Frozen carburetor?

[chris142]

We had a lot of rain last week. It washed out my road. The few of us that have a tractor worked to reopen the road.

I was using my 300 to drag the road smooth and it began to run bad.

I hopped off to look around things and I saw the carburetor and about 4 inches of the intake manifold was a solid piece of ice.

Never seen that happen before.

What causes that and how do I stop it as it made the engine sputter and caugh.

Pics of the mess. One neighbor drove into the desert to get a scoop of dirt to fill a hole and got very stuck. Its still stuck.

I tried to lift the tractor with the bucket and scraper but both just sank In the mud

 

[kenbob]

Ethanol is worse than regular gas for carbs freezing on the outside I think.

 

[Tgrasher]

Happens with my 300 but doesn't seem to make it run rough.

 

[rustred]

We had a lot of rain last week. It washed out my road. The few of us that have a tractor worked to reopen the road.

I was using my 300 to drag the road smooth and it began to run bad.

I hopped off to look around things and I saw the carburetor and about 4 inches of the intake manifold was a solid piece of ice.

Never seen that happen before.

What causes that and how do I stop it as it made the engine sputter and caugh.

Pics of the mess. One neighbor drove into the desert to get a scoop of dirt to fill a hole and got very stuck. Its still stuck.

I tried to lift the tractor with the bucket and scraper but both just sank In the mud

any engine with a carburetor does that, as its more noticeable in cold weather. diesel engines dont do that as there is not vacuum or venturi. to help it idle the engine at idle for 1/2 hr and cover the engine up. and no you cant stop that a carb. from icing. fell the intake in july and it will be cool also.

 

[ss55]

We had a lot of rain last week. It washed out my road. The few of us that have a tractor worked to reopen the road.

I was using my 300 to drag the road smooth and it began to run bad.

I hopped off to look around things and I saw the carburetor and about 4 inches of the intake manifold was a solid piece of ice.

Never seen that happen before.

What causes that and how do I stop it as it made the engine sputter and caugh.

Pics of the mess. One neighbor drove into the desert to get a scoop of dirt to fill a hole and got very stuck. Its still stuck.

I tried to lift the tractor with the bucket and scraper but both just sank In the mud

Common in high humidity conditions at temperatures near freezing due to both the venturi pressure drop and the fuel vaporizing. Put a higher load on the tractor to reduce carburetor icing. Engine side covers to blow radiator heat over the carburetor or an exhaust manifold heat stove like was used on 1960s and 1970s carbureted cars helps too.

 

[Fritz Maurer]

What causes that and how do I stop it as it made the engine sputter and caugh.

If the engine has been running long enough to form ice on the outside, simply shut it off and heat travel downward. The ice is formed internally as the air rushes past the partially closed throttle plate... and the ice plugs up the idle ports which makes it run ragged.

Once you shut off a warm engine and let the intake soak up some heat, it can usually stay warm enough during operation to keep the ice away.

 

[DanielW]

Some carbs/engines (and/or the location/setup) are worse than others. I heard once that Zenith carbs weren't as bad as M/S. I don't think there was much truth in that - I think it more dependent on the ambient conditions and engine displacement. But then again, Zenith started using zinc/aluminium bowls on their carbs long before M/S did, so maybe heat from the block was better conducted into the Zenith bowls? That's a bit of a long-shot/wild guess. I do know the Oliver 1655/White 2-70's were known to be bad for carb icing (to the point where Oliver made a heat shroud kit to solve it), while the Allis 180/190 gassers like mine were never known to be a problem, despite being the same displacement engines and pretty much the same HP. The Allis's had Zeniths while the Olivers/Whites had M/S.

Regardless of all that, carb icing as others have said is due to the adiabatic expansion (pressure drop over the carb throat results in lower temps). Humid days are typically far worse than cold days for causing it. Larger displacement engines are more likely to have problems, really just because they suck more air. In some cases (like the Olivers/Whites) it became such a known problem that the manufacturer offered kits to route some manifold heat around the carb. And in many more cases, owners have come up with some home-brewed methods to do the same.

See this thread (link below) - scroll down for some pictures of how bad it can be on some large displacement engines, and to see some pictures of solutions folks have come up with:

J

Thread 'White 2-70 Carb icing up'

Feb 1, 2024

My White (I bought this last September so this is the first winter) 2-70 carb is icing up. Yesterday it was 39 degrees F. Iced up to the point it caused me to have to pull the choke all the way open to keep it running. Was moving feed auger carts around, moved a couple round bales to feeders and then took garbage can to the road. Shut it down and the block heat thawed the carb, but then coming back from putting out a bale it froze up and barely got it backed under the lean to roof. Looking for some tips to prevent this. At this point this tractor couldn't even plow my driveway.

• JWinIndiana
• Replies: 29
• Forum: White

 

[chris142]

Ethanol is worse than regular gas for carbs freezing on the outside I think.

All we can get is E10 unless I buy $20 a gallon race gas too. Can't buy pure gas from a pump.

 

[Jim.ME]

A couple things that can help.

Sometimes it helps to make a "heat shield box" to enclose around part of the exhaust manifold and down past the carb to funnel warmer air around the carb.

Hang canvas curtains from the hood along the open sides of the engine compartment. This will help hold heat in. If you run them back past the operator station it will funnel some heat to you as well. That is how the Heat Housers work.

 

[ss55]

We had a lot of rain last week. It washed out my road. The few of us that have a tractor worked to reopen the road.

I was using my 300 to drag the road smooth and it began to run bad.

I hopped off to look around things and I saw the carburetor and about 4 inches of the intake manifold was a solid piece of ice.

Never seen that happen before.

What causes that and how do I stop it as it made the engine sputter and caugh.

Pics of the mess. One neighbor drove into the desert to get a scoop of dirt to fill a hole and got very stuck. Its still stuck.

I tried to lift the tractor with the bucket and scraper but both just sank In the mud

Some gasoline Deere and International tractors used manifold heat valves to improve cold weather operation.

HeatHousers include engine side covers to direct radiator heat over the engine and back to the driver. They do help keep the driver warmer in frigid weather, especially if the engine is working hard.

Case, Agricultural Heat Houser, Burch Manufacturing Company, Inc.

www.burchmfg.com

 

[chris142]

Some gasoline Deere and International tractors used manifold heat valves to improve cold weather operation.

HeatHousers include engine side covers to direct radiator heat over the engine and back to the driver. They do help keep the driver warmer in frigid weather, especially if the engine is working hard.

Case, Agricultural Heat Houser, Burch Manufacturing Company, Inc.

www.burchmfg.com

Ah. Ya mine is missing the covers.