Cat SkidSteer Fires?? 248, 268B, 277B ?? Others??

[clueless]

Laura Paynter posted a question re' a serious engine fire in her 277B on ytmag Tractor Talk forum on 9-26-08; among her replies were statements that other such fires had occurred. Out of curiousity (I don't have one) I posted this question on other sites, and received two replies on tractorbynet, one of which referred to such fires in a 248 and a 268B; the other was from an owner of a 246 who expressed shock at the amount of dry debris found in his engine compartment upon inspection. Some ? of these apparently have a fan that pulls dry chaff etc into or thru the engine area?? Has anyone here experienced such a fire, or heard of one?? If so, Laura would appreciate hearing from you. Many thxx!!

 

[Tazza]

This has happened to quite a few bobcat 743's, they draw in air from the engine bay and under the seat then push it up through the radiator/oil cooler. They can then catch fire causing a lot of damage. I think the main cause of fire is actually lack of maintenance, some people let oil build up and when it starts to burn it will not stop. Add 40 odd litres of diesel and that fire aint stopping any time soon!

 

[bobcat_ron]

This has happened to quite a few bobcat 743's, they draw in air from the engine bay and under the seat then push it up through the radiator/oil cooler. They can then catch fire causing a lot of damage. I think the main cause of fire is actually lack of maintenance, some people let oil build up and when it starts to burn it will not stop. Add 40 odd litres of diesel and that fire aint stopping any time soon!

I agree with Tazza, even when I spent a week slashing brush and grass, everyday I was checking oil and removing debris, it should be second nature even if your machine isn't equipped to be a brush machine Cat does have a "whisker" kit that seals off all openings on the C series, but the older B's I couldn't tell you.

 

[clueless]

I agree with Tazza, even when I spent a week slashing brush and grass, everyday I was checking oil and removing debris, it should be second nature even if your machine isn't equipped to be a brush machine Cat does have a "whisker" kit that seals off all openings on the C series, but the older B's I couldn't tell you.

TAZZA and BOBCAT_RON: Many thxx for comments. I don't run any of these things, and I'm not familiar with them; it's just a matter of idle curiousity on my part. If you're running one of these, I would suggest you review the replies on tractorbynet, just for your own information; one of the posters was quite bitter about repeated fires, apparently despite intensive cleaning and maintenance. I believe this poster also commented that an available "fix" on the "C" model or models wasn't a complete solution to any problem that may exist. I have no idea of the validity of that posters comments, but he certainly had strong opinions on this point. Again, many thanks for your comments.

 

[cgustafs]

TAZZA and BOBCAT_RON: Many thxx for comments. I don't run any of these things, and I'm not familiar with them; it's just a matter of idle curiousity on my part. If you're running one of these, I would suggest you review the replies on tractorbynet, just for your own information; one of the posters was quite bitter about repeated fires, apparently despite intensive cleaning and maintenance. I believe this poster also commented that an available "fix" on the "C" model or models wasn't a complete solution to any problem that may exist. I have no idea of the validity of that posters comments, but he certainly had strong opinions on this point. Again, many thanks for your comments.

Yep, I have a burned 287b I bought to repair