When one door closes, another opens....

[KentT]

I was tilling up the harvested parts of my garden late Saturday evening, and stopped to clean weeds/grass out of the tines. When I tried to restart the old, modified (MossRoad vintage) PT-425 with almost 1400 hours on it - it backfired and caught on fire. While I can't pinpoint the cause of the backfire, I've been experiencing blow-by and oil consumption from using it beyond its design specs on my hillsides. I've been changing the air filter every time I change the hydraulic oil filter, so my air filter was likely pretty oil-soaked. I grabbed the small fire extinguisher, opened the engine lid and discharged the extinguisher. But, I did not get it completely put out before the fire extinguisher emptied. As soon as I stopped blasting it with the fire extinguisher, the flame came back up again. I quickly ran about 100 yards to area where I can get cellphone coverage, and called the missus to grab the extinguishers from the house and garage and bring them to me. (My garden is several hundred yards from the house, down at the foot of the hill near the road.) By the time she got there with three more extinguishers, the flame had melted through the plastic gas tank, dumping the remaining two gallons or so of gas down into the engine compartment. By the time I started using the three new extinguishers I was dealing with a hydraulic oil fire, caused by the gasoline burning. The three new small extinguishers simply weren't enough... So, we called 911 and they dispatched a fire truck which took about 20 minutes to my remote location. Bottom line: a total loss....



So, I started looking for a replacement, since I have about a dozen T-8 attachments. Looking at the PT site for used ones, all the 425s appeared to be pretty used up. So I started considering 1430s and modifying my T-8 attachments. Called on one 1430 (bare tractor) ad from the PT site, obtaining extra pics, and talked to Terry in Tazewell a couple times, discussing my alternatives. He confirmed the used 1430 that I was looking at from their site was very well maintained and that they'd replaced all four of the wheel motors on it. He kept suggesting that I could buy a new 425 for the same price of the used 1430 and be done with it -- even though I kept telling him that I had real concerns about the new Subaru Robin engines on slopes, and that their wheel motors were not big enough for my slopes. He did think the 18ci 1430 motors would work... So, I expanded my search, and stumbled on a 4-day old Craigslist ad from the area around Tazewell. I put a sizeable deposit on it today and will pick it up in a couple days when I get the settlement from my homeowner's policy.

An early-to-mid 1990s 1430 with 3-pin hitch, with only 497 hours on it - a best of all, IMO, a Kubota 31hp 4-cylinder water cooled engine. It comes with a finish mower, brush cutter, bucket with teeth, and a snow/dirt plow. This will let me finish the essential summer chores with those attachments, while I figure out exactly how to modify the tractor to use a T-8 quick attach, rather than building or buying all the needed T-12 attachment plates, cutting off the old ones, and welding on new ones. This oldie does not have an electric solenoid PTO valve like the newer machines, but instead has a manual flow control valve above the right knee -- where the aux PTO handle resides on newer machines. I can use this manual valve to control the flow to the T-8 attachments, and not run them too fast. With the smaller dashboard, there is a lot of empty space to the left of the steering wheel. I see a two-gang, open-centered valve body going there, with one valve dedicated to the QA (no disconnecting of hoses) and one valve used to control the cylinders on the grapple bucket, minihoe, etc. Meanwhile a Kubota diesel with 500 hours will likely outlast me...

 

[KentT]

Was having problems managine pictures in MS Edge, so I switched to Chrome.


The 1430 had been purchased by a church, and stored inside its entire life. It received little usage because most people were afraid to use it without a ROPS/FOPS on their hillsides. (First order of business will be to modify my 425 ROPS to fit). Though there are spots of touch up, I was simply amazed at the condition of a machine this old. Tires had been fairly recently replaced from Tazewell, because the originals had dryrotted. These have been on it a while, because they are the Power Trac model from Carlisle, now discontinued. This could prove interesting as I put it into service and see how it handles my hills. I checked out the wheel motor mounting -- they are entirely inside the tub, mounted flush to the outside with wheels that have essentially full offset -- and I think there's enough room to stuff in my larger ones off my 425 if necessary (after rebuilding the rear two due to heat).

 

[Marks481]

Ouch. I had one engine fire, which went out with a single fire extinguisher. But the thought of what would have happened if the plastic fuel tank melted through made me get rid of the plastic and replace it with an aluminum tank.

That 1430 looks sweet. Don't have to worry about running out of HP while field mowing with that baby.

 

[cqaigy2]

Sorry to hear of you fire. That is a nice looking 1430!

 

[MossRoad]

I am sorry for the loss of your mountain goat. :bawling:

But I am happy for your find. :thumbsup:

I'll be checking my engine tub and fire extinguisher soon.

 

[MossRoad]

Also glad you weren't hurt or had a forest fire, too.

 

[4570Man]

That looks a lot like my Dixie chopper. Mine suffered a fuel leak which ran on the muffler and ignited. There was a breeched line pouring gas on the fire and the fire quickly burned the plastic fuel tank. It only burned about 10 minutes, but it still suffered quite a bit of damage. I don't think the hydraulic system was damaged, so I plan on trying to fix it.

 

[woodlandfarms]

Might I ask. Did your homeowners insurance stepup?

 

[KentT]

It is covered. Waiting to see if and how much they depreciate the old one.

 

[4570Man]

Might I ask. Did your homeowners insurance stepup?

Mine did. They determined the value of the mower was $3500 minus the $1000 deductible so they paid $2500. They were supposed to take the mower, but it happened the third week in June and I still have the mower. I guess they probably aren't coming to get it.