I love working with tractors always have but I just love watching this channel because the guy is just honest of him learning and it is fun watching a person learn because you see over time they get better because of their willingness to want to learn .
Hey Gord: There is a quick fix for ensuring that your rig is always ready to roll in the cold...park it in your new garage!! Glad to help Gord! Ha ha ha. Best regards, Dan.
I love your content! it's so therapeutic watching your videos. I don't have any idea the man hours you put in to create and edit your videos also maintaining your land but I will say your viewers appreciate the result, keep up the great work and continue to be safe!
Oh...GP, I am so sorry to hear that you start your mornings with coffee and the news. I personally stopped watching/reading any kind of news almost 20 years ago. It has been one of my best decisions in my life, and my days are always better for not listening to that nonsense! 🙃 I feed the birds while coffee is making and then watch them while enjoying my Java. Their behavior will tell me everything I need to know about what the weather will do that day! Have a great weekend and some great advice on tractors today!👍
Thanks GP! Another great video. Maybe a little tip for you if you haven’t tried it yet, use silicon spray on the rubber seal on your tractor hood. I use it on all our vehicles and it keeps the seals “lubbed” up and the freezing rain won’t make your doors stick. It also helps your seals from drying out. The spray is dry to the touch. I even use it on our camper to help repel rain in the summer. Hope this helps
Thanks Jason! I haven't tried that yet. I remember when we were younger, we used to put vaseline on the rubber weatherstripping on our cars. Thanks again!
Another interesting video. A little food for thought on a couple of your points today Your tractor is likely running colder on cruise because it’s not being pushed as hard. Without realizing it you’re likely pushing it into the snow and keeping it working to near full capacity whereas on cruise it has more moments of low engine load For your corner grading, this spring, I think you’d have no issues to grade it yourself. Adjust the length of your right hand lift arm and angle your blade to carry some gravel from the low side to the high side and add a little as necessary. If you start way back from the corner and make it gradual I think you’ll find there is already lots of material there. Check out some videos of motor graders working. Different scale, but the concepts all work. Watching you learn will Make for great content. -bulldog
Morning and thanks Bulldog! Very helpful advice. Maybe I will give it a try perhaps on one corner and see how it turns out first. This area is mainly sandy so I think I will need to order some gravel. Thanks again - I will think on it more and watch some videos etc. Cheers!
Always something to do living back in the bush. Right or Wrong Lesson learned from My wood hauling days in the middle of the Adirondacks mountains of New York. Plugged My truck water heater in at end of the days work. While the water temp was still at operating temp. On those negative 25-30F mornings. It would fire right up. Sometimes with zero oil pressure for a few seconds. I'd leave it running and plugged in. While I went in in for breakfast and coffee. It didn't seem to increase the electric bill hardly at all. It seemed to be a win win for a good start of My work day at not much cost. Cheers Keep the videos coming Gord they're great!
I ordered a block heater and transmission oil heater with my new tractor. I also have a magnetic oil pan heater for it. Now I'm lazy and park the tractor in the heated garage. My poor truck sits outside but the remote start helps that. I agree that you need to fix the driveway yourself. It could be a series of videos where we could all learn from your doing the job at hand. Seat time is the best teacher there is! Your skills could only get better.
I confess to being lazy about my tractors block heater. I have mine on a timer set to turn on at 6am and go off at 9:30am. If I’m going to need the tractor that day, it will always be ready in the morning for me. Yes, the lazy man’s way😊. Have you ever thought about a grader box? It was one of the first implements I bought for my tractor. It really works great.
I agree about taking out the snow pack! If you leave it, it will thaw, freeze, thaw, freeze and turn into glare ice and then your doing the ping-pong with your car! On warming the tractor, I start it up and wait to the gauge starts registering, then I increase the throttle about half way to operating speed and leave it for an additional 5 minutes, then I am ready to go!
Hey morning there Gord, Jamie from British Columbia here. About your hood freezing shut what i do is just leave the hood cracked open an inch or two after u park. It wont contact and freeze shut and since u open it before every start up no big deal. Have a great day and your doing an excellent job over there
I am a heavy equipment operator by trade. No matter the temperature it's normal practice we check fluids then start the machine and grease all the fitting clean the windows by the time we are done the machine is warm. We get a half hour of inspection and grease time. When it's really cold out the last thing I do is cycle the hydraulics to warm the fluid up.
you are right to remove the snow pack. I took the advice of a Utube channel that recommended to change the cutting edge on my blade with a plastic one to protect my paved driveway. Unfortunately it did not clean the drive off completely and when we received a worm spell and rain it turned the left over snowpack to ice that I have been dealing with for the rest of this winter.
Had a bit of an issue adding a comment old age I guess. Gord I use a Block Heater timer made by a company called PowerBadger. It’s a heavy duty timer that lets me set the time I want the BX ready to start and also how long I want the block heater left on. I set it so the tractor is ready to start at 5:45am and stay on for three hours. I do that so I can sleep in on the weekends and the tractor is still ready to start. It sure makes the tractor easier to start and faster to warm up to operating temperature which you pointed out is critical. I usually leave the BX running on idle and clear snow away from the house, stairs and fence so I don’t have to worry about hitting anything with the blower or back blade. I also shovel the away from obstacles in the three neighbours across the street and by that time the tractor is heated up and ready to go. Check that PowerBadger out it’s awesome.
Hi Gord, Great video to address your driveway issues. 👍 I enjoyed riding along. Great editing too. I also feel that you have the tools and knowledge to address the Corner issues and re-grade it. Start out with bite size pieces to change the grade. It would be great video content too. Dan PS: Find a Socket from an old extension cord and use as a cap to protect your block heater plug. It keeps the blades cleaner and less chance of getting bent. My 2 cents. 😊 Dan
How's she goin'? Some good advice here GP. I like to leave my tractor warm up for the manual recommended time, but sometimes I cheat and start before the proper amount of time. I tell myself it's not that important but in reality it is 'very' important. Starting before the proper temp is reached causes engine parts to wear because of poor lubrication and it is especially hard on hydraulic pumps as they are more dependent of tight fits and tolerances. So if the hydraulic pump wears then you don't have the ability for the hydraulics to work as well as they were designed to because the pump will bypass to some degree. But waiting 15 or 20 minutes for the tractor to warm up can seem like an hour and 15 minutes sometimes!! Take care!!
