Rebuild thread...Brillion cultimulcher...paint in the spring.

[sixdogs]

Bought this Brillion cultimulcher at a local auction last week and will rebuild whatever needs rebuilding and paint it in the spring. So it's a multi-month thread.
Saving old equipment is really pretty neat so maybe I can encourage others..

Here's the piece. It's 12 ft wide.




Look at the crappy welds on these appendages. They gotta go ASAP.



I ground off a couple of rebar rods. the cold welds nearly came off with just a hammer. Learn to weld.



And look at the crud on the hydraulic cylinder. Worst I can recall.

 

[sixdogs]

Torched off the pieces best I could and will grind off the slag.
Not sure how things are supposed to go together.

 

[sixdogs]

Figured out that the thick 1/2" top plate should really be flat so to do it right decided to remove it, heat it with a torch and pound the thing flat. Not looking forward to it but want to look as close to factory original as possible.

Here's a "before" photos showing the bad fit. Prior owner bent it up to add on that slag hitch. Not a good idea.


Here's after heating and bending. It is flat again.


Back together with new bolts. Looks way different than the starting point.

 

[Piston]

Interesting project. I like resurecting old things too.

What is something like that used for?

 

[sixdogs]

Interesting project. I like resurecting old things too.

What is something like that used for?

It's considered a "secondary" tillage tool in that after the ground is worked the first time, you drag this over it. The first packer presses the dirt down and breaks up clods. Then the cultivators in the middle loosen and distribute the dirt while the second set of packers firms the ground and prepares a soft, flat and level seedbed for grass or small seeds or whatever.

Does a beautiful job. Here's a photo pulled twice over cultivated worked ground in October.
If you want beautiful fields or a pancake-flat large yard, this is the ticket.

 

[Piston]

Wow that looks pretty impressive! Looks like something that would help out in my new lawn installation. Are these common? It looks pretty heavy duty, what do you pull it with and does it require a lot of hp?

Learn something new everyday!

 

[sixdogs]

Wow that looks pretty impressive! Looks like something that would help out in my new lawn installation. Are these common? It looks pretty heavy duty, what do you pull it with and does it require a lot of hp?

Learn something new everyday!

They take HP depending on the width. I have a small 8 ft one (2900 lbs) that I pull with a 51 HP MX5100 over previously worked ground with the tines only lightly engaged in the ground. I need 4WD and weights on the front and usually just skim the surface with the cultivators. Any more and I couldn't pull it.
The one above is 12 ft working width, 14 ft max, and weighs 5000 lbs. Because they tend to "plow" the leading edge in softer soil and because of the weight I figure I'll need maybe 70 HP and 4WD. Rule of thumb is 6 to 8 HP per foot. Smaller ones are harder to find and more expensive than the bigger ones.

These are common in the midwest and while still made new today were made somewhat obsolite by the shift to no-till grain production. They work great for fields and such but they aren't real cheap. A new 12 ft one would likely cost $17,000 ? while used ones in the few thousand range, depending on condition. Around here the soft clay ground isn't hard on the packer "nubs" that are needed for a good job. In the abrasive gravel of New England I've seen the nubs nearly worn off.

Even if not used much they almost always sat outside so they are always rusty and a prime candidate for a quick fix and quality paintjob. Guys love to weld hitches on the back to pull other cultivators, seeders or whatever. Since the machine was not designed for this, the frequest result was to buckle and distort the back of the machine or crack the frame. See my photos above. It never works but that doesn't stop the trying.

 

[sixdogs]

Well it's err, spring ---- time to get cracking on the paint job so I dragged the thing outside and got it close to the barn. It's so big it's like trying to parallel park a barge.




Started to tape the sharp edges and you need to do this perfectly if you want a good job.





Took the tines off so I could paint the saddle clamps the correct color and get better access for painting.






All taped up in prep of the green paint. It took two hours. I use a Harbor freight HVLP gun and can direct the paint accurately so this is all the prep needed. The tape is painter's tape and the white paper freezer paper.





Green is done and on to the red.

 

[sixdogs]

It's going pretty well so far...







Green done.







Taped up in prep of the red. It looks pretty scary but as long as I cover the green I'm good. There must be blue tape to define the sharp edges--no cutting corners-- and sheets can cover the big areas. Touch up of awkward spots can be done with a brush or spray can. This red is IH Red from a dealer and is a beautiful and quality acrylic enamel that dries fast and covers great. Uhh, there's also some newspaper in use but it's OK on some farm equipment. After this thing is in use for two minutes it will be covered in dust. Also, there's a little red overspray on the packer wheels but it won't last very long in the dirt.






Done with the red. Also painted the wheels IH white. For this I brush on the paint and then when dry-ish I skim with a light spray coat. I made a ring for out of aluminum flashing and just set over the when to spray. Works great.







It was going to rain last night so I slid it under cover and will let dry a few days before I put the tines on. Also have to set up the hydraulic cylinder and when I was putting on a wheel noticed a wheel bearing that might need packing. maybe time to do them all but need to track down the grease seals. Should maybe have done first but that's life.

 

[sixdogs]

Also a little tragedy when I learned I crunched one of my HF 6-ton jack stands. I have no idea how this happened and I never bent a jack this bad. Oh well, it's a reason to go to HF.