Search results

I am about to go on a trip, and will be leaving my car (VW Jetta) and truck (Ram 2500) parked for about a month. I want to leave them on a trickle charger so that I don't get a disappointing surprise when I get home. I only have one trickle charger, though. If I were to use jumper cables to put...

A little while ago, the wires going to my PTO clutch on my mower were cut by rubbing up against a belt. After I fixed them, everything seemed to work fine, but now when I stop the blades (sometimes) or when the blades bog down (sometimes), the part of the clutch that the wires come out of spins...

http://img.ifcdn.com/images/a5b837075499013ab8ea318cf1222b146aac3e2c2eabee24959bc5cd0b2fef3b_1.gif

The wires going to my mower's electric clutch rubbed against a belt, frayed, and broke. Fixing them will be no problem, but the problem is that both wires coming off the clutch are black, so I'm not 100% sure I will get them back in the same polarity that they were. I'm guessing the clutch is...

My girlfriend has been dreaming about getting an RV. We crunched the weight numbers on a fifth-wheel, and I was surprised at the result. Here are the specs for my truck: 2005 Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 SLT Quad Cab Short Bed 5.9L HO Diesel Engine GVWR: 9000 lbs GAWR (front)...

I tried to refill the refrigerant in my vehicles today using A/C Pro refrigerant recharge kit. Here's the run-down of what happened: 1. Located low-side port on my truck (Ram 2500 Diesel). Connected the cannister. 2. Located AC compressor, but unable to verify that it was engaging due to...

I just watched this video. I was surprised to hear him say that, in general, a low OCV is more desirable. I have heard that a higher OCV is needed to run 6010 properly. Maybe this is a case of "Goldilocks"--not too little, not too much, but just right? The other thing that surprised me was...

Says a friend of mine who works in dispatching/logistics: "I have 2 techs who, against advice, took their buckets up over 30ft and are now stuck because the hydraulic fluid is cold." I thought y'all would get a chuckle out of that. Stay warm, everybody!

I am running a gas range off a 20 lb propane tank. I've got a two stage regulator on the tank and have converted the stove's regulator, orifices, etc... Everything was working fine up until yesterday, when the stove began acting starved for fuel. The burners have small flames. The oven looks...

The attached video shows the (apparently) successful result of using an Arduino microcontroller to manipulate the output of the welder, in place of the pedal. The welder puts 2.7 volts through the pedal, and a potentiometer in the pedal redirects some of that voltage to pin 4 of the...

My neighbor just called and said he had a proposition for me. The engine mounting bracket on his 15-year-old Craftsman mower cracked and he and his wife had decided it was time to replace it (with a new 500 series Deere--sweeeet). Since he knows I weld, he asked if I wanted to try to fix it, or...

Long story short, my porch lit on fire the other night. My girlfriend smokes, and she had a trash can full of finished compost, into which was set a five gallon bucket, and then in that was a pyrex bowl with her butts in it. She was working on screening some compost, and then she needed...

A few days ago, my girlfriend told me our truck was acting weird. Revving at stops and pulling too much at low speeds. We took it in and it was diagnosed as the transmission. Apparently, there is an issue with these trucks where the torque converter clutch fails and the torque converter locks...

I just put the last welds on this project today. I'm pretty pleased with the welds holding the expanded metal on. Welding them up without melting the expanded metal away took some ... skill? It might have been skill. How about that? E6011 3/32" at about 65-70 amps. The bottom of the...

When I was shopping for a welder, I wanted to get something that would do TIG, in part because TIG is awesome and beautiful, but also because TIG allows welding of thinner material than stick. So far, I have been TIG'ing 1/8" material that I could have done with stick, it just wouldn't have been...

I had an issue tonight while trying to TIG weld some stuff. Symptom was that the arc wouldn't start even though I could hear the HF buzzing. Tried it on the work piece and my table top. Nada. Checked ground and it was good. The welder worked fine in stick mode. Checked all settings on the...

