Search results

I have a Terramite backhoe and a logging trail. It is a pain to orient the backhoe to dig a culvert out across the trail. My suspicion it would be even harder if it were bigger. A mini-x would be easier to use for cleaning culverts, IMO, and you would avoid having to remove/install a backhoe...

Moss Road, did you ever get your engine oil leak repaired?

I wonder if you wouldn't have finer control over moving the building (if it isn't too heavy) if it could be moved with mechanical advantage instead of a tractor? I may not be understanding the discussion, but I also thought the key to keeping tile from cracking is having a sufficiently strong...

Here is the dog during an exercise run outside at the shelter today.

Sorry this happened. I bought a Dewalt portable table saw a few years ago. The fence adjustment is so easy and accurate compared to my older table saws that I don't really use them anymore, not to mention that the saw guard works and it is so much more portable.

$400 seems a lot for that. Are PT replacement parts generally expensive?

I thought you were supposed to fill the tank with water to purge any fuel vapors?

Now that you say it, that makes good sense to me.

I was driving back home in the dark one evening and saw two baby kittens right in the white line dividing the road that somebody had obviously just dumped. I scooped them up and took them home. They both had eye infections along with giardia. The giardia took about 5-6 months of strong meds...

I'm going to personally own up and admit to thread drift with my sincere apologies to all of you. I think I'm seeing some softening in the equipment market in middle Tennessee but am not sure if it is seasonal or a market change? For one thing, I was able to get a kubota dealer salesman on...

I had a 1400 SF house moved 20 miles without any cracks in the drywall or broken windows. I used T1-11 on a tool shed and 20 years later, it needs replacing.

Campers typically use mini-sized fixtures intended to be both compact and to save weight. 5x8 is 40 SF which is the same SF as 4x10, but increasing the width to 5 feet makes a real difference if it can be done. Eddie Walker's detailed post is very practical. Having a vanity to at least...

I used to serve on a local county board. The paid administrator had to get board approval for her budget. She presented her budget one year mentioning that our particular board could sue the county for more funding under state law even if the county commission wouldn't approve it. Comparing...

My Terramite T5c has a 48" front bucket with toothbar and 13" digging bucket. This gum tree had a 8" trunk at the surface with 43" hidden under the ground. It was hard on the Terramite digging it out with the digging bucket on the backhoe even though I paced myself to dig in smaller bites...

If you can, weld outdoors.

The first problem is that more force is required to dig 48" wide verus digging 20" wide. The second problem is FELs are mostly designed to lift loads that are already loose, not dig compacted soil. The third problem is tree roots are like adding a lot of rebar to cement. Add these together...

I'd say there is not a chance of this working unless its some small tree that has most roots near the surface and the soil is loose as can be. I dug out some 5-6" gum trees last week using my Terramite backhoe. It took a lot of digging around and under the stumps with the backhoe bucket just...

^Awesome.

'5 tubs have a lot to do with it, but also you need some room in front of the vanity just to be comfortable. Roofers just rely on silicone sealer and those silicone boots to seal vent pipes on metal roofs which IMO creates a maintenance problem later. I'd vent through the wall, too.

My mixed up answer is I don't know for sure and have reservations because this used to be cut by an operator who had a larger dual wheel New Holland tractor. My MX has single loader style tires. There is a steeper area near the bottom where the operator of the forestry mulcher rode the slope...

^good assessment. Standing in our 5x8, I wouldn't want it any narrower if it could be avoided.

One thing that appeals to me is there is still no DPF on the PT1445 which tempts me to buy one while I can, but $39,500 is still a lot of money on top of what I already spent on a L2501 and used MX5200. If I had this to do over, I might should have just bought one PT1445 instead of the L2501 +...

Thank you for your kind offer. I was looking at the mini dozer because I have an area filled with thorn trees I'd like to clear. The miniX would be a better choice IMO because I could pickup sections of the thorn trees and move them into a pile without dragging or pushing them on the ground...

A new set of sharp blades will improve the cutting performance and safety, but you still have the issue to decide whether the heavy duty cutter weighs too much relative to your tractor and terrain. You still may have to slow down a lot to cut heavy vegetation close to the ground.

The temptation is to assume these mini ex's aren't much more dangerous than a lawn mower because they are only 13.5hp, but 2,000 lbs is 2,000 lbs. The available hydraulic power to lift an impressive amount of weight on a 36" wide machine could get someone in trouble quickly, especially if it's...

