Old Tractors, Winter and Warm Cabs

You folks with older 1970’s tractors such as the JD 30/40 series, IH 66/86 series, MF 11x5 (I have an 1105) and similar vintage make tractors from the 1970’s, how was the cab heat on a windy cold winter day? Good, bad, nonexistent? How did you keep the windows defrosted?

Read a lot of discussions regarding AC in the summer, but not heat in the winter.

Temps here will be in the low 20’s next week.

Just curious.

Thanks!

The old case cabs were excelled for heat, mostly because the exhaust manifold stuck into the cab on many of those old cabs. Nice in the winter, not so much in the summer. Even the 730 with the Cozy Cab was good with a generic heater. On those the engine was further away and you didn't get as much heat right off of it, but that little heater and fan would get it plenty warm

Most of those cabs had much the same overhead heating and cooling unit. They were excellent at cooling and heating, but getting the heat to the floor took a bit of time and positioning the louvers....as was defogging the windows. Nobody complained back then!

Ben

Had my brothers Oliver 1755 here one winter for snow removal when my Farmall 300 was down for an engine rebuild. Once warmed up it had all kinds of heat ! It has the nicer cab Oliver used but I would say it is a little crude compared to Deere, IH, and Massey. Windows never really fogged up or frosted up.

I am always warm and cumfee in my CASE 931 with factory cab and heat, and my 440 with my home made cab.

loren

My IH 966 has a factory cab, when I bought it the cab heater was shot. I was in Princess Auto one day and bought a remote heater, the kind you might install in a cargo van. About 8 inches square , with a built in 3 speed fan. Mounted it in the rear left corner of the cab behind the seat, and hooked up to the coolant system of the tractor. It will put you right out of the tractor with heat. I have sat on that tractor all day ploughing with snow flying, just in shirt sleeves, and very warm and comfortable. Chopped a lot of corn on

cold days in that tractor too

Quiet is what matters. So just think John Deere
I have a 6060 AC not bad but not a JD. All will keep you warm. Have to run AC same time as Heat to keep windows defrosted.

Cold is not so bad with a cab even without heat. If sunny you do get some heat from it. Getting out of the wind is a big help.

Any cab is better than the alternative

I finally hooked up the heater that came with the cab this Fall, but as Caterpiller guy stated, out of the wind is a big help. If you are doing field work the tractor chassis gets warm, and that can help to keep your feet warm in the cold. I would rather have a heat-houser for Fall field work, but the cab is nice for moving snow in the wind!

The Old canvas heat housers help alot.. you may need to look in to one

We have a 73 4230 that was factory platform.. it had a dealer installed hinker cab, IT has a fan thats it no heat no ac.. it keeps the wind off when pushing snow.. I got a small 12v automotive defrost blower that blows on the windsheild..

My white 4-150 gets use to pull the feed wagon it has factory heat.. If I start it and let it warm up while loading feed it is thawed out and good to go... now if i could get the wiper motor to work...

On my deeres I have found running the a/calomg WI the heater to keep the windows from fogging.

A tight cab is the most important part of staying warm. With zero drafts most cabs can be acceptably warm on a sunny zero degree day if you wear warm footwear. That solar heat just does not seem to make it down to the feet.

Ran an 1105 for years pushing snow. (Northern Maine, so daily usually, never less than once a week.) Heat was fine. Didn’t have A/C in that one but didn’t really need it there. Always thought it had a decent cab for the time period.

The little heater Bruce mentioned below, I have a sub compact now with a canvas cab. You can sit in it in a T shirt and be just comfy.

I’ve got one bought it new old stock I guess you could say but at some point or another some of the pieces got lost I’m thinking of seeing if i can rig it up somehow if nothing else to see how i like it

Get yourself a heat houser for that open tractor and you'll be laughing at the cold. Seriously, I've run old tractors with that canvas weather brake and they keep the cold wind off you. Plus the heat of the engine is driven back by the engine fan keeping you warm. I don't have one on either of my two open winter tractorss but if i was going to spend much time out on them I'd look into a heat houser. This was me back in 1971 on the Cockshutt 50.

