What did you do with your Power Trac today?

[2manyrocks]

I remember the basic safety rule not to put any body parts in places where I can’t see what may be lurking.

This is an instance where I would want to invest in a hydraulic tree puller.

 

[ponytug]

I remember the basic safety rule not to put any body parts in places where I can’t see what may be lurking.

This is an instance where I would want to invest in a hydraulic tree puller.

The puller part is hydraulic. The hook up part wasn't.

Definitely operator error, not to be repeated by this operator. Normally, I am very careful about not putting body parts where I can't see them. I just wasn't thinking it through.

All the best,

Peter

 

[2manyrocks]

Smokeydog's pipe/chain puller is very effective at pulling brush with only one wrap if you happen to have about a 10 inch or so piece of about 2" diameter pipe.

Front-End Loader - Danuser Intimdator

 

[ponytug]

Smokeydog's pipe/chain puller is very effective at pulling brush with only one wrap if you happen to have about a 10 inch or so piece of about 2" diameter pipe.

Front-End Loader - Danuser Intimdator

Thanks! I love it. I will check my scrap pile tomorrow for some 2" pipe.

All the best, Peter

 

[woodlandfarms]

So I made my own post hole digger. Use it to plant trees on my slope with a 30” bit. The bit would walk around so I got a chunk of all thread, removed the nose bit on the auger and added a 2 foot all thread spike with the nose bit in the all thread. Now when I am drilling on a slope the bit won’t walk.

 

[ponytug]

So,...I chipped wood with the 1445 today for ninety minutes (60%-100% throttle).

• Outside air temp 55-60F, about what it was when I measured above
• engine oil temp 200F
• exhaust temperature 500F, +/-, up from 390F
• outside of muffler now 120F, down from 390F,
• hydraulic oil 105F coming off of the oil cooler and
• hydraulic oil 125F in the tank and oil filter.

Muffler wrap for the win!

As hot hydraulic fluids have been a pretty constant issue for me, the muffler wrap was so worth it. I think that the hydraulic oil cooler works better because it now pulls in cooler air over the muffler. I may need to do a slight adjustment of the exhaust tip angle to keep it from blowing on the tire, but no issues so far.

All the best,

Peter

More chipping today.

When I stood next to the muffler and held out a hand, Ididn't feel any heat radiating off of it. The hydraulic oil cooler exhaust air feels warm, but not at all hot. Slightly lower temperatures compared to above, I think as a result of the material being chipped being greener and more leafy, rather than large branches, so less work for the engine. Engine oil was running about 180F.

All the best,

Peter

 

[Lnk]

Was making hay yesterday and wife said rain was coming. She took out the 425 with the big bucket and was hauling 4 bales at a time from the field while I was fighting the baler twine. No more sisal for me. Was proud of her as she got 52 bales in before I finished baling. Then she drove the Ferguson pulling the trailer while I loaded it. I have a great wife, who now is comfortable on the little power track. Sorry, no pictures, never have my phone on me.

 

[m5040]

I needed a different tow hitch as I was cutting trees at a woodlot down the road, so needed to carry saw, oil, fuel etc and cut logs for splitting back. The factory pin didn't work with any trailer I had, so I fabricated a receiver hitch. The stop bolts are due to my PTs being slightly different with the 1460 actually has the newer style bolt on hitch, so they make up for the variables.

 

[ponytug]

Lumber moving. I needed some boards for fencing projects, and they were too long for my truck, so I had them delivered. 18' 2x10" boards to redo a guardrail, plus new "true" ground contact pressure treated (0.31lbs/cu.ft.) 6"x6"x12' posts. Each bundle is just at the pucker point for the 1445.

One of the many challenges is that none of my gates are 16' wide, much less 18'...

I strap my lumber together to reduce warping/splitting until I can put the board up. The 0.31lb/cuft 12' beams are right at my comfort limit for lifting as they are still drying out from being pressure treated. (120lbs?)

Moving these boards through a couple of gates and down a steep slope was rather interesting, and I managed not to hit too many items, though I did break a railing trying to swivel the sixteen footers through a 12' ranch style gate with a top cross bar.

I also augered a couple of fence post holes for gate stops to hold gates open when not in use. One had rotted out because the drainage put water on the base, and I wanted a post with packed gravel to at least try to get the water away from the wood.

I'm still not wild about using an auger for fence posts. No shade on the auger; the one I have is a planetary drive and is super powerful. It chews the remains of old fence posts without slowing down. I find I only need to use it slightly above idle. My issue is that I have not developed the knack of lifting the auger up to clear the hole of loose dirt. I'm finding that it takes four or five auger/lift/dump repeats to clear a 3-4' deep hole. Any advice is most welcome.

I will admit that I am not using the auger on anything approaching flat ground.

All the best,

Peter

 

[2manyrocks]

Augered post holes last summer with a normal tractor, and my experience was similar. Pulling the auger out of the hole repeatedly will clear some dirt, but found myself having to use hand clam shell diggers to get the last dirt out of the hole. That...and had to use a rock breaker on some stubborn rocks along the way. The auger did the heavy part of the job, but there was still hand work to do.