time of year for me to get annoyed

[Boss Hog]

Ricky, if you turn the screw out it will lean it up, that is an air screw
Boss

[ricky racer]

Oops! My mistake. Then amend my recommendation and turn the screw in 1/4 to 1/2 turn to richen the mixture.

[Clark Thompson]

Yes all K series kohlers have a compression release on the cam gear. as far as your cub being hard to start. The # one thing is a good hot spark from the J 4 mag. Most likley it is the coil if the spark isnt up to snuff. The spark issue will show up in cold weather more than in warm weather. Compression is the other important factor. If your compression is low, say around 80 to 90 lbs then it can be difficult to start. Especially with a weak or intermittent spark. top notch compression should be between 130 to 145 lbs. I have a 48 cub with magneto and a top notch ignition.Compression is 125 lbs. It alwasy starts when the temp gets down to -20.. below that if it will start if it fires right away. if it doesnt fire right away the spark plugs get frosted up so i need to use a squirt of either to dry them out. away it always goes.It is 6 volt. I have a 1976 international cub. 12 volt. with electronic ignition. compression is 115 or so. it always fires right up in the cold.

[DickB]

My Cub, from 1955 and 6v and with a generator, is in the process of growing "winter coatings." I hope so. See if this makes sense or if it helps.

1. Battery: Charge it up and be prepared to recharge. This year I have on hand a wrap around heater with an electric line to it. My plan with a recharged battery is to have it wrapped, and plugged into a time to keep it warm.

2. Oil pan: Attach a magnetic oil pan heater to bottom of pan. Hook it up to the timer.

3. Water inlet pipe: Thanks to Boss Hog, I found and bought a used water inlet pipe that has a downward casting that is near the hose going toward the radiator. I drilled it, threaded it, and installed a plug heater. (I think Rudi has or will or was going to make this into a reference of some sort on this forum.) Plug it in, take it to the timer. (I keep hinting: Boss Hog sells these jobbies. It was his idea to use that little dribble of casting -- perhaps called a Welch port? -- for this purpose. If you want to do this, you need to be especially careful regarding the length of the copper "U" of the heater as too long is no good -- see either Rudi's link or my forum thread on this....

Set the timer to go on a couple of hours before you want to start your Cub, and to go off as you wander about in the snow toward it.

Reach over, and, as if it was summer, flip out the ignition, adjust your throttle, pull out the chock, and pull the starter. ROARing sound of energetic Cub on 1st or 2nd pull at 15 deg.F? Ahhhhhhh.

I found that the water heater is very nice, and I could put my hand on the engine head and it was warm after an hour of so of heating. Ahhhh. Did this little test in October. Now, I'm waiting for a snowstorm followed by a chilling cold front to test all this.

4. Remove all that stuff from the tractor, and get to plowing snow.

That about right?

[SONNY]

They will start/die in the cold,--BUT ya gotta stay on that choke rod ,and work it quick to keep them running until they get warmed up enough to keep running on their own!----if you need to use them on a regular basis, install a heater on it.---magnetic one on the bottom of the oil pan will help,--also run a k-1 heater close to the engine for a half hour or so before trying to start it,---AND make sure ya got spark plugs that are NOT,NOT champion brand in them!---- 6-v OR 12-v makes no difference in cold start on mine, and I run both!----Magnetos are a royal pain, but guys love them,---I dont, but thats just personal choice!---if impuls is free working even the mags should fire good in cold weather! thanks; sonny

[Ironlegs]

In northwest PA, where I live, winters are long and cold. My IHC tractors struggle to start too (FCub and Super A) in the winter months. Thirty-weight oil, 6V ignitions, cold tractor garages all take their toll on this equipment. My defense is to keep the tractor batteries charged via maintainers and keep the ignition systems clean and in-repair. With these efforts, I can generally get the tractors started and use them as needed in the winter (snow plowing, some log skidding on frozen ground, etc).

There are a lot of features of these old machines that have been greatly improved on with modern equipment. Each user must make the decision about what the right unit for their use is. Today's hydraulic and four-wheel-drive tractors are much more reliable and powerful units in about the same sized package as the old stuff. They cost a lot to buy...maintenance is less frequent but very costly too.

I got my tractors to a point where they are in pretty good condition, I have learned what they need to keep well and I have the time and inclination to keep their maintenance up. At least a few times a year, I hear myself mumbling that perhaps I should look for modern replacements. My Super A is sixty-two years old and my Cub is 55 years old. They're fun to work with when they work.