Looking at the local Facebook marketplace last night, I saw a couple of car dealers posting ads for QH12s for sale for $7,000-$8,000.

Hope you get to feeling better. Good to watch your progress.

Speaking of contruction cost overuns, Jefferson County Alabama, home of Birmingham, filed the then largest municipal bankruptcy case in 2011 with around $4.1 billion in debt mostly stemmed from corruption in building a new sewer system. Bunch of officials and contractors went to federal prison.

Here is our 5' wide x 8' deep bathroom. The doorway is 28". Distance from vanity to wall is 36". Distance from toliet to wall is 30". Working with a 4' wide space would make it tighter. Is there any way to stretch it to 5'?

If someone tried welding the blade, what else did they do to this cutter?

I've watched a couple of YT videos where it was stated that parts like hoses, wheel motors and hydraulic pumps are commonly available from Amazon. Does that really seem to be the case?

The crew that ran the fiber optic cable ran it under the highway and across 500' of my property to the house in maybe 30 minutes. Later, the install crew took an entire day to get it connected. They couldn't get it to work. So another guy comes out and decides the optic cable is bad right at...

Nice of them to include the proposition 65 decal.

Our rural telephone put in fiber optic whether I wanted it or not and has been pushing more expensive internet upgrades. I miss the days of simple, inexpensive telephone service. The phone bill is often more than my electric bill and for what? They aren't incurring the cost of producing...

I agree with CH4Ohio that cleaning the doghouse isn't anywhere as important as providing adequate shelter from the cold. This shelter dog is energetic, but it will be a hard transition going from a comfortably heated shelter to outdoors after just being spayed. Our temps today are 39F high...

Now that the heavy brush is cut, the contractor could probably cut the entire hillside in less time than his 4 hour minimum. I have three other threads open discussing slope mower options. One involves buying a used Kubota F3680 with 2200 hours from a dealer asking $8,900. Another involves...

I have a similar aluminum walkboard. It will skate on steel scaffolding in a heartbeat if not secured.

Our outside dogs come in the unfinished part of downstairs when it's too hot/cold outside, but one is a very territorial female Malinois who won't probably accept a new dog anywhere near her space. So that takes away the downstairs as an option and even if she were healthy, the shelter dog...

The dog was literally jumping on the walls in the meet and greet room. Took her outside to play ball for 20 -30 minutes. She briefly slowed down to catch her breath and then kept at it. The "owners" were from out of county and asked the shelter to take her because they said were changing...

So many of these programs aren't investing at all because the outcome measurements show they cost a lot of money with few measurable results to show for it. There is a state jobs creation program near me that has operated since the mid 1980s that hasn't generated many jobs for anyone except...

There's a YT video where the guy measured 725F surface temp on a ceramic heat emitter bulb. I have used an infared bulb in the garage in the open air to help knock the chill off the dogs before. Throws off a lot of heat, but I'm concerned about these high surface temps inside the dog house I...

Situation is sad. The shelter has given her Panacur for the whipworms. Problem is the life cycle of whipworms is such that she will need to be treated for the next several months, her poop will have to be cleaned up to prevent reinfection, and I don't know that the shelter will keep her until...

The dog has been inside a HVAC controlled shelter since September so I don't think her winter coat is fully developed. She is just over a year old. She is full of energy, but they are going to hand her over to me the same day they have her spayed. Between the spaying and going from an HVAC...

I may be adding a shelter dog shortly that I found out has whipworms and is supposedly over having had kennel cough so I will need to isolate her from my other dogs for several weeks. I'm thinking I will have to put her in a 10x10 outdoor kennel away from my other dogs that will have a roof and...

The issue has become there appears to be a core of voters who vote because of what they get from the government, but instead of paying for this with tax dollars, they keep growing the deficit and devaluing the dollar in the process.

You might look through this thread to see what other people are actually using in their woods. Tractors and wood! Show your pics

There is a free log weight estimator here: Green Log Weight Charts & Calculator | Sherrilltree

There is a mini-ex accident video on youtube where the operator was on a steeply ramped slope, turned the boom downhill, and the mini-ex turned over. While these are amazing machines when used within their limitations, serious injury may happen if they tip over.

Some rambling and general thoughts. I also see a lot of guys advertising forestry mulching on FB marketplace which might also be a source for you to look into. The guys I used don't put much into advertising on the internet. It turned out that I personally know all of the owners which was...

