additives to keep hydraulic reservoir and chaincase ice free

In my 843, the oil in the chaincase starts to ice up at about 30 degrees below zero. Is it advisable to put a dash of isopropyl to keep the ice at bay or Sea Foam trans-Tune to absorb the water? Same question with the hydraulic-hydrostatic system. Is there any type of extreme cold weather additive that can be used that wont hurt the machine?

Wow, where do u live? Oil shouldn't ice up unless there is water involved. You could replace the existing oil with synthetic oil in your chain case since syn oil doesnt thicken up in the cold. I'm not sure what can be done on the hydraulic system. Perhaps your hydro oil needs replacing. Bobcat recommends changing hyd and chain case every 1000 hrs

reaperman said:

Wow, where do u live? Oil shouldn't ice up unless there is water involved. You could replace the existing oil with synthetic oil in your chain case since syn oil doesnt thicken up in the cold. I'm not sure what can be done on the hydraulic system. Perhaps your hydro oil needs replacing. Bobcat recommends changing hyd and chain case every 1000 hrs

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You don't need a additive, just change the oil and fix the leaks that are letting the water in. Water in the oil will generally lead to rusty bearings. If you don't have time to reseal the chain case covers throw a tarp over the machine in wet weather.

jerry said:

You don't need a additive, just change the oil and fix the leaks that are letting the water in. Water in the oil will generally lead to rusty bearings. If you don't have time to reseal the chain case covers throw a tarp over the machine in wet weather.

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I put earth magnets in there to keep metal down

I'd figure out how water is getting in your hydraulic oil causing it to freeze when it gets cold out. Oil will normally get thicker as it gets colder requiring longer warmup times but it shouldn't freeze. Does your oil look milky?

bobcatguy said:

I'd figure out how water is getting in your hydraulic oil causing it to freeze when it gets cold out. Oil will normally get thicker as it gets colder requiring longer warmup times but it shouldn't freeze. Does your oil look milky?

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I agree with everyone else. If your going to be using your machine in those temps alot then use synthetic oils period. And I never seen oil freeze,but gets really thick and hardly flows if real cold just takes long time to warm up and if using in real cold from a start,meaning dont have in a shop when first started it can cause damage to pump if its to thick. If in fact its freezing like you say then like what was said is your getting water into the systems some how or another.