PT-425 has arrived!

[MossRoad]

Pictures of the engine compartment open from both sides please.

 

[joshlee]

I think the gas tank is Aluminum, but I haven't stuck a magnet on it to be sure. It is certainly SHINY!

Most types of stainless steel are non-magnetic, right?

 

[Scar0B2150]

Most types of stainless steel are non-magnetic, right?

They still contain iron for strength so they would be considered semi-magnetic.
A lot of "stainless steel" will still rust, depending on the composition.

 

[cqaigy2]

Gorgeous!

Brings back memories of when i picked up my brand spanking new PT, I get all excited again.


I'm curious what the cylindrical thing with what looks like a nut on the end, is in the picture looking of the FEL from the front. It's right below and to the left of the tilt cylinder.

 

[ponytug]

Most types of stainless steel are non-magnetic, right?

Some are ("ferritic", 400 series stainless, and duplex, e.g. 2205), but the confusing part is that depending on how a particular alloy is treated during manufacture it may become magnetic. So,... it is complicated.

Stainless steel alloys 304, 318, and 904L aren't to begin with, but cold working them or welding can make them magnetic.

Finally, to make things really confusing, most stainless is paramagnetic, which means it responds to a magnetic field ("does it stick to a magnet?"), but don't retain a magnetic field afterwards.

Nice article here;

Is stainless steel magnetic? And why?

Do you know what is stainless steel? Is stainless steel magnetic and why? This article will tell you everything.

www.rocheindustry.com

My totally non-scientific test is how "soft", "heavy", and how "warm" aluminum is compared to stainless. Not perfect by any means. Keeping alloys organized is important if you machine them or weld them, and don't want surprises.

But back to the fuel tank question; I'd bet on aluminum, but could be either as the material cost isn't that different.

All the best,

Peter

 

[MossRoad]

I feel like I've learned something today. Thanks!

 

[joshlee]

What happens with atoms being excited is so amazing, it that creating magnetism.

There’s a guy that comes to the clock meetings I go to that is a metallurgist only for stainless steel. I had no idea there were so many types until meeting him. That’s interesting that the price is about the same for aluminum and stainless. Whatever those tanks are made of they look top quality.

 

[BigDaddyEureka]

Pictures of the engine compartment open from both sides please.

Youbetcha!

 

[BigDaddyEureka]

Nice! Does it have a aluminum gas tank? I always heard good things about the Kohler engine they put in the 425. I like 3D printer coupler covers.

Magnet test fails, so it's either aluminum or a low-magnetic stainless. Very good job on the welds on it.

 

[BigDaddyEureka]

Used the spreader today for the lawn and to seed clover on the area that will become the new orchard. One thing I didn't like about the spreader is that there's no mechanism to control the flow rate out of the hopper precisely. The cable that opens and closes the bottom port / door is kind of a "tug and guess" system.

A good temporary fix is to use a small C-clamp on the arm itself to regulate the door opening. That way you can tug the left cable for closed and the right cable for "open to specified stop." With a little jiggering around with the location of the C-clamp, we got the flow rate to be spot on to what we wanted! (I'll post a pic of what I'm talking about later.)