Kubota OEM block heater

[Cal270]

Question, is this block heater thermostatically controlled?
Or does it heat at 400W continuously.
Dealer installed at 50 service and I hooked up a Battery Tender Jr. for the upcoming winter.
Thanks

 

[Stubbyie]

I'll start by saying my machines don't have the OEM block heater; I use exclusively lower radiator hose heaters which are not thermostatically controlled.

I do however have other pad-mount equipment that have installed OEM block heaters. Here's my observation: unless you have wiring from the block heater into a control box to the side (that you should be able to pull the cover and see the thermocontrol relay) and from that control box to the power entry plug (perhaps incorporated into the control box), then you do not have a thermostatically controlled block heater. It will run continuously when energized.

The one Kubota OEM block heater I've seen simply had a standard two-round-prongs-under-a-cap into which would be plugged a snug-fitting (semi weather resistant) nonpolarized 120-vac female plug. It ran continuously when plugged in.

My bet is that for the relatively low wattage output of a block heater on a tractor, even in an enclosed windproof environment, the heat bleed of an engine-size chunk of cast iron and from the cooling jacket heated water siphoning through the radator via convection, is such that a block heater needs to run continuously and probably isn't keeping up with the heat loss (past some air-equilibrium temperature).

If cycling is a concern, use either a simple timer set to come on a couple hours before you need to light the machine or from Amazon obtain one of the thermo-cube type pre-set temperature on-off switches.

In the winter we like you keep all our machines plugged in continuously, both battery maintainer and lower radiator hose heater. Maintainer is always 'on'; the heater is timered to come on two hours before planned use and provides plenty of heat at 0-F (35-hp 3-cyl diesel): the glow plug indicator typically cycles just about as fast as I turn the key and have never had a wintertime start failure when heated like this.

Have proven we can get starts at -10-F in the occasional emergency during power loss but do not like stressing the battery / engine thus heating is the order of the day.

Please post back your experiences and knowledge (especially if you find your OEM block heater is indeedy thermo-controlled) so we may all learn.

 

[SLIMSHADIE]

More than likely continuous. I installed an oem block heater on my BX this spring, its continuous. You can use a timer as stated or a thermal cube. I picked the cube up last year. I used it with my truck last year, better than nothing so I'm not throwing money away. Also I probably wont plug my BX in like I do my daily driver truck.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/thermo-cubereg;-thermostatically-controlled-outlet

 

[Cal270]

Thanks for the rely and info.
Last winter was brutal here in MI, had temps down to -20 F.
Tractor was in a unheated shed.
At the time I had a L3800, it started but slowly, and that was warming glow plugs for a minute.

 

[pmhowe]

I had the dealer install an OEM block heater on my L4240. It is just a simple two-prong heater, with no temperature sensor or control. When the outside temperature is -20F I leave the heater on all night. At other times, I just plug it in for an hour or two prior to tractor use.

 

[Dave_eng]

Have a new M7040 and live where -20F would seem like a warm day.
Block heater installed by dealer at purchase. When plugged in it is on. 400 watts I think.
I set up a way to be able to turn the heater on from my home which is 100 yards from tractor shed.
A couple of hours of block heater takes care of any day starting. I have monitored the block temp with an infrared temp gun and found that the temperature of the block stops increasing around the two hour mark as the warmer the block gets the more heat it gives off and so the heater and the heat loss reach a balance.
More important is following your machines warm up instructions which are for the benefit of the hydraulics. Cheat on this requirement and you invite serious damage

Dave M7040

 

[BX23D]

I find only 2 hours max even at that temp and my BX23 is toasty warm, no running to warm up Baby, just straight to work. See my other post how I control the block heater, if you want to know.