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Hi All, I have never been on Face Book and it sounds like Craigslist has gone south. I'm cleaning out my basement shop and I have a few items that are worth far more than scrap. I have a sister in law with a FB account and I suppose she could list it for me on Face Book Market place For...

We built a poured concrete home and we were mouse free for several years. Then, the mice began chewing through the garage door rubber gaskets. We have 3 garage doors, one on a walk out basement for my shop. I looked at the shop door and gasket and found the gasket attached via a tract on the...

As noted on another thread, I have ordered a new injection pump for my KAMA 454 with a 395 T FD engine. I looked at Circle G tractor parts on line instruction. looks to simple...

We have a 10 year old gas fireplace, propane. The front burner has very low blue flames but the back burner has nice natural flame look. This morning, the front burner did not even come on at all. Shut it down and restarted. Small front blue flames returned. Is this just needing a good...

I have a concrete house and had to drill quite a few holes over time. I have a commercial grade splined shaft hammer drill. Bits from 1/2 in to 1 in I can drill holes quite fast, so that's not the issue. In the past I would drill the circumference and then the long process of drilling...

Peaches are coming on and I'm having electric fence issues. last night I was testing the fence and found I was not getting a pulse every second, maybe every 4 seconds. The charger is clicking/light flashing every second. I used the tester on the fence and "sometimes" I would get a full reading...

I had an old starter and decided to take it apart and "fix it" to be a spare. I saw the problem was a broken insulator bushing that secures the contact. I made a new bushing out of fiberglass sheet stock. I thought I had learned a lot about solenoids having it a part. The solenoid has two...

Hi all, Amerigas is making the minimum propane purchase difficult. We need to buy 2 x water capacity to avoid the $177 yearly rental. If you dip below 20%, they can charge for a leak test. We use it for a gas fireplace only I thinking about just buying my own tank and let them have their tank...

I planted Winter Rye, not rye grass but the cereal grain, to stop erosion on a steep hillside. This was last Fall and it did a great job sprouting fast and holding the soil. Once spring arrives the Rye will grow again to make grain and will die off once it gets hot. Now the issue. I now want to...

I posted this question many years ago, but maybe someone out there has installed a freeze plug block heater on a KAMA 454. I'd just go for a lower radiator hose heater but the hose is very short. The engine is listed as a 395, not sure if the Shandong engine is used on other tractors. The...

Hello all, I have been getting my KAMA 454 ready for winter. I changed the gear oil in the axels and tranny, Changed the engine oil. Filled the fuel tank. Then the bad news came when I pulled the dip stick for the injector pump! Diesel shot out of the dipstick hole. I mean it just flows out...

Hello all, I have a 1967 John Deer 112 garden tractor, round fender. I have contacted our local Monroe County, Indiana 4H to see if any young 4H'er was wanting a project. No reply's.. My grand father bought it new and he used it until he was 105 years old, died at 108. Stored inside until 2008...

Good day, I had some earth work done and it created a slope that needed erosion control. Winter Rye, not annual rye grass, was highly recommended for it's aggressive roots and fast germination. I dampened the soil, spread the seed, raked it in and covered with straw. Due to the heat and lack...

Hello, I have 3 large triple pane window glass panels that need to be replaced. The insulated glass panels are manufactured in Denver, 1000 miles from me. And before you ask about getting made local, they are special heat mirror film as the inner "3rd" pane. The life time warranty was lost when...

Last week my wife was cleaning some of our casement windows and noticed one would not open. It was sagging a bit and I first thought it was stuck. My wife, smarter than me many times noticed the latch handle was not going to the full open position. No I didn't force it and break the handle! I...

Hello all, I have a leak on my Chinese tractor injection pump, KAMA 454. The leak is on the top side at the delivery valves. There are 3 sizes and a crush washer. I can't get parts for this, just a replacement pump. Do you trust NAPA O-rings? Do you think just taking measurements will net the...

hello, I have a Stihl FS 55 weed trimmer and it's 12+ years old. I have had good performance from this beast. At the end of this season, I planned to run the tank dry to store it for the winter. It was easy to start all season. But it it sat for 2 months before I got around to getting it ready...

I posted this topic on the Chain saw site, but didn't get any interest. I had 10-15 trees get closer to our house : ) They looked small when I decided not to to clear that far back, had really grown and leaned towards the house. These are oak, cherry and beach that were 50+ feet tall. Two were...

just got my chain back from being sharpened, and the teeth are nearly ground to the limit! This was a new chain and was just starting to show signs it needed sharpening. normally, I just pull out the dremal and touch it up. Because I'm dropping trees, I didn't want it to cut in a curve. I took...

Hello all. I've got an electrical issue with my old G5200. After resting all winter, I charged the battery ready to cut a bit of grass. Turned the key and nothing. I noticed the fusible link was burned through. With the key off, I jumped the fuse link, but it sparked a bit, so I assumed I had...

Anyone cancel travel to China? I was booked to fly to China Fed 15th but will delay until summer. I'm pretty impressed the lockdown of most of Hubei province has kept most of the infected and death to one region. John Hopkins has a good website for tracking. Operations Dashboard for ArcGIS

Around here, southern Indiana, we use what is called 53's for driveways stone with chip and dust. Or # 5's and #7's with about 30% chip and dust. Others call it "crusher run", I recall. In the hills of Southern Indiana, you must use a crushed stone that can be compacted. Last Monday I had a...

Anyone know where to get an after market PTO double pulley for the G5200? I can't find a good parts diagram to even get the OEM part number. Or if anyone knows the OEM part number.

