[wally2q]

And you know what, there’s probably an app out there for that!

please send the link... i need it....

 

[wally2q]

One thing that i do when my radiator screen gets plugged and tractor overheats (not to the point of boiling over) is shut off the tractor before I remove the screen. Remove the screen - clear it - reinsert - start the tractor.
Otherwise, if the tractor is still running - even at idle - the fan sucks the loose dust off the screen as I remove it, and firmly implants it directly in the radiator itself.

after I restart the tractor 1-2minutes later, and with a clear screen - the tractor cools down within 1-2 minutes simply because of the improved cooling on the rad. Even under load.

However, if i was to notice that the temperature is not dropping despite the clear screen - i will for certain shut off my machine and begin inspecting other elements: coolant level in the overflow tank, water pump belt, etc etc...

 

[wally2q]

I need an app like that to monitor my beer intake (gal/hr), blood alcohol level BAC (%), side effects (net sway amplitude - in feet; AND sway frequency measured in Sway/sec.)

Other metrics such as ambient temperature and my motor-mouth Responses Per Minute (RPM), go without saying....

 

[wally2q]

I should also clarify.... when I say "shutting down the tractor when hot is not a bad idea", what it means you will not ruin things by doing so. it's not a "bad idea".
But it also does not mean "your tractor enjoys it when you do that".

yes - things are hot... yes the radiator fan is spinning when the engine is running.... yes things will get hotter if you stop it all.... BUT... when your tractor is overheating, and the cooling system is not keeping up - "stopping the source of heat" is the priority.... meaning stop the engine... open the hood.... etc etc...

take yourself back to when your '70s car overheated on the side of the road - coolant boiling, spilling, steam billowing... what did you do?... keep it running?... or shut it off?....

 

[wally2q]

I've always heard that shutting off a hot tractor, especially one with a turbo was really bad on the engine. I don't think I've ever had this overheating to happen with my tractors.

for a turbo engine - for sure!... the turbo is a totally different environment with vastly different issues.
you always have to run a cool-down mode for a few minutes for the turbo to cool down with airflow.

Turbo bearings are lubricated and cooled with oil. The turbo component temperatures are easily >1000deg, compared to the engine block where temps are 120-150deg in the hottest part (inside cylinder wall). So when you stop the oil flow, the oil quickly burns out in the turbo bearings, turns to tar and carbon, and the next time you try to run it, you have problems.

but for a plain coolant-based engine, shutting down when hot, is not a problem.

 

[wally2q]

The other thing i'll say is this - my dad had an old diesel engine years ago... it's cooling system was a huge water jacket that was filled with water before you start the engine... once the engine starts to run and comes up to temperature, the water jacket would start to boil. by boiling, it kept the engine at a constant 100degC. no radiator. no coolant pump. no thermostat. just boiling coolant - by design!
of course you'd have to watch the water reservoir to make sure you don't let the level get too low after hours of use.... so we'd just top it off every few hours.....

 

[wally2q]

shutting down the tractor when hot is not a bad idea, with 1 exception that I'll mention later.
when you shut it down, you stop fluid circulation but you also stop the heat source - which is the fuel burning in the engine. the residual heat in the cylinder walls will migrate to the coolant and everything will just stop... no more heating.... and only cooling happens - albeit slow, because circulation is stopped. The residual heat energy in the cylinder walls is minimal.... so nothing to worry about.

the 1 exception is if your system looses coolant pressure due to engine stop. This normally should not happen, but in some older systems it can. Especially when system pressurization is not obtained by the radiator cap, but instead by the coolant pump and system flow restrictions. When the pressure drops, the coolant may start to boil - but only if the temperature is already critically high.
Having said that - boiling coolant is not the end of the world - the act of boiling takes an enormous amount of energy, in relative comparison to raising the cooant temperature by 1 more degree for example. It takes 4.2 joules of energy to raise 1mL of water by 1 degree. It takes 2,260 joules of energy to to boil 1mL of water.
And one last point - once the liquid is boiling - by definition it means the temperature is no longer rising. So although a coolant boiling event seems ugly, dirty, stressful, and even dangerous - fact is - it is a good thing for the system... it extracts huge amounts of energy out of the system in a very short time, while keeping the temperature constant! Unless you leak out all your coolant and there is none left to boil.