I have a grasshopper 223 kohler 23 hp engine and it is air cooled. Anyway here in oklahoma it can get extreamly hot 110 degrees plus during the day and i can be running this machine between 3-4 hours at a time during the week not putting a lot of hours on it per week but when i do its on big properties. Anyway i have herd people talking about putting on an over sized oil cooler on their machines. Does anyone know where i could find one of these? I would just like to protect my investment a little if i can.
Help with an over sized oil cooler
pclawncare
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I have a grasshopper 223 kohler 23 hp engine and it is air cooled. Anyway here in oklahoma it can get extreamly hot 110 degrees plus during the day and i can be running this machine between 3-4 hours at a time during the week not putting a lot of hours on it per week but when i do its on big properties. Anyway i have herd people talking about putting on an over sized oil cooler on their machines. Does anyone know where i could find one of these? I would just like to protect my investment a little if i can.
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I would recommend synthetic oil in the engine also. Tests have shown that it will lower you engines operating temperature, and not break down under high temps like dyno oil. Thats why exmark can use it in their hydro's with out an oil cooler or large reservoir. Also keep your cooling fins cleaned out and after working hard, let the engine run at fast idle for a few minutes before you shut it down so it can cool some.
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Well, I don't know where you can get them... but it would be an easy task to add a larger air cooler. I haven't looked at a grasshopper gasser in a long while... but what is immediately on my brain is that I would get new lines and relocate a larger oil cooler in front of the engine fan shroud...
But this is a thing you'd have to be careful with. Especially in plumbing it and picking a suitable cooler. It's not just a "bigger is better" thing. You'd have to find someone with intimate knowledge... someone who knows the cooling capability of the stock cooler, it's flow rate, and so forth... you'd have to know that first... and then know the info on the replacement cooler.... to be certain it is better.
Another thing you can also do if you have the room...
Add a much larger oil filter.
I'm sure there are guys here who know which high capacity filters fit the kohlers. A larger oil filter allows you to put more oil in circulation and adds more cooling surface.
But this is a thing you'd have to be careful with. Especially in plumbing it and picking a suitable cooler. It's not just a "bigger is better" thing. You'd have to find someone with intimate knowledge... someone who knows the cooling capability of the stock cooler, it's flow rate, and so forth... you'd have to know that first... and then know the info on the replacement cooler.... to be certain it is better.
Another thing you can also do if you have the room...
Add a much larger oil filter.
I'm sure there are guys here who know which high capacity filters fit the kohlers. A larger oil filter allows you to put more oil in circulation and adds more cooling surface.
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It's pretty simple on a Kohler since they were nice enough to put the required sandwich adapter right on the engine for you. Dixie Chopper uses a 6" by 11" auxilary cooler.
Just look at the oil filter. There should be 2 hoses coming out from behind it to the factory oil cooler. The hose on the right is the pressure hose and the hose on the left is the return. Simply find a suitable place to mount your new cooler. Then run the appropriately sized lines from the sandwich adapter (located behind the oil filter, it's the thing the hoses are attached to) to your new cooler and use that one instead of the factory cooler.
Be aware that the factory cooler is already doing an excellant job of cooling your oil. Dixie Chopper pioneered the use of engine oil coolers on small air cooled engines. Kohler saw that Dixie engines were going further then almost eveybody elses and decided to find out why. When Kohler decided that they liked the engine oil cooler they intergrated it right into the cooling system of the engine and it is so efficient that Dixie no longer uses an auxilary engine oil cooler.
Just look at the oil filter. There should be 2 hoses coming out from behind it to the factory oil cooler. The hose on the right is the pressure hose and the hose on the left is the return. Simply find a suitable place to mount your new cooler. Then run the appropriately sized lines from the sandwich adapter (located behind the oil filter, it's the thing the hoses are attached to) to your new cooler and use that one instead of the factory cooler.
Be aware that the factory cooler is already doing an excellant job of cooling your oil. Dixie Chopper pioneered the use of engine oil coolers on small air cooled engines. Kohler saw that Dixie engines were going further then almost eveybody elses and decided to find out why. When Kohler decided that they liked the engine oil cooler they intergrated it right into the cooling system of the engine and it is so efficient that Dixie no longer uses an auxilary engine oil cooler.
My older DC has both a Kohler smaller cooler on the side of the shroud. It gets durt behind it pertty fast. But it also has the larger cooler as well.
I think you could get a small auxilary auto transmissiion cooler from the auto supply could work just as well.
I think you could get a small auxilary auto transmissiion cooler from the auto supply could work just as well.
:waving: hello, do a search under"tomo" any more questions just ask .
My conditions r the same 110f full sun 95% humid very damp to wet grass and 2-3 inches growth per week .
In a nut shell engines are designed 4 a average temp .
Typical 80f approx not for extremes.
Each application is different ,a 52 deck walker may load the engine differently than a hopper etc .The importantant fact is the temp u r seeing in the sump during peak usage .
