# A/C in winter?



## Quinn the Eskimo (Dec 20, 2021)

In my pick up, I always run the a/c regardless of temperature or season for the dehumidifying benefits. I was using it in my new CX2510 and at around -10 to -20C it worked well keeping cab windows clear, etc.
However, plowing snow today at -3C it didn't seem to doing a very good job keeping the windows clear. When I turned the a/c off the cab immediately fogged up and couldn't see a thing. Put the a/c back on and although the temp control was set to hottest, the air was hardly warm. I checked the coolant level and all good. Eventually, the windows cleared with the a/c on, but the air temp wasn't very warm at all. Was told to read the manual by the dealer, but there's nothing about the cab at all in it.
Thoughts, opinions?


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## unsquidly (Jul 13, 2021)

Quinn the Eskimo said:


> In my pick up, I always run the a/c regardless of temperature or season for the dehumidifying benefits. I was using it in my new CX2510 and at around -10 to -20C it worked well keeping cab windows clear, etc.
> However, plowing snow today at -3C it didn't seem to doing a very good job keeping the windows clear. When I turned the a/c off the cab immediately fogged up and couldn't see a thing. Put the a/c back on and although the temp control was set to hottest, the air was hardly warm. I checked the coolant level and all good. Eventually, the windows cleared with the a/c on, but the air temp wasn't very warm at all. Was told to read the manual by the dealer, but there's nothing about the cab at all in it.
> Thoughts, opinions?



I think that the cab of that model is a factory installed not a dealer installed so they are probably correct....Now the question is, did they give you the proper manual for your tractor of the manual for the non cab CX2510... Check that and if you don't have the manual for the cab model, go into the dealership and find your salesman and kick him right square in the.................Well, probably better not do all that...........Maybe just explain to them how they gave you the wrong manual and how they are going to give you the correct one.......LOL I don't know much about the cabs for those small ones....


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## Hoyks (May 9, 2021)

What was the temperature gauge on the tractor showing? You won't get any heat until the thermostat opens and lets the coolant circulate. 
If its cold and the engine is doing a pretty good job of air cooling its self, then it may take quite a while to heat up and open the thermostat. If the thermostat is getting old and sluggish, then that may not be helping things either.
You could try blocking off 1/2 the radiator with a piece of cardboard and see if that speeds things up.


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## Quinn the Eskimo (Dec 20, 2021)

Was about -3C, so not all that cold. I’d been working the machine for about an hour when I noticed problems. Temp gauge was just below halfway. I’ve blocked the rad on a Kubota but that was at more like -20 to -40ish, a lot colder and warranted. 
I am assuming the a/c system uses the engine coolant as I can hear the compressor engage/disengage when pressing the a/c switch,
So, anyone using a/c in winter?


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## unsquidly (Jul 13, 2021)

Hoyks said:


> What was the temperature gauge on the tractor showing? You won't get any heat until the thermostat opens and lets the coolant circulate.
> If its cold and the engine is doing a pretty good job of air cooling its self, then it may take quite a while to heat up and open the thermostat. If the thermostat is getting old and sluggish, then that may not be helping things either.
> You could try blocking off 1/2 the radiator with a piece of cardboard and see if that speeds things up.



Based on the fact that Quinn's tractor is no more then a couple of years old I would just about rule out the thermostat.....

As far as blocking off half the radiator, this will not work at all on a tractor like this since both sides of the hood open....Blocking off the front will still leave both sides open for air flow.....


I would almost bet that it is something in the temp control for the heater/ air conditioner that Is not allowing it to go to the hot side......


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## Quinn the Eskimo (Dec 20, 2021)

unsquidly said:


> Based on the fact that Quinn's tractor is no more then a couple of years old I would just about rule out the thermostat.....
> 
> As far as blocking off half the radiator, this will not work at all on a tractor like this since both sides of the hood open....Blocking off the front will still leave both sides open for air flow.....
> 
> ...


Ya, it’s got around 38 hours on it. Dealing with a couple other issues as well so I’m keeping an eye on everything. Getting blue exhaust up around 2500-2600 rpm which didn’t always happen. Also at that rpm it sounds like the engine is missing. At 2200 don’t see much blue exhaust but I’m sure it’s there just not as noticeable. I’ve run Sea Foam through it, changed where I’m getting my fuel, added Stanadyne to all brand new Jerry cans. No increase in crank oil level. Coolant level good and unchanged. Has to go back to the dealer 3 hours away and was hoping it was something simple.


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## Hoyks (May 9, 2021)

unsquidly said:


> Based on the fact that Quinn's tractor is no more then a couple of years old I would just about rule out the thermostat.....I don't have a build date, a _new_ tractor might just be new to him.
> 
> As far as blocking off half the radiator, this will not work at all on a tractor like this since both sides of the hood open....Blocking off the front will still leave both sides open for air flow.....Yeah, but the air that does the cooling is drawn through the radiator by the fan and flow around the sides is limited by the fan shroud, hence why the temp goes up when the screen is clogged in dusty conditions. Flow past the block is incidental.


