Marc Ret Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 5 minutes ago, Brad Eden said: I keep my Portable Generac 7500E in my walk in basement. I'm lucky since it's easy to wheel right out the door to the gravel pad under deck. I did wheel it out a couple days ago and started it and let it run for a bit. Even though I add additive to gas, I like to make sure it's ready for any event like we had yesterday and last night. Funny, we are also planning on getting an auto standby generator. I work at home so the Portable is pretty good and powers the whole house. But if we end up going south, or southwest, as we hope to for stretches in winter, we need the peace of mind of an auto unit. A can or two of starter fluid is cheap insurance to keep around for generators. FYI- WD40 is not a good substitute if you can't find your can of ether. 🚒 Link to post Share on other sites
Lars Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 29 minutes ago, Brad Eden said: Our drive conversation on way to her work involved what we would need to do to prepare the house and property if we started LEAVING THIS STATE for a month or more during winter. When I worked the after hours emergency hot line at Weber Fuels in Bangor they had a service I believed called Watchdog where they could monitor the temperature of your home right from there office and if it went down to I think the 50's they could send a service tech right over. Don't remember the extra cost but it was used by seasonal residents. Link to post Share on other sites
pa'tridge hunters Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 It took me about two hours to clean up the driveway and yard. Luckily the wind blew so hard last night that there wasn't any snow on the roof to clean off. Like the old saying goes, "It's an ill wind indeed that blow no good". Happy winter!!! Link to post Share on other sites
Samuel Hoggson Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 We never lost power, and no wind-related structural damage. I have no idea how much white that was. But it was 4 hours on the tractor. Have said this before but am so thankful for a rear mount blower, allowing full use of the loader. There is just no other way to go here. Stuff was not as fluffy as we thought, prolly due to drifting/compacting. Fired up the Honda gas generator yesterday AM, just to be sure. But pretty sure we'll bite into a big propane generator next summer. My Dad had one installed few years back, and Mom doesn't even know when the power goes out. More Monday. Link to post Share on other sites
gunsrus Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 Looks like I'll have to look into one of them thar fancy propane generators soon before the populace buys em all up ! Link to post Share on other sites
Natty Bumpo Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 1 hour ago, Samuel Hoggson said: I have no idea how much white that was. But it was 4 hours on the tractor. Have said this before but am so thankful for a rear mount blower, allowing full use of the loader. There is just no other way to go here. . Roger that. FEL plus 3PH 'blower works best around our place too. Some places I want to push/pile and others just blow it outathere. The EOD pile, often with slush, dirt, gravel, etc, gets pushed across the road I keep the Kubota on a battery maintainer in the winter plus an engine block heater plugged-in when the temps fall below zero. Those glow plugs are pretty good bc/ it has never failed to fire up. Link to post Share on other sites
Samuel Hoggson Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 1 hour ago, Natty Bumpo said: The EOD pile, often with slush, dirt, gravel, etc, gets pushed across the road I keep the Kubota on a battery maintainer in the winter plus an engine block heater plugged-in when the temps fall below zero. Those glow plugs are pretty good bc/ it has never failed to fire up. Usually do same with the road slush. Hate to blow it for fear of having road detritus take out a shear pin. This storm I literally couldn't push it into the corn field b/c of drifts. Tractor weighs 12k but still almost floated it. So fingers crossed got away with blowing in layers. The old 5300 has two sorta negatives - gears and no glow plugs. Always fires up long as I use block heater below 20F. Gears just makes for alot of clutch work. Link to post Share on other sites
Brad Eden Posted January 5, 2018 Author Share Posted January 5, 2018 Right after that wind/hurricane we had a month ago I had a logger friend come over and help me cut down a huge fir tree that had pulled up from the ground and was leaning. It was a widow maker but he knew how to step it down from the ground. He had planned to come back after holidays when ground was frozen and snow...with his excavator, and cut, push down some more trees including a few towering pines that are in bad shape and threaten the buildings. But the Arctic blast we have had rendered his big machinery dead in the water. I also had a regular arborist/tree guy coming over for an estimate on same, but his big machinery has also been cranky with the stupid cold we are having. ...which brings me to my next question alluded to by Samuel...if I do get a sub compact or compact tractor at some point what would I need to ensure it started up at 0 to -20 degrees? Link to post Share on other sites
Samuel Hoggson Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 Brad, Every person I know with a newer diesel tractor w/glow plugs tells me they have zero issues in cold. They seem to work so well don't think I'd bother with a block heater. Wish mine had glow plugs but, again, never been unable to get started. One winter the block heater died and even then was able to muddle through winter till I could install a new one. Battery charger w/cranking assist feature is a must-have, IMO, for all engines in winter up here. Maybe most important - pay attention to summer vs winter blend diesel fuel. And be liberal in dosing Power Service to fuel. You don't want to have to change a fuel filter in subzero. So I run the fuel gauge pretty low going into winter and fill it around mid-Dec. Link to post Share on other sites
dogrunner Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 Synthetic oil will help it start much easier in cold weather, it flows and the engine will crank and start sooner. Link to post Share on other sites
salmontogue Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 I have a JD 4720 4x4 3 cylinder turbo which has never failed to start even last week in sub zero temps. The previous poster is spot on about winter blend fuel and fuel conditioner. My best memory, when I bought this machine at Hammond down the road from you, is that most of the machines came with a block heater standard. I usually park inside but last week I did not because I was using the space to build a new ice fishing shanty. It started despite frigid-30f overnight temps. I added power cables with an external plug the same as used on plow hookups on pickups. I can plug in hd jumper cables to start other equipment or I can plug in an automatic trickle charger or a wheeled charger with boost function. Perk Link to post Share on other sites
Millriver Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 If any of you looking to upgrade your generators want to sell your portable ones, let me know. I've always thought I should have one. Link to post Share on other sites
atticus Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 I tried to buy a dual fuel generator last summer, around the time of the hurricanes. The one I wanted has been unavailable (on Back order) ever since... Link to post Share on other sites
Natty Bumpo Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 Dittos to what Sam and others have said. My tractor is stored in an unheated pole barn. I keep it on a battery maintainer all winter; but not in th spring, summer of fall. . And I found that batteries just last longer that way. Power Service fuel additive or eq is a must as well. I plug in the block heater when below Zero. And make sure you are buying treated diesel fuel. We had several mornings in Jan-Feb 2015 with temps below -25F. That 3 cyl diesel roared to life wo/ hesitation each and very time. You want glow plugs on yr tractor, for sure Link to post Share on other sites
drummer's stump Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 For the most part the western St. John valley got about 10", but the wind did blow. The lake is perfectly aligned to take advantage of Northwest wind. On the way out of the woods last night it was hard to tell where the road was. The bottom feel out of the thermometer about 2:30 this afternoon, looks like we may see -20 tonight. Link to post Share on other sites
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