Recent content by MarblemountLane

Sitting is very hard on electronics, and indeed most low voltage equipment. The older and simpler it is, the more free of electronics it is, the better it will tolerate sitting. My 1959 Massey Ferguson can sit for months with no problems. We caused all kinds of ills by letting a WJ...

Naturally, a lot of what I’d LIKE to do is illegal, but we have a few things around the place. In the house, we use BurglarBomb (just go to www dot burglarbomb dot com). There are no people or pets inside when we leave. Burglarbomb could be adapted to a tractor cab. But protecting externals...

I’m going to go with the guys who said get the longer bar but keep your shorter bar & chain. If you only need the longer bar now and then, you can be patient with the cutting. Heck, I have an 18” on a little MS180 (barely over 16” usable before you hit the dogs), but it’s a saw to carry in the...

Few years ago, I bought a Pat’s Quick Hitch. It laid around for a couple years, until I finally put it on the tractor. I even bought a longer top link. Only took a couple moths to realize it was not for me - interfered with my back blade, hardware was super soft, fit was not good on my Massy...

Just a reminder: it is possible to remove water from oil. I had water in the relatively fresh transaxle gear oil on my Massey 204. I started draining a bucket at a time, putting it on a controlled hotplate (in a high quality stainless bucket) set to just above 212F, then cool the clean oil...

Sounds like a real find. The model and/or serial number may allow you to look up the answer to your fuel question. But propane is more likely than natural gas. In a given engine, gasoline makes more power than propane, propane makes more power than natural gas. But propane is very clean and...

Interesting conversation and experiences here. But the OP gave me the impression a 20” saw was needed for a few larger than usual logs, not forever. A saw that has pulled 18” for years can pull 20” for a while, if not quite as easily. Heck, I have an 18” bar on a tiny Stihl MS180, which is...

My MF204 has homemade 5’ bucket (can’t curl upward as much as I like, but looks stronger than OEM bucket). I bought a tooth bar. Was backblading, grabbed a root and popped the tooth bar off, twisting the bar. Replaced the bar (which teeth bolt onto) then acknowledged that the two big setscrews...

In 2025 if you got a manual you are lucky. I just bought a Fluke meter: “safety warning” in MANY languages. But manual is only available online. The first post in this thread caught my attention. My Massey Ferguson 204 was made in 1959 (as close as I can tell from the serial number; Work...

Lawyers vary. We went though two with my Dad’s estate. The first one was (as we were slow to realize) learning as she went and padding the bill (my wife managed a small law office for eleven years, and knows billing). The next was scrupulously honest, did lots of good work, cost us about...

I’ve had a car trailer since 1988. Our two properties are 7-1/2 miles apart. I haul my old Massey Ferguson. If going to a neighbor only a mile away, I’ll road it

The tale I’ve heard was turn on lights for a moment before cranking, to “wake up” the battery. I know that in tests of a really big battery (powerhouse station battery) I’ve seen the quick initial drop when chargers stop, then slow drop and stabilize then gain slightly under load, before...

“Same cost” includes cost of maintenance and breakdown repairs. I think simpler is often cheaper. As a retired guy on a fixed income, I look for lower cost, much lower. My tractor is 65 years old. It does what I want, cost less than 1/10 of what a newer smaller tractor would run, can be...

I have always viewed StaBil as “one season” treatment. I’ve seen gas treated with PRI-G siphoned from a motorhome after 8 years, put in a car and run fine - but this was early 2000s so probably no alcohol. I buy alcohol free premium for power equipment, and as much as possible for our...

I like colors that blend in. Did a lot of work with a gray ex-Navy IH 4x4. Both my wife and I like Hunter Green. But we like bright colors on smaller things that can easily be lost. Her old peavey has a broad yellow stripe (yes, my wife can move logs). I often put bright colors on hand tools...