So you would suggest that powering a 30" gravely sized brush cutter deck isn't going to happen with an L12? Is there another affordable mini-ex that would be larger that might work for this?

If you are dealing with slopes, you don't want the tail (cutter) wagging the dog (tractor). If the cutter is too heavy relative to the tractor, that's not good for stability.

Plastic vapor barrier is not hard to install provided the ground is smooth and doesn't puncture the plastic. If you go with a heavier plastic, will be tear resistant and can actually make it more pleasant to work underneath if you need to work on the plumbing or electric lines underneath. I...

I'd say my MX5200 is about twice as stable as my L2501. Also own Yanmar 226d which is a fine tractor. None of them are suited to clearing a lot of overgrown forest. Could tear up something expensive pretty quickly and wish you'd hired a forestry mulcher and been done with it a lot faster and...

Friend got elected mayor of small town city. Gasoline costs for the city looked really high. Turns out the city employees were filling up their personal vehicles. Mayor put stop to it. Employees made mayor's term in office miserable. I think there have been three people to take that major...

2-6" tree growth is essentially chainsaw work, then moving the debris somewhere else either by dragging it or moving it with a grapple. If there are thorn trees, odds are you'll have flat tires. If the tires are loaded with liquid ballast for stability, then that is an additional problem...

It was certainly a WOW when I saw how they were able to mulch standing trees right down to the ground in less than a minute. This machine can clear patches of growth in a matter of minutes that it would take me a week to clear with a chainsaw, tractor and grapple, but they are able to mulch it...

Thank you. I had no idea that the PTO speed was like that or that the direction of rotation could be another issue.

If you are still looking, Roberts Camera usually has a selection of used cameras with a 14 day return period and 180 day warranty which is longer than most used camera stores. Digital Camcorders

Is the PTO output connection on the F-3680 the same as on a regular Kubota tractor like the L2501? I'm guessing the lift mechanism isn't the same as a tractor 3pt so there wouldn't be an easy way to use a light duty rotary brush cutter designed for a tractor on the F-3680?

Middle Tennessee. The grass normally will start growing March-April depending on the weather. This hillside tends to be wet in the Spring because the hill shades the slope from the sun in the winter so it doesn't tend to dry out.

Smokeydog posted some kind of sliding clamp in ArlyA's welding table thread. Surely he did not butcher a pricey Bessey???

Sounds like work. One thing I don't want is to get erosion started on the hillside. What would you suggest? Do I leave them this winter and remove them in early Spring when the grass would start growing again?

Gravely 30" brush cutting decks used to be available for about $75. The blade is pretty heavy, but one piece that doesn't swing back. I just wonder if there's enough hydraulic flow to run it?

Happy New Year to you.

I don't know and can't speak to any potential environmental issues that could arise, but part of me wonders if you could outfit a BCS walk behind with some kind of high flotation tires and cut this with a flail or brush mower? If you got stuck, it would be easier to winch out than a tractor.

The company that did the mulching has a root rake grapple for their Cat 299d and might possibly do it, but I didn't ask them about doing it. I personally wouldn't want to get my MX5200 on that slope with a rake. Since the F3680 finish mower blades don't pivot like brush cutter blades, I'm...

Update: I hired a company who used a Cat299d equipped with a Cat mulching head to clear this slope. It was money well spent because they were able to grind up even some small trees on the slope in only a few hours that would have otherwise turned into a chainsaw job plus having to drag the...

I'm posting a couple of pictures after the forestry mulching was done. The operator told me where the slope felt the worst to him. One of those areas measures 32.7 degrees near the base of the hillside. Kubota doesn't publish any official slope rating that I know of. I think I recall that...

Is there some reason that power trac uses engine oil in the hydraulic system or am I wrong about that?

The dealer near me doesn't have any grey or black. He has red ones like yours and yellow ones that say Agrotk. There are a bunch of places here like creek banks where it would be terrific if one of these inexpensive minis had enough flow/psi in the auxilary circuit to run a small brush cutter.

IMO, same people who set 3% inflation target are the ones who caused inflation to rear its head again, set off rampant speculation in the residential housing market by setting interest rates too low, act like they had nothing to do with it and conveniently don't count housing costs as a...

Comparatively speaking, 25hp in a 4wd PT425 is a beast relative to the 1970s garden tractors that were 2wd, 16hp single cylinder and rarely had hydraulic lift.

