are working as they should the heater should not get so hot as to burn the oil but either way a coolant heater is by far the best for the buck

El Toro · Nov 21, 2011

We tested Soviet vehicles down to -65°F and they would start like it was summer. One vehicle had 2 engines that looked like the flat head Chrysler engines. They had a mini-boiler that ran off gasoline and it heated the coolant and the oil pans were shrouded so the heat from the exhaust heated the oil. Only 10 minutes of preheat was needed and they started easily. Used the same batteries for 3 starts. Hal

sixtyninegmc · Nov 21, 2011

(quoted from post at 14:31:10 11/21/11) We tested Soviet vehicles down to -65°F and they would start like it was summer. One vehicle had 2 engines that looked like the flat head Chrysler engines. They had a mini-boiler that ran off gasoline and it heated the coolant and the oil pans were shrouded so the heat from the exhaust heated the oil. Only 10 minutes of preheat was needed and they started easily. Used the same batteries for 3 starts. Hal

Was this testing done at Ft. Greeley?

Randy Turner · Nov 21, 2011

My Allis 175D has a freeze plug heater on it. I can start it easily in 10 degree weather after 20 minutes of having the heater plugged in.
It doesn't start well when it's cold if it hasn't been plugged in.

Randy

Kent Petersen · Nov 21, 2011

Randy take a good look at the lower hose on a WD it is very hard the get a heater in there if your a going leave it pluged in all the time put a 500 watt tank heater on or four short quick warm up a 750 or 1000 watt . that is a small engine to warm up i run 1000 watt soft plug type on a 4430 JD and two hours will get it warm

Kent Petersen · Nov 21, 2011

Randy take a good look at the lower hose on a WD it is very hard the get a heater in there if your a going leave it pluged in all the time put a 500 watt tank heater on or four short quick warm up a 750 or 1000 watt . that is a small engine to warm up i run 1000 watt soft plug type on a 4430 JD and two hours will get it warm

flying belgian · Nov 21, 2011

Well I'm going to put a new twist on this. Get yourself a knipko and lean a piece of plywood up against one side of tractor and blast the heat in from the other side. Tractor will start, good oil pressure right away, coolant will be warm to throw heat back on you from heathauser, trans oil will be warm so shift easy, hyd oil will be warm so loader will work nice. Steering wheel will be warm so fingers don't freeze. Seat will be warm so a-- don't freeze. Fuel will be warm, carb will be warm so you don't have to run with choke half shut to prevent coughing. All this for the price of a couple gallons of kerosene. And you can use it on the other tractor too. and you can use it on the wifes car and you can blow it on you as you are thawing the water fountain and you can use it when you are replacing the bearing on the feed grinder. and you can blow it on you when you are hanging the holiday lites on the bushes that you should have put up last week when it was 60 degrees and the list goes on and on.

buickanddeere · Nov 21, 2011

Just purchase a coolant heater and be done with
it.
Ignore these hacks who build tents with tarps or
plywood shacks around thew tractor. Then take a
flaming torch and jam it in there.........
It takes less time, less money, less danger and
provides better results to just use a coolant
heater.
PS. If somebody suggests using ether instead of
a coolant heater. Wind up full swing and hit them
between the eyes with the ether can.

engine heater?

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