Bad day

tmc_31 · Apr 11, 2014

Had a bad day yesterday. I was clearing thistle and pear off of about 30 acres over in Brown county in my nice comfy skid with the enclosed air conditioned office when I punched out the glass in the door with a tree stump

Had to finish out the day.

TCJatko · Apr 11, 2014

Little dry out there, is it?

yellowdogsvc · Apr 11, 2014

Get the lexan.. it's worth it. Worst case is you will scratch it up or tear up the door but it will keep something from pinning you (hurting you) in the cab. I switched to Lexan years ago.

tonyoz · Apr 11, 2014

Gees I look like that on a good day.:laughing:

ovrszd · Apr 11, 2014

Brother broke his door glass last year. Ran it for about an hour. I have no idea how people run them with no cab. Too close to the work being done.

tmc_31 · Apr 12, 2014

Went back for 8 more hours of it today. Didn't look so bad today, remembered to dump upwind of the pile

Called the dealer today, said he had new glass in stock so that will be the first stop Monday. Also going to price lexan.

Tim

kiwi mulcher · Apr 12, 2014

I found it cheaper to go to the plastic supply place and cut my own lexan to fit heaps cheaper and very easy to work with.There was two types of lexan when I went to get some last time,one is more scratch resistant than the other.

Gary Fowler · Apr 12, 2014

Regardless of how scratch resistant plastic is, it will still scratch up. I would prefer to have glass and just be a little more careful or perhaps put some protective bars on the outside of the glass. After a little work in the field, Lexan will get scratched and when facing into the sun it is nearly impossible to see anything thru it.

yellowdogsvc · Apr 12, 2014

I get 2-3 years out of lexan before I replace. I'm coming up on my 3rd year and 1200 hours on this particular piece. Anti glare coating on sunglasses helps a lot as the lexan ages.
It's a cost of doing business and I personally prefer the lexan over glass for safety but the glass can't be beat for visibility, cleaning, and dust shedding (lexan has a charge that attracts dust).

tmc_31 · Apr 12, 2014

Anybody ever try something like an expanded metal screen on standoffs over the glass door?

Tim

kiwi mulcher · Apr 12, 2014

Gary Fowler said:
Regardless of how scratch resistant plastic is, it will still scratch up. I would prefer to have glass and just be a little more careful or perhaps put some protective bars on the outside of the glass. After a little work in the field, Lexan will get scratched and when facing into the sun it is nearly impossible to see anything thru it.

Mine has been in use every day with window wipers and is still very good, a few minor scratches but nothing major that impacts vision.I will probably change it in the next 6 months.Over here you will hardly ever see a forestry machine(mulchers or logging machines) with glass.Regardless of how careful you are having to back drag while mulching in certain angles of terrain you will get some kick back towards the lower edge of the machine.MR10 was the grade of lexan used and it was way cheaper than glass about $250nzd from memory and i have a few spare cut ready to go in the workshop.

RDrancher · Apr 12, 2014

Well Tim...at least you didn't get a lights-out punch!

fishfactor · Apr 14, 2014

we use lexan on our machines. when they get scratched up too bad, we have a local guy that does auto body polish it out. He starts with around 600 grit, works up to I think 1500 (all wet) then finishes with a buffer like they use to buff the clear coat after painting. It looks like glass when he's done.

tmc_31 · Apr 17, 2014

Well, I got my door fixed yesterday. Installed it today shore was nice:cool2:. Apparently the original glass was tempered glass. They replaced it with laminated glass (like car windshield glass). I still don't know how much it cost me

.

I did ask them if they could install a lexan insert and they quoted me $231 (installed) for a 1/4" insert that would be a direct replacement for the glass in my door. My NH dealer can order a lexan replacement that will fit in my door (it mounts a little differently than the glass). It makes a demolition door. I am still trying to get an answer as to how thick the one from NH is.

You guys that run lexan demolition or forestry doors, how thick is the lexan? Is it even worthwhile to put in 1/4" lexan?

Tim

GreensForestryMulching · Apr 17, 2014

tmc_31 said:
Well, I got my door fixed yesterday. Installed it today shore was nice:cool2:. Apparently the original glass was tempered glass. They replaced it with laminated glass (like car windshield glass). I still don't know how much it cost me.

I did ask them if they could install a lexan insert and they quoted me $231 (installed) for a 1/4" insert that would be a direct replacement for the glass in my door. My NH dealer can order a lexan replacement that will fit in my door (it mounts a little differently than the glass). It makes a demolition door. I am still trying to get an answer as to how thick the one from NH is.

You guys that run lexan demolition or forestry doors, how thick is the lexan? Is it even worthwhile to put in 1/4" lexan?

Tim

Most Lexan doors are a minimum 1/2" thick on ctls 1/4" seems rather thin. Some of your bigger dedicated carriers run front Lexan doors over 1 1/4" which of course would be a little over kill for a ctl haha.

lumberjack1986 · Apr 17, 2014

The 1/4" lexan is likely to be a direct replacement for the glass in the same weather stripping.

1/2-3/4" is the norm on CTLs, but 1/4" would still be more than glass.

tmc_31 · Apr 17, 2014

Yeah, I was thinking 1/2" or more would be right for a demo door. Good point Lumberjack1986

Tim

kiwi mulcher · Apr 17, 2014

tmc_31 said:
Yeah, I was thinking 1/2" or more would be right for a demo door. Good point Lumberjack1986

Tim

If you do go to a heavier lexan the door the frames are hinged differently from glass .As most of the heavier lexan is bolted directly to the frame and exit in a emergency is via disconnecting the hinges not the pull ring on the weather strip in glass.I am sure it differs from different brands of machines.1/4 lexan is still better than glass for mulching if you have to use the same door frame

redprospector · Apr 17, 2014

I had an old Gyro-Trac GT-10 (ASV 4810) that had 1/4" lexan. It would cause a person to soil their drawers on occasion. Everything I have for mulching now has at least 1/2" doors.