Great video here is a little tip on the weather stripping on the hood and doors use baby oil on them when they are dry and they will not freeze anymore.
Put some silicone spray or tire shine on your rubber gaskets like your hood, this will help keep them from freezing shut, works for weather straps on your vehicles as well
Just started working for a farmer last fall but we are still hauling grain. When it gets cold, we get back to the farm and we are done we plug in the block heater. It might be over the weekend or just over night, but we don't wait to start the trucks the next morning. I was told it is easier to do it that way then to wait. We still let the trucks warm up before we leave in the morning. Thank you for all you do and putting out great content. Have a great weekend and peace to you
Thanks for the tips Gord. We must keep in mind that equipment varries from makes and models. Here is a general rule that will suit gas and diesel units no matter the brand. If it is below 0 deg C, plug your equipment in for app. 2 hours, then start the unit up. Let it idle for 5 to 10 minutes still plugged in, while you manually clear snow from doorways or what have you. The motor temp would have by that time come off of cold mark You should then unplug it and use the machine at a reduced load and rpm until you reach operating temperature. Remember, diesel engines run fully asperated thus need more time to warm up as compared to a gas engine that has it's intake air throttled which in turn has a lesser cooling effect at idle and low rpm.
I have a John Deere 3046r. Quite honestly, even if I plug my tractor in for 2-5 minutes it makes a huge difference. I’ve never had an issue cold starting. My tractor is in my pole barn quite a walk away from the house, so often I don’t plug it in, aside from a few minutes while I’m opening the sliding doors and shoveling around the doors. If it’s going to be really cold, I may plug it in the night before a big storm that I plan to plow in the morning. That’s purely out of convenience. All that said, I really don’t think you need to plug it in very long to have the effects of it heating the tractor up.
GP, Great job. I clean and spray a silicone on all the rubber and door seals on the vehicles and on the camper slides. This helps during the winter when temperatures go above and below freezing. I hope you find this helpful.
Back on the farm we graded the roads like you have so it would drain without having to put in a culvert. If you can grade a driveway level, you have the skills to regrade the driveway. When you order your rock, tell the quarry what you are doing. Ask for the truck driver to spread the rock on the low side. If you have them spread it in layers (like an upside down layer cake), the ruck will do most of the work. Spread 3-4 inch layers over the center out 50 foot, back up, 100 foot, back up, 150 foot, back up 200 foot. Then all you have to do is run over it a bunch of times to pack and smooth it out. Good luck and stay warm. Check on the drainage though. Roads make for bad damns.
Gordon I drove school bus for 15 years and the emergency doors or windows would always freeze. The trick is to use white lithium grease. Put some on a rag and lightly apply to the rubber seal. They would also spray the hinges with it. I use it on my pickup door seals. Usually I only have to apply it once a year. I know you can fix your corners yourself. You showed how to blade that road and crown it. Just tilt your blade and slowly shave the high side and put it on the lower side. Then dress it with rock on top. Stay safe my friend
Very interesting GP! My L2501 rarely reach more than 1/4 of the temperature gage spread. And what I’ve learned is a diesel engine has to be under load to reach its temperature, idling it will not. Obviously, you have to run it idle few minutes to set the engine and hydraulic oil to a needed temp. Cheers!
following your recommendations after purchasing the same setup last year ,i struggled using the combo, this is what i needed, now to deal with a foot of snow and freezing cold here in Winter ,Wi , had her plugged in for several hours , off we go , thanks again GP
If you don't have a heated shop I'd recommend a circulating coolant heater over a block heater. We have them on our tractors at work here in manitoba and the coolant is always up to temp and actually if it's cold out once you unplug the circulating coolant heater and idle the tractor the tempature actually drops.
Hi Gord, it’s Dean here from New Brunswick. Thank you for videos, I enjoy everything tractors. I see lately you’ve been posting footage from under the tractor etc. It would be interesting to see how thinks are working while in motion. I wonder if you’d be interested in covering what you use for cameras and how you mount them ect. Thank you.
Good morning Gord, those wrong beveled corners are a great problem with ice build up in the winter and water drainage in the summer and over compensating plowing makes them wore dangerous. My first thought would be to contact someone on the road crew in your area to see if they have someone in the area they could recommend to grade the driveway properly so you could maintain it easier. You could get some good tips that way to make your job easier. We pick up skills from watching others as they do their jobs. Just as we learn from you by watching your videos. Stay safe and keep up those great videos and having fun as you all do on your channel. Fred.
Good morning Fred. That is a great idea and I think one that I will do for sure. And perhaps try it on one corner to see how it turns out before doing any others. Thanks again - have a great week Fred!
On keeping from scraping up gravel...The channel Timber Ray uses a PVC pipe (may have been CPVC) slit along the length and slipped over the edge. I haven't tried it but he swears by it.
Summer project for those three corners Gord. Bring fill in and “bank” those outside corners. Also your rear blade should have a side to side (or tilt) float position so the blade floats around those corners so you don’t dig the banks down. Hope I described that clearly.
my lx2610 also ran at 2 bars instead of 3 few weeks ago. And since then, it's been at 3 bars again. In cold weather, you can really hear how much the engine appreciates getting up to temp.
Thanks Dan - this is good to know. It was not an super cold day that day but just weird it was not warming up to temp as it always does. Happy to hear your did too. :))
Gord, back in the early 70's to repair my Uncles driveway we would use a 6 foot train track towed behind his truck, and I would ride and steer it to cut the tire ridges down.
Hey GP, what I do to keep the blasted rubber strip on the hood from freezing is to prop open the hood by an inch with a small piece of wood in the middle… right after I return from blowing snow. Engine is still hot and nothing is frozen. Very easy to open hood to check fluids before next use. Cheers!
