At Home In The Woods

[clemsonfor]

Yea i was thinking plugged filters myself. Id check those and if its been awhile id change them anyway.

 

[radioman]

you sure that you didnt bump any of those safety switches like pto, lose seat switches?

 

[patrick_g]

Yea i was thinking plugged filters myself. Id check those and if its been awhile id change them anyway.

When you have no way to accurately gauge how plugged a filter is you just have to change it, even if it doesn't need changing because you don't know its status.

Install a small inexpensive two port pressure gauge suitable for use with diesel fuel across the filter. One side to the filter input and the other to the filter output. As the filter gets plugged over time the pressure shown on that gauge goes up. The manufacturer usually has specs on the max back pressure on your fuel filter. So age, miles, or any test besides actually reading the back pressure is a guess that can be totally wrong.

If you have dirty fuel you could plug a filter in under an hour but clean fuel and you might go for a few years before the filter plugs enough to warrant changing it.

I added a "filter minder to my Cumins as per Cumins specs. My Diesel Mercedes came with a gauge. It is nice to be able to operate from a position of knowledge instead of by guess and by golly.

Pat

 

[clemsonfor]

When you have no way to accurately gauge how plugged a filter is you just have to change it, even if it doesn't need changing because you don't know its status.

Install a small inexpensive two port pressure gauge suitable for use with diesel fuel across the filter. One side to the filter input and the other to the filter output. As the filter gets plugged over time the pressure shown on that gauge goes up. The manufacturer usually has specs on the max back pressure on your fuel filter. So age, miles, or any test besides actually reading the back pressure is a guess that can be totally wrong.

If you have dirty fuel you could plug a filter in under an hour but clean fuel and you might go for a few years before the filter plugs enough to warrant changing it.

I added a "filter minder to my Cumins as per Cumins specs. My Diesel Mercedes came with a gauge. It is nice to be able to operate from a position of knowledge instead of by guess and by golly.

Pat

Really what i meant by "check" was Replace. I know there is no way to check some filters. Mine on the other hand is in a clear bowl, and i can see sediment building up in the bowl, maybe?

But i meant to replace all the fuel filters.

 

[patrick_g]

Really what i meant by "check" was Replace. I know there is no way to check some filters. Mine on the other hand is in a clear bowl, and i can see sediment building up in the bowl, maybe?

But i meant to replace all the fuel filters.

Yes, I understood that. I was mentioning an alternative to by guess and by golly.

Rather than debate the number of angels dancing on the head of a pin, use a magnifier and count them!

I was suggesting how easy it is to add a gauge so you can operate in a position of knowledge instead of guess work. I am one of those folks who prefer gauges over idiot lights. In the case of most filters, there isn't even an associated idiot light.

My Kubota has an idiot light tied to a vacuum operated switch so when back pressure in the air intake/air filter builds up due to filter clogging a dash light comes on. Nice idea but I am now on sensor #4 and don't trust them as they lie and fail. A simple gauge would inform the operator just fine.

My Dodge Cumins diesel has a filter minder gauge on the air filter not a idiot light.

Pat

 

[clemsonfor]

My old yanmar has the pull the cover and look method! haha Or you look for more black smoke than normal if you just ignore things like filters?

 

[Obed]

I have a neighbor who said I could borrow his plow to turn over our garden. Today after work I started up my tractor with intentions of driving it to the neighbor's house and picking up the plow. My tractor ran for about 30 seconds just fine then quickly died. It then would not restart and didn't sound like it wanted to even fire. After looking for some obvious things like a loose wire, I tried starting it again. The tractor finally started again and seemed to run fine.

I decided not to go pick up the plow tonight because I was afraid my tractor might stall on the road and then I would be in a pickle. I'm going to have to check the filters, etc. and see if I have water in the bowl that needs draining. I'm definitely not a mechanic but will have to make due.

Wednesday, the next day, I used my small trailer to go get the plow from my neighbor. On the phone myy neighbor told me that he and his wife were going out to eat but that I should just pick up the plow while he was gone. While I was loading the plow onto my trailer, I heard a police siren start up and saw a police car on the road approaching the house. I was confident that someone saw me backed up to my neighbor's barn loading stuff onto my trailer and called the sherrif. However, the police car continued past the house and didn't stop. I finished loading the plow on the trailer and brought it home. I am enjoying the use of this small trailer. It's been well worth the $300 I paid for it.

 

[Obed]

When I got home from work Thursday night, I decided to see if I could get the garden area plowed. We had rain forecasts for the next five days and I was afraid that I might have to wait at least a week to have another chance to plow the garden. On my way home from work we got a shower so I wasn't sure if it would be dry enough to plow but I had to try.

I read my tractor's Owner's Manuel to find out how to drain the water from the "bowl". My tractor has a clear "bowl" that screws over the fuel filter. Supposedly, you can look at the bowl and see water in the bottom of it. I wasn't able to see a line where water in the bottom of the bowl meets diesel at the top of the bowl. So I closed the fuel valve and removed the bowl and inspected it. I have to say the fluid looked more like water than diesel. I drained the fluid from the bowl and screwed the bowl back on the tractor. I then opened the fuel valve and let the diesel gravity drain into the bowl until the bowl was fuel.

The test would be to run the tractor and see if it tried to stall again like it had two days ago.

 

[MotorSeven]

Obed, do you have your own diesel storage tank, or do you just get it 5 gallons at a time?

 

[Obed]

Obed, do you have your own diesel storage tank, or do you just get it 5 gallons at a time?

I fill up two five gal cans every so often.