Allergic to my tractor?

[KubotainNH]

Vicar mentions "recently snow removal with FEL", why would natural allergens bother him during a Connecticut winter? Shouldn't they be locked under the snow/ice? I'd try out the smoke stack, I rarely notice the fumes from my tractor's stack unless the wind blows just right. If he tries a mask he will not get the issue narrowed down. Either way it must be figured out so he can have seat time without discomfort

 

[charlz]

Vicar mentions "recently snow removal with FEL", why would natural allergens bother him during a Connecticut winter? Shouldn't they be locked under the snow/ice?

You might have something there.... it could be too much CLEAN, FRESH AIR!

I'd try out the smoke stack, I rarely notice the fumes from my tractor's stack unless the wind blows just right. If he tries a mask he will not get the issue narrowed down. Either way it must be figured out so he can have seat time without discomfort

I agree, the suggestions to extend the stack upwards will help isolate that from being a potential cause.

Driving around with a respirator on ... especially in the summer ... would take the fun out of tractor work in a hurry.

 

[bx23barry]

Rather than playing around with the exhaust or masks, if you are happy with the BX size and power just trade it in on a gas powered MF. You may even come out money ahead.

 

[davitk]

Rather than playing around with the exhaust or masks, if you are happy with the BX size and power just trade it in on a gas powered MF. You may even come out money ahead.

SACRILEGE!!

 

[Harvest Moon]

I thought it was just me. My sinuses were irritated within the first hour on my L3400 last winter.

It got better in the summer, so I suspected one of two things: Either the winter additives were what was really bothering me or the fuel may not have been burning efficiently because it had been sitting around so long. My first tank lasted me 4-1/2 months and was probably old when I got the tractor, whereas in the summer I was running through a fresh tank a week.

Since it's been cooler, I've only had the tractor out for 10 minutes at a time and haven't noticed a problem so far this winter.

Bio diesel might help but I haven't found any locally.

I've considered mods on my exhaust but with the type of work I've done I'm sure that 30% of my time has been in reverse, so it would have to go up, not back, to really help.

The one thing that might help is to make sure your loader arm isn't lined up perfectly with the exhaust if/when possible, so it blows further away.

 

[vicar]

Thank you all for your responses. I'm NOT absolutely sure that it is the diesel that originated the problem, and I've resisted this idea from the start. My first project was a lot of digging and stump pulling during very hot and humid weather which generated a lot of dust, and, as some have suggested, no doubt mold spores. I like the idea that that could be the trigger, not the diesel.

A CAT scan in October finally revealed that I had a massive sinus infection which was treated with antibiotics, I felt much better afterwards (I had come to realize that i had been tired all of the time which should have been a clue to infection, duh), but the nasal sound in my voice has never really cleared up all of the way. People constantly ask if I have a cold. A major contributor to the infection could have been a bathroom remodel I did with a lot of old grout dust in the air.

In early December I dug a 90' trench to lay a drain pipe under my driveway in 40 degree dampish weather so not much dust, probably 9 or 10 hours of seat time over a few days, and I got noticably worse. (So I don't think dust was a big factor this time, I actually wore a disposable dust mask for some of it as i had been doing earlier in the fall when cleaning up leaves.) Dr. scoped my nose and saw irritation but no infection. BUT, there has been hay moving, compost turning, lots of outdoor time in cold dry weather, more so this year than in years past... I really want to believe it is all of these other things and not the diesel, especially since I'm not hearing from most of you that it is a problem.

So perhaps it is only that the diesel is aggravating an already aggravated condition--one of the links I followed to farmer's lung explained how this could be the case (with lungs not sinuses).

I like the suggestion of some kind of temporary flex pipe that would carry exhaust up so I could see if it got any better. Could it be as simple as a piece of 1 1/4"flex plastic hose attached to the end of the exhaust pipe and taped to the ROPS?? Too hot?? Are there back pressure issues? Is there some kind of inexpensive flex aluminum hose like i'd use on a dryer vent only smaller diameter?

A respirator would not be much fun and wouldn't provide a good diagnosis either. Too bad there's no respirator I could put on the pipe to catch particles at the source.... I've thought about a wet sponge canister of some sort....

I feel like if I could just get this thing cleared up and then start over I could really tell what is going on. But that might involve a couple of months off of the tractor--hard to bear the thought of that.

Thanks for your input.

 

[irwin]

Hi Vicar,

Sinusitus has been a problem for many years. I've had 3 separate operations in 30+ years.
This past fall was really bad in Connecticut, many people suffered. The early spring was not good either. Although the diesel smoke could be the problem, it could very well be enviromental issues, as has been noted. My problem is the earth and wood.

Well, this is my favorite pass-time! and I'm not giving it up sooo, I wear a particle mask unless it's real hot, then I use a more comfortable dust mask....

Yeah I know it suks, but I take benadryl, and sudafed and use a nasal moisturizing spray, You're not alone ...

If an infection is real bad, I'll stop working outside for a while...gotta do what we gotta do..

 

[davitk]

A CAT scan in October finally revealed that I had a massive sinus infection which was treated with antibiotics, I felt much better afterwards (I had come to realize that i had been tired all of the time which should have been a clue to infection, duh), but the nasal sound in my voice has never really cleared up all of the way. People constantly ask if I have a cold. A major contributor to the infection could have been a bathroom remodel I did with a lot of old grout dust in the air.

hmmmm........ bathroom remodels......... I went to my doc for a servere headache, he ordered x-rays and the x-ray technician pulled me aside and asked if I knew I had a sinus infection. I was in the midst of a bathroom remodel, the floor around the toilet was rotted and moldy. After 2 days on antibiotics (OK this part gets gross) it broke up and came out of my nose like cottage cheese Felt lots better

If I were you I'd try using a respirator through winter, then give it a go again next spring. Just my 2 cents.

 

[charlz]

One of the things I have found to help is a neti pot. Basically you run saline solution through your nose/sinuses. It is actually not as bad as it sounds. You can buy it at Walgreens or other drugstore. I'll do it after doing something particularly dusty or when I can start to feel some pressure in my sinus. Many, many times better than saline spray. There are some videos out there on youtube that show how to use one. On occasion I have been damned impressed with how much junk comes out of my sinus.

 

[bandit67]

Vicar,

There's a lot of 'stuff' in the air in Connecticut, I've always suspected. I had constant sinus congestion and allergy-like symptoms my last 6 years there, and I lived there, aside from a stint in NC for 4 years, until I was 25. I was on Sudafed pills for years because if I wasn't, I was constantly congested, pretty much year round. When I finally weaned myself off of the Sudafed, I spent my last few years in CT congested and with minor headaches, but I figured that was better than putting all those drugs in my body.

As soon as I moved to Colorado, a very dry climate, my sinus issues cleared up, congestion went away, and non-stop minor headaches became a thing of the past, and haven't returned. I've developed some allergies to certain types of pollen, but that is fairly short lived in spring and fall.

I'm not saying that you should pack up and move, just that you may want to start taking some additional precautions. Since you seem to have a nagging sinus infection/irritation, you may want to use a filtering mask of some sort until the irritation is completely cleared up so that you can continue your tractor therapy. After that, you may just want to use an inexpensive dust mask - not a bad idea for all of us tractor operators considering the various types of microscopic particles we are subjected to. I don't use them religiously, but when I'm working in extremely dusty conditions, I will put one on, and at the end of the day, I'm appreciative of my good sense in using a mask.