Good day First I must say peach trees grow so fast and you can see results of your work so quickly. The first growing season we bought 3 trees 2-3 ft tall Red Havens from our local grocery store. The sticks were about 1/2 inch dia. Read up on open center shaping and the fun began. First year...

good day, I have a deck with steel "painted" posts. The raccoons climb up and cause all sorts of trouble. Yes, I have killed them by traps. But they are getting smarter. I want to place a "hot loop" like a halo at the top of each post. I would run the hot under the deck on insulators. Then I...

I think we know most of the important items, Like don't forget to have plenty of the essentials, like beer. Joking aide, I hate to have my car/truck door gaskets freeze and get ripped off as I try to open the door. So I simple oil them with; 3 in 1, Vaseline, even olive oil! No matter how cold...

I have a KAMA 454, 45 hp with a 3 cylinder diesel. I have noticed where the lines come out of the top of the injector pump, they are leaking. It's not the nut where the line tightens but under the hex just below. see photo. With tractor off, you can see the leak by using the priming pump. When...

Local story where a guy is getting a bill for $9000 for his half of a line fence. It's already gone through the Township trustee and will be levied on his taxes. He has only 9 ac. His neighbor wants to start raising cattle and is using Indiana fencing laws to force him to pay half. Some of the...

Hello all. New to the concept so I thought I'd ask here. I'm looking for an alarm system that requires no monthly plan. I want it to send us a "notification" if; 1 One of the doors is opened. I have wires run to each of the doors now. Due to long distances, I don't think wireless would work. 2...

I have a 2013 Chevy Tahoe, former police car, with 160k miles. 99% of the time, when I drive it I'm off to the airport or on a business trip. So any break down would cause me to either miss a flight or miss meetings/and have to have it towed/wait days to get it fixed. The Tahoe is in excellent...

We were recently in the Tetons and Yellowstone areas and saw a lot of fly fishers along the small rivers. We staoped as a guy was catching a fish. Turned out to be a white fish. I have played with a fly rig, but I roll cast. That is where you get the end of the line out there by whipping the...

I have bought two diamond 4 in dia cup wheels in the last two years. Both have been so out of balance they were not safe to operate. The first one vibrated the screws out of my angle grinder, not to mention my hand felt numb. I took it back The second one was today. I was mounting on a 5/8-11...

I have been recently been re-united with my grand father's JD 112. It looks to be from 1969. He died in 2008 at 108 years old. My BIL had it for the last 10 years. But mostly sat under a tarp. Mower deck is real solid and mainly rust free Known issues are engine blows out oil through the...

I'm guilty of not spraying my peach trees yet, between raining and travel, I missed it. Now I see oozing peaches all over. I'd say most of them. The trees were planted last spring and this year the trees were covered with blooms and soon after the peaches. What should I do? Pick off all the...

I just planted a Nectarine tree and trimmed it up. I have seen where you CAN start new trees from cuttings. The little branches I cut have started to leaf out. I removed the 2 leaf buds on the lower part. Am I too early, too late? There may be a down side to all this even if they grow. Often...

I'm looking to mount a face plate where the drill chuck would go. The thread is 1/2-20

I don't ever remember having ticks as early as March 20th. Then today, 3 in of snow. just not right.

With our 6 peach and Cherry trees looking good, we are thinking deer fencing. Currently, we have 6 ft dia, 5 ft tall cages around each tree. The deer eat anything hanging out the fence. This year, the trees will out grow the cages. And if lucky get a small crop of peaches. Points to consider...

To all the peach tree owners. We planted 3 peach trees last spring, they were sold in a 1 gal container and had a trunk the size of a broom stick. They were a bit over 3 ft tall. We trimmed a bit to get the desired open center. With good watering and twice fertilizing, we had good growth. All...

I've had a raccoon arrive "uninvited". I caught it drove it a few miles away. It came back in in 2 days. Turned out the 3 mile drive was only 6000 ft as the crow flies. Today I caught it again and drove it 3.5 miles, "as the crow flies". I hear 5 miles is the minimum but can't think of a place...

We did a test in our basement a while back and had high readings. I can't recall what our reading was at the time. But my wife is pushing to do something about it. We ordered a tester; InspectUSA.com Electronic Radon Gas Detector and Alarm (HS71512) EPA Approved I figured I want to retest in...

Hello all, I'm having air compressor issues. I have good tank pressure but I can't regulate the pressure down. When I turn the regulator knob counter clockwise it leaks out the bottom of the regulator. Model, Campbell Hausfeld HJ300101 In the photo, the regulator is a part of a manifold. No...

On Friday, my wife and I were enjoying a 5:00 bourbon on the covered back porch. Our Jack Russel, Henry, chased off what we thought was a dove. A few minuets later a pigeon landed on the table and started walking towards us. Our first reaction was to chase it off. But we saw the bright red bands...

I needed to grind some concrete slab edges so I bought a 4" diamond cup wheel. I have one for my 7" angle grinder and they are great. When I first started it, I noticed some vibration. I figured after a bit of use it would settle down. After 5 min of use I stopped to give my hands a rest due to...

I'm have a truck load of 53's/crusher runs, laid today. I filled in the holes and ruts first so I start with a reasonably flat drive. But normally it's nice to "touch it up" before it's all packed in. If you do to much grading, the bigger rock ends up on top. Racking is the worst. I'm planning...

