Recent content by Garson

In my experience, HST is excellent for light work like mowing and blowing, but for heavy work like pushing out stumps, hauling heavy loads, landscaping- the manual transmission will give you 25% more power at the wheels.

You're right, John. I should have been more specific on bar/chain wear. My original Husky has cut over 100 cords to firewood lengths, my Pro Husky has cut over 200 cords. I've replaced one bar total so wear is not costing much extra. Yes, it does leave a black residue in the saw around the drive...

It sounds like one of your battery cables were hot after the L275 sat for 2 hours. This says that your tractor is drawing current when shut off. My first guess would be worn insulation or a pinched wire on a 12 volt supply cable somewhere, causing a partial short even with the tractor ignition...

Of course a battery disconnect switch will reset all computers on a car or truck. This switch is best used on lawn mowers, etc that don't have a clock, etc.

In New Brunswick, Canada we have lots of sandstone, a sedimentary rock that lays in sheets around one to four inches thick. An excavator digs out the sandstone and this breaks it up a bit with pieces 1' square or so and 3 to 4" thick. It is digs out to beautiful flagstone sometimes. We dump this...

I've only done one Regen in 5 years with my RX7320 Kioti (shuttle shift). That was after spending a lot of work doing short jobs and building a cab where the tractor was run and shut off continually. The trick is to run your tractor at 1500 RPM minimum speed. Then it might do a Regen while...

Similar to BoylermanCT, my old half-ton plow is mounted with two receivers on the bottom of the bucket (just two pins to secure). These receivers allow the plow to move up and down considerably. Then a chain is used to allow the plow to hang with just the weight of the plow when touching the...

We've watched how technological advances have quickly changed our world in the last few decades. Yes, there are obstacles to switching vehicles to a new energy source but man always finds ways to improve. EV adaption hinges on battery efficiency and that is improving very quickly. One decade...

I drove a John Deere zero turn 4 years ago and decided zero turns were not for me. It was way too jumpy on the controls. but three years ago I bought a Toro Timecutter 5425 (4.5' cut) while it was still in the delivery crate. It was $5000 marked down a grand to $4000 in November. We don't mow...

I bought an Oliver tractor with 38" tires at an auction years ago. It worked great but had been used for tractor pulls and the rear tires were unknowingly filled with water. When they froze I drove about 100 yards and the tubes got pulverized by the ice frozen solid inside the tires and the...

I struggled with torches also and did several hours research. The Bernzomatic TS8000 had rave reviews and they are right. Don't cheap out on your torch. This one lights instantly, heats quickly, has a flow control valve, and with it's special "swirl" technology it even sounds aggressive. It is...

Considering HST vs manual shuttle shift, the primary concern is 25-30% loss of power with HST. If you are doing light work such as blowing and mowing, HST is the choice. For heavy work like bushwhacking, the shuttle shift wins hands down.

Your main problem is the hydrostatic drive. These tractors are built for convenience but you lose about 35% of your power just to run the transmission. Shuttle shift is actually quite convenient once you adapt and it's more reliable and quieter.

Popular Science Magazine did a review on penetrating oils a couple of decades ago. Since they I have used their winning choice successfully many times. Make a 50/50 mix of Acetone and Automatic Transmission Fluid. Shake the mixture in a squeeze bottle and apply immediately after shaking, before...

Hi Oaktree, I also had trouble finding good grindstones for the Oregon sharpener. The 3 stones Oregon supplied with their sharpener (3 sizes) worked great, but the Oregon stones purchased later turned shiny on first use because they had no grit, but they would never break. They were too hard...