Winter Storage For Your Skid

[brynbaily]

Is anyone using a battery tender or something similar plugging in more then just the block heaters? I'm interested if anyone has seen an actual extended battery life by using one.

 

[Steve Frazier]

I have done absolutely nothing with my 248 as far as winter prep as long as I've had it and am still using the original battery. It sits outside all the time, I have no shed or garage, and I've owned it since May of 2000. When the temps get into the 20's or lower, I'll plug in the block heater for a few hours if I need to run it, that's about it.

 

[ermineerwhatbuc]

Hey steve do you have any problems once you get er running?
My bobcat 773g stays inside in a unheated garage but she starts and run fine, but over time she'll freeze up and lose power. Does your cat have a primer bulb for the fuel lines? That's where my bobcat freezes up every time.

 

[Steve Frazier]

I've never run the machine out of fuel so I don't know what the priming process is. I've only ever had one minor problem in cold weather, we had an unexpected cold snap that dropped to 4 degrees Fahrenheit. I didn't have treated fuel in the machine and it started to lose power slightly. Fortunately I was working next to a gas station and filled my half full tank with treated fuel and the problem cleared.

Outside of that I've never had a problem. I have a 500 gallon storage tank here that I dump a gallon of 911 in before I get it filled with #2 fuel oil for the winter months. I've never had fuel problems as a result.

 

[ermineerwhatbuc]

I've never ran it out of fuel, but it has a primer bulb for the lift pump. It freezes up right in that bulb, it has never bothered in the filters in the tank or the filters but just in that primer bulb. That's the lowest point in the system so i figure it sits there when not running but it freezes up when running, probably just a fuel problem then.