To keep farm equipment running during the winter, one thing to remember – is that it’s winter. “A lot of times, they forget about shutting off the A/C unit,” explained Gary Busselman of S&H Farm Supply in Lockwood, Mo. “They contradict each other when you’d rather have heat and the A/C is still running; there’s a valve on some units that will have to be shut off.”
Busselman told Ozarks Farm & Neighbor it’s important to watch the A/C connection, and in particular the evaporator. “Next spring, when you’re ready to use the A/C again when it gets hot, then that’s usually the problem,” he said. “I’d say 80 percent of the problem. The evaporator, which is hard to get to, does not get attention and just blew out, and causes restrictions for next spring.” Servicing can address that problem, either if the machine is ready for storage or if it’s going to be used for winter chores.
Among the items on a tractor to be examined heading into the winter are the engine oil, hydraulic oil and filters, and air and cab filters. It’s also important to make sure coolant fluids won’t freeze. Busselman said, “Sometimes in the summertime they’ll add water and not antifreeze, and the difference in the freezing point is not watched closely. That needs to be checked out, just with a simple freezing temperature gauge; they’ll be able to guide you if you have to add more antifreeze, or to replace the whole system.”
S&H offers equipment owners a preventive maintenance schedule for parts subject to frequent wear that often leaves them in need of replacement. One of those would be wheel bearings; another is belts, particularly the fan belt. “You have that air flow going through the radiator at all times, and that all depends on the fan belt driving the water pump and the fan itself,” Busselman said.
“Add an oil based or wax based belt dressing over the winter to keep the belts from cracking,” suggested Mark Griffin, service manager for Larson Farm & Lawn, Rogersville, Mo.
Busselman recommended owners also focus on fuel filters. “With the fuel and the engines that we’re having now,” he said, “they’re so tight in tolerance that any water into the fuel could cause great damage to the injection pump area.” He said owners should check the alarm system for water in fuel, and should make a general practice of changing the fuel filter before getting into the cold months.
Condensation can also get into hydraulic oil during the winter, requiring the hydraulic filter to be changed.
“The main key for winter maintenance is removing any moisture in moving parts, especially if the equipment sits outside, mentioned Griffin.
“Add fresh grease to all fittings. If there was any water or moisture it would push it out so there isn’t any freezing,” continued Grifffin.
“Sometimes you have one hydraulic filter,” Busselman said, “but most models have two or three; it depends on the transmission.” Water in the hydraulic system could freeze up and restrict movement throughout the tractor. While hay baling season ended early in 2011 due to the drought, there are still some producers trying to salvage crop residue like corn stalks to feed their animals. Busselman said that can cause a lot of hardship to the baler. “It is tougher on the chains, bearing, sprockets and belts on the round balers,” he said. “Those will really need to be checked over before next spring. The same with your conditioners or your rakes that you’re using to put that foliage into a windrow to pick up with a baler; you have to have a little closer check than normal because it’s not a product that they’re used to, and the wear and tear is probably higher.”
Robert Adrian of Adrian Farm Supply in Tahlequah, Okla., noted in addition to feeding, producers spend the winter cleaning up rough land with their brush hogs. “The vegetation is standing up where they can see where they’re going and see what they’re running over,” he told OFN. It’s not necessary to sharpen the blades for the winter, because a dull blade works better, “It’ll shatter the stump rather than just cut it off where it’ll sprout back up,” Adrian said.
He said the rough ground in this region can also play havoc with newer units, which Adrian said, “have so many safety features on them that are not protected well enough coming from the factor – as a result, the switches get knocked off or wiring gets pulled out, one thing or another. And it’s hard to build enough guards for them.” A lot of producers, of course, are trying to get as much as they can out of older equipment, which Busselman said sometimes needs to be replaced just because the parts are harder to get. “We have tractors that run between 8,000 to 10,000 hours before any major overhaul is done, but sometimes we get them between 4,000 to 5,000 hours before an engine overhaul,” he said. “The preventive maintenance is huge on how long equipment will last.”
“Before storing equipment, such as balers or mowers, for the winter wash them. As the equipment sits over the winter grass, debris or dirt can hold moisture by washing your equipment you protect the paint and metal,” concluded Griffin.