I have a Stihl FS 55 R weed trimmer. Great machine for the last 10 years or so. But every 5 years or so, the beast slows down, or gets difficult to start. The first time it did this, I bought the rebuild kit and cleaned it. No improvement at all. Tore it down again thinking I must have missed...

I'm in charge in providing the Groom dinner the night before the wedding. It's a destination wedding at a ski resort in Colorado. We are renting a large house very near the venue hosting the wedding. So we plan to have the dinner catered at the rental house. This is just immediate family and...

I'm building a hand rail and will be painting a bunch of the parts before I assemble. I'd like to dip paint for several reasons, quickly paint and to get the inside of the hollow parts as well. There are some tricks like filling a container with water and then pouring the oil based paint on...

Hello all, I bought two standard Red Haven peach trees. They are technically self pollinating. But they produce better if cross pollinated. I've dug 3 holes and looking for the cross pollinator. The one thing I learned was buying a peach tree that blooms at the same time as the Red Haven is...

I hope everyone has had a good X-mass. I bought my son a new garage door for Christmas, Ideal Menards 7' by 9' wide. I bought because of the "easy spring winder". All went well during the install other than a bit of needed framing. At the end, we opened the door slowly and the cables jumped...

Has anyone seen the trick where you have several LED's on one switch to make non dimmable LED's dimamble. see link; How to make an inexpensive non dimmable LED light dimmable - YouTube Basically they use one dimmable LED and the non dimmables all begin to dim. The reason I ask; I have a large...

Background; We had an ERV system built into our heating system when we built the house, Trane AERVR300. But we basically never used it. We have a lot of sq-ft and only two of us in the home. For those who do not know what an ERV is, it's a small air handler that pulls out air from the house and...

Hello all, It's been a while since I've had to prime my KAMA 454 fuel system. Attached is a photo of the injector pump. Just to the right of the pump is a banjo fitting with a bleeder valve. I pump with the bleeder valve open until clear fuel comes out? I wasn't getting much after 20 pumps. Or...

Hello, My tank has gotten pretty rusty over time and I'm ready to retro a plastic tank. I would use a pour in liner but there are two issues; Deisel tanks are real tricky to get clean. Red Kote recommends sand blasting. How can you do that?? Send issue is that the first tank was "partially"...

Hello all, I noticed my front end loader was slow to respond. I checked the Hydro fluid level and it was low. I topped it off with about 1-1/2 gals. Then I pulled the two dipsticks of the transfer case and transmission and noticed they were very full, 2 + inches above the full line. The gear...

Hello all, I have a concrete patio that unfortunately was poured such I have a big puddle at my slider after it rains.This is not a slab on grade that can be jacked up. It's on bar joists. I'd like to add a skim layer to bring it up the needed 1/4 inch to get the proper slope. The size of the...

We live at the end of a long gravel lane. We let our Jack Russel run, closest home with occupants is 3/4 mile away. Over the last few winters our UPS driver would call when the snow was to deep to deliver down our long and hilly road. We'd meet him up front at the black top. So between our dog...

Hi all just wondering if anyone here has a group floating dock. Our dock has 12 slips and has 4 concrete anchors criss-crossing under the dock at 45 deg. This is to allow for some water fluctuation. But with large water level changes, the cable must be brought in or out as needed. If you don't...

hello, I'm continuing my hand rails but now outside. I made a rail system from available parts seen on line, 1 inch square tube and top cap profile. I had the 1 inch tube drilled for 1/2 inch holes every 4 inches. So the there is a square tube at the top and bottom, but top has the welded...

I have a Stihl FS 55R weed trimmer. Last fall I could not get the dang thing started. A few years back I had replaced the carb and she ran just fine so I thought it was the same issue. No such luck. I had Googled how to adjust the carb when I saw a reference to "most often it's not your carb...

We would like to build and install a few bat houses. Anyone out there have any experience? There are many plans on line but just want to get feed back from others

How often to you change your batteries in your hard wired smoke detectors? I assume, but not sure, that if the power is on, the detector does not draw power from the battery. If that is the case, then the battery life is the shelf life of the battery. What made me think of this was when I...

Hello, I'm looking for a small hammer drill but has the ability to operate in jack hammer/demo mode, i.e., no rotation. I have a monster Hitachi with spline bits. It operates in both rotation and with out. It is an amazing drill that will drill a 3/4 hole through 8 in on concrete in 30 seconds...

Anyone with a compressor can buy a sand blaster kit. But my experience with my small compressor is I get about 20 sec of blasting and I have to wait for the tank to get back up to pressure. I saw Rural King has a device that works with your pressure washer to "wet blast". In my mind, advantages...

Hello, First time over here, I'm normally over in the Rural Living. But I have some fabrication questions. History; Inside my home I have built and installed 120 ft of hand rail. The design is 1 inch square tubes, one top and one bottom, with 1/2 holes drilled on 4 inch centers. On the top 1...

Anyone here heard of or are playing with compost heat? There was a French farmer back in the '70's who experimented with collecting the heat from large compost piles. He would lay down 4" perforated pipe first to allow the pile to breath. Then layers of appropriate compost mixed with...

Here is S. IN reports are coming in, they are starting. It's been wet enough but still a bit chilly. If you are finding them, chime in where, as in the exact GPS coordinates : )

I live in Southern Indiana, big limestone producers. We have the full range of crushed stone to fine stone carvings and milled building material. Many of the mills are also quarries, but not all. Most floks like me go for the mill scraps and odd lots. In some cases, shade is just off a bit. In...