It’s a little pain in the a$$, but you can adjust the pitch using the 3 pnt hitch adjustment bolts. Adjust 1 side higher, or lower, then carve those corners. Of course, you have to change the tractor direction if the corners do too. Or, readjust the turnbuckles each time. Mark the threads before you start so you can re-level after. P.s. there is a skidoo race/show in Rama this coming weekend. You shoul. Come. I’ll be at the Trillium Offroad Recovery booth all day Saturday.
Great video GP, I've been enjoying the last few as I have a new LX2610 in mind for this year to help around the forest and I've learned a lot about it from your videos. I'd been leaning towards the L2501 but you've done a great job showing the capabilites of the LX, I wasn't sure how it would perform in the woods but you've illustrated well just what it can do. I know you probably went with it for the cab but wondering if you ever wish it was a little heavier when doing forestry work? It seems to handle the big logs just fine from what you've shown so far.
Morning Troy! Thanks and good luck with your decision this year. Yes, sometimes I do, but very seldom. Primarily, when we need to drag logs out to the trail so I can grapple them. You may have noticed but it is almost always Guy that drags them out with his L series. (Many firewood videos this past Fall when we were felling more trees). His L holds traction much better in the soft floor of the forest because he weighs ( LOL- correction,) his tractor weighs, more. Good luck and all the best!
Block heaters I plug my truck in when I get home at night and unplug it before I leave for work. No matter the outside temp my engine is always 98-100°F. My truck starts fine in the cold but it's a lot better on the engine. As far as when to plug it in 15 minutes is nothing if it's cold. I tested it once and plugged my truck in 2 hours before I started it and the engine was only 47°F not bad but not 100°
Hey Gordon ! Catfish here ! Another quality video ! Mr Practical should be your title as you make sense of things in a most practical way ! You go Gord ! Time to fix the driveway Eh !
When below zero, I leave my tractor's block heater plugged all the time. I don't have a lot of time for warm up and often I'm blowing our snow drifted road open at 3-4am.
Digital "bar" gauges can be very misleading. It appears like your temperature display consists of a total of 7-bars (based on the fuel display beside it). Unlike an analog dial gauge, the resolution of the bar gauge is very course. Example, 170 degrees might be two bars and 172 degrees might be just enough to illuminate the third bar. So while dipping from three bars to two bars may seem significant, it may only be the difference of a couple degrees. Your manual should state how many bars represents "too hot" since you don't have the green, amber and red zones that would be on a typical analog temperature gauge. The same thing applies to the bars on a battery gauge. Dipping from 4 bars to 3 bars can sometimes only be a change of a couple percent.
As you mentioned the hood gets frozen to the metal forcing it to open will result in needing a new gasket, bucket of water is great way to handle it. Things can freeze to the ground also when put away in the shed. A single block of firewood under the blade and blower that you can straddle with the tires just in case they freeze in place can save a bunch of time and aggravation. It's not normally a big problem unless there was a bunch of mud then a hard freeze.
I have a wifi plug that I plug my block heater in my detached garage. I leave it plugged in all the time turned off. When I'm going to plow snow I turn the block heater on from the house for about an hour before starting the tractor. I'll let the tractor run for about 15 minutes or so before using it. Tractor starts easy and the cab starts warming up quicker. John Deere 2025R with Mauser Cab and loader mounted snow plow and rear blade.
Hi GP - Thanks for another great video. Your opening sequence has me wondering, with the changes to the Ontario Building Code that now allows for sheds up to approx. 160 sq ft without a building permit, if you will be expanding your dual sheds anytime soon? It is not a full on garage, but it would keep most, if not all of your tractor under cover. Not to mention the video content that could be generated. I enjoy your videos and have learned a lot over the years - thanks again.
Good stuff Gord. I would think you could probably make some pretty good progress on adjusting those corners yourself with the box blade if it wasn't for that darned Canadian Shield you find yourself atop! Maybe you need to bring in a team of motivated content creators to work together on that project? I expect there'd be no shortage of volunteers. (I mean really, how much can it cost to trailer an LX from Virginia to Ontario and back!?!?😉😎👍 Cheers my friend!
GP my B2650 behaves the same way unlike the old diesels that when it got really cold it was hard to keep them running on all the cylinders. They just wouldn’t stay warm unless under load.
As a Harvey equipment operater you will always be looking at your gauges it’s always in your mind to glance at them often however vehicles are designed with lights and buzzers as a warning as well but it’s always important to glance as well because fail safes can fail as well the day you only had two bars may be because of a number of things #1 it may have been a cold day and I’m not sure but I think he mentioned it was really cold out and you said the snow insulated the ground and caused it not to freeze well you never worded it like that but basic it that’s what you said lol! #2 you were using cruise control which means you weren’t going fast and the strain on the tractor wasn’t as much like hydrolic fluid getting hotter from moving fast and the fan as always when you rev up your tractor your fan spins fast with colder air the tractor not being pushed hard that’s what you would call the perfect or ideal speed and strain on your tractor #3 the fluids in your tractor has a lot to do with your coolant temperature believe it or not and to understand this you have to look at the way a engine is set up on these tractors they are hydrostatic, they are driven by hydrolic fluid and the blower is running on hydrolic fluid this fluid like your coolant is cooled by hydrolic coolers on your tractor with the slow consistent speed the fan blowing colder air on your coolant radiator and your hydrolic cooler as well as your oil cooler all play factors even the cold snow and air blowing on the steel of your engine transition and tear end cools down your tractor. So when we stop and look at it even tho you may have been running for a long time it don’t nessessary mean the tractor will be up to operating tempiture I drive a kenworth tandom tandom stone slinger and when it gets cold I put what we call a bra on the grill of the truck to help keep the truck at operating tempiture to keep and make sure there is heat in the cab for me to stay warm but to ensure the truck runs at optimum temp at between 175-200 whoch keeps her from over heating it’s the best to make sure the twin turbos on her cat engine are working at the optimum levels so all of those factors come together it what stopped the third bar from coming up but that’s all fine just remember in the back of your mind I’ve seen this before always check the levels of fluid because colder tempiture like that after longer running times like that could also mean that it’s low on fluid as well as it could be just not warmed up yet! So be safe take the time to check your fluids before starting your tractor and if you start your vehicle shut her off and wait at least 30 mins before you check it if she’s at operating temp and wait 1 hour before checking it if you forget and the tractor ain’t at operating tempiture in the winter because cold oil will take longer to run down to the base pan slower then warm or hot oil I’ve seen people over fill there rigs with oil because of this and blow seals! So be safe check your fluids and make sure you always reach your operating tempiture it’s not just for optimum performance for your tractor but remember cold hydrolic fluid going through small lines under extreme pressure will blow hydrolic lines quick and without warning! And if your snow clearing a broken hose is a big upset when you can’t clear snow to get out of your driveway to get a replacement! Be safe and keep on trucking!!!
