Had the first skiff of snow last night. At the moment we are cut off from the mainland. The rest of Canada must be so distressed. :( Wondering if anyone has one of these and how it worked out . ???
https://youtu.be/RrLHFQ7UkO8
Looks like a better build . kind of like the old Bolens from late 60's
Kind of neat, but I don't see the advantages of it over a good utility sled, other than it's compactness.
Well its got a huge advantage to the manufacturer. Revenues!
I would say it is a huge step up from a dog team, but the guys running dog teams would disagree.
Knock on wood, I have not had any run ins so far with dog teams this year, there is some running, but we have been missing each other so far.
Brand new they are running about five thousand. The marketing has branded them a work horse . Here they only offer the 13hp but from what is on the net there is a 21hp in Wisconsin . At issue is hauling a generator into the woodlot to warm up the tractor. The generator is sweet to have on site for power. However there is that theft issue. Land owners do not want their laneways torn up or rutted. There is about a month in the fall and a month in the spring when it would be nice to access the woodlot if only to cut and prep skids. What ever you use has to be taken home at night or hid. I have zero tolerance for a thief. But they are a reality. If I had a dollar for every hour I have spent on a daily basis to prevent theft ...... don't get me started !!@##$#$$$%$%%%^ An ol skidoo would work but I was hoping not to have one more thing to fix. I believe you are correct there used to be something called a diablo at a massey dealer one time. Actually after thinking what Ed k went through putting the tractor in someones yard may be the best option.
I like the light weight part. I already have one of those sleds set up to tow the generator behind my tracked atv into the plow truck.
Webasto heater 700 new, 475 rebuilt and no need for a genset or a way to get it there. An extra 100 bucks will get it set up to where it will heat up and be ready by the time you get to it.
It amazes me how much time and money our local loggers throw away warming up the equipment to start it. The highest production logging crew in this region has webastos on every piece of equipment, programmed to start up 2 hours before their arrival, machines are toasty warm when they drive up, crank warm motors, run the hydraulics through their warm up cycle and go to work.
I made a little burner by putting a short piece of 4" exhaust pipe on 1" standoffs in an old kitchen pan. One good scoop of sawdust and waste oil mixed together, slide under the oil pan usually gets things loosened up for me. If not, nother scoop
X2 on the Webasto preheater. No need for a generator and all that extra hoopla. Set it to be done running when you arrive to work and hit the key and go to work. Best money you can spend for equipment that you need to start at any temp in the winter.
Thanks starmack and chevy I will look into the webasto heater. Mike with the belly pan and the wind ; burners have not worked well. One time we made them out of 6x6" pipe, welded on a base squashed a couple rolls of tp and filled with menthal hydrate. Sprucebunny here is one that might be your style :) https://youtu.be/hz1b3Q60dFs
Stephen It can be 30 below when my webasto lights up on my b model cat and in 2 hours or less the block will be 150 to 165 degrees and bust off as well as the hottest day of the summer.
I got mine used from a trucker that traded his truck in and kept it. When his truck was new he ran all winter without renting a shop, we all rent shops to thaw our trucks out and start them without damaging the engines. Anyway he used this webasto without a timer, just let it run all night when it was cold, his truck temps would be sitting on 180 when he fired it up.
It is my opinion on outdoor equipment, the wear and tear saved over other methods of warming them up, more than pays for the cost of the webasto. I have bought a controller, so I can set it to come on at anytime, it is a 7 day controller, but have never installed it.
Webasto preheaters are the cat's meow👍🏼
I would fall down and have the track eat me .
I am surprised no one has contemplated the Snow dawg's skidding capacity.
I would think it would be too light to skid much.
Ya, that one would tow just me and the generator sled ! Cool 8)
I looked into Webasto. Thier website wasn't much help. Didn't give any idea how big it is or what's involved to install. Best price I found was $1000 not installed.
I ran the generator for 2 hours and got the truck started. Moved it near the backhoe and a couple days later, got them both started after a couple hours. One generator, 2 battery chargers, 3 extension cords and a hearty hi-ho-silver :D
I don't think it would skid much either. I guess I should include a LOL when cutting up. Maybe an emoji, but there are so many to choose from.
The Webastos are a little bit larger than shoe box. Install isn't too bad, its a self contained unit you splice it into your heater hoses or other loop of coolant for it to heat, it can either run with its own small tank of diesel or you can splice it into your existing tank, then there is some wiring. If you want to get fancy like the Ponsse equipment you can buy a heat exchanger that will circulate the warm coolant to heat your hydraulic oil and then wire it to even turn on your cab heater and defroster.
If I had a diesel piece of equipment that I needed to start where there wasn't electricity available I would spend the money in a heart beat. Its cheaper than the lost time you have dragging a generator around and waiting all day for something to start.
There are also other brands available as well. Espar and Proheat
One of my problems with using the snow dawg or any other type of sled and a generator, is that is just two more engines I have to cold start.
Like Chevy mentioned the webasto is not very big, installation is straight forward and easy. I did have to build a bracket to bolt it on the frame of my truck, it just consisted of drilling some holes in same flat steel.
