Cab Heater For Deere Garden Tractor

Cab Heater For Deere Garden Tractor TRACTORS Cabs Ron Nikolai Marshfield Wis made a heater for his 1990 Deere 420 garden tractor so he can work in comfort when clearing snow The unit takes heat from the front of the tractor and shoots it around the side and back into the cab “It works so well I wish I’d have thought of it 20 years ago ” says Nikolai “I use the tractor to operate a front-mounted snowblower around my driveway and yard I knew there was a lot of heat blowing out the front because I could see where some of the snow was melting on the snowblower even though it’s about 1 1/2 ft from the tractor I decided to harness that heat and get it into the cab ” The front part of the heater was made by screwing together pieces of heat duct tin The ductwork is about 2 ft wide and extends about 4 in out one side of the tractor where Nikolai cut a 3-in dia hole into it and attached a flange A 3-in dia aluminum dryer vent pipe fits into the flange and runs alongside the left side of the tractor back to a hole that he cut into the tractor cab Inside the cab a 2-in dia flexible metal pipe attaches to the dryer vent pipe and extends upward to serve as a windshield defroster Nikolai also glued 1/4-in thick foam insulation over the front and side pieces and used plastic ties spaced about 8 in apart to hold it in place “It worked perfect the first time I used it and didn’t cost anything to build because I already had all the parts ” says Nikolai “It doesn’t take long to heat up the cab and the harder the tractor works the hotter the muffler gets and the more heat comes into the cab In fact it gets so warm that I often take my hat and gloves off and even open the window I flattened the top of the defroster pipe in order to blow warm air over a wider area of the windshield “At first my left foot stayed warm next to the defroster pipe but my right foot was still cold so I ran a 1 1/2-in dia plastic drain pipe along the floor over to the right side of the cab “Some people have asked me if there’s a danger of exhaust getting into the cab I tell them no because the exhaust on my tractor comes out the right side and the heater is mounted on the left side ” The heater is attached to the front end of the tractor by 6 screws In summer Nikolai removes the screws and takes the ductwork off then removes the dryer vent pipe from it In summer he also takes the cab off the tractor “The dryer vent pipe is located about 2 in below the top of the tractor’s engine access cover and sticks out about 5 in from the side so I can still open the hood ” notes Nikolai Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Ron Nikolai 10202 Robin Rd Marshfield Wis 54449 ph 715 676-2281

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