I ran some tests on my 2 block heater equipped tractors at various ambient temps. I found that the blocks in my machines did not get any warmer after 3 hours of block heater time, so that's the pre heat time I use via a wifi controlled electrical outlet.
Hello GP. Have you ever tried putting a winter front on your tractor to help it achieve engine temperature during frigid conditions. On my B 2650 I put cardboard behind both rad screens. I find it helps to warm under and maintain temperature in the cold. It also helps to keep the cab warmer as well. Thanks for the videos
I have been driving trucks for 45 years. We plug them in at night. Not much trouble starting them. Let them run about 10 to 15 minutes. Never get up to temperature untill you start driving.. If the trailer is empty might take up to 10 miles before it is at its normal operating temperature. At 20 30 40 below I am surprised if your tractor gets that warm unless your working it hard.
Greetings Gord, Lee here, you could try putting some vaseline on the weather strip to keep it from freezing together. you and your family keep well, later
When it gets that cold I usually put a piece of cardboard in front of the radiator, or fan shroud on my air cooled diesel, my gauge does have a green section. Ps a long time ago a company made a mechanical coolant temp gauge to replace rad cap, or you could install a mech temp gauge on the engine along side your bar gauge? Take care and good luck 🤞
Negative Camber will get you every time. They put those off-camber corners in race tracks to give the drives that little pucker factor. Your vehicle will want to launch in a direction you don't want to go in. If you can regrade them when the weather permits. Cheers Mate.
Another great video Gord. A little bit off topic but I know your property is off the grid and with those -40 degree temperatures how do you keep your home warm so the plumbing doesn't freeze when you are back in the city. Do you have solar or keep your generator running? Just curious.
Hi Gp I let my tractor plug in all night same as my truck don't know if it good tractor is a 2008 and no problem. From Alberta regionally from Ontario good video .
Hey GP if your low on rad fluid that could of caused why you’re temp didn’t come all the way up to three bars. The sensor doesn’t have enough water flowing around it to keep an accurate reading. Cheers.
They can be quite scary, especially at even slightly higher speeds, or if there's an object you want to avoid, like trees, guard rails or mailboxes on the outside.
I’m thinking about selling my B2620 and buying a LX2610 Cab. I’m concerned about the whine in the transmission/cab. Will it drive me nuts listening to it. How loud is it? Great videos, I’ve been watching since the beginning. Russ. Liupakka Dirt Work. Esko, Minnesota. Cheers!
Hi Dirt Work, Wait until after May 2023 to buy a LX2610. Kubota is changing the rear ends on the LX 2023 model year (avail after May) to address the whine issue. I believe that Neil at Messicks did a video where he addressed the resolution to the whine when he attended the annual Kubota dealers meeting this past fall/winter. Dan
Those corners are known as "off camber" corners - the outside edge is lower than the inside edge, causing that natural desire of the vehicles to slide off.
I would guess why the engine is running cooler is because your maintaining more constant high rpm which blows more constant cold air on the radiator. Versus up, down, up, down all the time. Anyway that’s my guess.
Did anyone els notice gp almost walked into the door of the tractor will thats what happens when u keep the glass to clean u just cant see it 🤣🤣 sorry had to say it and yes the bar temps and fuel is not the best cause unless they go up by halfs it aint showing spot on or close to it so like the other guy said it could go up by 75 degrees a bar so 76 will put a extra bar there i think if companys use the bars they should have it colored yellow green and red so ull know in the green its good yellow is abit cold and red means its to hot so its easier to know whats going on with the temps
If you won't tell us exactly how long you leave your particular tractor running before you get started, how are we all supposed to tell you that you are doing it wrong?
![Chino Pacas - Smith (ft. Junior H & Fuerza Regida) [Video Visualizador Oficial]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/BVK6k56X30Y/mqdefault.jpg)
I love working with tractors always have but I just love watching this channel because the guy is just honest of him learning and it is fun watching a person learn because you see over time they get better because of their willingness to want to learn .
Cheers and thanks for the kind words!
Hey Gord:
There is a quick fix for ensuring that your rig is always ready to roll in the cold...park it in your new garage!!
Glad to help Gord! Ha ha ha.
Best regards,
Dan.
I love your content! it's so therapeutic watching your videos. I don't have any idea the man hours you put in to create and edit your videos also maintaining your land but I will say your viewers appreciate the result, keep up the great work and continue to be safe!
Oh...GP, I am so sorry to hear that you start your mornings with coffee and the news. I personally stopped watching/reading any kind of news almost 20 years ago. It has been one of my best decisions in my life, and my days are always better for not listening to that nonsense! 🙃 I feed the birds while coffee is making and then watch them while enjoying my Java. Their behavior will tell me everything I need to know about what the weather will do that day! Have a great weekend and some great advice on tractors today!👍
Thanks GP! Another great video. Maybe a little tip for you if you haven’t tried it yet, use silicon spray on the rubber seal on your tractor hood. I use it on all our vehicles and it keeps the seals “lubbed” up and the freezing rain won’t make your doors stick. It also helps your seals from drying out. The spray is dry to the touch. I even use it on our camper to help repel rain in the summer. Hope this helps
Thanks Jason! I haven't tried that yet. I remember when we were younger, we used to put vaseline on the rubber weatherstripping on our cars. Thanks again!
