Lessons learned the stupid way

[jigs_n_fixtures]

The red dye in Dextron ATF, which my snow plow uses as hydraulic fluid, will dye translucent polyethylene.

i found this out the hard way, when the hydraulics on my plow quit working because the reservoir ran dry, and I pumped air into the cylinders.

I’d look at the reservoir and it was red 7 inches up on the 8-inch reservoir. Full enough my mind said. Really confused me when it ran dry. Had to laugh at myself when I finally figured it out.

Got it bled and working. Now I have to figure out some kind of a sightglass so I can tell how much fluid is actually in the reservoir.

 

[ddbackhoe]

The red snow wasn't a clue?

 

[oosik]

When I use to cut firewood on my property. Went out to fell a couple ancient Ponderosa pines. The tree leaned - chainsaw got stuck in the cut.

All the way back to the shop to get my second chainsaw.

Future firewood activities always involved both saws.

 

[oosik]

Some years a fairly large pond forms on this end of my driveway. It's about quarter of an acre and two feet deep. It will flood across this end on my driveway. I usually use my 3" trash pump - over the hill and discharge into the large lake. It usually will lower the pond within three - four days - - 36 - 48 hours of pumping.

So ....... one year I got a real brain fart. Hooked up the PTO driven Wallenstein chipper. Backed the tractor out into the pond and ran the unit at 540 PTO rpm.

Man - it was discharging water, over the hill, like a 6" firehose. So .. I just made sure everything was set properly for a long bit of running. I settled into the tractor seat for a nap in the spring sun. No need to jump out into two feet of water and leave the tractor. I'd pump for a couple hours or so and see what it did.

I was RUDELY AWAKENED by the most horrific torrent of water - and it was ICE cold. For whatever reason this operation caused the discharge chute to slowly rotate. It was a bath that I really didn't need. I can still remember how very cold it was.

 

[ddbackhoe]

Some years a fairly large pond forms on this end of my driveway. It's about half an acre and two feet deep. It will flood across this end on my driveway. I usually use my 3" trash pump - over the hill and discharge into the large lake. It usually will lower the pond within three days - 36 hours of pumping.

So ....... one year I got a real brain fart. Hooked up the PTO driven Wallenstein chipper. Backed the tractor out into the pond and ran the unit at 540 PTO rpm.

Man - it was discharging water, over the hill, like a 6" firehose. So .. I just made sure everything was set properly for a long bit of running. I settled into the tractor seat for a nap in the spring sun.

I was RUDELY AWAKENED by the most horrific torrent of water - and it was ICE cold. For whatever reason this operation caused the discharge chute to slowly rotate. It was a bath that I really didn't need. I can still remember how very cold it was.

 

[jigs_n_fixtures]

The red snow wasn't a clue?

It had been two, possibly three, seasons since I checked the fluid level. And, that was when I changed out the hoses.

It has never developed a visible leak. The fluid level had slowly dropped over three seasons, and since the reservoir was 88% red I assumed that was the fluid level. Big OOOPS!!

What makes it worse, is it started acting low on fluid, and on most equipment I’m overly, **** about fluids and lube. Check fluids before starting. Then lube while things warm up.

I had a quart of ATF in the tool box, that has been there a couple of years, and I didn’t pickup on low fluid when it first acted like it was pumping air. If i had topped it off then, I wouldn’t have had sit out in the ass freezing cold bleeding the air out.

 

[workinonit]

How does a wood chipper pump water? What happened to the oil if the machine didn't have a leak? Oil doesn't eveaporate. And it was obviously in there long enough to dye the oil level on the container. I'm not sure if I leaned something this morning or just got confused.

 

[Dftodd]

The red dye in Dextron ATF, which my snow plow uses as hydraulic fluid, will dye translucent polyethylene.

i found this out the hard way, when the hydraulics on my plow quit working because the reservoir ran dry, and I pumped air into the cylinders.

I’d look at the reservoir and it was red 7 inches up on the 8-inch reservoir. Full enough my mind said. Really confused me when it ran dry. Had to laugh at myself when I finally figured it out.

Got it bled and working. Now I have to figure out some kind of a sightglass so I can tell how much fluid is actually in the reservoir.

If the site glass is plastic, it will still eventually stain it.

 

[jigs_n_fixtures]

Look at a pump with the top off. All that is in here is a centripetal impeller. Look at a the back of a snow blower, all that is in there is an impeller. The snow blower treats the snow as a fluid. The snow blower will treat water as a fluid to, and will pump it. Not as well as a closed pump, but it will definitely move water, if the impeller is covered.

