EarthForce EF-5 enhancements

[MChalkley]

Re: Lights

GlueGuy - Well, all of the enhancements I've made to the EF-5's lights have been to keep some fool idiot from ramming me when I'm working on or around the highway. That's the major concern I have, because I do a lot of that.

The EF-5 came with one pair of 55w worklights on the front of the canopy, plus a pair of 65w H4 "road lights" (headlights) about 2 feet lower, but still quite a bit higher and more useful than the ones on my L4310 were, since the loader implement doesn't block them, and they're a lot brighter, of course. The EF-5 also came with 4 55w worklights facing rearward. So, obviously, I didn't need to add any white lights... (In fact, I remember a friend of mine who went to Folcomer's in Baltimore to see the EarthForce machines for the first time saying "Well, you're not going to have to put any worklights on it - it's already got one more than your Kubota has.")

When I had the Kubota, I found the lighting woefully inadequate for working in low light conditions, with the headlight problems mentioned above and none at all on the rear. So, I put 2 55w trapezoidal-beam worklights on the front of the canopy and 2 traps and 1 flood on the back.

You were probably wondering if I was ever going to get around to answering your question, weren't you? /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif Well, with the Kubota, after I put the lights on it, I found that I did a lot of stuff at night. In the summer, it was cooler to do it then. Plus, with my weird hours sometimes, it was just a lot more convenient. Sometimes, too, I just need a little "tractor time" to get my head back on straight (relatively speaking, of course - it's never on but so straight /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif) and if the only time you can get is at night, so be it. So it's a relief to have them, sometimes, from that standpoint. Then there's other situations, too: For example, a couple winters ago, I was working on a big project that was about 4 hours from home, and a big snowstorm was coming up. I worked until about 11 o'clock that night to finish up so I could be home by the time the snow got bad - I don't like pulling a trailer that outweighs my truck by 2-3 times in the snow.

So, yes, I use the lights quite a bit, but I think I benefit almost as much from knowing they're there if I needed them. Sort of a grown-up tractor-addict version of a security blanket. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[paccorti]

Re: Lights

Mark,

Have you considered optical encoders? Basically you shine some lights through a clear disk. Parts of the disk are blacked out (preventing light from getting through). By detecting the lights you can determine the absolute position of the rotational sensor. A 12 bit detector should be able to resolve just below 0.01 degrees! I found this <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.usdigital.com/products/hd25a/>site.</A>

On a related note, it sure would be fun to try the software route for all these mods. You could have a PC drive the sensor and display the output, click a software button and rezero the sensor! I've never done RS232 communications but it is probably not very hard.

Good luck,

Peter

 

[PaulInMi]

Re: Lights

Mark-

I may have missed it somewhere along the line, but what exactly do you do with your tractor? Do you make money with it or mostly work around your property?

Paul

 

[MChalkley]

Re: Lights

Paul - It's a little of everything, which is one of the reasons it has to be so versatile. I maintain 150+ acres with it, including a little over 2 miles of road shared by 5 families.

I do commercial road maintenance, lot clearing, landscaping (if it doesn't involve handwork - I work by myself, or as a sub to a someone with a crew if necessary), pretty much anything that can be done with my equipment. I'm semi-retired (from computer-related trades) and only do as much programming as I have to to make ends meet (or pay for tractor stuff /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif). I'm trying to get out of that completely and just do tractor work, though.

But most of the hours that get put on my equipment are for charity work. I work with a volunteer group that builds churches, does relief work in cases of natural disaster, etc.

 

[PaulInMi]

Re: Lights

Ok, that explains why you need such a monster/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif. Keeps the pictures coming as you go along.

Paul

 

[MChalkley]

Re: Seat shock...

I finally got the custom shock absorber from Stratos. It started life, before receiving extensive modifications, as a mountain bike shock. Here's a picture of it laying on the garage floor.

 

[MChalkley]

Re: Seat shock...

And here's a picture of the Stratos Helix Pro shock installed in the EF-5's seat suspension.

As for the difference in the ride: No comparison!

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Re: Seat shock...

Mark,

How did you determine the "angle" to mount the shock...?

 

[MChalkley]

Re: Seat shock...