I got mine used with no instructions, so just mounted it, well I should have done some checking, what I figured was an exhaust pipe, was actually the intake. I had mounted it neatly upside down. I then checked and it is claimed you can run it in any position, including upside down, but I drilled some more holes and turned it over anyway.
Here is a custom built sled.
https://m.facebook.com/BestTracksled/?refid=13
Looks like people also home make them.
Well got a callback from Parts For Trucks...1800 plus freight plus taxes plus15% HST for the smaller espar ,,,the larger programable Webasto 4300 plus freight and taxes not installed. Ouch ... that being the case " On wit da EXTRA HOOPLA"...look away Mr. Chevy...look away my friend :D :D :D
Well Stephan, KW here sells them for 1300 out the door, but check out Fairbanks craigslist, just search for webasto. He has them new for 700, rebuilt for 475 and iirc his add states he will ship anywhere. I am pretty sure his name is Dean, if that is him, I have dealt with him before and he is a good guy.
4300 is an unreal price, maybe for a different type unit, they make several different ones for different applications, boats, cab heat, etc.
Although we are in the "great white north" and Mr. Alford is a bit farther north than me, I don't think we are talking about the same kind of cold as Alaska or Michigan, Around here on the coast 12° to 14° F would be very cold and only for a few nights a year so the time taken to preheat with a block heater is probably not as long, most days I can plug in the Case backhoe with a block heater for 20 minutes and it will start like a summer day.
However as I have not lived in PEI I could be totality wrong.
Our weather is pretty similar Hilltop, with wind chills being the heller. The toughest thing about our weather is no one seems capable of being able to predict it. ;D . For the most part I am able to work from +30 to -20 C . Then it becomes a question of commonsense . The ff has always been a place of learning and possibilities. I may have started with a snow dog but information and endorsements from starmac, chevy,barbender about the wabsotos are the real value in this thread. It may not be something for me but it will be of great help to others. The real world solution for me will probably be this ramp i got for some cookie wood. Lifting the generator onto the truck was the challenge. However in the land of possibilities a snow dog could climb it... :laugh:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/12754/21cid_701~0.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1511885535)
Hmm, we don't get much wind here :D, The only thing between me and Nantucket is a barbwire fence and a couple of scrubby spruce trees.
Ramps are good, I even use ramps to put the hand mower on a pickup truck, my back thanks me.
Now if a person had a snowmobile track and a variable speed electric motor they could run their sled off the generator mounted on it just to move it around. Sorta joking.
I used to get $250 each for those uhaul ramps, with a waiting list.
Chain that thing down buddy.
Ya, hilltop bettin that pic under your name was taken on a "special day" however the word hilltop in and of itself would indicate a bit of a "blow". The Magdalines offer some protectionfor us, but there just a sandbar really. :-\ You can tell when it is a cold day here..you often see a seagull trying to jump start another seagull by towin em with a french fry. :D You and puffergas should colaberate bet you would have drawings by dawn. ;D
I hear ya Mike, already had to put the camo to the ramp and that was just to hide it from my "wife". :-X
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/12754/21cid_270.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1511911545)
Sounds like you need to shop around. I talked to the local truck shop and he can get an Espar with its own little fuel tank for less than 1200 bucks and have it to me in 3 days.
Now I'm as cheap as anybody but no way I would lift a generator in and out of a truck everyday and worry about having to "snow dawg" it into the job for 1200 bucks. Then having to worry if the generator has fuel, and is tuned up, and do I have the extension cord, and will it start, etc.
Just to be clear i think these heaters are a great idea and the way to go ... if I were younger and gear was newer. The only thing I would have to get used to is my fear of fire. Everything I run is totally disconnected when I leave. I run four engines on a daily basis for about an hour minimum. To install heaters i would have a 4 factor. Otherwise the generator has to be board anyway. The rest of the gear is already there. The tractor is 27 years old. The 7.3 is 22 years. The L10 cummins is 32 years and 453 D is 49 years old. They are are all cogged with a combination of block,rad, and magnetic base electric heaters. I don't cold start or use ether but that is just me. I will be keeping an eye out for a better price for sure as you suggest or possible quality used . The snowdog just caught my eye as having some potential and an interesting twist on some old tec.
Smart man. Wives arent nearly as considerate of a mans finances as a thief! :D
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/18975/Photo0342.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1416524753)
It was a nice day at the Peggy's Cove light house near Halifax aprox 200 miles from my house. There is nothing but ocean between here and Dakar.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/18975/DSC_0423.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1512003467)
This is the Yarmouth Light which is around 6 miles from home, I am actually 3 miles from the Bay of Fundy, Being this close to the ocean can really make a difference in temperature, when I go to the camp which is 30 min drive in land it will usually be 5 to 10 degrees hotter in the summer and 5 to 10 degrees colder in the winter.
Here is a source of tracks, kind of expensive. But, it would add up to try to make a track from flat belt and install cross pieces.
https://www.sledtrack.com/snowmobile-service-tracks/
The link doesn't work, maybe this one.
https://www.sledtrack.com
Oh well, search for sledtrack and then look for economical tracks.