Typically around 212 f -/+ 10 f is good
Operating temp typically 4 walker [factory cooler installed] with noafter market cooler is 230--250 f:hammerhead:
Factory fitted colers do little 5f -10f if your lucky
Dix chopper r on the right track
ALL OIL DEGRADES over 212f just some faster than others
Oil cooler kohler is using is a long industries .[Dana Corp] 2x3 x 3/4 very small
Recommend 11x6 minimum or 11x8 [i use this one] or prefer if u can fit it is the `11x11 ,all 1 1/2 thick ,stacked plate type NO FINS [fins catch grass] .
Oil flow is 1--2 gallons a minute ,pressure 0--60 psi from small block kohler .
Typical reduction is 60f average ,bigger with the 11x11
Remember to fit an oil thermostat in system to feed the oil cooler [if not your warm up will be slow ,not good if u do short runs ,small jobs ]
FITTING u can leave the filter where it is and mount a thermostat between the block and filter ,then run the lines to cooler
Second choice is remote mount the filter and do as above .
First choice is prefered as the start up oil flow is as per original .
Remember oil flow is small and long lines really hurt start up oil pressure /flow eg ca be delayed 1-2 seconds
Although ok fitting cooler above air intake is placing hot air over engine :hammerhead: A seperate mounting with dedicated fan is best with its own micro processor controls .
tomo
:waving:
My conditions r the same 110f full sun 95% humid very damp to wet grass and 2-3 inches growth per week .
In a nut shell engines are designed 4 a average temp .
Typical 80f approx not for extremes.
Each application is different ,a 52 deck walker may load the engine differently than a hopper etc .The importantant fact is the temp u r seeing in the sump during peak usage .
Typically around 212 f -/+ 10 f is good
Operating temp typically 4 walker [factory cooler installed] with noafter market cooler is 230--250 f:hammerhead:
Factory fitted colers do little 5f -10f if your lucky
Dix chopper r on the right track
ALL OIL DEGRADES over 212f just some faster than others
Oil cooler kohler is using is a long industries .[Dana Corp] 2x3 x 3/4 very small
Recommend 11x6 minimum or 11x8 [i use this one] or prefer if u can fit it is the `11x11 ,all 1 1/2 thick ,stacked plate type NO FINS [fins catch grass] .
Oil flow is 1--2 gallons a minute ,pressure 0--60 psi from small block kohler .
Typical reduction is 60f average ,bigger with the 11x11
Remember to fit an oil thermostat in system to feed the oil cooler [if not your warm up will be slow ,not good if u do short runs ,small jobs ]
FITTING u can leave the filter where it is and mount a thermostat between the block and filter ,then run the lines to cooler
Second choice is remote mount the filter and do as above .
First choice is prefered as the start up oil flow is as per original .
Remember oil flow is small and long lines really hurt start up oil pressure /flow eg ca be delayed 1-2 seconds
Although ok fitting cooler above air intake is placing hot air over engine :hammerhead: A seperate mounting with dedicated fan is best with its own micro processor controls .
tomo
:waving:
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I considered doing this at one time for my Honda walkbehind. I wanted to put one in both the engine and Hydra oil.
At the time that I was looking the best thing I could come up with was a transmission cooler. Typically just about the right size and designed for oil.
The other thing you could do is go to a dixie dealer and buy a cooler from them.
At the time that I was looking the best thing I could come up with was a transmission cooler. Typically just about the right size and designed for oil.
The other thing you could do is go to a dixie dealer and buy a cooler from them.
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The stacked plate type that Kohler uses is a very efficient cooler, much better than the fin type Dixie previously used. In fact it's the same type that Ford uses as an auxilary tranny cooler on their trucks. Additionally Kohler's cooler is mounted so the engine fan blows a considerable amount of air over the cooler. Dixie would not have abandoned their own cooler in favor of the factory cooler if they didn't think it was working better than their own setup.tomo said:
Can you mount an auxilary cooler with the factory Kohler filter? Yes. Will it do any good? That's debatable and without testing actual engine temps or getting a oil analysis with and without it is impossible to tell.
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Ok so what i am picking up here from all you guys and thank you all for your input is that the oil cooler that it is running right now is very efficient and that it is sufficient? As long as i change my oil regularly which i do every 35-40 hours
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That's my opinion. Others may have a differing opinion.pclawncare said:
You're going way overboard on the oil changes. Kohler calls for 100 hours on the oil and 200 hours on the filter. Just because an oil is dark doesn't mean it's bad. It just means it's working and suspending contaminates in itself like it's designed to do.
hello , i would like to bring to your attention that ,the coolers i am refering to are the same brand as the oem ,just larger . Although kohler do provide a cooler oem the additional cooler set up on my walkers was designed with some input from kohler factory .Extemely hot conditions is my peak season .
Consulted engineers ranged from Canada , USA , Australia All companies were specialists in there fields .Numerous tests were carried out and all numbers are actual results from real world applications .
The end result is the oem cooler is to small under very extreme conditions period...
tomo:waving:
Consulted engineers ranged from Canada , USA , Australia All companies were specialists in there fields .Numerous tests were carried out and all numbers are actual results from real world applications .
The end result is the oem cooler is to small under very extreme conditions period...
tomo:waving:
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