Looks like main product used is Termidor SC or HE. The SC can be bought by DIY. The concept is to dig a very shallow trench and saturate at a rate of 4 gal/10 ft for the SC and 2 gal/10 ft for HE. I don't think the TE is available for DIY. We don't have a major invasion, just a few feet in via...

Some of you may find yourself needing to start your diesel on a cold day. I have never installed a heater but always mean to : ) My trick is to use a propane torch to heat up the intake manifold. I also hit the injectors carefully. The intake is cast iron so it can take some heat. Starts every...

Hello, Has anyone built a garage with a "Grease Pit"? By this I mean a pit in the garage floor where you can stand below your car/truck to work on it. They are normally 5 1/2 feet deep and have a set of steep steps at the end. When not in use a steel grate covers the pit. My new garage...

Hello and Happy New Year. Any KAMA owners ever install a Freeze plug block heater? It looks like the KAMA freeze plugs are high on the block so not optimal for heat transmission. The freeze plug looks to be 32mm. The KAT's 30501 also appears to have the element project in a ways. If anyone...

Most of us have said, Having the correct tool is important to get the job done. yesterday I had an un-plan break line repair. This means after, I needed to bleed the lines. One of the Bleeders was hopelessly stuck. Neither heat nor hammering would do a thing. I couldn't get vice grips on it...

I'll bet we are not the only community with Deer population issues in our city. Dogs have been killed, gardens raided. Our situation has gotten so bad, they are hiring exterminators/sharp shooters to thin the population. Hard to imagine how just 20 years ago deer sighting were only when out in...

Hi all, Those of you who live on private/shared roads, how is it working? I live on a 1.3 mile long private road and we are at the end. Basically, as the large tract was divided, we all received an easement to access our property. The easement is a generous 50' wide swath. It is my...

Many years ago I bought an old Ford backhoe as a project. I moved and my place is to hilly to even consider running it. So I want to sell it cheep, but I best ID it to sell it. I post this question here because it is stripped down that it nearly would be a Build it yourself kind of project! No...

Anyone have cellular paving? it's when a concrete like block is placed with the holes up and filled with gravel or dirt with grass. Menards home stores have them on there website. Patrick T

Hello With Winter soon around the corner, time to make sure the house is sealed up. The one weakness I have found is garage doors. The one I have is a new Overhead door brand. It is a solid and well insulated. The issue I have is the sealing at the lower corners. The top and sides have a rigid...

Anyone build a Gabion wall? They are wire baskets, generally made rectangular of galv 3" by 3" 12 ga. Fill with stone. The high way dept makes some real basic retaining walls, but by filling with nice stone, can be very artsy. Patrick T

Can you bench test a weed wacker coil? I first removed the kill switch. The switch shorted the spade terminal to the iron core. Replaced the plug as well. Even held the spark plug while pulling! What should the resistance be from; spark plug wire to, terminal? spark plug wire to iron core...

We all have heard of smoked salmon and most enjoy. Over the years we have smoked beef jerky and salmon. A few years back, I thought I'd try a catfish. Not as good as salmon but an upgrade from the earthy catfish taste. Over night soak in 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup salt with water just to cover...

I have been using the GPS dog tracker by Tagg. long story short. All our dogs over the years have just run loose on our land out in the country. We have always lived far out with very few homes close by. Most of my dogs would hardly leave the house and or porch. What I have learned is my dogs...

Last year I had a rope get caught around my PTO selector and the handle broke off. The selector is High speed PTO, Neutral and Low speed PTO Basically there is a shaft on the rear left that a simple collar with a roll pin held it all on. The weld broke during the incident but the collar...

Good day, I have a KAMA 454. I have an intermittent issue. After tractor is warmed up and I have done some grading or such, I get a high pitch squeal. It will last for 5 seconds or so. I recall, It will stop if I push in the clutch. My first thought is throw out bearing. But I would think it...

Anyone have a chip and seal drive way? Can it be done over a solid gravel drive? Our drive is on a hill and after big rains, we get some wash out. After the 10th time it's no long fun seat time on the tractor. Patrick T

After completing the build of our home, we just threw down some grass seed. Grass did grow but also a bunch of weeds. The area get full sun but, the soil is pretty bad. In fact much of it is crushed sand stone that was removed from the basement. During the summer it's all green but when fall...

We have been feeding the birds for many decades. I have always thought we were doing it wrong. Buying the mix does not work well. Some birds prefer the sunflower seeds and just kick all the millet on to the ground. So over X-mass, I built several bird feeders to have dedicated food. One for...

Hi all, I have an old chevy Suburban, '94. I have had a fast blinker for a while but now just getting to it. I have changed out all the back bulbs. The front two side turn indicators were blown so they got replaced as well. So it appears all bulbs are working. Just using the turn signal, no...

I've been fishing for catfish and all I'm getting are big softshell turtles. I fish on a large state lake. Years past, I'd get one here and there but not so often. This year, it is all I get! I have tried Zote soap as bait, they say Cats eat this Mexican soap, go figure, but turtles prefer other...

The good deal, old compressor my wife found at a yard sales, has started leaking. When I tried to repair the hole, well you guessed it, it became real big. Now I'm on the hunt for a replacement tank, 20 gal horizontal. What I'm finding are $250 industrial grade tanks. Anybody know where a...

As we were building our house I thought of the time it might take to have the fire department out. We live at the end of a one mile private road on the outskirts of town. I stay in hotels often and was alway seeing the sprinkler systems. I thought it sure would be good to have one. My first...