Middle Tennessee. I have an area I'd like to clear out that has a bunch of thorn trees. Having rubber tracks and a grapple would be nice. Hoping to get some dozer work done that might avoid me having to deal with the thorns.

Housing prices got to where they are when the 30 year rate was well below the actual rate of inflation because it was pretty much a no brainer to just pay whatever to buy any house before it got to be even more expensive due to both inflation and speculative demand. While I suppose this could...

I have a Gravely rotary plow that still amazes me for how it fluffs the ground in one pass.

You've got hard ground, and it is normal to have to make multiple smaller passes to till it. It would take a lot of organic material like sawdust to loosen it up. Even if you plow it, it will still compact like hard ground until you get a lot of organic material into it. I know this because...

After hitting about 8, the 30 year is down to 6.61%. The new normal is the punch bowl is always spiked.

There was a guy about 10 years older than me who played defensive back at our high school and went on to play college football. His reputation was that you didn't want to be the guy he hit. He returned as high school football coach and later became the high school principal. Then he went into...

I've never used a curved monitor, but there is a huge difference in clarity if you can get a monitor with higher pixel density even if it isn't huge in size such the LG Ultrafine 4k 24UD58-B. If you buy on Amazon, no problem to return it if you don't like it. There are larger models for more...

With the Fed recently saying they plan to cut interest rates three times in 2024, I'm not so sure the hoped for price reductions in tractors, houses, cars, etc. are going to happen.

I see a dealer option to add a hydraulic thumb to the L12 that is for sale locally for $650. Is that a good upgrade or really not necessary for moving brush and larger rocks?

Thanks for that. Does the L12 operator manual or the manual for the Briggs engine state a maximum slope for operation? Some small gas engine manuals say 15 degrees is the maximum slope, for example.

What should I look for to avoid the hydraulic defect?

There's a dealer nearby who has the Agrotk L12 or the QH12 for slightly under $6,000 and the Agrotk H12 for $6,650. The specs at first glance look very similar. Any idea if the H12 is worth the extra money? It would be awesome if there was a way to add a brush cutting head.

I replaced the Kohler v twin in my Terramite some years ago because it was the easiest route, but I've always thought a diesel engine conversion would have significantly improved its performance plus the gas engine has always seemed to use more gas than the diesel in my Yanmar 226d seems to use...

Dealership service is very important if you run into a problem covered by the factory warranty.

Amazon has a variety of metal fuel shut off valves to fit different fuel line sizes.

What are they proposing to replace the Cummins backup gensets? Aren't they still the gold standard for reliable backup genset power?

A standard 16' utility trailer would be lower to the ground to get in/out, would have a suspension and could be used for other purposes. However, I see a lot of hay rides where no thought appears to have been given to someone falling out and hitting their head or breaking a limb.

I thought PT was corrosive to metal. Would you still use it to support a sawmill or just as a base but use non PT where it contacts the mill?

A broad swale can't be crushed like a pipe, especially a pipe that isn't buried very deeply.

I'd recommend 4" solid pipe instead of corrugated because it's harder to pitch corrogated without bends/dips and water/debris flows better through solid pipe. Solid pipe is also more resistant to collapsing.

Would you mind posting a link to where you found this filter? Is it just a standard house water filter except you're using it on the laundry discharge?

Others may have better suggestions, but this is what I have. Amazon.com

You may want to consult with a competent lawyer. Many state courts interpret UCC warranty law to mean that if the manufacturer does not timely make repairs under warranty or can't make the repairs, the warranty "fails of its essential purpose" and the manufacturer may be required to buy the...

Cub Cadet's Pro Z 972 with dual wheels is advertised as rated up to 25 degree slope. If you look at the manufacturer's slope ratings, many zero turns are rated max 15 degrees, some 20. I think even Ventrac says 20 degrees for their mowers unless outfitted with dual wheels which takes the...

Minwool fire batt is sound attenuating up to 10db and noncombustible. MinWool Sound Attenuation Fire Batt (SAFB)

One of my brothers in law is smart, but given the choice between a beating and having to sit in a classroom, he'd ask you how bad the beating was going to be.

BTW, mapp gas will get hotter than propane. Tapping with a hammer as Willy suggested might cause some of the rust to loosen enough for the penetrating fluid to work just try not to distort any metal in the process. If you have access to an air hammer, you can sometimes use an air hammer to...

