Pouring That Diesel

[gordon]

Harv, I know that you have said that your a computer geek before---right? Are you sure that your not a farmer, because you sure come up with some simple and usefull rigs so to speak. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Now all you need to do is rig it up so you can mount the jug on the bucket and just raise the bucket and have a selfpouring tank in the field. Na---hose would have to be longer. Leave well enough alone. Great idea though. I really liked the spring clamp attachment going into the tank neck. When you were describing it before I looked at the picture I thought you were going to use the spring clamp to clamp the end of the tubing until you were ready to fill. But instead a perfect third hand./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
Gordon

 

[Harv]

Gordon -

<font color=blue>you sure come up with some simple and usefull rigs</font color=blue>

Simple? Yes -- (it's the way I think /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif).
Useful? You haven't seen all my "rigs" yet. Stay tuned...

I have always loved to tinker. In fact, that's how I got into computers. After building a couple from scratch (you old-timer geeks remember wire-wrapping well into the wee hours for 4K of RAM?), I decided software offered more immediate and oft-times gratifying feedback. And so it was for 30 years...

Never got into automobiles, but otherwise loved to tinker with wood and metal. This tractor stuff just begs for all kinds of gadgets and doodads. The reason I want to learn welding now is 'cuz I want to be able to hobble together some implements of my own. Perhaps more for the challenge than practicality. Seeing what Mark Chalkley and others have already done has poured lighter fluid on my creative embers.

To make things worse, I seem to have found an audience that to varying degrees appreciates the effort, if not the result, of this kind of tinkering.

For better or for worse, I will share my "better" mousetraps with y'all. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Love to hear more from you other tinkerers, too...

 

[Von]

Harv,
I'm the same way when it comes time to fix things or make something work better or faster. As for a welder, get a good mig welder and you will be all set. I can both stick and tig as well as mig weld. I sold the others and find that I can do just about everything with my mig that I need done. You will be surprised how fast you make new friends once the word gets out that you have a welder! You name it and I have fabricated it or repaired it. When I had my auto restoration shop I had to fabricate alot of parts and tools that just are not available anymore. For the tractor I've made skids for the backblade, a counter weight for loader, wheels for rake and a host of other things. If you like I will be glad to send more photos, just don't want to bore anyone.

Von

 

[W5FL]

Re: Wen -- Kubota / JD

I probably use a tractor different than you will. My needs are primarily agricultural, but I use a 6 ft rotary mower, tiller, rear blade, rake, etc. For five years with my Massey, I never used the brake steer capability and I have yet to use it on the Kubota, although it is very easy to use on mine. For the few times that I have used it, it was using a turning plow and getting as close to the corners as i could and then pulling the brakes (they were mechanical and above each rear wheel) to come out of the corner as quickly as possible. With a rotary mower, tiller, rake, or rear blade, turning really quick can break things (tiller tines). Most attachments recommend that you raise the 3 point before making a quick turn as the fast turn does indeed put some very high forces on the implement.

I am a design engineer and always look at things to see if there is a better way for my use. I have never driven a hydrostatic, so have not run into the layout that you mention. I would go try it on both tractors and see if it really makes much difference. It is not like it is a quick maneuver to reach the pedal and push it. If you are coming to a corner, you will have your foot on the turning brake pedal, lift the 3 point, turn and quickly put the 3 point back down.

I simply make a fairly wide turn around the exterior to be mowed, keep going in circles which leaves some grass not cut well on the corners, then come back and back into the corners and mow the diagonals. Seems like with the hydrastatic, you could get closer to the corners backing in than trying to turn faster on the corners.

In one respect, the dealer was closer than he realized. The larger agricultural tractors need to turn as sharply as possible to get as much into a row and waste as little at the turns. These are long wheelbase tractors and many techniques are used to turn them sharper. I bought the M6800 instead of the M8200 primarily because the M6800 has about the same dimensions as the M4900 or M5700 and almost the same turning ratio. All of the smaller Kubotas do turn about as quickly as I personally have much need to use. John Deere gets a lot larger (and turns longer)at the 5410 tractor.

I would think that you will find so many benefits to the Kubota Hydrostatic that the location of the brake pedals will not be a problem. Bird said that they now offer a hand operated brake for turning on some of the newer models. Have fun. Buying a tractor can be a lot of fun.

 

[Bird]

Re: Wen -- Kubota / JD

One small correction, Wen. I worded that response poorly. The B2910 has a hand lever that you can use to operate the HST, not the brake. But that frees up your right foot to use on the brake if you want to.

Bird

 

[Harv]

Von -

Please -- More pictures! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Billc]

One thought on the foot brakes. My last tractor was a 2wd 135 Massey, now have a 4wd 5400 Kubota. With the Massey I used the left and right foot brakes independently mainly when putting out round bales. On the 5400 I keep the brakes locked so they work in unison. Why the change? The other day I was helping my neighbor gather the round bales from his pasture. We were carring the round bales to the pasture's edge for storage. We both use hay spears that work off of the 3 pt hitch.

Now Mr. Sutton likes my tractor but thinks I wasted a lot of money; says I could have bought a perfectly good used tractor and saved tons. Please know that Mr. Sutton's tractors (he has two) are about 40 years old. His idea of tractor storage is putting a small bucket over the exhaust pipe before a hard rain.

Back to the story: We were gathering up the round bales. I have a 54 horse Kubota, 4wd, and a frontend loader. I'ld pick up a round bale, tote it to the desired location, and put it down. No problems. Never had to use the independent braking system.

Mr. Sutton's hauling technique was a whole other ball game. His tractor is 2wd, with no loader. He'd hook into a round bale, lift it up, but instead of the bale rising into the air his tractor's front end would raise into the air. Then off he'd go! He'd hit a bump and turn his tractor into a big teater-totter. His front wheel would hit, then the butt of the bail would hit, then the front wheels would hit, etc. etc. etc. I laughed and laughed...to myself of course. Mr. Sutton is ex-Marine and I'm sure at 76 can kick my tail. Anyway, the point, the only way to steer the tractor when the front wheels are off the ground is with the foot brakes...sort of like a tail dragger airplane. So foot brakes are for turning when your front tires aren't exactly making a lot of earthly contact, not just for tight turns.

O.k., I'm finished.

 

[Bird]

Kinda weird coincidence, Billc. My nearest neighbor and friend who has 5 old tractors sitting out in the weather (the newest one is only about 25 years old), has the same attitude; would never buy a new one, has never in his life bought a new car or pickup, etc., 69 years old, and is also named Sutton.

Bird

 

[MChalkley]

Bird - Are you sure that if you and Billc walk past Mr. Sutton's place, you won't bump into one another? /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif That is a strange coincidence.

Billc - I've seen guys do that sort of thing, too. It's pretty amazing what folks with no sense of safety and a 100% "make-do" attitude will attempt on a regular basis. Anybody care to take bets on whether this mentality is relevant to the fact that farming is one of the most dangerous occupations?

MarkC

 

[scruffy]

MarkC, I believe it is a prerequisite! My Dad never bought a blessed thing that he absolutely didn't have to. Need a table saw? Go out to the old barn, dig out an electric motor, cord off an old vacumn, build a frame to hold it, dig out an old arbor, and scrounge a blade somewhere out of the junk stored in the old barn, and viola! he had his table saw. Buy a NEW one? What are you, NUTS? Money don't grow on trees you know! That was the attitude he exemplified, and that I grew up with. It shows at times, as I learned to make do with odds and ends to create something workable, rather than run to the store.