Brush Hoggin' with a RED BELLY FORD .. hay seeds in radiator ... HOT! Cure??

[Ed of all trades]

I ran a Jubilee for years and bush hogged over 100 ac a year with it. I made a screen of metal window screen with a 1/4" rod for a frame. Shaped it to fit the grill and almost never had any problems. Worked well and a lot simpler than your snorkel. Ed

 

[tmajor]

I ran a Jubilee for years and bush hogged over 100 ac a year with it. I made a screen of metal window screen with a 1/4" rod for a frame. Shaped it to fit the grill and almost never had any problems. Worked well and a lot simpler than your snorkel. Ed

I've heard of making a screen with a louvered series of bends in the screen, so the seed would shake off.

@Ed of all trades How did you fasten your screen arrangement? ... namely, the rod frame.

 

[tmajor]

I think I'd just make a "bumper" for the front that would push the vegetation down and away from the grille rather than letting the grille be the "leading edge" of the machine.

There was a guy on YouTube, who said to remove a front end loader, etc.., so the seed wouldn't be disturbed, before approaching it. ???

 

[ovrszd]

I ran a Jubilee for years and bush hogged over 100 ac a year with it. I made a screen of metal window screen with a 1/4" rod for a frame. Shaped it to fit the grill and almost never had any problems. Worked well and a lot simpler than your snorkel. Ed

Back in the day, almost everyone had a piece of window screen in front of their radiator for such purpose. Worked great.

 

[tmajor]

Back in the day, almost everyone had a piece of window screen in front of their radiator for such purpose. Worked great.

The trouble with window screen, as I see it, some of the seed is the size of sand. While it probably wouldn't accumulate, it would wear on the radiator, while going through and sand blasting the fan and everything behind it. .......... All of which I noted, when restoring.

 

[ovrszd]

The trouble with window screen, as I see it, some of the seed is the size of sand. While it probably wouldn't accumulate, it would wear on the radiator, while going through and sand blast the fan and everything behind it. .......... All of which I noted, when restoring.

Well,,,,, let's weigh the alternatives.

Build a snorkel that restricts airflow and causes overheating.

Do nothing and cause overheating.

Add a screen and improve cooling.

Your choice.

 

[tmajor]

Well,,,,, let's weigh the alternatives.

Build a snorkel that restricts airflow and causes overheating.

Do nothing and cause overheating.

Add a screen and improve cooling.

Your choice.

Or improve the snorkel, so that it doesn't cause overheating and keeps the seed out of the airflow. :thumbsup:

 

[ovrszd]

Or improve the snorkel, so that it doesn't cause overheating and keeps the seed out of the airflow. :thumbsup:

To do that you will have to move it forward of the grill. Doesn't matter how big you make the mouth. What matters is the size of the throat. To increase that size you need to be ahead of the grill.

Older combines used a snorkel system with a screen over the mouth. The snorkel was huge and always looked a bit funny. Idea being you don't want the air velocity to be high at the entrance. To lower the velocity you need to add size. In your case the same thing applies. Difference being your snorkel restricts flow so much that the radiator is starved of air flow.

 

[tmajor]

Doesn't matter how big you make the mouth. What matters is the size of the throat.

If I add some "pie shaped" sections to the existing snorkel structure, while folding the grille forward further, not only will the mouth size increase, but the throat will, as well. In other words, I'll have a wider "V". .... a more direct path from the mouth to the radiator, but still out of seed path.

 

[Ford850]

I've used a piece of window screen tied to the front of my grill for years. I couldn't mow the tall grass and weeds without it. I still have to peel the thick layer of "felt" off it every so often while mowing, but it helps tremendously. I think if you keep your snorkel but cover the front with screen instead of being solid, you would get the best of both ideas. It will allow a lot more air directly through the screen until it gets covered with seeds, and the snorkel will give the extra air needed when partially covered.