Cold Weather Sawmill Operation
Thoughts on tweaking the gas motor of a bandmill to help it perform better in sub-freezing weather.October 17, 2012
Question
I have an LT28 with the 25 hp Kohler. I had some ice build up around the intake on the carburetor a few days ago (temperature was 14 degrees). Should I have any concerns regarding this?
Forum Responses
(Sawing and Drying Forum)
From contributor Y:
Cover about half of the fan/air intake area with plastic or heavy cloth.
From contributor J:
I happen to own and operate a command pro 25 hp. I had a great deal of difficulty below freezing as well. After routing the crank vent to the tail pipe (from the intake manifold) the ice build-up in the carb throat was no longer evident . Be very cautious about changing the cooling vents - hot spots on the cylinders can cause problems (metal transfer). I took an old single sink (kitchen) placed upside down over the air intake and muffler, as well as blocking the intake vents from the flywheel, to provide some preheated air. I also did reduce the cooling from the flywheel air intake and partially reducing the oil cooler effect. I actually used an old truck winter front for that. Once I got over 400 hours the engine ran much better. If it’s super cold I keep the boiler stuffed.
From contributor O:
I had the same problem on my LT40HD. When I talked to Wood-Mizer they informed me they had a cold weather retro-fit for the Koehler command series engine. I purchased it and it works great. All it does essentially is re-route some of the heated air from the exhaust system through your air in-take.
From contributor J:
Cost was a factor for the winter kit. It was just too cold to saw outdoors (hydraulics, won't start, etc.), for a couple months anyway.