For a "camping" project I'm doing, I want to hook a full-size stove up to a 20-lb propane tank. I have already switched the stove's regulator from NG to LP. Some instructions on the Internet seem to indicate that I need a second regulator at the tank. Is this true, or can I rely exclusively on...

I want to start a thread recognizing some of the All-Star members of TBN. I've noticed a couple people who are consistently helpful and knowledgeable, and I think they deserve to be recognized. Everybody is welcome to add whomever else they like to the list. Let's please keep it on-topic and...

The picture tells the story. Although I'm normally a DIY kind of guy, the top of the tree is hung up in another tree, which pretty much automatically makes it over my pay grade. Still, I'm curious how a professional would go about this? How could the tree be brought down without having it...

According to the video description, this was a "professional" faller. Given that he didn't cut off the back-leaning limbs OR put a backup line to guide the fall, I have to wonder if he wasn't just some guy with a saw who figured it was an easy way to make a buck.

I am planning on building a sound-deadening box for a portable generator. I'm curious if y'all could suggest some hardware-store material that would be a good choice, that might not be obvious. As I understand it, the best material would be MDF, because of its density, but that's a no-go because...

This happened as a vendor was leaving an event that I attended. In case it's not obvious from the photo, the trailer has gone off the side of a small bridge over a creek.

I welded some 1" x 1/8" thick tube into a T today. The "top" of the T warped slightly, of course. I know one way to bend it back is to weld a bead on the back side of the joint; I believe the bead should be perpendicular to the length of the tube, is that right? I was also wondering if I could...

I got a shipment of parts for my TIG torch today. I want to get set up with a gas lens. I have a 17-style torch. I ordered the lens, the insulator, and the nozzle/cup. When I was looking at the Weldcraft web site, I didn't see a dedicated gas lens collet, but now that I have all the parts, my...

Driving down the highway yesterday, I saw a trailer that looked askew. At first, I thought the axle must be overloaded and bent, because the tire was cambered out so far. But upon closer reflection, I realized that what happened was, one tire on a dual-axle trailer had blown, and the axle was...

Literally within hours of putting a new set of blades on my mower, I ran over a root in an area I have mowed a hundred times, and for some reason, this time I hung up a blade. Normally, when I hit something, the blade nicks and I cuss and go on, but this time, the brand new blade was totally...

I noticed tonight that some of the posts on my pole barn are starting to rot at ground level. To say there are runoff issues would be putting it mildly: the barn is on a gravel pad, and when it rains heavily, there is standing water in some places. I recently had two 6x6 fence posts rot out...

I decided to build a stick electrode caddy out of a piece of 4" pipe that's been sitting out behind my barn since I moved in here (and probably longer). One problem: how to clean the rust out of the inside of the pipe. A wiser person would have just bought a clean piece of pipe and gone from...

I put up a Want-To-Buy ad on Craigslist recently, looking for an argon cylinder. Somebody contacted me saying he had a 300 cf cylinder (empty) that he'd sell me. I have some reservations because nobody around here sells larger than 125 off-lease, but we talked about it and he said if you have a...

I'm contemplating the design of a ballast box for my tractor. My target weight is about 800-900 lbs, or maybe a little more. If memory serves, my owner's manual calls for 800 and change, but I figure the three-point can take more, and a little more ballast is probably better than a little less...

I finally figured out what is making the dings in the paint on my right side fender. It's not my kid. It's not a chicken. It's not a rodent. It's me flipping off the seat belt and letting the buckle slap against the fender. I wonder if there is some kind of dense foam that I could put there to...

Here's something I can't figure out. The blade of my metal-cutting horizontal bandsaw is getting stuck in the kerf. This seems like it should be pretty much impossible, since the teeth should be wider than the body of the blade, so the kerf should always be wide enough to clear the body of the...

Seen on Craigslist. Satoh S650 weighs between 2100 and 3600 lbs according to Tractordata.com. I suppose it's not totally impossible that the trailer is under the axle's rated weight, but I sure would be concerned about the tongue weight on the trailer, given how much of the tractor is front...

A street corner about two miles from my house is being widened, and many trees are being taken out to make room for it. The trees have been tagged forever, and about a year ago, I chatted with the homeowner on the corner and asked him if he would let me know when they started taking them down so...