I picked a lot of corn with am Oliver 88 and a heat Houser. Weather pretty chilly and I always had to
take my coat off after a little while. Nothing but the heat of the engine blowing back on me.

I ran the neighbor's 4320 Deere with factory cab with heat & AC chisel plowing a couple days one fall. The chisel pulled harder than his Deere 5-14 plow, so plenty of heat. The day that tractor was delivered he had me go out and plow that afternoon & evening. It had 3.? sumthing hours on it, the AC worked fine. Plowed from about 3-4 PM till almost Midnight on a warm MAY evening and no sweat. Month later it gets hooked to the chopper and I'm going to chop haylage, and the AC doesn't work! EVER AGAIN.
Dad bought a KOEHN tractor cab, (pronounced Cane) was a light tubing frame, fiberglas tub for a top, a woven synthetic yarn like the cheap green, or blue, or silver tarps for sides to the enclosure and the engine, and plexiglas windows that slid up into the roof, also had a piece of fabric to cover the grill, keep engine very warm. Used it a time or two to chop corn stalks after picking, also disking stalks for plowing in the spring, all sealed up I stayed plenty warm even though it was open to the ground, open all the windows, remove the side covers, and it was a nice shady place to cultivate corn/beans, or combine oats. Was much easier to get on/off the 4010 with it on than the 450 Farmall, it converted from left rear entry to left front side entry, but climbing over the Fast Hitch on the 450 was a young person's sport. The canvas did not vibrate and amplify noise like a cheap steel cab would.

I wish I had something on my tractor I push snow with. Was plowing snow late one night, started getting flurries, then changed to sleet and started falling twice as hard. THAT was Very Unpleasant! Getting pelted with bits of ice.
I have 12V electrically heated glove liners and socks, I can keep my hands & feet warm but have to keep the cold draft from going down my back. Normally takes me 1/2 to 3/4 of an hour to clean everything.

I'm down here in Texas and my hat goes off to you folks up North. My 1979 JD 4230 had the Soundguard Cab and when it wanted to fog up, I just turned on the AC and the heater. AC did the dehumidification quite nicely. And yes the cab was worth it's cost in both weather extremes.

Remembering back in the 50's when auto AC started showing up. Old method of cleaning glass was a rag or elbow or what have you. With the advent of the AC, you were yelled at if you didn't wait for the defroster to defrost the glass.

Since retiring and downsizing, My Branson 6530 has the cab, rest are open station.

(quoted from post at 07:10:41 10/31/20)

Remembering back in the 50's when auto AC started showing up. Old method of cleaning glass was a rag or elbow or what have you. With the advent of the AC, you were yelled at if you didn't wait for the defroster to defrost the glass.

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I've never understood the concept of running AC in cold weather to clear the windows. I think my newest vehicle, 97 Blazer had it but I pulled the plug at the compressor years ago as I thought it was a crazy idea running it in cold weather. No problem clearing the windows as long as the heater works. And it does.
I remember back even further when the preferred method of keeping a clear view through the car windows was "frost shields". Plastic panels that glued to the inside of your windows . In effect, a storm window that trapped a layer of air next to the glass and prevented frost forming. They worked but usually needed replacing every fall. Early ones were glass.

CASE offered a factory installed cab with pressurized cab and heater starting in 1968 for the 930/1030 (1969 for the 1470 which also offered htr/ac if speced) , they also offered a AC kit for them starting in later 1968,, seen few of them we sold at least two new with it,, that was a vendor sourced and designed cab,, made by Stophler/Allen cabs,, then in 1969 they came with the 70 Series tractors, a Case designed cab again but first year or so of production was out sourced, they seen right off they had to build their own to maintain the quality they wanted,, so by 72 they has their won factory up and running and made their own from then on until the downfall of them buying as i call the junk red line and the beginning of the end to the Real CASE Company. Case starting in 1969 held the #1q spot for the best cabs in both operator comfort,low sound levels and safety, all were ROPS certified as well, it took years for other brands to even come close to catching them,

My neighbor bought a new 970 in 1972 or 1973 without air conditioning. A year later he had air installed. The 1974 1070 I owned for awhile (wish I had it back now) had very good air, it could freeze me out on a 100 degree day.