What have you done to your Branson today?

[Zork]

Lol.

 

[Zork]

Mine could use more float in the blade, you may have better luck if you remove the top link and use a chain to limit the drop.
View attachment 841538

Good luck with her, I have similar unit and it does OK.
Mine could use more float in the blade, you may have better luck if you remove the top link and use a chain to limit the drop.
View attachment 841538

Can you show me where the plow frame mounts your plate? In my mod, the plow float was butchered and it is rigidly mounted to the female plate. The two old pivot pins don't permit any pivot and are only supplementally securing the inner-core tubing to the plate.

 

[LouNY]

Mine is a rigid mounted blade and the only float is about an inch to an inch and a half from the slop in the blade it's self which is the problem that I have often.

 

[Zork]

After thinking about it, I believe I went to a top link because the blade always wanted to float up. The Meyers is heavy and maybe my loader arms were to low due to lack of actual practice with it. When we get snow here are it is typically a freezing/compactable sleet/slush under powder, if/when we get it. Rarely is the snow straight powder where the weight of the blade would be enough unless the shoes were removed. I did think of shortening it another 6 to 8 inches and losing the tilt feature (less work), or even more by relocating the swing cylinders but I thought it was to much work. Anyway, I'll let everyone know how it works.

 

[Zork]

In preparation for the possibility of snow, I connected the hoses for the plow L&R swing. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow ...

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

In preparation for the possibility of snow, I connected the hoses for the plow L&R swing. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow ...

Well, now you won't get any.

 

[LouNY]

I put the rear tire chains on the other day in preparation for the the weather guessers storm that may come through. Didn't bother with the fronts yet. So two tractors chained up, two more to go on of these days.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

We've had several days of high winds in a row. It took the scant little bit of snow we had and filled in our driveway in a nice drift. First time I've used the tractor in probably 3 months now. Cleared it with the blower and the bucket in just a few minutes. Figured I had to do something, since Mrs. Slim had to use 4x4 to get out of the driveway this morning.

 

[Zork]

I went out and looked at the snow plow I have connected. We got a couple + inches of snow, but the ground wasn't frozen at the time. Now the driveway is frozen but the snow is gone.

 

[LouNY]

A couple of hours in my 8050 today plowing snow;

back blading before I put the front blade on,

parking area cleaned out,

heading back up the hill, about done

Finished and parked,

 

[KennJ]

Saturday the 13th we had major flooding; the water came up within an hour! When I realized it was about to overwhelm my tractor I made the decision to try to get it to higher ground, but I hit a low spot and it sucked in water and hydro-locked! I was hopeful I could save it because I moving very slowly and minimal throttle when the engine banged to a stop.

I was finally able to work on it yesterday. The crank case was full to the top because water had seeped in. I changed the oil, and I had a new spare air filter, which I changed as well after cleaning the silt out of the housing. We pulled the injectors and cranked it for a bit... the spray looked like a spouting whale! Once most of the moisture seemed to be out we replaced the injectors, and after a little cranking it fired right up! Purring like a kitten now!

I can't even begin to convey the amount of relief! so thankful that the Kukje is such a solid little power plant!

 

[ptsg]

View attachment 847554View attachment 847555Saturday the 13th we had major flooding; the water came up within an hour! When I realized it was about to overwhelm my tractor I made the decision to try to get it to higher ground, but I hit a low spot and it sucked in water and hydro-locked! I was hopeful I could save it because I moving very slowly and minimal throttle when the engine banged to a stop.

I was finally able to work on it yesterday. The crank case was full to the top because water had seeped in. I changed the oil, and I had a new spare air filter, which I changed as well after cleaning the silt out of the housing. We pulled the injectors and cranked it for a bit... the spray looked like a spouting whale! Once most of the moisture seemed to be out we replaced the injectors, and after a little cranking it fired right up! Purring like a kitten now!

I can't even begin to convey the amount of relief! so thankful that the Kukje is such a solid little power plant!

That's a close one for sure.

Check the front axle fluid as well as the transmission/hydraulic fuid to make sure it doesn't have water.

 

[KennJ]

That's a close one for sure.

Check the front axle fluid as well as the transmission/hydraulic fuid to make sure it doesn't have water.

Good point! Thanks for that. I'm going to go out and top off the oil and wash out all of the silt in just a bit (after I feed the cows), and then I will definitely do that.