John - In this case, it was easy. I just took out the worthless piece of junk that was in there and replaced it with a quality unit.

I think I know why you asked the question. At least, I'll assume I do. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif Basically, the arrangement used on this suspension requires an increasing amount of resistance on the part of the shock as the seat travels down, for two reasons: First, the amount of motion in the shock relative to the motion of the seat decreases as the seat nears the bottom of its travel and second, the shock is nearing a horizontal position while the motion it's trying to damp is still vertical. A vertical orientation of the shock would be a lot more efficient use of the shock, and that's what I would to if I were doing it myself (and I may figure out a way to do that with this seat), but I took the easy way this time. Fortunately, the bike shock is quite versatile and adjustable enough to handle the job, even though the deck is stacked against it. It's got independently adjustable extension (rebound) and compression rates, using the red knobs you see in the pictures, and an adjustable ramp-up force rate, using varying amounts of air pressure.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Re: Seat shock...

So I'll assume now... it's like riding on "air shocks" and not as "harsh"...{the whole machine feel...?}

 

[MChalkley]

Re: Seat shock...

John - Exactly. It's pretty strange, though. This shock in an internally damped oil-filled shock, and there's no sound from it whatsoever. The other seat shocks I've had all made a lot more hissing noises as they did their job, but this one is almost completely silent. At first, I almost had the impression that it wasn't doing much, but then I realized it was the absense of an audible indicator that was playing tricks on me.

You can adjust the rebound so that the seat returns to its normal height immediately, or takes a little bit. If you set it to take a bit, the ride is better, but several bumps in quick succession tend to make the shock compress farther and farther, resulting in the latter ones being a little tougher on the back (or backside). Still, this shock as an air pocket in it, with adjustable pressure, that provides a certain amount of cushion at the end of the stroke, no matter what.

You can also set the compression rate. Again, it's a trade-off between a very soft ride almost all the time at the expense of a harder jolt on a really major bump - or a harder ride in general, which protects you in case of a really bad bump. Once again, though, that captive air pocket comes into play here, because, even with almost no compression damping, it's going to keep you from slamming against the seat stops on any kind of bump.

 

[Von]

Re: Seat shock...

Mark, The shock looks great, almost too good to hide under the seat!/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif I 'm glad it worked out as you planed. Now remember my kickback if Stratos gives you anything for giving them the idea for seat shocks for tractors!/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[MChalkley]

Re: Seat shock...

Von - I haven't forgotten that the bike shock was your idea - and a great one it was, too! (The only one who's likely to be unhappy about it is my chiropractor.) In fact, just yesterday I sent you a royalties check for half of everything I've made so far. (Well, that's not quite true - actually, I'm going to send you a check for half of what I make just as soon as it exceeds the price of the stamp...) /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[MChalkley]

The lights are Done!

Well, gang, I'm done playing with the lights. A resident TBN genius who goes by the moniker Twinkle_Toes designed a device (actually two of them) that makes the LEDs work exactly the way I wanted them to.

By way of background, the EarthForce machines come with
1) Worklights - 2 55w halogens up front & 4 of them on the back
2) Road lights - two 65w halogen headlights, amber 21w turn signals, amber marker lights up front, red marker lights in back, and brake lights

Being a nut, this was all a little too pedestrian for me. I want to be sure that when I take the EF-5 on the road, I can cause rear-enders half a mile away from people jamming the brakes. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Earlier in this thread, there's a bunch of pictures of the 4" round LED lights and custom brackets I installed. They're incredibly bright, and require less than a fifth the power a similar incandescent would. So, it was easy to add them to the existing wiring to make them duplicate the OEM lights' functions.

But a couple things were still missing. First, the old-style on-off, on-off, on-off of the OEM flasher was a little boring, even with the burn-a-hole-in-your-retina brightness of the LEDs. I wanted to "strobe" the lights a few times in quick succession at the beginning of the on cycle to get folks' attention, and Twinkle_Toes created something to do just that for me. More on that in a minute.

Also, a glaring omission in the EF-5's lighting is the ability to flash all the amber lights as "Hazard" lights. So...