Another interesting video. A little food for thought on a couple of your points today
Your tractor is likely running colder on cruise because it’s not being pushed as hard. Without realizing it you’re likely pushing it into the snow and keeping it working to near full capacity whereas on cruise it has more moments of low engine load
For your corner grading, this spring, I think you’d have no issues to grade it yourself. Adjust the length of your right hand lift arm and angle your blade to carry some gravel from the low side to the high side and add a little as necessary. If you start way back from the corner and make it gradual I think you’ll find there is already lots of material there. Check out some videos of motor graders working. Different scale, but the concepts all work. Watching you learn will
Make for great content. -bulldog
Morning and thanks Bulldog! Very helpful advice. Maybe I will give it a try perhaps on one corner and see how it turns out first. This area is mainly sandy so I think I will need to order some gravel. Thanks again - I will think on it more and watch some videos etc. Cheers!
Always something to do living back in the bush. Right or Wrong Lesson learned from My wood hauling days in the middle of the Adirondacks mountains of New York. Plugged My truck water heater in at end of the days work. While the water temp was still at operating temp. On those negative 25-30F mornings. It would fire right up. Sometimes with zero oil pressure for a few seconds. I'd leave it running and plugged in. While I went in in for breakfast and coffee. It didn't seem to increase the electric bill hardly at all. It seemed to be a win win for a good start of My work day at not much cost. Cheers Keep the videos coming Gord they're great!
Good video Gord you have a great week as well stay warm
I ordered a block heater and transmission oil heater with my new tractor. I also have a magnetic oil pan heater for it. Now I'm lazy and park the tractor in the heated garage. My poor truck sits outside but the remote start helps that. I agree that you need to fix the driveway yourself. It could be a series of videos where we could all learn from your doing the job at hand. Seat time is the best teacher there is! Your skills could only get better.
Gord you treat that tractor better than your wife and children. Proud of you my man. Be safe
I confess to being lazy about my tractors block heater. I have mine on a timer set to turn on at 6am and go off at 9:30am. If I’m going to need the tractor that day, it will always be ready in the morning for me. Yes, the lazy man’s way😊. Have you ever thought about a grader box? It was one of the first implements I bought for my tractor. It really works great.
I agree about taking out the snow pack! If you leave it, it will thaw, freeze, thaw, freeze and turn into glare ice and then your doing the ping-pong with your car! On warming the tractor, I start it up and wait to the gauge starts registering, then I increase the throttle about half way to operating speed and leave it for an additional 5 minutes, then I am ready to go!
Hey morning there Gord, Jamie from British Columbia here. About your hood freezing shut what i do is just leave the hood cracked open an inch or two after u park. It wont contact and freeze shut and since u open it before every start up no big deal. Have a great day and your doing an excellent job over there
GP, your video's make a good cup of coffee taste even better when watching your cold winter videos. Great job.....Cheers
Cheers Wayne!
I am a heavy equipment operator by trade. No matter the temperature it's normal practice we check fluids then start the machine and grease all the fitting clean the windows by the time we are done the machine is warm. We get a half hour of inspection and grease time. When it's really cold out the last thing I do is cycle the hydraulics to warm the fluid up.
you are right to remove the snow pack. I took the advice of a Utube channel that recommended to change the cutting edge on my blade with a plastic one to protect my paved driveway. Unfortunately it did not clean the drive off completely and when we received a worm spell and rain it turned the left over snowpack to ice that I have been dealing with for the rest of this winter.
Had a bit of an issue adding a comment old age I guess. Gord I use a Block Heater timer made by a company called PowerBadger. It’s a heavy duty timer that lets me set the time I want the BX ready to start and also how long I want the block heater left on. I set it so the tractor is ready to start at 5:45am and stay on for three hours. I do that so I can sleep in on the weekends and the tractor is still ready to start. It sure makes the tractor easier to start and faster to warm up to operating temperature which you pointed out is critical. I usually leave the BX running on idle and clear snow away from the house, stairs and fence so I don’t have to worry about hitting anything with the blower or back blade. I also shovel the away from obstacles in the three neighbours across the street and by that time the tractor is heated up and ready to go. Check that PowerBadger out it’s awesome.
Hi Gord, Great video to address your driveway issues. 👍 I enjoyed riding along. Great editing too.
I also feel that you have the tools and knowledge to address the Corner issues and re-grade it. Start out with bite size pieces to change the grade. It would be great video content too. Dan
PS: Find a Socket from an old extension cord and use as a cap to protect your block heater plug. It keeps the blades cleaner and less chance of getting bent. My 2 cents. 😊 Dan
Thanks Dan!
@@GPOutdoors Gord, I actually have an LX being built finally. 😅
I'm not sure if you follow Ryan Lynch or not.
Nice job on the driveway. You do a great job taking care of your tractor.👍
Good morning Dean!
@@GPOutdoors good morning how are you doing? I see you have a lot of snow driveway looks great.
Enjoyed this video with morning coffee. Thanks for the ride along GP. Take care Ben
How's she goin'? Some good advice here GP. I like to leave my tractor warm up for the manual recommended time, but sometimes I cheat and start before the proper amount of time. I tell myself it's not that important but in reality it is 'very' important. Starting before the proper temp is reached causes engine parts to wear because of poor lubrication and it is especially hard on hydraulic pumps as they are more dependent of tight fits and tolerances. So if the hydraulic pump wears then you don't have the ability for the hydraulics to work as well as they were designed to because the pump will bypass to some degree. But waiting 15 or 20 minutes for the tractor to warm up can seem like an hour and 15 minutes sometimes!! Take care!!
Great video here is a little tip on the weather stripping on the hood and doors use baby oil on them when they are dry and they will not freeze anymore.