Here in the Southern IN area, we are having big issues with bug bites. Not sure exactly what they are but they act like chiggers, all ichy and all. A friend near by said, Turkey mites. Turkey mites are actually star ticks that bite in larval stage vs. adult stage. what's the word in other...

As you may have deduced, I'm doing some maintainance on my KAMA 454. got the oils changed and now going for some other small issues. On the instrument cluster all works except for the Tach and fuel gage. I cleaned the 3 plugs under the dash. Tighened the screws on top of fuel tank sensor leads...

All, I statrted a new thread regarding adding a Hydraulic filter system to a KAMA 454 with a FEL. It comes standard with a strainer on the suction line and it's bolted to the sump box under the seat. Rear remotes return plumb into this. I have been very happy with My KAMA and Chip at Artrack...

I can't see any location other than the stainer or a fitting attachment. So if anyone has an idea Patrick T

My KAMA 454 has had a leak on the power steering pump for some time. I though it might need a rebuild kit so installed the set. No change. It leaks only when turning, go figure! Now I think I see where it's coming from. There are two plugs on the bottom, farthest section away from mounting...

I'm building a hand rail that has 1" square tube with 1/8" wall thickness. I have a bunch of copper ground rods I will cut to length and sit in the 1" tube, 4" on center. The tubes need to be drilled on just onside, not all the way through. I called a water jet cutting outfit but they can't do...

I need to pull a few trees over and can't cut them down because of reasons... Any body try this? and what would be the optimal height? Too low, no leverage. Too high and the top breaks off. I figure if the wind can blow over a tree.. I did this years ago with a 10 " dia oak but, cut the roots...

Built a new home and we bought some high end tripplepane windows. Soon after the check cleared, $50k, we noticed water leaking in on the sills. Called our siding guys and they asured us, "not our issue". Dry spell and no more issues. But now spring is here and they are still leaking. I'm an...

I'm building an all concrete home but just had to make one last point to make this beast fire proof? It's not a comercial version, just a 3/4" line running about with 1/2" lines feeding the sprinkler heads. (Comercial systems are designed to have them all go off at the same time, so they feed...

This is the second time I have traveled with tools in a checked bag and they are all missing when I arrive. Both times I have the card TSA puts in the bag to inform me my bags were searched. I always have tools in my bag so it's not every trip, but twice a year..... I have no problem having my...

Any one buy granite counter top blanks and DIY? Blanks are standard counter top width with edging in standard lengths. Our new kitchen has no corners so for me, just cut to length. Patrick t

Got my neighbor's feathers fuffled. A little back ground. He lives at the top of the hill and my home down hill. After he built a room addition and new gutter arangment, I get a river flowing down my drive when it rains. This river ruts my drive and floods my parking area. His house is on the...

Hi folks, My KAMA 454 has been working great except for a power steering pump leak. I have always had to add fluid every once in a while. But now over the last two days, once an hour. At first, I could not see while it was coming from. Connections and hoses looked fine. And because it only...

Hi there, long time no see. My KAMA's battery finally gave up. It lasted quite a long time, over 4 years. The last legs, I had it on trickle charge to get it started. This was even in the Summer when warm. But I waited until she would not start. But now it's very cold and snow is on the way. I...

Wood boilers are very expensive and I'm not sure I want to invest in a system that will just get used during the coldest times of the season. Our house is going to have radiant heat in the slab. And AC ducting for Summer. Here is what I'm thinking; Get a common used wood furness made for...

We all have our traditions right? Well ours started out many years ago when the kids were younger, much younger. Starts out long befor X-Mass. The wife and I would have a spicial dinner for our birthdays, big days what ever. We would cook hotdogs for the kids and send them off to bed. We would...

We are building a home with Radiant heat in a concrete slab. I would like to hear from anyone who has used a wood fired boiler with radiant. I do not want one of those outdoor units! I'm getting to old to be walking out in the snow to feed the beast. Patrick T

My 454 KAMA was outfitted with a Koyker 190 FEL. It has worked fine for 200 hrs. But the other day I noticed the valve that controls up/down has developed a sticky "problem". The issue is observed when coming down. Like most control valves, ther are 4 positions; Float Down-> trouble Center Up...

We have sold our home and we are moving out to our lake side camper. We are building our new home on this same location. I work from my home so I will be "on site" during the construction. That's all good but down sizing from a 3400 sq-ft home to a 30' camper will be some adjustment! We are...

I'm in the process of selling our home on 20+ ac. As a departure move, I've planned on cutting a few select trees. The lumber will be used as trim/furniture in the new home. The big one, a 35" dia Cherry came down first. This is a crazy big tree. It is 35' to the first branch. At that point it...

I have taken on the project to install a Ford 3PH BH, 753. I'm in the process of welding up a subframe and fixing many of the problems. The old girl is pretty beat and I may spend more time and $$ than it's worth! It came with a new-ish Prince 21 gal/min PTO pump and I have bought a new set of...

I've taken on the task of installing an old Ford 3PH BH, badly needing re-storing. Many of the pins have a lot of play. You can push the boom and the pins allow it to swing several inches. Can the pins be removed and the holes be "reamed" one size larger? If so, is this something that can be...

All, I bought a used Marlin model 60 .22 semi-auto?. The type you load 15+ rounds a tude and she reloads after each shot. Often it will not fire and I will need to manually eject that shell/reload the next. The reloading and ejection works fine when normal firing. It just appears the firing pin...

Last year I had noticed a corner of my house had settled a bit, 1/2". It opened the classic stair step patern of the concrete blocks. I got around to it this year and tuck pointed the gap from both inside and out after chipping out the original morter. This was early in the Summer. Two weeks...