I noticed a scorched/melted part on my ground clamp today. My best guess is that when I had it clamped on the table, the woven copper bridge between the two jaws arced to the table, as shown below. It could also be that the woven copper bridge arced to the clamp itself, but that seems...

I'm super excited! My PA160 STH arrived today. I haven't had a chance to weld with it, because it's raining outside, but as soon as I do, I'll post up some pictures and experiences. In the mean time, here are some unboxing photos. The welder comes in a plastic briefcase. There's enough room...

I have a 2007 Dodge Ram 2500. In the last few weeks, it has been having trouble starting when it's cold sometimes. The dealer is saying there's water in the fuel and they've got to flush the system, change the fuel filter, and clean the injectors, to the tune of around $700. If the injectors...

My 21 month old son squished his finger in the lid of our coffee table tonight. In the hinge. Popped it like a grape! We took him to the ER and they fixed him up and he'll be fine. I may never recover! This is the first time he's really hurt himself more than a bump or a bruise, and it really...

Since stick and TIG are both CV (Edit: CC) processes, many (most? all?) TIG welders also say they support stick. But is there typically a difference in arc quality between a dedicated stick welder and a TIG welder that also does stick? I know one potential difference is that some stick welders...

I've installed a box for a 120v receptacle on my welding table. It's metal, so I just tack welded it to the table leg. Normally, when doing work like this, I would bond the box to ground, so that the box wouldn't become energized if a cable came loose or whatever. I'm not sure if there will be...

The manual for my tractor says not to operate the 3ph position lever when the rate-of-drop valve is all the way closed, because it will put the system into relief and can overheat the hydraulic oil. Seems pretty straightforward. But in another thread on TBN, someone said that, on their tractor...

I seem to recall getting quite a few cuts from the 14" abrasive wheels on my chop saw. I went to HD and bought some Diablo brand wheels and got, literally, one to two cuts per wheel, through 2" square, 1/8" wall, tubing. I figured something must be wrong with the wheels, so I complained and...

I was adjusting the dry-fit on a piece today. The ground clamp was hooked up and the welder was on; the stinger was placed securely away from the work area. It had been raining and the ground was wet. I wasn't wearing gloves. As I put my knee down on the ground, I felt a little tingle in my hand...

I was doing some box blading today, trying to clean up the area where the pigs were. They root right up to their fence, which is only about 12" off the main fence, so there is a tiny berm of dirt all along where their fence was. Trying to pick it up, I eased the tractor right in next to the...

I wonder if anybody more experienced could give me tips on correcting for warpage. Like, recently I tried to build, basically a three-sided channel. No matter how carefully I aligned the side walls before welding, afterwards, they were out of true. I got a suggestion to fix it by clamping them...

Well, folks, I set up the camera to take a nice time lapse of this build so I could put up a video for y'all to enjoy, but when I was done, I realized I hadn't put a memory card in the camera. So all you get is the finished photos. Until recently, the sheep have gotten by without any...

My fence has several places where there is a 6x6 post with a long (drive-through, opens-in-the-middle) gate hanging on one side and a short (walk-through) gate hanging on the other side. Two of them have recently broken off at ground level--probably rotted away, I would guess. I would love to be...

I was pulling a load of firewood in my garden cart today, and I thought to myself, "Wouldn't it be neat if I put an electric motor on this?" I have a zillion projects in the queue at this point, so who knows if I'll ever get to it, but as I was thinking about it, I realized that I didn't have...

I cleaned out the top chamber of my wood stove today. I noticed a red crumbly, almost clay-like substance coating some parts. Specifically, it appeared to be coating parts where air flow was restricted, like the grate leading from the firebox to the upper combustion chamber, or a place where the...

Watch Family Guy: Excavator online | Free | Hulu Yup. That seems about right.

My full 5 gallon diesel fuel can was in the back of the truck while it rained. The fancy-schmancy no-spill spout seems to have been stuck slightly in the "open" position, and I'm concerned some water got in. It got me thinking... Can anybody confirm whether my tractor (Bobcat CT225) has a...