Put some silicone spray or tire shine on your rubber gaskets like your hood, this will help keep them from freezing shut, works for weather straps on your vehicles as well
Another great video, I love seeing that blower in action
That is hard to imagine the -40 the last few days down here Australia its been plus 40 great video
cheers Andrew 🇦🇺
Good video and of course beautiful scenery 😀
Just started working for a farmer last fall but we are still hauling grain. When it gets cold, we get back to the farm and we are done we plug in the block heater. It might be over the weekend or just over night, but we don't wait to start the trucks the next morning. I was told it is easier to do it that way then to wait. We still let the trucks warm up before we leave in the morning. Thank you for all you do and putting out great content. Have a great weekend and peace to you
Thanks for the tips Gord. We must keep in mind that equipment varries from makes and models. Here is a general rule that will suit gas and diesel units no matter the brand. If it is below 0 deg C, plug your equipment in for app. 2 hours, then start the unit up. Let it idle for 5 to 10 minutes still plugged in, while you manually clear snow from doorways or what have you. The motor temp would have by that time come off of cold mark You should then unplug it and use the machine at a reduced load and rpm until you reach operating temperature. Remember, diesel engines run fully asperated thus need more time to warm up as compared to a gas engine that has it's intake air throttled which in turn has a lesser cooling effect at idle and low rpm.
I have a John Deere 3046r. Quite honestly, even if I plug my tractor in for 2-5 minutes it makes a huge difference. I’ve never had an issue cold starting. My tractor is in my pole barn quite a walk away from the house, so often I don’t plug it in, aside from a few minutes while I’m opening the sliding doors and shoveling around the doors. If it’s going to be really cold, I may plug it in the night before a big storm that I plan to plow in the morning. That’s purely out of convenience. All that said, I really don’t think you need to plug it in very long to have the effects of it heating the tractor up.
GP, Great job. I clean and spray a silicone on all the rubber and door seals on the vehicles and on the camper slides. This helps during the winter when temperatures go above and below freezing. I hope you find this helpful.
We had rain here in NE MN a couple days ago. Now I have a skating rink.
Back on the farm we graded the roads like you have so it would drain without having to put in a culvert.
If you can grade a driveway level, you have the skills to regrade the driveway. When you order your rock, tell the quarry what you are doing. Ask for the truck driver to spread the rock on the low side. If you have them spread it in layers (like an upside down layer cake), the ruck will do most of the work. Spread 3-4 inch layers over the center out 50 foot, back up, 100 foot, back up, 150 foot, back up 200 foot. Then all you have to do is run over it a bunch of times to pack and smooth it out. Good luck and stay warm.
Check on the drainage though. Roads make for bad damns.
Gordon I drove school bus for 15 years and the emergency doors or windows would always freeze. The trick is to use white lithium grease. Put some on a rag and lightly apply to the rubber seal. They would also spray the hinges with it. I use it on my pickup door seals. Usually I only have to apply it once a year. I know you can fix your corners yourself. You showed how to blade that road and crown it. Just tilt your blade and slowly shave the high side and put it on the lower side. Then dress it with rock on top. Stay safe my friend
Gord, Thanks for another helpful tip.
Cheers Mike!
Very interesting GP! My L2501 rarely reach more than 1/4 of the temperature gage spread. And what I’ve learned is a diesel engine has to be under load to reach its temperature, idling it will not. Obviously, you have to run it idle few minutes to set the engine and hydraulic oil to a needed temp. Cheers!
following your recommendations after purchasing the same setup last year ,i struggled using the combo, this is what i needed, now to deal with a foot of snow and freezing cold here in Winter ,Wi , had her plugged in for several hours , off we go , thanks again GP
If you don't have a heated shop I'd recommend a circulating coolant heater over a block heater. We have them on our tractors at work here in manitoba and the coolant is always up to temp and actually if it's cold out once you unplug the circulating coolant heater and idle the tractor the tempature actually drops.
Hi Gord, it’s Dean here from New Brunswick. Thank you for videos, I enjoy everything tractors. I see lately you’ve been posting footage from under the tractor etc. It would be interesting to see how thinks are working while in motion. I wonder if you’d be interested in covering what you use for cameras and how you mount them ect. Thank you.
Good morning Gord, those wrong beveled corners are a great problem with ice build up in the winter and water drainage in the summer and over compensating plowing makes them wore dangerous. My first thought would be to contact someone on the road crew in your area to see if they have someone in the area they could recommend to grade the driveway properly so you could maintain it easier. You could get some good tips that way to make your job easier. We pick up skills from watching others as they do their jobs. Just as we learn from you by watching your videos. Stay safe and keep up those great videos and having fun as you all do on your channel. Fred.
Good morning Fred. That is a great idea and I think one that I will do for sure. And perhaps try it on one corner to see how it turns out before doing any others. Thanks again - have a great week Fred!
Great video GP. I would just like to get a snow pack this year but we keep loosing our snow. Hope your weekend is good.
On keeping from scraping up gravel...The channel Timber Ray uses a PVC pipe (may have been CPVC) slit along the length and slipped over the edge. I haven't tried it but he swears by it.
Summer project for those three corners Gord. Bring fill in and “bank” those outside corners. Also your rear blade should have a side to side (or tilt) float position so the blade floats around those corners so you don’t dig the banks down. Hope I described that clearly.
Thanks gerry. I will seek some further advice soon. I think maybe I will try it on one corner first, before attempting the others. Thanks!
my lx2610 also ran at 2 bars instead of 3 few weeks ago. And since then, it's been at 3 bars again. In cold weather, you can really hear how much the engine appreciates getting up to temp.
Thanks Dan - this is good to know. It was not an super cold day that day but just weird it was not warming up to temp as it always does. Happy to hear your did too. :))
Gord, back in the early 70's to repair my Uncles driveway we would use a 6 foot train track towed behind his truck, and I would ride and steer it to cut the tire ridges down.
Hey GP, what I do to keep the blasted rubber strip on the hood from freezing is to prop open the hood by an inch with a small piece of wood in the middle… right after I return from blowing snow. Engine is still hot and nothing is frozen. Very easy to open hood to check fluids before next use. Cheers!