Ok. I've got an issue with a GFI breaker triping that feeds an outdoor water garden. I have tried several things that I feel has isolated every link in the system and it still trips...some times. It may go a week just fine or just a few hours. We have a few GFI breakers for indoor bath rooms...

Been out on the site a bunch lately and not much time for posting. We have the footers poured and have started stacking the ICF blocks. We needed to step the footers due to the slope. I also built a Re-bar bender that will get a work out as the walls are stacked Due to height/weight of this 3...

Just noticed a sound I thought I'd run by you folks. We are building a house and while one of the guys was backing down a slope and breaking, I heard a grinding sound. Also most a gear box sound. I know, not much of a description. When I drive the Kama, I don't use the breaks much other than...

Ok, I'm betting I'm not the only one who has bought a weed wacker only have a non fuctioning unit in short order. At our local recycle center, there is both a dumpster for metal stuff and the "give away" stuff. Weed wackers seem to be a big part of this system. How can such a simple little...

We've started our concrete home. Well, the basement has been dug. It took quite some effort since 5 feet of the 8 feet hole was sand stone. The foot print is 54' x 70' for the main house. The house is two stories on a basement. It will have a flat concrete roof. The walls are 8" concrete core...

I'm in the process of mounting my BH to my KAMA 454. I will tie the subframe of the BH to the FEL frame that is attached at the rear axel. The FEL uses the bolts that hold the ROP. The bolts will need to be replaced by a longer bolt. There are 6 that hold the FEL/ROP systems in place. I need to...

I had a well pump replaced a few years back. They also replaced the presure unit. The pump kicks out at 45 psi and on at 28 psi. Before I start adjusting I will make sure the bladder tank in presurized at 30 psi. When I pull the cover of the presure unit, there are two lock nuts on a shaft with...

A while back I posted that my KAMA 454's 3PH would not raise due to interfearence from an impliment and the draw bar. I have been traveling a bit lately and I took some time today to replace the lift valve assembly. IT WORKS! Thanks Chip (and your mechanics) for all the advice as I called in...

My wife and I like to make wine. We have only made 3 batches, 90 bottles so far but what a hoot. We started last X-mas. We use the grape juice kits from wine regions from around the world. So far we have done Italy, Argentina and South Africa. They cost Between $70 and $100 for a kit to make 30...

do you ever wander your shop and wonder who you loaned a tool too or where it might have been placed by you?? Me, well I have a few lost tool stories that I can't seam to get out of my mind. I know, let go! A few years back I was working for a factry that was closing the doors. The engineers...

Over the last 5 years we have been getting live trees for X-mas. Just this year we switched from white pines to Co blue spruce. The Whites all have lived with minimal care. I quit the whie pines this year because the cost, the Whites grow fast when bought small. But this year the Co blue spruce...

While I was bleading the fuel system after the valve lash adjustment, I thought I needed to blead the fuel line to the Pre-heat device located on the intake. For those who don't know the KAMA, it uses some sort of fuel drip with ele heat instead of glow plugs. All the injectors conected in...

As you may have seen in past posts, I will be building a concrete home. I hope to incorperate as much energy saving methods as I can..afford. I have reviewed many systems and I'm working on a sandwitch of Concrete/Insulation foam/Concrete, or CIC. This is very diff from the ICF, Insulated...

Ok. Here are the sidewalk and steps photos. Not sure they are clear. There are 14 steps and approx 3 landings 4'x8'. I'm glad I have a tractor. I had to use my FEL to get the concrete up the hill. The upper most top section was already in if any one counts steps! That's a water garden off to...

Ok, I have fanally started the valve adj and head bolt torquing. Torquing went well. I pulled each one at a time a lubed and installed. On to valve adj. I did as instructed and as soon as the #1 intake closed should be TDC, sure enough, the fly wheel has a mark stamped 1 right a tick mark on the...

Ok. I managed to get a side walk and steps poured Friday. Nice break in temp for it too. How long would you guys wait befor pulling forms? The concrete is of cource hard 24 hr later but,,,,, Some forms I can remove without putting any stress. Those I will take off today. Others will require a...

Chip, So if you don't mind..Can you tell us about your trip to China? I was in China a few weeks ago but not on tractor biz. Patrick

The fun continues as I prep my home for sale. My 1985 Kobe & Kolbe windows have leaked to a point where 90% of them look bad on cold days. I need to something about this. There are 10 double hung windows, (20 sashes) Options: 1 Replace complete sash set(2), frame stays but buy K&K replacement...

It had been a while since venturing up to the attic, maybe 3 years. Since we are preparing to sell the house soon, I though it's time to clear all the stuff out of the attic. To my suprise, I have had a few visitors of the "fly squirrel" type. And I noticed a lot of mold on the under side of the...

While driving the other day, radio on, I heard a funny story. A family was having a Thanksgiving dinner get together. The house was full of family and friends. It was a nice mix city folks visiting said family in their country home they recently aquired. Dinner was planned for some time off and...

Just back from a two week biz trip in India and China. I'm an engineer for an Austrian high voltage porcelain insulator company. My task was to evaluate plants wanting to supply to us. China is an intresting place full of contrast. The coastal area cities are very cosmopoliton. Much...

Does any one have the procedures for adjusting the valve lash on the KAMA 454, engine Feidong 395 T. 3RRL had a nice procedure for the 4 cyc. Patrick

I did a wrong. I lent my friend my tractor and set him up with the box blade. I forgot to take off the draw bar and there was interference. When I came back to get it, draw bar was bent and the 3PH did not lift. He showed me he could get it to lift by bumping the FEL joy stick. Bump the FEL joy...

