With winter in full swing and the frozen ground conditions in the area, it’s important to winterize your heavy construction machinery to keep it from freezing. While the occasional cold weather damage to construction equipment cannot be helped, there are many ways to maintain your construction equipment during the winter season. This article provides information on some of the most effective ways to maintain your construction equipment during the winter months.

The most important thing is to prevent contamination when fueling your construction equipment. Make sure that water and contaminants don’t enter the fuel tank and cause various problems with the machinery. Engine contamination is quite common in the construction industry during the colder months. Taking appropriate steps to prevent such contamination is important to safeguard the equipment and prolong its lifespan.

When the temperatures in the area drop below freezing, battery wires and hoses can easily freeze and become stressed due to the frigid temperatures. Frozen batteries will not function optimally and may explode if you try to charge them or jump-start your equipment with it. On the other hand, battery wires and hoses become brittle in the cold weather. Make sure you allow the equipment to warm up before operating to prevent permanent damage to them.

Tire damage is another common problem with construction equipment in the cold winter months. Don’t allow the tires to freeze to the ground since it may result in drive train damage and tears. You can park the equipment on a raised plank to prevent this from happening. Storing the equipment on raised surfaces is the best way to prevent tire damage during the cold winter months.

Using seasonally appropriate fluids, oils, and greases is important to protect your construction equipment during the cold winter months. Using a low-temperature oil helps improve engine function since the oil doesn’t get thick and become difficult to move with cold temperature. On the other hand, extremely cold weather can freeze the brakes in your construction machinery and prevent them from releasing properly. It puts the lives of workers at the construction site in danger. That is why you need to change the oils, fluids, and greases in all construction equipment during the winter months. It will help protect the equipment as well as safeguard the lives of construction workers by preventing unnecessary accidents.

If your construction site is located in an extremely cold region, the best thing is to idle your machinery overnight so that you don’t have to start it the next morning. If the temperatures in your area reach -40 or -50° F, you cannot spend all day warming a machine up just to get it started. In fact, construction machinery is never shut off in some colder regions. They are actually left to properly idle the whole night since the cold temperatures can make them too difficult to start the next shift.

Frost, ice, and frozen ground will make digging more difficult during the winter season. It will put more strain on your construction machinery and equipment. Make sure you keep a close eye on the machinery to see that its components are working properly. The equipment will use more energy during such times since they have to work harder than normal. The most important thing is to prevent any damage to the machinery because it can cost you a lot in repairs and replacements later on. These are some of the most important factors to consider when winterizing your construction equipment during the cold winter season.

Winterizing construction equipment is important to keep them from freezing. The aforementioned article provides information on some of the most effective ways to maintain your construction equipment during the winter months.