[AT] cold Farmall

[Ron Cook]

Ralph,
     It is some of your weather that is pushing its way down to us.  We 
will be getting snow too, by the weekend, I suspect but we will not get 
your extremely cold temps.  Might get to 15 below.
     I am surprised your fuel is working.  I try to mix #1 with the #2 
for wintertime operations with my truck.  It was so nice until yesterday 
that I have been getting by with #2 so I have not mixed any winter 
blended fuel in my storage tank.  My Freightliner has fuel valves and I 
carry straight #1 in the right tank all winter.  I shut down with the 
engine operating on that.  Then when it is used next, if the temps 
permit, I switch to the left tank with the blended fuel in it.  And yes, 
I have forgot and gelled up.
     When I was a youngster on the farm we had alot of livestock.  Hogs 
and cattle and milk cows.  Chores every day, so at least one tractor 
needed to go.  When it was cold cold it was the hand crank '41 John 
Deere A that got chore duty.  10W oil in the crankcase and gasoline only 
in the fuel tanks.  Parked out of the wind with an old binder canvas 
thrown over for a cover and sort of heat hauser with a seed sack over 
the grille.  Makes me cold thinking about it.  We had no machine shed 
until about 1953.  Along about 1955 my dad bought an expensive battery 
charger/booster and that thing was just like heaven.  It did get relied 
on too much at the sacrifice of a proper charging and starting system.  
It got to be pretty easy to just plug the booster in to start the 
tractor up.  You just made sure it was parked within range of an outlet.
     I may put a block heater on this old Farmall now that I have it in 
my shop.  I have one I took off a tractor that works just fine.  
However, I want to be sure this thing will start without it, as it is 
not always parked where plugging it in would be easy.

Ron Cook
Salix, IA

On 1/18/2012 7:54 PM, Ralph Goff wrote:
> On 1/18/2012 6:47 PM, Ron Cook wrote:
>> Well, reasonable or not, that old H needs to start so I can get my work
>> done.:-)
>>
>> Cold weather starting was the original reason for removing the
>> distributor and installing the magneto, I think.
>>
>> It was too nice here today , about 40 , so I didn't get anything done to
>> the H.  Now the wind is blowing out of the northwest and we are headed
>> for zero again tonight with snow.  From 2 below to 40 to zero in 24
>> hours....must be Iowa.
>>
>>
> It was about 40 here today too Ron, but on the other side of 0. Yes,
> wind chill factors were -40 or worse at times. Downright miserable.
> Thank goodness for block heaters and sheds. The old Massey Super 90
> fired up on the first turn of the starter this afternoon but I was a
> little concerned how my "home brewed" winter diesel would stand up to
> the cold. I didn't buy any winter diesel , just mixed up some of the
> commercially available fuel thinner with summer fuel and so far it works
> great.
> Makes me wonder how my Dad got tractors running in the days before block
> heaters and battery chargers (pre electricity days). I've heard him talk
> of starting the Cockshutt 50 with the hand crank but it would be heavy
> going today. That 85-90 gear oil in the trans is a real drag on the
> older tractors at these temps.
> Anyway, good luck with your Farmall.
>
> Ralph in Sask.
>
>