I got a strange one. I loaned my KAMA to a friend while I was out traveling. When I came back he said the 3PH arms would not raise...with out taping the FEL joy stick. So I went over to take a look. Sure enough. It would lower just fine. Try to raise, nothing until you give the joy stick a bump...

OK. This is a silly question. I have a very small area I call yard, the septic field. The rest of my 20 ac are woods. The grass I have is growing in a very shady place. A few years back I bought some seed to fill in several bare/thin places. Good news, those patches look thick and bright green...

Well it's been about a year I have had the KAMA 454 and it has reached the 50 hr mark. I will change the fluids as prescribed but wonder if the hydraulic oils need to be dumped. I thought I might be able to drain in to clean containers to let settle. Then pour through a tight mesh. I would...

I'm contiplating the best placement of insulation for a walk out bacement. Basic layout; It will be poured walls and finished as 2 guest rooms. The slope will make the bacement about 40% exposed. Back wall completely back filled, side walls with retaining walls 4' at the front- 60-70% exposed...

My Jack Russel just absolutly hates it when I use my air nail guns. Normally it's just funny, but when he starts pulling on the line and I'm at the top of the 'extendo' ladder....He is very serious about it too. I can lift him off the ground and keeps his grip. As my wife says " It's all fun...

I desided to start a new thread on Concrete home constrution. We touched on it in another thread concerning natural cooling. I travel a bit to Mexico, 100+ times and to Europe, 20+ times. It appears that masonary construction rules. I want to build with concrete/masonary products. I like the...

On my drive back north from SC up I- 75 at about an hour before Lexiton, KY, I saw a very ugly truck/RV roll over. Since the rescue folks were still arriving and the speed had only slowed, I'll guess I encountered it just moments after it occured. My wife, myself and kids shivered at the...

Some you may remember I restored an old TO-20 for a friend and delivered it down to FL about 2 years ago. He is having troubles starting it and says it turns over slow. nothing new there! In seams these old tractors with 6v systems turn over so slow evereything needs to be perfect to start. He...

As in the last post we are selling our $350k home soon. The house sits on ten ac but it is really two seperate lots via the county reccords. So no deviding issues via the planning dpt. The ten ac is about 330' by 1500'. It is devided such that there is a 4 ac pc at the road and a 6 ac pc at the...

I will be selling our $350k home soon and wonder if I might appeal " to the man of the house" by including a tractor. The thought is buy a 8N or something close and clean it up a bit. Our house sits on ten hilly ac. The drive is long and in the Winter, snow removal is a must here in S. Indiana...

On my KAMA 454 the tac has stoped working. It just sits on 0 RPMs. I have removed the sensor and cleaned. I measured the resistance at 1.19 kohm. With key on the voltage going to the sensor was 0.01 V DC. With the tractor off I re-installed the sensor untill touching the fly wheel and backed it...

I'm in the process of welding up a swale digger. Because our terminology might vary, I'll 'slpain. I need to cut swales, drain paths. In my world, a swale is a gently sloping ditch. I'm shooting for 5ft wide with a 6" depth. Something that you can mow without shaving the grass too much but drain...

I have twenty year old septic....and it has a hot spot. Anybody with a septic system or a friend with said septic, knows of the wet time of year. And hey here we are. My "wet" spot was agrivated by a room addition where the soil was shaved off that section in the back filling. Not deep but...

I will be filling my tire soon. Anti-freeze is mighty expensive. I was looking at a gal of windshield washer fluid and the label stated; water 7732-18-5 Methyl Alcohol 67-56-1 proprietary ingreedients contains less than 8% by VOC by weight not for use below -25F Can I buy Methyl and mix with...

While posting on another area here on the topic of Roll overs, I was wanting to run more precise moment calculations. So here is the question; Where is the CG on most tractors viewing from the rear? I want to determine this location without attachments, loaded tires or FEL. my guess would be...

Where I'm to build, I have ele or get a propane tank. The concept of Geo-thermal sounds good. That is you pay to move the free heat of the ground. Radiant has some up sides too. I also plan to build with concrete and it goes with floor heating quite well. Down side is you still need dust work...

New post here to show the new attachment. I had some 6" wide 1/4" plate laying around. I welded three together to get a total 18" wide. The outer two are cut at 45 deg to get the ditch shape. On the lower 6" I bent it forward 45 dep to help it pull itself down. First shot

If you live in hilly country, you know the value of a good ditch along your gravel drive way. With a 700' long drive you need a plan. In the days past, I would go out during a good rain and start digging/channeling by hand tools. I want to build a simple 3PH attachment that will make a nice...

I have posted on this old Ford 758 BH befor but.. I need to restore/repair this beast and it was changed. Two changes to note; the valves for the stablizers where replaced with a valve pair out of the main dig circuit. And a PTO pump/tank was added. The changes look recent and when I saw it...

I have an old BH that needs to be reworked. The control valves for the our stabllizers have replaced with a seperate set on a different circuit The rest of the control valves look like they could go at any time. I have a Northern Tool catalog with a section for Prince Control valves. These are...

Hello friends, Well I'm ready to get my BH installed on the KAMA 454. I have a "modified" Ford 758. It now has an external prince pump to run off the PTO. This is good. It also has a sub frame to help with the 3PH setup, this is also good. When I bought it was mounted on a Ford 600 series...