Have to acknowledge that any of these hydraulic jacks depend on an o-ring seal being able to withstand the pressure and jack stands are needed for safety to be sure instead of hoping that the tiny seals don't burst. Harbor Freight jacks are so popular that there is probably more real user...

Traditional board and batten is specifically for using green sawmill type lumber because the gaps between the boards that increase due to shrinkage are covered by the battens. Plus, it does not have to be perfect in dimension. Fine Homebuilding magazine has details on the nailing patterns to...

Thanks.

Are these baby digger machines stable or tippy?

This Mapp turbo torch gets hotter than any other small cylinder torch I've used except for the Bernzomatic welding torch cylinder kit...

Kids are influenced in a bad way by what they constantly see on their phones.

I don't know your area, but here the commercial lumber mill won't even sell their lumber to the public because they are only interested in selling larqe quantities. They were interested in buying a larger walnut log that I cut, but weren't interested in a nice oak log that went to waste because...

I was just thinking somebody probably makes a magnetic light that you could stick on the blower. Even if they don't, I have a fishing magnet from Amazon that has a strong grip and potentially could be used as a mount if you could find a light that you otherwise like. The other aspect is you...

Many of the construction crews in Nashville are immigrants, and I suspect it has to do with them actually showing up and getting the work done every day.

Why not put some magnetic base lights on the leafblower? You could either move them to the ROPs to mow or install another set of lights on the ROPs to only use for mowing because lights aren't all that expensive.

It is possible to bend a PTO shaft by lifting it too high or if the inner/outer sections somehow get bound up when they should slide freely. There are differences in the strength of light duty brush cutters vs heavy duty cutters insofar as how large a sapling you can cut without damaging the...

I run my carb dry after each use. If there isn't already a fuel shutoff, I'd install one if there is room for it. As far as talking OP out of buying a sawmill, it's just time consuming to cut and saw wood into dimension lumber.

USA Facts says the federal govt spends about double per person in the USA today compared to what they spent per person in 1980 adjusted for inflation. How much money does the government spend per person?

Huge sudden increase in the M2 money supply beginning March, 2020 preceded by about 10 years of substantial increase. Would be interesting to compare tractor list prices every year from 2007 to present if there was any way to get that data.

I have a gear drive MX. If it were an HST, I could have more easily reduced my ground speed to compensate for the increased RPM and continued operating on the hillside while the regen was in process, but with the gear drive, it seemed more prudent to park and let the regen run its course.

One problem with bolting a vice to a welding tabletop like I suggested is weld spatter may (will?) find its way into threads left open.

Malpractice at its finest.

Now I get it. Thank you.

Things that strain my L2501 are no problem with my MX5200. Only thing that I see as a negative is the DPF on the MX. I needed to pull some wood off a hillside yesterday and regen started. I had to park and wait for the regen to finish because the regen required too much RPM to safely operate...

You can obviously fabricate anything well. What was your reason for making the cover plate lock in place with two lock pins? Seems like an unusual design choice and not so easy to fabricate, either.

Super interesting. I don't know why we don't have more of these kinds of tractors available in the USA?

I would squirt fuel directly into both cylinders to see if it will fire. Havent priced or tried any of the Amazon carbs for Kohler v twins, but the ones I've used for Honda and Briggs worked with less effort than cleaning and rebuilding the OEM carbs.

HF has a small clamp on vice for $25. 2-1/2 in. Table Swivel Vise

Which engine do you have in your PT425? I understand there were using Robin engines at one point before switching to Kohler V twins.

Another option is to drill the tabletop to match the mounting holes in the vice and weld nuts to the bottom of the tabletop. Would be okay for occasional use, but if you're constantly taking the vise on and off a faster mounting system would be nicer. The only thing about using receiver tube...

I have a couple of corded 3/8" Milwaukee drills with a slight gear reduction in them that have outlasted numerous cordless drills regardless of brand. Angle grinders use a lot of power. I have a cordless one that came as part of a metabo kit that I use when there is no 110v outlet nearby and...

Carb cleaner is not a bad idea to give it the extra margin of help to get re-started. You might have a gummed up carb anyway. When I had trouble with my Terramite, I also replaced the spark plugs to be sure they weren't the source of the problem and were clean. And now that I think about...

I really don't understand why the cow owner's wife seems indifferent that his cows are getting out because cows are valuable, but can turn into a liability if they trash somebody's property or cause a car wreck.