My garden cart's steering rack broke. Now I'm fixing it. The broken rack. Used a cutoff wheel in an angle grinder to cut out the (tiny) welds holding the original piece in. I didn't have a piece of 1/8" flat stock handy, so I cut one out of some 3/16" stock that I had laying around. I...

I have a Ram 2500 with a Cummins diesel. The owner's manual gives two oil change intervals, depending on usage: 5,000 miles and 15,000 miles. It says to use the 5,000 mile interval if you make many short trips without bringing the engine up to temperature, if you operate in dusty environments...

I have reviewed all the other bucket mod threads I could find, and I've decided that I am going to put hooks and a 2" hitch receiver on my bucket. I'd like to get some input on the best way to install them on my specific bucket. The bucket is made of ... well, my caliper says 5/16", but that...

A few days ago, I went to use my tractor and the battery was dead. Like, won't even light up the dash dead. It had been a few weeks since I had last used it, but it was still pretty unexpected. The key wasn't in it, so it's not like I left the lights on or anything. So I put a charger on it and...

No, not my nuts. :laughing: I'm making a toy for my 17-month-old son. He loves playing with wrenches and nuts and bolts, so I figured I would make him a plate of metal with some captive bolts and a box wrench on a chain, so he can turn the bolts but neither they nor the wrench could get...

My neighbor was given a BBQ/smoker in exchange for some work he did. The firebox has its air intake and damper on the side wall, close to the smoke chamber. What this means is that the air goes past one corner of the fire. That corner quickly burns out while the rest of the wood smolders. I...

Man napping in cornfield survives being run over by combine Used up one of his nine lives, that's for sure.

I recently did my 50 hour service, and afterwards, one of my hydraulic filters is leaking just the tiniest bit. I may have to take it off and make sure the seating surface is clean. If I have to do this, do I have to drain the oil into a clean container first? Or is there some trick to allow...

I don't know how much control the admins have over what ads are presented here, but I saw an ad for a "Free Energy" device the other day. Put simply, free energy devices violate the laws of physics. Anyone selling a free energy device is running a con. Anybody buying a free energy device is a...

Not that there haven't been threads on this before, but I did my 50 hour service today. It was mostly uneventful. One challenge was finding somewhere to put the 8 gallons of used hydraulic oil until I was able to pour the new oil in. My oil drain pan only holds four gallons. Another challenge...

Before I start using my auto-darkening helmet, I always turn it off and back on again. When it's turned on, it flicks dark for a moment, which assures me that the batteries are working and all. Then, before I start welding, I put the rod just out of my peripheral vision and drag it to make...

If you only had one, which would it be, and why? I'm kind of going back and forth. Cup style is kind of better for cleaning flat surfaces, but I also kind of find myself going to the edge of the wheel more often than not, and think maybe I should just use a disc. The cup wheel is bigger and...

I have a project that I may be doing soon that will involve cutting about 250 pieces of 3/4" EMT. The last time I did this, I used a 14" abrasive chop-saw, which worked really well in a lot of ways, but one thing I didn't like was how long it took. I could only cut one piece at a time and each...

I am having trouble finding sources for practice scrap. I have called scrap dealers in my area, but they only buy from the public; they don't sell. I have picked up a few pieces from neighbors' junk piles, but they are rusted to heck from being left out in the weather, so cleaning them is a real...

My front tires are not holding air. I have to fill them up every time I go to use the tractor. I have replaced the valve cores, but that didn't do it. I have inspected them carefully and don't see any punctures. What's the next step? It must be the bead, right? Thanks.

This is what my welder's fan is doing: I would love any suggestions on steps to troubleshoot or repair it. I have a very basic theoretical understanding of how electric motors work, but not enough practical application to proceed. A new one will cost me around $70, and I have other things I...

Did a little touch-up on my gravel drive today with the box blade. I have worked it with the loader, but this is the first time I really got in there with the box. Suffice it to say, I'll never go back to the loader again if I don't have to. The box did a great job, both at aggressive leveling...