OK, first issue. I blew a fuel line and I can't find how to bleed the system in the manuals. See attached photo. I know this is Diesel 101 but, I'm lost. Thanks for any help. Patrick

I have a KAMA 454 she weighs in a 4100lb with out the FEL or rear wheel weights. I live in hilly country, Southern IN. Not that I need more weight but in terms of Center of gravity, I was considering to have the tires 'half filled'. This would put all the weight below the Center of gravity...

I have a Ford 758 BH. At some point someone added an external pump to the BH. It is bolted in position, just not the right position. I would like to know if I can use the KAMA's hydro system to power the BH. I think it would make installing/removing a bit quicker if I could. I assume I don't use...

Another small issue. After using the FEL and the 3PH, I noted Hydro fluid spouting from the over flow behind the seat. Is this just a case of a little over full or..what? Have not found the dip stick yet. I think I'll run an overflow tube the divert the flow, bit messy. Patrick

Small issue. My KAMA 454's tach is not reading constantly. Some times nothing, sometimes bouncing and sometimes reading correct. I was told by the delivery guy that the sensor needs to be turned in a bit. He pointed to a device located on the bell housing located 6" up and over from the break...

As discussed, the FEL prevented the KAMA hood from raising without hitting on the Hydro line cover. I driiled the hole back about 0.75". Works great now. See attached photo

Well, Chip of [url=http://www.artrac.com/] has delivered my new KAMA 454. That was 500 + miles to IN. I should note, I bought/ordered site unseen. I had read the good sides and the cautions. I can tell you, day one I'm quite impressed. This is quite a beast. I got the Koyker 195 FEL as well...

I have an OLD loader for a TO-20. It has no curl for the bucket. You raise, pull a lever and gravity tilts her over. After empting, it catches in the 'ready to scop again mode'. Real HiTech I tell you. Find attached photos front/and side. The loader is yours for the taking and I will help you...

I recently bought a used Ford 758 BH. She was worked hard and put up wet. I plan to work on it and get it back to good condition. I don't know very much about BHs. I saw it a few months ago for $1200. It was mounted on a Ford 600? tractor. I did see it operate. The issue is the stabilizers go...

Chip E-mailed today. He's getting ready for assembly on my new KAMA 454 (45 hp/4500lb). He's inspected and cleaned the fuel tank. Now the options. Transmission. On this load that Chip just received, one of the KAMA 454 came with the "creeper" (16x8)option. The regular is the Shutle shift. (8x8)...

I have several, 6-10, oaks I would like to move. They are fairly small at 6" dia. Local mover wants $150+ each to move. I did a little checking on the internet, man can large trees be moved!! I saw where a golf club was rerouting the cource. They moved a 24" dia tree. Not far but... What I saw...

I put the deposit down on the KAMA 454 with the Koyker 195. I spent much time looking and comparing. I made my choice. I think in the end, I spent too much time but.... Chip was very patient with all my questions. If you are in the market for a KAMA or of the many types Artrac carries, take a...

Any thoughts on comparring these two? I've been looking at the KAMA 454. Patrick

Well I have completed the TO 20 project. I plan to take it down the Florida the day after Christmas. From Indiana, that will 1000 mi. Due to the big snow, 18", she had a little more work before she could retire to grading a sand road. Thanks SoudGuy for all your advice.

I'll be hauling a tractor, TO-20, a 1000 mi soon. I desided to drain the fuid from the rear tires to reduce weight. Any tricks? I planned to remove the fill tube center and leter drain. now that will leve some but, close enough. Patrick

I have been looking here for a short while. I have come to the conclusion you can get a lot a tractor for the buck with the 'off' brands. I'm a hands on guy, farm boy/Purdue Mechanical engineer. So I have accepted I might be working on a China made unit some. Hopefully mostly assembly 'stuff'...

It's for sale at a small tractor parts store. It is small. I called a local Ford/NH dealer. But not sure I was getting the specs of this older beast. Thanks for your help

I saw a Ford 758 BH for sale for $1200. It's on a 8N now with some home made attachment. What's this beast worth? What are the capabilities?

A tractor shop near by has a Ford 870 BH, I think it's a 870. It's for sale for $1200. Sounds to good to be true. First, it is mounted on a 8N. There is a home made frame attachment for the bottom mounting and uses the top section of the 3 point hitch. It has a seperate pump mounted to the...

SoundGuy or any one with ideaes. As told before, the clutch and break pedals were stuck in the down position. They could be released by hand by just pulling up. Both work interms of breaks soildly stop and clutch fully engages/disengages. I managed to fix the clutch by drilling a small hole in...

Colors for repainting \'47 Harrey Fergison TO-20? As mentioned in past posts, I'm tring to spiff up an old HF TO-20. After I get the hydrolic lift fixed via SoundGuy's advice, I want to repaint the Hood, fenders and wheels. Hey, you gota leave the engine & tranny for the birth-day boy! So...

I have a '47 TO 20. Years ago the clutch petal started not returing very well. At first I cobbed some springs to help. As you can imagine, it was hard to push the petal down while sitting. Eventualy, I had to bend down a grab it with my hand. Dangerus and diffacult. Ever one I spoke with said I...

Trying to make good use of one's own tractor. ie justify buying one that is!. Appears to be several approches. Narrow trench, one pipe Wider, several pipes 3'+, coil or Slinky Any experince?

I live in southern Indiana. I have twenty acres that my current home is on and 3 acers that I will be building my next home. I built the fist timber frame and the next will be concrete. Both land sites have long gravel drives and hilly. We get a fair amount of snow and the power loss is common...