It’s a little pain in the a$$, but you can adjust the pitch using the 3 pnt hitch adjustment bolts. Adjust 1 side higher, or lower, then carve those corners. Of course, you have to change the tractor direction if the corners do too. Or, readjust the turnbuckles each time. Mark the threads before you start so you can re-level after. P.s. there is a skidoo race/show in Rama this coming weekend. You shoul. Come. I’ll be at the Trillium Offroad Recovery booth all day Saturday.
Great video GP, I've been enjoying the last few as I have a new LX2610 in mind for this year to help around the forest and I've learned a lot about it from your videos.
I'd been leaning towards the L2501 but you've done a great job showing the capabilites of the LX, I wasn't sure how it would perform in the woods but you've illustrated well just what it can do. I know you probably went with it for the cab but wondering if you ever wish it was a little heavier when doing forestry work? It seems to handle the big logs just fine from what you've shown so far.
Morning Troy! Thanks and good luck with your decision this year. Yes, sometimes I do, but very seldom. Primarily, when we need to drag logs out to the trail so I can grapple them. You may have noticed but it is almost always Guy that drags them out with his L series. (Many firewood videos this past Fall when we were felling more trees). His L holds traction much better in the soft floor of the forest because he weighs ( LOL- correction,) his tractor weighs, more. Good luck and all the best!
Block heaters I plug my truck in when I get home at night and unplug it before I leave for work. No matter the outside temp my engine is always 98-100°F. My truck starts fine in the cold but it's a lot better on the engine. As far as when to plug it in 15 minutes is nothing if it's cold. I tested it once and plugged my truck in 2 hours before I started it and the engine was only 47°F not bad but not 100°
Hey Gordon ! Catfish here ! Another quality video ! Mr Practical should be your title as you make sense of things in a most practical way ! You go Gord ! Time to fix the driveway Eh !
When below zero, I leave my tractor's block heater plugged all the time. I don't have a lot of time for warm up and often I'm blowing our snow drifted road open at 3-4am.
Digital "bar" gauges can be very misleading. It appears like your temperature display consists of a total of 7-bars (based on the fuel display beside it). Unlike an analog dial gauge, the resolution of the bar gauge is very course. Example, 170 degrees might be two bars and 172 degrees might be just enough to illuminate the third bar. So while dipping from three bars to two bars may seem significant, it may only be the difference of a couple degrees. Your manual should state how many bars represents "too hot" since you don't have the green, amber and red zones that would be on a typical analog temperature gauge. The same thing applies to the bars on a battery gauge. Dipping from 4 bars to 3 bars can sometimes only be a change of a couple percent.
Morning Joe. I will go back through the manual to see. This is helpful - thanks! Enjoy your weekend!
As you mentioned the hood gets frozen to the metal forcing it to open will result in needing a new gasket, bucket of water is great way to handle it. Things can freeze to the ground also when put away in the shed. A single block of firewood under the blade and blower that you can straddle with the tires just in case they freeze in place can save a bunch of time and aggravation. It's not normally a big problem unless there was a bunch of mud then a hard freeze.
Thanks for such a great video and info on engine temp!
I have a wifi plug that I plug my block heater in my detached garage. I leave it plugged in all the time turned off. When I'm going to plow snow I turn the block heater on from the house for about an hour before starting the tractor. I'll let the tractor run for about 15 minutes or so before using it. Tractor starts easy and the cab starts warming up quicker. John Deere 2025R with Mauser Cab and loader mounted snow plow and rear blade.
Hi GP - Thanks for another great video. Your opening sequence has me wondering, with the changes to the Ontario Building Code that now allows for sheds up to approx. 160 sq ft without a building permit, if you will be expanding your dual sheds anytime soon? It is not a full on garage, but it would keep most, if not all of your tractor under cover. Not to mention the video content that could be generated. I enjoy your videos and have learned a lot over the years - thanks again.
Good stuff Gord. I would think you could probably make some pretty good progress on adjusting those corners yourself with the box blade if it wasn't for that darned Canadian Shield you find yourself atop! Maybe you need to bring in a team of motivated content creators to work together on that project? I expect there'd be no shortage of volunteers. (I mean really, how much can it cost to trailer an LX from Virginia to Ontario and back!?!?😉😎👍
Cheers my friend!
GP my B2650 behaves the same way unlike the old diesels that when it got really cold it was hard to keep them running on all the cylinders. They just wouldn’t stay warm unless under load.
As a Harvey equipment operater you will always be looking at your gauges it’s always in your mind to glance at them often however vehicles are designed with lights and buzzers as a warning as well but it’s always important to glance as well because fail safes can fail as well the day you only had two bars may be because of a number of things #1 it may have been a cold day and I’m not sure but I think he mentioned it was really cold out and you said the snow insulated the ground and caused it not to freeze well you never worded it like that but basic it that’s what you said lol! #2 you were using cruise control which means you weren’t going fast and the strain on the tractor wasn’t as much like hydrolic fluid getting hotter from moving fast and the fan as always when you rev up your tractor your fan spins fast with colder air the tractor not being pushed hard that’s what you would call the perfect or ideal speed and strain on your tractor #3 the fluids in your tractor has a lot to do with your coolant temperature believe it or not and to understand this you have to look at the way a engine is set up on these tractors they are hydrostatic, they are driven by hydrolic fluid and the blower is running on hydrolic fluid this fluid like your coolant is cooled by hydrolic coolers on your tractor with the slow consistent speed the fan blowing colder air on your coolant radiator and your hydrolic cooler as well as your oil cooler all play factors even the cold snow and air blowing on the steel of your engine transition and tear end cools down your tractor. So when we stop and look at it even tho you may have been running for a long time it don’t nessessary mean the tractor will be up to operating tempiture I drive a kenworth tandom tandom stone slinger and when it gets cold I put what we call a bra on the grill of the truck to help keep the truck at operating tempiture to keep and make sure there is heat in the cab for me to stay warm but to ensure the truck runs at optimum temp at between 175-200 whoch keeps her from over heating it’s the best to make sure the twin turbos on her cat engine are working at the optimum levels so all of those factors come together it what stopped the third bar from coming up but that’s all fine just remember in the back of your mind I’ve seen this before always check the levels of fluid because colder tempiture like that after longer running times like that could also mean that it’s low on fluid as well as it could be just not warmed up yet! So be safe take the time to check your fluids before starting your tractor and if you start your vehicle shut her off and wait at least 30 mins before you check it if she’s at operating temp and wait 1 hour before checking it if you forget and the tractor ain’t at operating tempiture in the winter because cold oil will take longer to run down to the base pan slower then warm or hot oil I’ve seen people over fill there rigs with oil because of this and blow seals! So be safe check your fluids and make sure you always reach your operating tempiture it’s not just for optimum performance for your tractor but remember cold hydrolic fluid going through small lines under extreme pressure will blow hydrolic lines quick and without warning! And if your snow clearing a broken hose is a big upset when you can’t clear snow to get out of your driveway to get a replacement! Be safe and keep on trucking!!!