My nearest Kubota dealer has three used low hour L2501s in stock where in 2022 it was none. One is a 2019 HST with 48 hours for $19,900.

It might also be handy to have a portable jump starter pack with you in case you have to crank it a lot to try to get it running. AVAPOW Car Jump Starter, 4000A Peak Battery Jump Starter , 2023 Upgraded Powerful Portable Battery Booster Power Pack, 12V Auto Jump Box with LED Light, USB Quick...

You might look at how Solis is building this all electric tractor. New Solis SV24 All Electric tractor

By the time you do all that, could you drain out all of the gas, replace the fuel filter, clean the carb, and see if it will run on its own? I got some bad gas in my Terramite with the CH20 engine this year. That's what I did instead of trying to move it without power.

At the time these and other competing garden tractors were being built, 16hp was top of the line. Not sure which engines these had, but the Kohler K series engines in the 1970s had large, heavy flywheels for torque. And this was also before manufacturers started making outlandish HP claims for...

IMO, garden tractor implements are typically like those made by Brinly. Brinly Residential Lawn Care and Garden Attachments They are usually much lighter than 3pt implements for tractors because the garden tractors themselves usually weigh 500-800 lbs I'd guess and can only handle so much weight...

Back in the early 1970s, Case made an unusual garden tractor in that it had a gas Kohler engine driving a hydraulic pump that ran the tractor. Because of the hydraulic drive, it was easier to DIY convert into articulating 4x4 tractors than trying to convert an all gear drive garden tractor to 4x4.

I'm still evaluating what to do. After starting this thread, I had the hillsides mulched by a forestry mulcher. I am now better able to see the actual land contours, but still need to measure some of the slope changes again. One additional consideration is that there are some piles of...

Others feel free to correct me if I'm mistaken, but I believe Ventrac has two speed ranges where the Cub has one. Ventrac has an optional Kubota gas engine where Cub uses a gas kawasaki. Ventrac is 4wd where Cub is 2wd. I have never operated either one. If you add up all your estimated...

Computer sci nerds not same.

That's a lot of dirt in your bucket. A substantial counterweight on the 3pt is a necessity to restore balance.

Some random thoughts about this are that there is a big difference between the garden tractors vs subcompact or compact diesel tractors in terms of 3pt attachments and ease of attaching front mounted snow blowers. It's probably not so easy to substitute an electric motor in place of the diesel...

I bought a used Sears 110v snowblower for $20 or $30 that surprised me for how quickly it would blow snow off the sidewalk. Way faster than a shovel and I doubt it even weighs 20lbs. I don't know how long a battery powered unit would run.

Would any of you really trust the science geeks you knew back in school?

Is there a way to run a front mount brush cutter or flail mower on the yanmar 2 wheel tractor? The Swiss Brielmaiers have slope holding spiked steel wheels, but I'm not sure you can buy one in the USA unless it's some kind of special order situation. The best motor mower in the world | Rapid...

Something else Yanmar makes that interests me are the AC-18 and AC-21 tractors equipped with tracks that accept front mount flail mowers, but have no idea how you'd get one in the USA.

I don't have any complaints about the Echo top handle arborist saw I bought last March. CS-271T | ECHO-USA.com Mine has a label that is made in Japan.

Saudi isn't so much different than a farmer who decides how many trees to cut off his property every so often based on need for cash.

Also worth mentioning is that you can calculate an estimate of acres mowed per hour based on cutting width, overlap, and ground speed. Mowing Calcuator | How many acres can I mow in an hour What the calculator won't tell you is your ground speed if the vegetation grows up and you have to slow...

The equine discount for members of the NCHA on the MX seems to be $2,500 at the moment. See this link for current offers: Equine Offer Landing Page

In my area, the TYM dealer is much, much more successful than the Mahindra dealer that has been in operation for many more years.

The OP's predicament is he estimated 10% of his 25 acres to be mowed is 30 degrees. That is 2.5 acres of steep slope mowing to be done. Ventrac is one of the relatively few brands of ride on machines in the USA that advertises the capability of mowing a 30 degree slope, and they have a...

There's another member here who does a better job of explaining this, but his take on mowing speed is that most property is rough enough that there is a practical limitation on mowing speed of say 5 mph. Any faster, and the operator and equipment gets jarred pretty hard. If you can only...