[artc]

I think it's important to make a distinction here. 6V with a magneto with everything up to snuff should have little trouble starting in the cold.

6V with battery ignition in the same condition will struggle. Here's the reason. when you crank the engine at +70 degrees, your voltage is 5 volts or so. the de-rating of the battery at +10 degrees is substantial, leaving you with a scant 4 volts to the ignition. ever notice that many times your 6V tractor will fire at the moment you release the starter? that's because the battery voltage suddenly went back top to 6 volts or so, increasing the spark.

So all the help you can give your 6 volt battery ignition system outlined above will increase the odds it starts when it has to. Whether it's warming the oil pan, the block, the battery, or converting it to 12 V for you non-purists. The point is you need to do something or it will not start at the worst moment.

BTW, it was 16 degrees in cT this morning. my wife wanted a Christmas card photo on the cub, which was in front of the 41 A (6 volt battery (new), mag, rebuilt) it started without difficulty, as did the cub (12 volt, pertronics). that is, AFTER I put gas in both

oh, and I do stand corrected on the compression release - K series Kohler

[Don McCombs]

16 degrees in the Nutmeg State? That's balmy. It was 6 here in Mountain Maryland.

[Eugene]

Unless there is something not previously stated - - - it's a magneto ignition system.

Tractor should start easily either with a battery or hand crank.

i have a J4 magneto not battery ignition.

Does magneto's impulse coupling click when hand cranking the engine in cold weather?

Got spark to spark plugs?

If the battery has enough umph to turn over the engine when cold - that's not the major problem.

[ad356]

installed a brand new 6v battery today. it was $77 from the case/ih dealer up the street. it was actually $13 cheaper then tractor supply. tractor spun over allot faster and actually fired right up, no effort at all. as was said i had the plan with the choke a little, but i was pretty pleased with the results. lets just see how she works when its colder out. it was probably in the high 20's when i started her, so it wasnt really cold but not particularly warm either. yes you can hear the magneto coupling when cranking regardless of outdoor temperature. i never had a problem with spark, it always acted like it wasnt readily burning the fuel when it was cold. i know it was getting gas because it would drip out of the bottom of the carburetor. i know i was getting spark because it would eventually run, it just would start very hard. the spark plugs while they are not worn out are champion, i thought that's what these machines were supposed to have. if i go back to the dealer they will just sell me another set of champions, or is there something better. maybe a different brand of plug wouldnt be a bad idea.

yes these tractors are more temperamental then modern diesel compacts, but i would never spend that on a machine, they also dont have the history/legacy that the cub or similar old farm tractor has. its just hard to argue with that sort of character. when they do start they are a very usable machine, at least mine mows 2 acres a week in the summer and plows snow like a champ in the winter (when it starts). sometimes the starting was so bad in the winter it took me a 1/2 hour to finally get it running. im hoping that the new battery will spin it over faster.

i do own a good battery charger but i was afraid that having it on constanty would shorten the battery's life. i have one of these:
http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/s ... -30-12--2a

says it will go down to 2 amps. will that ruin my battery, to leave that on overnight?

yesterday i tried to start the tractor with my hand carnk. ir was no use, there was no way it was going to start by hand. also i am running 10W30, the guy at the dealer claimed that was part of my problem it it was too heavy of an oil that that i need to run 5W30. what do you guys think about that, is he just trying sell me oil, i just changed it recently.

[Don McCombs]

In addition to your new battery, I'd suggest picking up one of these and keep it on your battery while not using the tractor in winter.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Schumacher-Au ... r/13005742

[tmays]

Champion plugs are fine. That's what I've always used with no problems

[ricky racer]

No, leaving the battery charger (2A) will not hurt the battery if left on overnight. However I wouldn't leave it on much past that. As Don recommended use a battery maintainer to maintain the battery at top charge without hurting the battery. 10-30W oil should be fine. IH recommended 10W for cold weather and 30W for hot. I run 10-30W in my '53 all the time an trust me, it gets cold in Michigan too. As far as spark plugs go, I too have had bad luck with Champion and prefer anything but.

[tmays]

As far as spark plugs go, I too have had bad luck with Champion and prefer anything but.

And so it begins! Hahahaha

[ricky racer]

As far as spark plugs go, I too have had bad luck with Champion and prefer anything but.

And so it begins! Hahahaha

What are you talking about??