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## pogobill (Jan 31, 2012)

Had some sort of a vapour lock on a pickup truck one time..... the engine started to get pretty warm and the heater blew ice cold. It was -40 at the time, so I remember how much I needed the cab heat to work!
I think I removed the rad cap and then started the truck up to get the air out of the system. Not sure if that helped, but the cooling system ( and the heater) began working as it should.


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## Quinn the Eskimo (Dec 20, 2021)

Ya, I remember my first winter up north... had a brand new Datsun pick-up. Some arsehole thought it was a big joke to steal all the extension cords for everyone's block heaters in the complex where I lived. Got the truck started, it wasn't happy, made it to work and pulled it inside the shop. The rad hoses were frozen solid. Driving on square tires was a new experience, too. I think it was -42 that morning. Coldest I experienced there was -56C. Separates the wheat from the chaff...


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## SidecarFlip (Mar 25, 2021)

Always use my AC to defog the windows no matter what the ambient is. The ac dries the air and removes the condensation.


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## pogobill (Jan 31, 2012)

Quinn the Eskimo said:


> Ya, I remember my first winter up north... had a brand new Datsun pick-up. Some arsehole thought it was a big joke to steal all the extension cords for everyone's block heaters in the complex where I lived. Got the truck started, it wasn't happy, made it to work and pulled it inside the shop. The rad hoses were frozen solid. Driving on square tires was a new experience, too. I think it was -42 that morning. Coldest I experienced there was -56C. Separates the wheat from the chaff...


LOL, stealing cords! I remember a town I frequented as a young fellow, where the local service station used to pay kids to go around the hotels (both of them) and just uplug guests vehicles!! Same thing, I guess, we just got to keep or cords!


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## SidecarFlip (Mar 25, 2021)

One time years ago, we were sledding in the UP of Michigan over by Silver City on the west end of the state and we had a SOB DNR officer giving us a hard time about every day so he was staying at a motel across from the house we rented for the week and the motel also had a beanery attached where we ate dinner. After dinner on the way back to the house, I stopped by his state pickup truck and shoved a big old Idaho potato up his exhaust pipe and rammed it way in with a broomstick. Needless to say he didn't go anywhere and harass us for the rest of the week, cause his truck was DOA. 

Amazing how well a spud kills a gas motor.


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## unsquidly (Jul 13, 2021)

Quinn, you figured out anything on this yet?


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## Quinn the Eskimo (Dec 20, 2021)

unsquidly said:


> Quinn, you figured out anything on this yet?


Well, fogging has stopped when using a/c; without a/c on the fogging is much worse. I'm wondering if some snow got into the vents and caused the abrupt fogging. the blue exhaust at 2600 rpms has all but disappeared, though more noticeable in colder temps. The missing and farting has pretty much gone, too. Sea Foam and Stanadyne may have done the trick, but time will tell. I'm thinking ring seating... All in all, plowing like a mofo. Anxious for my chains to show up.


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## Sullys5010 (Dec 22, 2021)

Hey Quinn. How do you like those R14’s.


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## unsquidly (Jul 13, 2021)

Have you done an oil change or added any oil to it since you have had it? The only reason that I ask is if you have the same oil dipstick that I had on my 2410 it is easy to misread it and think that it is low when it is not. I did that early on and over filled it by probably a quart to a quart and a half...It blew blue smoke at high RPMs until it got it all burnt out....

Also, are you getting heat out of the defrost now?


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## Quinn the Eskimo (Dec 20, 2021)

Sullys5010 said:


> Hey Quinn. How do you like those R14’s.


They seem pretty good, but first winter with them. I think in snowy/icy winter conditions all tires need chains. But the main reason I chose them was for the more temperate months. They seem quite pliable and have a good open pattern without being too aggressive. More like a quad tire, and this tractor isn’t all that big or heavy so I’m hoping they’ll do well in summer etc. They do well in the snow, but chains will be altogether different, like any tire.


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## unsquidly (Jul 13, 2021)

Quinn the Eskimo said:


> They seem pretty good, but first winter with them. I think in snowy/icy winter conditions all tires need chains. But the main reason I chose them was for the more temperate months. They seem quite pliable and have a good open pattern without being too aggressive. More like a quad tire, and this tractor isn’t all that big or heavy so I’m hoping they’ll do well in summer etc. They do well in the snow, but chains will be altogether different, like any tire.



I have the R-14 tires on my 3510........They do very well in the mud and wet grass......Very decent grip and don't tear the ground up nearly as bad as regular AG tires....


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## Quinn the Eskimo (Dec 20, 2021)

unsquidly said:


> I have the R-14 tires on my 3510........They do very well in the mud and wet grass......Very decent grip and don't tear the ground up nearly as bad as regular AG tires....


Good to know and what I was hoping for. Had turfs on a Kubota of same size, and they were useless. Kept chains on year round. Ags are pretty hard and aggressive I agree. The R4s (?) would Pune ok, but they seem made for longevity so probably harder and less pliable than the R 14s, but I can’t really say myself, as I’ve got no experience with them.


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