New PT, New Problems

[marrt]

<font color=green> Before going through modifications, what did Power Trac say about the heat problem? </font color=green>

Well, not much other than “hmm”. I sent Terry some pictures last Friday via email. I think they are a little surprised or don’t think it’s that big a deal. They may be right. My only concern is that they may what to run some tests to ensure its not an issue for future owners. If the battery leaked because of overheating, then its an issue as it may happen to others. If it leaked because the caps were not on tight, then they may want to add a step to the manufacturing process to check battery caps before shipping.

For what its worth, Terry said that PT went to the new muffler because the standard Kohler muffler was not very durable in commercial use. I suspect this may be true as the warranty on the muffler is less than on the engine itself. This new muffler has huge thermal mass. Thirty minutes after mowing, it is still too hot to touch.

I will probably just make a simple shield to stop the air flow from reflecting off the muffler on to the battery, and to interrupt the radiant heat. Then I will follow Charlie’s excellent advice to use some type of pad to insulate the battery. I think everything will be fine then.

 

[davesisk]

Hey Marrt:

I'm with ya, I like learning new stuff too. Don't think that I'm an expert or anything on welding. My experience consists of welding up a "wrought iron" looking end-table made from forged steel angle stock and ceramic tile. (In fact, I'll attach a picture!) The first prototype was horrible, but the second one turned out pretty good. Given that I'm quite nerdy about most things, I just researched a lot and picked up that book, which is by Finch by the way. It's a really good read, and gives most of the benefits and drawbacks of any particular type of welder. Finch suggest starting with a Acetylene torch, but I'm not real crazy about storing explosives in the garage or workshop /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif, so I decided to start with the FCAW.

If you want to keep the cost minimal, then FCAW (flux-cored wire-feed arc welder, like a gasless MIG), MIG (metal-inert gas, a wire feed arc welder that uses CO2 and/or Argon for shielding), or a plain old "Stick welder" (arc welder where you clamp the electrode in) are probaby your best bets. The stick welder is the cheapest, and supposedly makes a strong, neat weld, but (to my understanding) is a bit of a challenge to master. The FCAW is a little more expensive, but easier to use, since it's wire-feed and you don't have to "strike" an arc. However, it makes a crusty weld that requires quite a bit of grinding to look nice. (Of course, if you welding attachments for a tractor, you might not care if it's a crusty weld!) The MIG is more expensive, as easy to use as the FCAW, but the drawback in my mind is that you have to buy canisters of carbon dioxide and/or argon. Not particularly dangerous, but not cheap or convenient either.

Anyway, if you want to weld 1/4" material, I'd make a guess that you going to need a 220V welder that produce 120-150 or so amps. Some of it depends on the type of weld (overlapping pieces require more heat, for instance). I wanted to go with a 110V machine because I don't currently have 220V available (although I might add it to the workshop and/or garage in the future).

Anyway, let us know how it goes! Picture of table attached...

Dave