I'm starting to think that wearing hearing protection while operating the tractor is a good idea. Can't hear the warning beeper that I installed for my brakes with hearing protection, but I can see the flasher. I think both the beep and the warning flasher together are good upgrades.

Solar energy might get to the point that oil is not needed. At least cars are more fuel efficient than the gas guzzlers of the 1970s.

I am also trying to decide about a slope mower, none of which are cheap, that I can find. Another option is one of the remote control Spider slope mowers. This 48" 25hp EFI unit is $37K for Black Friday. SPIDER Lawn Mower | SPIDER 2SGS EFI | Steep Slope Mower It would be terrific for a...

Two of the most affectionate cats I've ever had started off as ferals, but took months to tame. Thick welders gloves were the only way I could touch the last one who is now a house cat and probably useless for rodent control at this point.

Seemingly never ending job of clearing out nuisance trees and brush. Recent forestry mulching reduced my work load, but still more to do by chainsaw.

Fresh peanut butter has worked as good rat bait to use in a rat snap trap for me.

Oil prices are a bit unusual from a historical perspective. The countries that have it vary using the price of it to influence world affairs to setting prices based on their own internal domestic needs for currency.

They also make line hiders for Mini Split HVAC units if you want something that looks decent, but those things are maybe $60+

I wonder if one of the car oil dipsticks on Amazon would fit if you cut it to length? What is the diameter of the tube stopper on the dipstick? You could scribe a line on it to mark the correct hyd. fluid level.

What degree of slope will you be mowing? Besides Ventrac, some members here use Power Tracs, Kubota F3680s, and Cub Cadet Pro Zs to mow some pretty good slopes.

Why not slit a piece of flexible drain pipe and slide it over the pipes after you insulate them with foam tubes?

My recollection is that 1964 was the last year Congress insisted on a balanced budget.

I don't have an expansion tank, but I added an air chamber to my water heater that stopped nuisance valve leaks. You can make one from a couple of small sections of pipe, a pipe cap, and tees. I incorporated a couple of valves in mine so I can drain any water that might collect in it. What...

Go see a local lawyer. I suspect the insurance company is counting on you not suing the guy who was forced off the road into your property. You may have to sue both of them in order to hold either of them responsible.

Bouncy dryer sheets arrived from Amazon today. The smell was so strong I immediately got them out of the house and put some on the tractor and a couple of other places where the mice have been problems in the past. Have some peppermint oil on order, but the smell from these dryer sheets might...

I have the heavy HF jack that isn't easy to move in the gravel so I also bought the lightweight aluminum jack to use on our smaller cars. I can't recall if it was in the HF reviews or somewhere on youtube that one reviewer cautioned that the aluminum frame can separate if placed under a heavy...

I'd guess most people would use their cell phone to make pictures and videos these days.

Maybe ask a local locksmith who might could make a key for the Yale deadbolt and suggest where you could find a skeleton key (ebay, antique mall?).

"Spending to purchase and improve houses and other housing units is treated as investment and not consumption in the CPI. Interest costs (such as mortgage interest), property taxes, real estate fees, most maintenance, and all improvement costs are part of the cost of the capital good and are...

All the previous responses make good sense to me. I would only add that if one O ring is leaking now, how many will fail sooner or later? That suggests replacing the entire pipe may be a very good option.

That follows the official rationale; however, their method of sampling only .1 percent of rentals in the USA to determine rental rates for 48 million rental units in the USA seems like a poor sampling likely to not accurately reflect true rental rates. They then try to extrapolate "owners...

I would be careful about concluding that the CPI is a fair measure of actual inflation. For one thing, it takes increases in property rental into account, but does not include increases in the cost, maintenance, property tax or insurance cost of homes. Some people pay more than 50% of their...

Further comments based on my experience why I recommend the Z50 in no particular order: 1) unlike some others, this camera has manual controls for controlling ISO, shutter speed and aperture; 2) Nikon menus are logical and pretty consistent from model to model; 3) physical size is convenient...

It's a bit whacko IMO when they sell new jeans that come pre-ripped and I guess charge more for them.

Even NPR found 23% price increases on average in their Walmart shopping cart since mid-2019. https://www.npr.org/2023/01/26/1147894382/walmart-price-inflation-supply-chain-economy

Nikon Z50 with the kit lens is compact and easy to carry in a large coat pocket. used Nikon Z6 with the 24-70mm f4 kit lens will be a serious upgrade from that with image stabilization, full frame, and larger battery, but it is not as easy to carry as the Z50. Check for holiday sales...