 

[workinonit]

First of all, I don't own a snow blower or wood chipper for that matter. The snow blower I get, but he didn't say snow blower, he said wood chipper. I suppose a wood chipper has a blower as well. Who knew.

 

[gstrom99]

When I use to cut firewood on my property. Went out to fell a couple ancient Ponderosa pines. The tree leaned - chainsaw got stuck in the cut.

All the way back to the shop to get my second chainsaw.

Future firewood activities always involved both saws.

I did that once, myself. Plastic wedges didn't help. The problem was that my other saw was back at home - 70 miles away. The stuck saw was still there the next day, and got removed without too much more drama.

Lessons are rarely learned, unless something goes wrong.

 

[turnkey4099]

I did that once, myself. Plastic wedges didn't help. The problem was that my other saw was back at home - 70 miles away. The stuck saw was still there the next day, and got removed without too much more drama.

Lessons are rarely learned, unless something goes wrong.

I usually have a minimum of 2 with me, sometime 3 but mostly use jusst one I also carry bars from 14" to 32" and if I stick a saw I will usually drop the power head and put on another bar/chain. I cut and process 10-12 cord a year..or used to. I'm 86 now and for some reason it takes me longer somehow to accomplish something. Probably something in the water.

 

[Thomas]

Ups and downs owning tractor.

 

[Wagtail]

On my (former) JD D110 lawn tractor, the manual did not include a reminder or torque for the blade spindle 10mm 'screws' (4 per spindle) holding the spindle to the deck. Really, you would only notice them when you'd remove the spindle covers IOT change the belt.

After years/many hours, vibration (plus 'hitting things') will loosen a few of those screws.

I knew that "something" was wrong... the mower sounded 'wrong'... but there was no wobble on either blade. So, I just carried on mowing. Fortunately, when I did discover that one of the spindles was held on by ONE screw, I was able to replace the other three and no damage was done to the deck. (two screws were trapped within the spindle shield + the spindle shield screws were the same type, so I 'borrowed' one of them)

I've perused the Owner Manual for my new Z355E and, again, there's no torque setting for the spindle bolts. I'll inquire at my Dealership for this specification.

 

[Jstpssng]

I could write a book on the topic, but here’s one day of it.
I usually manage to get something stuck about once every 6 months and today was the day. I wanted to walk a harvest job and was too lazy to drive 300 feet to a wide spot, then walk back so I pulled into the snowbank, leaving enough room for somebody to get past... in the process, dropping 1 tire into the ditch. After about 15 minutes of shoveling I had 2 more tires over the shoulder, so walked up and asked the harvester operator if he’d come pull me out.
Tonight I wanted to get a layer of salt off the truck so that I could at least see through the side windows. Just as I drove into the touchless wash I realized I had 3 antennas on the roof which needed to come off. I couldn’t get enough leverage standing on the floorboards to jumped into the bed just as the wash started. Luckily I left the door open which reversed the car wash machine the first time. On the second pass the door was pushed shut just as I jumped inside, so I got some of the interior dome as well as the exterior.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

I usually have a minimum of 2 with me, sometime 3 but mostly use jusst one I also carry bars from 14" to 32" and if I stick a saw I will usually drop the power head and put on another bar/chain. I cut and process 10-12 cord a year..or used to. I'm 86 now and for some reason it takes me longer somehow to accomplish something. Probably something in the water.

I don't know about you, but my water doesn't flow quite like it used to.

 

[N80]

"Lessons learned the stupid way"​

For me, most of the lessons I have learned the best were learned that way. Painful and expensive gets your attention.

The one the comes to mind is running a short chainsaw (or any chainsaw), while exhausted and without chaps on. It could have been worse. As it turned out just a few stitches in a backwoods ER with a temporary doctor with a thick Russian accent on his first day of work there who walked into the room, looked at the accommodations and said, "hah, look like 1950 in here."

 

[oosik]

workinonit - "How does a wood chipper pump water". Quite well, I might add. But - I only used it that one time. Wood chipper is for trees. My trash pump is for water.

 

[workinonit]

"How does a wood chipper pump water" Thanks for the explanation. I assume it has some sort of fan that blows the wood chips.

 

[9035768HM]

When I use to cut firewood on my property. Went out to fell a couple ancient Ponderosa pines. The tree leaned - chainsaw got stuck in the cut.

All the way back to the shop to get my second chainsaw.

Future firewood activities always involved both saws.

Take a splitting wedge and a sledge to force that gap open. Theyre also good for coaxing the tree to fall according to the wedge you cut