My tractor has a "hard shifting" issue. To shift gear ranges, all pressure must be relieved from the drive system. There are various techniques to relieve the pressure: reducing RPMs to near-idle; turning the wheels all the way left, then right again; pressing in the clutch and tapping the HST...

I made an Android app to calculate the amount of firewood that would be produced from logs of a given size. I was inspired to make the app once while I was surveying a pile of logs that a guy was wanting to sell. Not knowing how much wood was really in them, I couldn't tell if his price was fair...

Driving on the highway today, I saw a car with its flashers on. It wasn't having trouble or anything. Just driving with its flashers on. Then I realized that the travel trailer in front of it also had its flashers on. The car was acting as a chase-car. Once I got a little closer, I saw why.

If I have a portable generator with a floating neutral (e.g. it has a grounding lug on the frame, which is supposed to be run to a ground rod) what are the implications of not running a ground rod? I have done a bunch of web searching on this, and I still don't feel like I have a straight...

50 amp stick welder with helmet, welding rods, and carbon arc torch Can anybody give me an opinion on these welders? I'm considering learning to weld and am browsing used units on CL. BTW, I think the guy has the prices of the two units reversed, because the Wards unit seems hands-down better...

This is now the second time I have lost a cotter pin off the back of my tractor. The first time was during some rough bush-hogging. The cotter pin got pulled out and I lost the retention pin that holds one of my sway bars on. Now, I noticed that the cotter pin on the retention pin that holds my...

I am really tempted to do an SOA conversion on my trailer. The trailer rides low enough that I have to have a really long shank on my WD head in order to get the trailer to ride level. Even worse, the spring bars scrape on the ground sometimes, if I go over a bump or a dip. The extra 4-6" or so...

I want a dimmer to dim about 300-500 watts of incandescent lighting, and I think I could probably make something a lot cheaper than I could buy it. Is there any reason why I shouldn't just buy a dimmer switch, a wall box, and a face plate from the hardware store, then cut an extension cord in...

I am going to use my box blade and FEL (but mostly the box blade) to recondition an area of my property that, until this week, had pigs on it. The area is sloped, so all of the topsoil has washed down to the bottom as the pigs tilled it up, and there are lots of spots where they have made...

Vertical Cut Bush Hog Is it me, or does this look like a heck of a deal? I have the impression that flail mowers usually go for a lot more than this, even used. Best part is, since he calls it a "vertical bush hog" it's not likely to get many hits.

I went and picked up a hog today. We have six hogs, five of which are spoken for, and the sixth is ours. Only problem is, one is a runt. Her sisters are all around 200 lbs. She's around 50. We have done everything we can think of to make sure it's not a medical issue. She just won't grow. So...

I have a kind of dumb question. I'm no stranger to simple electronics, but I'm relatively inexperienced with automotive electronics, and I'm trying to figure out the proper usage of a relay. My understanding is that a relay is used when the current draw of the load is more than the switch that...

Can anybody help me out with the capacity of the alternator on my CT225? I'm pondering adding ROPS lights and want to determine how much headspace I'm likely to have. If it turns out it's in the back of the manual, I'm going to kick myself. What's a reasonable assumption for current draw when...

Axle placement? What axle placement? Am I missing something, or is this a really unsafe trailer?

The box blade I bought today has loose lower link pins. They appear to be threaded all the way tight, there just aren't enough threads on them to let the nut squeeze all the way down on the metal of the frame. It seems to me they might oval out after a while or something. Should they be tight...

Woo hoo! I'm super excited. Now that I sold off some of my firearms stuff, I can go buy this box blade! **Implements box blade,plow etc... It'll also help a little with ballast, until I can get the ballast barrel project completed. Really looking forward to what it'll do on my driveway, as...

I have realized what a difference a ballast box will make in my tractor's handling. Only problem is I just got quoted over $700 for one. And they say Deere accessories are expensive! That seems like a pretty high price to me, and I wonder if the dealer is just trying to have me on. But no...

