Generalized Questions

[ponytug]

Old engines with old seals can dry out with synthetic oils- then they leak. Mechanics generally are talking about pre-unleaded gas. Your vintage engine isn't that old. It should be fine. There is lots of literature out there on the issue.

Getting crud off a seal can cause it to leak after you change the oil, but that is true of any clean oil, synthetic or otherwise.

It is the same issue with fuel. Changing to ethanol from non-ethanol gasoline can dissolve crud, same with switching to biodiesel (even if it is clean). The solvation power of these liquids are all a little different, and older engines / fuel lines / hydraulic lines will have more crud in them to get loosened up.

For air cooled gasoline engines, the fuel is an important part of the cooling and switch from a non-ethanol blend to an ethanol blend will change the cooling power, and you may need to adjust the octane ratio to compensate. Again, lots of literature out there, if you look for it.

And, yes WoodlandFarms, I do mow with a chainsaw hard hat and mesh face shield. I won't tell you how often debris has pinged off it. (And ear plugs, with over the ear hearing protection, the 72" brush cutter is not quiet when it takes out big items of brush.)

Live long and prosper.

All the best,

Peter

P.S. Spell checkers are amusing in their own right. Mine changed solvation to salvation, which may have been an indication for the quasi religious tone to some fuel / lubrication discussions.

 

[k0ua]

My little JD mower sits 24/7 (when it is not mowing) with a solar charger on it. The line to the battery is fused at the battery The solar charger is 6 foot away in the window. I suppose anything is possible, but I think it is pretty safe.

 

[Soundguy]

There are so many things that could possibly short / fail. Battery tender IMO is no worse than your phone plugged in. Adding a timer only ads another element to fail / catch fire. .

Looking at the current handling duties of a timer powering a trickle charger, and the charger itself... My vote is on the timer outlasting the charger.

The charger has to do a voltage and current conversion, and the fault possibilities on the low voltage side are numerous and varried depending on the battery and the cable clamp connections. IMHO.. battery tenders are not extremely fault tolerant.. or not as much as they should be.

In my lifetime I've seen LOTS of dead chargers.. can't say I've seen many dead timers... and the few dead ones I saw were line generated failures that also caused down stream failures. IE. voltage spike from a lightning strike that toop out timer and effected equipment, and heck.. just about everything on the circuit.

The ac load on a timer is minscule. Likely in the .1 amp range for a tender that has up to an amp output.

That load range on the timer is compariable to it's own control circuit draw... IE.. nearly quiescent. The load on the low voltage side of the tender on the other hand could be an issue. Take a battery with a cell that fails while you are gone... charge current would want to go up to maintain charge voltage...

I know some electronics are designed to run at loads near or at 0 ohms, for 'x' specified time.. but in practice... I see those fail more often than devices run at theor correct load.

The timer gives you other options too.

if yuo live in a cold area, you could have your timer coming on to charge the battery and run a block eater, etc.. so the machine could be prepped and ready to run .

 

[Barryh]

Wanted second opinions looks like I got a few here and one by private message thanks.

Will be doing the first oil change since I bought my used PT.. The previous owner said he used Castrol 10w30. I'll take a chance and switch over to synthetic oil want to get as many hours as I can out of this old machine.

Since my garage is attached to the house I'm a little Leary of leaving the Battery tender on 24 / 7 will use the timer idea.

Per the advice from Woodland Farms .. Going to invest in a helmet ... JK

 

[MossRoad]

And don't forget your protective steel cup....

 

[4570Man]

I have never used a battery tender, but my equipment doesn't sit for long periods.

 

[Barryh]

And don't forget your protective steel cup....

Always ..:laughing:

 

[woodlandfarms]

In vietnam the grunts and the gunners in slicks (transport helicopters) would take their helmets off and sit on them. not to get a higher view but to protect the valuables.

 

[woodlandfarms]

Not to get off beam on this conversation but I never get hit with debris on my mower, and even when I throw a blade it never travels far.

I wonder Peter if my experiences is just different from your because of what we mow. I know roughly where you live at and while not desert, it is more arid ( I assume rocky as well). My part of town I am seldom not mowing grass that is at least a foot high.

And in all honesty, I always wear ear protection and eye protection. Eye protection is not for the mowing, though, it is for the constant B - Slaps I get from tree branches.

 

[ponytug]

WoodlandFarms is right; we mow different things. Mowing grass or thistles is never an issue for either of us.

Brush cutting is a different story for me. When I'm brush cutting, nothing is small - 8' high poison oak, oak trees, coyote brush, much of it with 3-4" stems and branches. So, when the brush gets cut, there are sometimes some big chunks, and no matter how slowly I try to go to mulch it, the occasional branch/trunk goes flying. I've thought about having a roll bar on the front of the brush cutter to help push the brush over to better cut and chop it, but it hasn't made it to the top of my welding do list.

On the subject of the Power-trac brush cutter, it is awesome. You can see what you are going to cut, you drive over cleared land, and you aren't going to get swept off of your tractor into your brush cutter. WAY, WAY, safer than standard 3Pt brush cutters in my opinion.

As always, YMMV...

All the best,

Peter

Not to get off beam on this conversation but I never get hit with debris on my mower, and even when I throw a blade it never travels far.

I wonder Peter if my experiences is just different from your because of what we mow. I know roughly where you live at and while not desert, it is more arid ( I assume rocky as well). My part of town I am seldom not mowing grass that is at least a foot high.

And in all honesty, I always wear ear protection and eye protection. Eye protection is not for the mowing, though, it is for the constant B - Slaps I get from tree branches.