Yesterday, I re-wired all the turn signal control circuitry. I removed the OEM flasher and just jumpered across it to provide power to the "miracle boxes" Twinkle_Toes designed. I installed a rocker switch for Hazard lights. Now, thanks to one of the "miracle boxes", I can flash all the lights in Hazard warning mode, but if I turn on a signal light, the opposite side goes solid, while the correct side's lights continue to flash.

The other "miracle box" takes the place of the flasher itself. It provides several strobe-like flashes, followed by a regular on cycle, then an off cycle. It's also adjustable, so the flashes can be anywhere from 60ms or so on up to 500ms or so. I've currently got it set to produce 4 strobe flashes of about 80ms, followed 1.2 sec on, then .8 sec off, then the cycle repeats itself.

The effect is almost stunning, pun intended. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif The response time of the LEDs really comes into play here, because 80ms pulses just make the incandescents look like they're running on low voltage. But the LEDs look almost like real strobes - incredible! /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif

 

[ewoss3]

Re: The lights are Done!

oh boy another marketing toy we can all drool over, my CFO is ready to hunt you down already. I hit her up for the led lights already, she's gonna make me wait till after I get the full cage and canopy. Is this an off the shelf/easily built project or will we need expert help?

 

[MChalkley]

Re: EF future enhancements

Since Charlie is losing sleep over the possibility that I'm happy enough with my EF-500 that it's not going to undergo any more "enhancements", I thought I'd post some of the things that are on the current "To Do" list. Comments, ideas, monetary and parts donations, and suggestions are all welcome. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Other than "repair" items, like painting spots where I've welded on stuff, I'm planning to:

Seal the cab better - there are some leaks around the bottom of the glass
Paint the roof with reflective paint
Install some fans in the cab for cooling (me, that is)
Come up with a way to hold the auger off the ground better when moving around on site
Make a brush guard for the grill - so far, I haven't needed it, but I think I want it
Invent/Install an electronic bucket level indicator - More on this soon, I hope
Install an air filter pre-cleaner
Install a complete engine/hydraulics monitoring system with alarms - More on this soon
Install an engine oil bypass filtration system
Install noise reduction barriers on floor and firewall
Come up with some type of FEL gauge wheel mechanism
Install a FEL implement tilt mechanism of some sort - to allow side-to-side tilting
Install a retracting seat belt
Install a higher flow implement pump
Modify the engine/hydrostatic pump/motor control mechanism to also allow ground speed control independent of engine speed
Make a tool/chain box - I haven't figured out where to put it yet, though
Window tinting on the non-removable glass - if I can find something that's mostly clear, but blocks IR and is non-reflective
Get a root rake/grapple combination attachment
Get a logging winch
Get/make a box scraper that can be attached as either a push or pull unit

I think that's most of it. I doubt I'll ever get to all of it, and some items will probably just be discarded in favor of better approaches, or become impractical as I do further research. But that's the list as it currently stands. (Feel better now, Charlie? /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif)

 

[Charlie_Iliff]

Re: EF tool box & belt

Mark:
I read through the list carefully. I'd like you to know I'm way ahead of you. I already have a retracting seat belt.
I am in the process of designing a carrier for implements and a tool box. Some time ago, there was a thread about what should be in one. It demonstrated that no one posting had any real experience with tractor tool sets. Once I mount a box on the Power Trac, I already have my starter kit.
A claw hammer with one claw missing.
A flat blade screwdriver with 10 degree shaft bend and a corner broken off the blade.
A 3/8 shackle without the pin
An 8 inch galvanized nail
Three links of 1/4 inch chain, with one crushed link
A beer can opener that says National Bohemian

 

[MChalkley]

Re: EF tool box & belt

Charlie - <font color=blue>I'd like you to know I'm way ahead of you.</font color=blue> That does it - I quit.

You don't have an extra National Bohemian opener, do you? /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Egon]

Re: EF tool box & belt

Still missing the most important tool. A koolatron so the Bohemian opener works on a cold bottle.

Egon

 

[Charlie_Iliff]

Re: EF tool box & belt

<font color=red>Still missing the most important tool. A koolatron </font color=red>

Nope - that goes on the other list - "Stuff outside the toolbox that will fall off in transit."