Mrs. Rocks does not want another dog after our last one (nearly 17) passed because of the grief we experienced at the end. I find myself thinking there's still another dog in a shelter somewhere that could have a good life with us.

These remote control machines seem very pricey for machines that are scaled down from machines built to have an operator ride on them. Even the more affordable Spider and the Slope Master are priced nearly the same as a Power Trac PT1445 that comes with a 45hp diesel and a 6' hydraulic brush...

Not sure of the current pricing, but have read that the Green Climber LV300 25hp 45" cut track brush cutter retails for something like $60,390 plus another $8,710 for the standard flail mower attachment. Remote Control Slope Mower | Green Climber LV300 PRO I like what I see except for the...

Is there something special about your post office that would make an interesting video? Ours would be as interesting as watching paint dry.

I've been told the problem is they won't stay bought.

Doesn't seem to be any shock absorbion in that picture. The roof protection fall kits selling for around $100 usually come with a harness instead of a belt, too.

I'm currently paying $185/hr to have forestry mulching done. He gets more done in an hour than I can do in a full day with a small backhoe and tractor equipped with a grapple.

HF seems to have risen at the same Sear's tool department fell. Even in the cheap tool line, they have some good values like the receip saw that used to sell for $20 on sale. I tend to use it more than my Milwaukee just because its light and gets the job done.

So many accidents happen when people are tired. Not a good idea to try to do that last whatever it is with a power tool or tractor when its just about quitting time.

Some sheet metal like auto body panels can only be mig welded without burn through using thin solid wire and shielding gas. Normal flux core wire without any shielding gas tends to burn through most thin metal unless you spot weld in very short bursts before the metal has a chance to overheat...

FB seems to be more active than CL so far as equipment listings in my area of middle Tennessee.

I'm currently having forestry mulching done. The operator recommended spraying in a couple of months to prevent regrowth and then keeping it cut. I probably won't try to rake any of the chunks left from mulching, but if I did, I'd use a rear rake. The teeth are deep enough to move a good...

One thing about DIY ballast on the 3pt is to try not to use anything that can shift and actually cause you to tip.

I would like to cut a couple of 5-6 acre hillsides that so far measure between 18 and 28 degrees in slope. It will be all hillside mowing and I think will be pretty hard on the transmission.

HST pump was replaced last year. Prior owner used it to mow farm hillsides. Should I be concerned about the machine being near the end of its expected life with this kind of hard use?

How would you compare the stability of using the Toro as the tractor with this loader setup compared to a compact utility tractor? Now that you have the V417, what do you still like about having the Toro loader setup? It's sort of like you built your own Power-Trac type machine.

He needed a new jack and it's so much safer to not be using wooden blocks to lift anything. Somebody will come up with replacement wheels or some other mod.

There is only so much raking to do. It's awesome when I need it, but rarely use my rake. I break the garden in the spring with a tractor plow, but maintain it during the summer with a walk behind tiller. Not sure that I'd spend the money on a subcompact or compact tractor to only do these...

Cooled off a bit in Middle Tennessee enough that I decided to cut some thick stemmed brush on the hillside. First picture is the material after being laid down by a chainsaw blade style cutter. Second picture is the material after being mulched by the Oregon two tooth mulching head...

I'd say Bounce sheets/peppermint oil is the most reliable method of deterring rodents. You can't tell what a cat will or won't do or when or ever. Some are good mousers and others aren't.

Their regular 3 ton is a heavy rascal that is difficult to move on gravel with the regular small steel wheels. 510 reviews of the Badland version with the big wheels with a 99% recommendation rate is a pretty good indicator of its popularity.

My only thought was the smaller flail would be more stable on a hillside? This is a hillside field that will grow up in brush if I don't keep it cut. It won't be maintained as a lawn. I was also thinking a smaller flail would be able to handle taller material? There's another thread in which...

I have 5-6 acres of hillside some with 25 degree slopes to mow. Local kubota dealer has a 2012 F3680 4wd with 2300 hours for $9,000. Apparently, I can get a 63" Perruzo flail mower for about $6,000. Wondering if this is something that would work or should I put that money towards a Ventrac...

I suppose they could be made OBD compatible so codes could be cleared without a trip to the dealership. Getting stuck with a DPF system no body wants and then having to made a trip to the dealer to clear a code because of it is a double slap in the face to tractor owners.