I ran some tests on my 2 block heater equipped tractors at various ambient temps. I found that the blocks in my machines did not get any warmer after 3 hours of block heater time, so that's the pre heat time I use via a wifi controlled electrical outlet.
Hello GP. Have you ever tried putting a winter front on your tractor to help it achieve engine temperature during frigid conditions. On my B 2650 I put cardboard behind both rad screens. I find it helps to warm under and maintain temperature in the cold. It also helps to keep the cab warmer as well. Thanks for the videos
Gp outdoors
Love youtube video 📹 ❤ 💕 ♥ 💗 💓
Lawnmower, Timmer, tractor snow blower,
Newbrunswick Canada 🇨🇦 ♥ ❤ 😍
have had truble with snowblower pushing snow insted of blowing l have the same lx2610
I would straighten the driveway on the corners.
I have been driving trucks for 45 years. We plug them in at night. Not much trouble starting them. Let them run about 10 to 15 minutes. Never get up to temperature untill you start driving.. If the trailer is empty might take up to 10 miles before it is at its normal operating temperature. At 20 30 40 below I am surprised if your tractor gets that warm unless your working it hard.
Always bump up the idle while it's warming up. I gradually start using mine when I feel warm air from the heater.
Greetings Gord, Lee here, you could try putting some vaseline on the weather strip to keep it from freezing together. you and your family keep well, later
When it gets that cold I usually put a piece of cardboard in front of the radiator, or fan shroud on my air cooled diesel, my gauge does have a green section. Ps a long time ago a company made a mechanical coolant temp gauge to replace rad cap, or you could install a mech temp gauge on the engine along side your bar gauge? Take care and good luck 🤞
Negative Camber will get you every time. They put those off-camber corners in race tracks to give the drives that little pucker factor. Your vehicle will want to launch in a direction you don't want to go in. If you can regrade them when the weather permits. Cheers Mate.
Another great video Gord. A little bit off topic but I know your property is off the grid and with those -40 degree temperatures how do you keep your home warm so the plumbing doesn't freeze when you are back in the city. Do you have solar or keep your generator running? Just curious.
👍Cheers!
Hi Gp I let my tractor plug in all night same as my truck don't know if it good tractor is a 2008 and no problem. From Alberta regionally from Ontario good video .
Have you tried the split brakes for turning with the blower down? If so, how did it work?
Hey GP try some sillycon spray the rubber that will stop it from freezing to the metal. Just a thought stay warm and safe
Hey GP iv always wondered why you don't blow the snow farther out into the woods as you do.. from northern Minnesota.
Hey GP if your low on rad fluid that could of caused why you’re temp didn’t come all the way up to three bars. The sensor doesn’t have enough water flowing around it to keep an accurate reading. Cheers.
At 0:59 GP spray that rubber with silicone grease. Door rubbers on your cab as well.
They can be quite scary, especially at even slightly higher speeds, or if there's an object you want to avoid, like trees, guard rails or mailboxes on the outside.
GP, isn't there of a correlation between how long you leave the block heater on and how quickly the tractor warms up. Just asking, I'm not an expert.
I’m thinking about selling my B2620 and buying a LX2610 Cab. I’m concerned about the whine in the transmission/cab. Will it drive me nuts listening to it. How loud is it? Great videos, I’ve been watching since the beginning. Russ. Liupakka Dirt Work. Esko, Minnesota. Cheers!
Hi Dirt Work, Wait until after May 2023 to buy a LX2610. Kubota is changing the rear ends on the LX 2023 model year (avail after May) to address the whine issue.
I believe that Neil at Messicks did a video where he addressed the resolution to the whine when he attended the annual Kubota dealers meeting this past fall/winter. Dan
Those corners are known as "off camber" corners - the outside edge is lower than the inside edge, causing that natural desire of the vehicles to slide off.
Thanks Tyler! Have a great day out there!
@@GPOutdoors You as well, Gord! Stay warm my friend!
Use your tractor in the warm season of the year to correct the problem. You can't make it any worse .
I would guess why the engine is running cooler is because your maintaining more constant high rpm which blows more constant cold air on the radiator. Versus up, down, up, down all the time. Anyway that’s my guess.
Im pretty sure the blade does not go side to side on its own. That has to be manually adjusted
Did anyone els notice gp almost walked into the door of the tractor will thats what happens when u keep the glass to clean u just cant see it 🤣🤣 sorry had to say it and yes the bar temps and fuel is not the best cause unless they go up by halfs it aint showing spot on or close to it so like the other guy said it could go up by 75 degrees a bar so 76 will put a extra bar there i think if companys use the bars they should have it colored yellow green and red so ull know in the green its good yellow is abit cold and red means its to hot so its easier to know whats going on with the temps
WD40 that seal👍
Why not get a wi-fi plug in switch and then you could turn it on and off from inside the house without going outside to plug it in?
Where's the adventure in that ?
Hey GP, I received a reply to a comment I left on this video saying I have been selected among our shortlisted winner; is this legit?
If you won't tell us exactly how long you leave your particular tractor running before you get started, how are we all supposed to tell you that you are doing it wrong?
Ice road truckers eat your heart out