Recent content by MChalkley

As I mentioned in another post, I hauled my EarthForce down to Florida to do some volunteer hurricane relief work in September/October. On the way back from the 2600-mile trip, my clutch master cylinder went out. It's a long story (most things I do seem to end up that way...), but they last me...

Here's a little mystery for you old equipment detectives out there (and one you'll hopefully find a little interesting - it's been fascinating so far, to me): After hurricane Isabel, our power was out for 10 days and the little 6500-watt generator I had was unable to cope, so I decided to work...

After a much-too-long hiatus from "improving" my EF-500, I've recently been able to do some more work on it, so I thought I'd share it here. A few weeks ago, I cut the sidewall of one of the original tires badly enough that it was ruined. After my excellent experiences with Michelin's XM27...

My old computer just died and I had to replace it. The new one has XP Pro and a 15" LCD with 1600 x 1200 resolution. Now, for some reason, TBN's appearance is all screwed up. The count of new messages doesn't display in red anymore, text formatted with colors, <font color=blue>like this</font...

According to the May 2002 Equipment Today magazine, which I got in the mail today, on page 16, Ingersoll-Rand is introducing a new line of Loader-Backhoes. Designated the 270, 370, 470, and 570 compact loader-backhoes, they range from 31.5 to 56 hp and feature dig depths up to 12 feet. Also...

Does anyone know how much danger is really involved in digging up gas lines? As in: How often do they blow up and why? I busted one last Saturday and the police and fire departments evacuated the whole block. Then the gas guy came, got out a clamp with a ground rod attached to it, strolled...

(All of the information in this posting is from my recent posts in the "Hello EarthForce, Goodbye Kubota" thread in the "Other Brands" forum, so if you've read it there, you don't need to read this.) Since this hearing protection issue is really safety related more than it is EarthForce...

Once again, I call upon the seemingly limitless resources of TBN... Does anyone know where I could find a source for used retractor-style seatbelts? The ones on my EF-5 seat don't retract, but it's not annoying enough for me to pay new prices for a set. Well, I haven't priced them, but I...

I'm looking for a very heavy duty wheel & tire assembly for use as a gauge wheel for my EF-5's FEL. It's a very experimental project at this stage. A friend of mine once had a wheel and tire assembly that came off a bomb dolly that would've been about perfect, so that's the kind of thing I'm...

Exhaust pipe \"flapper\" source I'm looking for a source for the exhaust pipe "flappers" that you see on some equipment for my EF-5. Currently, it has a vertical pipe that faces to the right at a 90 degree angle at the top. I want to cut it off flush and put a cap on it to keep the rain out...

I'm on a real "take more than I'm giving" roll on TBN lately, so in the interest of continuing that trend, and futhering the visibility/safety of my flashers on my EF-5, I'd like to ask the resident electronics gurus (Al, are you out there?) another question. I mentioned in the thread on...

I know this is a subject that's been discussed a number of times before - is there one that hasn't? - but, like safety, it's hard to beat this one to death. I just wanted to say thanks to Muhammad for making TBN possible, and to the member community in general (including Muhammad again) for...

Does anyone know of a source for the type of "shock absorbers" that are used in seat suspensions? It's really a motion speed limiter, of course. There's no spring in it, just an orifice that slows the stroke movement. Some of them slow the stroke only in one direction, others in both...

A design question for you electronics wizards. My Kubota L4310 had a strange, but in my view, desirable feature in the turn signal/warning flasher circuit. There was a standard turn signal switch, which produced the expected results. There was a Hazard Warning Flasher button, which also...

I'd like to hear from the TBN gang on the subject of what you use your Compact Utility Tractor for. I'm interested because I want to see how the EarthForce Mini-TLBs fit into the usage patterns of typical CUT owners. I'm not talking about differences in operation, but rather what you do with...