Results 1 to 10 of 19
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06-19-2012, 03:39 AM #1
- Join Date
- Jul 2006
- Posts
- 5,574
- Location
- Los Angeles / SW Washington
- Tractor
- PowerTrac 1850, Kubota RTV x900
Lid too heavy for wife
Well, it has happened. My wife is having temporary hand issues and cannot lift the hood on the pt to fuel or service. I have not heard of any of you doing a mod but I have to ask if you have any ideas.
CarlPower-Trac 1850, grapple, hoe, 90" mower, 72" box blade
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06-19-2012, 07:07 AM #2
Re: Lid too heavy for wife
I have a similar issue due to ligament damage in my wrists. I have thought of cutting a hole in the lid to expose the gas cap (on my PT 425 the tank is situated high against the lid top).
I assume you have a diesel storage tank with a pump so lifting a 5 gallon gas can and holding it up for a minute plus while it fills the PT gas tank is not an issue. I usually have to transfer fuel to a 2 gallon container to be able to handle refueling. Having a gasoline storage tank with a pump is another set of issues.I married me a hippy, ran away with a stringy haired blond,
Now we're both old and happy, fishing on our own Golden Pond. -- Merle Haggard
PT 425 (Dec 2010), Blade, Snow Blower, Sweeper, Spreader, LMB, 4n1, Small Bucket/Teeth, Utility Grapple, Brush Cutter, Box Blade, Mini Hoe/Thumb, Forks, Power Dumper
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06-19-2012, 07:55 AM #3
- Join Date
- Feb 2009
- Posts
- 230
- Location
- south western michigan
- Tractor
- pt 425, JI Case, Gravely Comm.10A
Re: Lid too heavy for wife
lift arm cylinder similar to the ones on mini-van tailgates, but getting the geometry correct to achieve 90 degree movement could be interesting, or maybe a 12vdc linear actuator some are rated to 500 lbs, your machine is all hydraulic use a hydraulic cylinder, possibility of an winch close to the fueling station
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06-19-2012, 09:23 AM #4
- Join Date
- Jun 2006
- Posts
- 2,938
- Location
- West Cascades, Washington State USA
- Tractor
- PT 422
Re: Lid too heavy for wife
Maybe rig a lever that you can hook on your lid handle. Possibly 3ft would be enough to reduce the strain.
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06-19-2012, 10:30 AM #5
- Join Date
- Mar 2007
- Posts
- 1,543
- Location
- Bay Area, CA
- Tractor
- Power Trac PT1445
Re: Lid too heavy for wife
Dear Carl,
Sorry to hear about your wife's hand.
Napa sells a whole range of gas lift arms of different weights and lengths (20-500lbs of lift). I'd put in two. You may want to add a latch to keep it down, because if you take too much of the weight off the engine cover, it may bounce open in use.
All the best,
Peter
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06-19-2012, 11:13 AM #6
- Join Date
- Sep 2006
- Posts
- 392
- Location
- Owego, NY
- Tractor
- PT422 w/ EH72FI engine swap
Re: Lid too heavy for wife
Maybe you could bolt on one or more heavy duty spring gate hinges to the lid somehow? Not sure about the geometry and if there would be issues... just a thought.
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06-19-2012, 11:22 AM #7
- Join Date
- Sep 2003
- Posts
- 18,924
- Location
- JACKSONVILLE, FL
- Tractor
- Power-Trac 1445, KUBOTA B-9200HST
Re: Lid too heavy for wife
J.J.
When I works, I works hard. When I sits and thinks, I goes to sleep.
Git er done.
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06-19-2012, 09:13 PM #8
- Join Date
- Aug 2001
- Posts
- 34,591
- Location
- South Bend, Indiana (near)
- Tractor
- Power Trac PT425 2001 Model Year
Re: Lid too heavy for wife
For simplicity sake, mount a 1.5 inch inside diameter pipe 12" long vertically, but angled back about 10 degrees on the rear side of the engine compartment. Then get her a 4' long piece of 1" outside diameter pipe. Slip the long pipe in the short pipe and you got a 4' lever for her to pull the lid back. You could also mount a couple short sections along the side to slip it onto for storage and pin it in.
Or, you could get a 12v linear actuator from under the power seat of a 2000 Chevy Impala from a junk yard and mount that inside the engine compartment with some helper springs.
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06-19-2012, 10:18 PM #9
- Join Date
- Jul 2006
- Posts
- 5,574
- Location
- Los Angeles / SW Washington
- Tractor
- PowerTrac 1850, Kubota RTV x900
Re: Lid too heavy for wife
So here is what I kinda know... the lid is VERY heavy... I figure you are lifting around 60 to 80lbs and you are trying to get it over your head. The lid on the 1850 is big, and it houses a HUGE radiator that is filled with oil. Plus the steal that makes it up.
The actuator looks interesting but so far I see only 100lb max.
I have found a website with the type that go in cars and you can get up to 250lbs.... Actually you can get higher, but they are very short (Does this matter?)
What I am getting at is that I am thinking this is a lot of weight, but maybe I am missing the physics here.
So.... Here is a design question......... Lets say I am looking at the PT from the drivers side. The lid lifts like this \. So when I put in my cylinder, does it go in like \ or like /.Power-Trac 1850, grapple, hoe, 90" mower, 72" box blade
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06-19-2012, 11:18 PM #10
Where do you store it? Inside? Just mount a little come along on it from a beam or ceiling joist and just open it up that way until her hands start to feel better. Shouldn't be to difficult for her to use. Shoot you can even mount a counter weight on the come along so all she has to do is just a slight tug on it and it will open. This was just a thought to make it much simpler.
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