is it necessary?

accordionman · Dec 21, 2002

HELLO TO ALL,
i will be welding on my FEL bucket, and i want to know if
it is necessary to disconnect the battery on my tractor.
appreciate any, and all feedback.
accordionman
william l. brown

DarinRay · Dec 21, 2002

I think the answer is yes. Is it a must????? Not sure but if it only takes a couple minutes it's better to be safe than poorer after having to fix whatever may have happen. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Darin

Bird · Dec 21, 2002

William, I seem to recall a thread from a long time ago (that I could probably never find) about welding on tractors and damaging rod bearings (I won't even try to give the technical, scientific description of what happens, but there are some other guys on here who can). At any rate, first choice is to have the loader or bucket (or whatever you're going to weld on) removed from the tractor to do the welding, second choice is to disconnect battery cables, and third choice is to just have your ground clamp as close to the spot you're welding as possible. And I used the third choice when I welded on mine./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

frank_f15 · Dec 21, 2002

IS IT NECESSARY? no. but i wont hurt to do it. also depending on where exactly u are welding watch the heat, it can cook fluid and seals very quick. i wish i would always follow my own advise/w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

RET · Dec 26, 2002

I work in a chemical plant and see pump bearings and instrumentation get fried 2-3 times a year due to poor grounding techniques when welding. Ditto what Bird says...establish a very good ground as close to the weld as possible...and be sure the electrical path does not go through sensitive things such as bearings.
RET