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Carb. adjustment for cold weather

I

Inno

Well-known Member
Do many of you with gas powered tractors find you are constantly fiddling with the mixture because of changes in temperature?
A few weeks ago we got snow then it went down to -13°F or so. When running the tractor I found I had to make the mixture a fair bit richer even when warmed up so that it wouldn't stall when I released the clutch.
Got snow this week but the temperature was up around 21°F or so and I could smell from the exhaust that it was running way too rich and it was not running as smoothly as it should so I made another adjustment. Maybe it's because we have a lot of temperature change here, from as high as 90° in parts of summer down to as cold as -45° in late December and January.
 
Never had that type of problem. All I ever had to do in cold weather is run with the choke on some until the tractor warmed up. Once they are set properly I never have had to make changes,

Nothing different in carburetor settings last year than 50 years ago on any of my tractors for running in cold weather. I have only run a disel so far this winter. Will probly run a couple in the next few days.
 
You shouldn't have to unless it is not coming up to operating temp. maybe you need to take longer passes to put more load on it.
 
My dad used to give er a half turn open in the winter, and then forget to undo that in the spring. I never touch mine, but I run a 180 thermostat that works good. I"m running a 4 cyl Massey, I used to use a 6 cyl Oliver, that was a very cold blooded engine in the winter. Make sure it"s getting up to temp, cover the radiator if necessary.
 
I have a TO 30 that I plow snow with and I never touch the carb. It is a little cold blooded at first but then it runs like a champ. I have a farmall M that I have had since the 70ies and I have never touched the carb. and it was started everyday in the winter when I had the farm. Bob
 
(quoted from post at 07:20:23 12/23/10) Do many of you with gas powered tractors find you are constantly fiddling with the mixture because of changes in temperature?
A few weeks ago we got snow then it went down to -13°F or so. When running the tractor I found I had to make the mixture a fair bit richer even when warmed up so that it wouldn't stall when I released the clutch.
Got snow this week but the temperature was up around 21°F or so and I could smell from the exhaust that it was running way too rich and it was not running as smoothly as it should so I made another adjustment. Maybe it's because we have a lot of temperature change here, from as high as 90° in parts of summer down to as cold as -45° in late December and January.
Click to expand...

If it runs good in warm weather then the carb is set right. Leave it alone. If it stumbles and faulters in cold weather, you just need to let it warm up more before you try to make it work.
 
Lowering the ambient temperature leans the mixture so it"s not surprising that you may have to make some minor adjustments to the carb mixture settings. They should be relatiely small adjustments, like 1/8 of a turn. I"ve noticed this during low ambient temperatures and high load on the engine.
 
Our gas JD 4020 has a manifold block I have to turn around to get it to run right for cold weather. This diverts some exhaust around the intake to keep it warm. No other fiddling to the adjustments needed.
 
I run my IH 464 and Allis CA with the choke about 1/2 to 1/4 open. I also think I need new carbs. Seems air is getting in somewhere, there is only so much those cheap rebuild kits do. I see now Yesterdays Tractor Co. now has a new Zenith below $300. A couple years ago it was $700.
 
It was my feeling that as long as it comes up to operating temperature that it should run the same winter or summer. I'll have to check to make sure it's getting up to temp.
I know it will run poorly when cold, that's a given so I try to let it warm up sufficiently before doing any work with it.
 
Get the engine up to normal operation temp and your troubles go away. If the thermostat is not working well, cover the grill/radiator to restrict air flow to get the engine warmed up.
 
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