Took the loader off the tractor for the first time this weekend to do some bushhogging. What a difference! With no implements front or back , the tractor was so balanced and planted! I felt like I could zip anywhere. As soon as I put the loader back on, I could immediately feel how front heavy...

I have a 16', dual-axle, utility trailer, rated for 7000 lbs GVWR. I have recently started using it to move my tractor around, when I need to. My tractor weighs 3050 lbs (per manufacturer specs). Say I've got an implement on as well, up to maybe 1000 lbs, for a total weight around 4000 lbs...

I bought five round bales today and brought them home on my trailer, stacked three-and-two. The top two were (relatively) easy. I parked the truck parallel to the trailer and tipped them into the truck's bed. One, I did with ratchet straps and elbow grease. The other, I tipped some of the way...

I just spent a little while troubleshooting a "won't crank" condition on my mower. After testing the battery, I went on to test the starter motor (good) and solenoid (good), only to find out that it was, in fact, corrosion on my battery terminals that was the problem. When I tested the battery...

I looked for a pre-existing thread to stick this comment on and didn't find one, so here's yet another thread talking about HST. I had my first real, extended seat time today, bush-hogging a 3.6 acre field for a neighbor. Took me about 4 hours, which is the longest I've spent in the seat since...

I'm curious what you all think is a good pace for bush-hogging with a 5' cutter. I bush-hogged my first big field today (3.5 acres--it's big to me!) and I totally mis-estimated how long it would take me. What I did was, I used a mowing calculator to determine how fast I could mow a field at my...

I am going to brush-hog a nearby property tomorrow. The place is just a few miles down the road, and I'm going to just drive the tractor over, instead of putting it on the trailer. My question is, is it okay to ride like that with the brush-hog on the 3ph? It bounces up and down a lot. At first...

Had two pucker moments today. I was brush-hogging an unfamiliar lot. There was a tree I was going under, so I put the ROPS down. Before putting it back up again, the terrain changed unexpectedly, and I found myself at an uncomfortable side angle. I turned the wheels down-hill, but the lay of the...

With 10 hours on my new tractor, I'm going through a basic maintenance once-over. I figured I'd hit all the grease points just to be thorough. This is my first experience with a grease gun, and I think I have figured out all of the wrong ways to reload it. Wrong way #1: Mis-read the...

I was unloading a bale of hay from my truck Friday when it starts beeping at me. Zero oil pressure. I shut it down immediately and pulled the dip-stick. Bone dry. Okay. No clue when that happened. I just bought the truck a few months ago, and I'm sure I've glanced at the oil pressure gauge a few...

I've been reading a bunch of threads on here about safe (and unsafe!) tractor operation. One of the things I've read about and personally experienced is how useful 4wd is when going down hills nose-first. I don't have very many big flat spots on my property, and I'm often using the loader, so I...

I just picked up a weight-distribution system for my truck/trailer. The hitch receiver height is about 22". The coupler is about 15" high when the trailer's level. The coupler is about 20" high when the trailer is on the ball, with the head at its lowest position on the shank. My inclinometer...

Is there a guideline for the rating of straps or chains used to hold down a tractor on a trailer?

Every time I hook up my trailer, I do a little "skid-test" on the brakes to make sure they're adjusted right. Yesterday, when I did that, they didn't pull very hard at all. I jacked the trailer up and applied the brake button on the controller, then spun the wheels by hand, and I could feel the...

It looks like I am going to buy a tractor soon. I have been holding off for months, telling myself I should spend that money on something else, or that I don't really need one, and I keep reading this forum and shopping web sites and watching videos and I think the only way I'll get anything...

I got a quote today on a Bobcat CT225 with loader. I'm having trouble figuring out what's an appropriate comparison in other major lines. The salesperson said that it was a fair comparison to the Kubota Grand L series, but I think he may have been being a little more charitable than I'm inclined...

I'm considering what to buy for a first tractor. I have about 3 acres, of which maybe 2 acres is pasture. I raise hogs and lambs, and do some household gardening (but don't sell any produce). A big chunk of my work is pasture maintenance, which mostly consists of mowing an area after the sheep...