Starting a Tractor When it's REALLY Cold

I apologize to my good viewers in areas where it's not freezing cold right now. I know you're probably getting sick of all these videos talking about the effects of cold temperatures on tractors. I have a large following in the south and you guys may be basking in the balmy weather while us northerners are freezing and our tractors won't start. I'm more than a little envious. I promise, after today I should be done talking about the cold.

Starting a tractor when it's REALLY cold is a bit of a challenge. Even with glow plugs and block heaters, when it gets down in single digits, many diesel engines, especially the older ones, don't want to start. I knew when it got really cold over the weekend here, and I had to feed a round bale, that I needed to pull out all the tricks to get the old tractor started. If I couldn't get the tractor running, I'd never hear the end of it from Tractor Wife Carmen as we're trying to roll a round bale 200 yards into the barn lot over the frozen ground. I could hear the snide comments, "You'd think someone who calls himself Tractor Mike could at least get his own tractor started".

So, I used a trick that dad taught me and it worked. Heat lamp pointed toward the block for a couple of hours and she fired up like it was June. Now, I'll be the first to admit that a block heater is a better option. But I don't have a block heater and I need the tractor started today and I've waited a little late to deal with my predicament. If that's you, hopefully my heat lamp trick will help you get your chores done.

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