 

[ptsg]

Good point! Thanks for that. I'm going to go out and top off the oil and wash out all of the silt in just a bit (after I feed the cows), and then I will definitely do that.

Yes, run it a little bit. This is way, if there is any water, it'll be mixed with the oil and you can tell by the color right away.

 

[KennJ]

Yes, run it a little bit. This is way, if there is any water, it'll be mixed with the oil and you can tell by the color right away.

Yes, there is water in the hydraulic oil and in the oil again (I didn't have filters for it, but I had to get it moved.) So I've ordered filters from the dealer. Looks like I'll be doing my 350 hour service at 150 hours!

 

[ning]

There's an acre of my land that looks a lot like this:

well, not a lot, it actually looks precisely like it, because that's it

Anyways, I call it "the jungle". It's too overgrown even for deer to walk through; there's a bit of (himalayan/invasive) blackberry, but it can barely get a toehold; there's a sh*tton of poison oak, most of it growing up as vines attached to trees and other shrubs - some of the stalks of the vines are over an inch thick, and it's up to 30' up into trees... some excessively sized manzanita, various scrub oaks, toyon shrubs, other shrub, gray pine and ponderosa pine.

The qualifying part for this thread:

In later spring through early winter, the ground is too hard and holds tight to everything, but right now the ground is as good as I've ever seen it for clearing land - I'm able to push over oaks up to 6" in diameter and instead of their roots holding, with a bit of upward pull while pushing (courtesy of the piranha tooth bar and FEL action) the trees are lifting right out of the ground. Same with the manzanita, they're not just breaking off, they're pulling clear out. I'm using the PTB lightly on the ground to grab shrubs and vines, and a large number of them are getting pulled as well... all at the same time as having just enough traction. A bit slippery here and there but workable.

Unfortunately I don't have a chipper - my use of one would be just too sporadic for me to merit spending full price on one, and I haven't seen a unicorn low price one. Thus, I make piles; I use my big loppers (geared fiskar bypass unit - easily cuts 2" green anything) to trim down trunks or chop things into ~8' lengths that will go on my officially 4x4 burn pile eventually (seriously they expect us to have 4'x4' burn piles - you can't have a hot burn pile in 4x4, I drop 4' tall bundles of about 8'x6' branches... never had a complaint because I dry stuff before torching it, and then there's enough burning to dissipate any smoke that happens).

I basically cleared about 2500 square feet which doesn't sound like a lot but it was a lot of greenery, and it took me about 20 minutes on the tractor. If I didn't care about making piles, I could probably clear everything safe to get at (it gets pretty steep in some spots on this jungle) in a day but then I'd have a heck of a time separating stuff out into burn-pile'able units later. Instead, I'm doing a chunk of clearing, and then working on making piles, then figuring out where I can put the piles for drier times...

Unfortunately this weekend is all rain, so I probably won't get back on the tractor for a week or so. My pasture/grassy areas are already on my no-drive list; there's some nice soil there, but right under it is slick clay, and now the hill is going to get saturated. At least I left myself a bunch of trees I need to process into firewood and burn pile bundles, even if there's nowhere safe to drive to put them for later...

 

[Zork]

Yes, run it a little bit. This is way, if there is any water, it'll be mixed with the oil and you can tell by the color right away.

I'd change the engine oil again after an hour or so of non-load normal operation. Then again after several hours of run time and return to normal change interval. Your lucky to not have bent your [connecting] rods, maybe because you were idling. Is there a new sound in the engine; one that sounds like there is a small hammer noise?

 

[Zork]

Picked up a 72" Kubota box scrape to mount on an extra SSQA adapter plate for front grading or as a snow pusher. I may use my 60" County line instead because this thing is heavy.

 

[KennJ]

I'd change the engine oil again after an hour or so of non-load normal operation. Then again after several hours of run time and return to normal change interval. Your lucky to not have bent your pushrods, maybe because you were idling. Is there a new sound in the engine; one that sounds like there is a small hammer noise?

Good suggestions thanks!
No, absolutely no abnormal noise ! I consider it a blessing. I'm going to have my listening ears on for quite a while once I get her fully back in service!

 

[Zork]

Good suggestions thanks!
No, absolutely no abnormal noise ! I consider it a blessing. I'm going to have my listening ears on for quite a while once I get her fully back in service!

I wrote pushrods, but I meant connecting rods. Anyway, glad you have no additional noises.