Security & Theft Securing tractor from theft

[AJ Clark]

My Grandfather planted a garden every spring and he tried every "scarecrow" tactic know to man to keep the blackbirds (thevies) out of his garden. He finally found one solution that worked well. He would plant the garden, then sit on the porch with his 22 cal rifle and shoot the first Blackbird that showed up. He would drive a stake in the middle of the garden and hang that dead bird from it. You could see the other birds sitting in the trees at the end of the garden but not one would take a chance to grad a snack. You could almost imagine what they were thinkin.." Don't go down there man... LOOK WHAT HE DID TO PHIL!!!"

I wasn't sure it the tractor theft deterant device had to be legal or just effective

 

[patrick_g]

My Grandfather planted a garden every spring and he tried every "scarecrow" tactic know to man to keep the blackbirds (thevies) out of his garden. He finally found one solution that worked well. He would plant the garden, then sit on the porch with his 22 cal rifle and shoot the first Blackbird that showed up. He would drive a stake in the middle of the garden and hang that dead bird from it. You could see the other birds sitting in the trees at the end of the garden but not one would take a chance to grad a snack. You could almost imagine what they were thinkin.." Don't go down there man... LOOK WHAT HE DID TO PHIL!!!"

I wasn't sure it the tractor theft deterant device had to be legal or just effective

A.J. about how high up do you suppose you should hang the first dead tractor thief for optimum effect?

I had a cousin whose family lived in a rural area on a farm near Enid, Oklahoma whose summer job was "herding" crows in water melon fields. He'd take a jug of water and sack lunch along with his .22 and go sit under a shade tree and shoot at any crows that would fly down into the watermelons. I don't recall his hourly salary but I think the per crow bonus was either $0.25 or $0.50 each. Of course he didn't get many crows but the bonus kept him trying instead of sleeping under the shade tree and the farmer saved a lot of crop from being pecked.

Pat.

 

[AJ Clark]

Definately high enough to be seen from the highway.

 

[patrick_g]

My bucket has a hole in it...


Red barn got moved. Is that the big metal building you have been talking about having moved did you finally get that done. We all want the complete story of how you did it. Last I heard you were waiting for some help to prepare it for the big move ?

Yes the 35x70x18 (wall) red metal bld that was up by the highway is now 200 ft east of my 3 car garage. I took pix and unless I am having a big relapse/episode of CRS I posted pix.

Now then was that here or on CBN??? Hmmm...

Pat

 

[RWolf]

Pat, I think you'd be better off to get a separate air compressor as you will loose about 10psi per 50ft of line. In order to keep the lose down you'd need to up the diameter of your air line quite a bit and it would need to be rated at about 200+ psi (even though your air supply will probably be about 135psi.). Also those flexible lines unless there rated for outdoor/under ground will probably rot in a few years and you'd be doing it all over again.

 

[gemini5362]

Yes the 35x70x18 (wall) red metal bld that was up by the highway is now 200 ft east of my 3 car garage. I took pix and unless I am having a big relapse/episode of CRS I posted pix.

Now then was that here or on CBN??? Hmmm...

Pat

hmmm I must be having amnesia. Did you post them on this thread or which one ?

 

[Soundguy]

I have a failed portable compressor with a good 30 gal tank. I thought I might bury a small airline (inexpensive flex plastic) from my metal/welding shop to the barn. Cheaper than a HF pancake and hopefully more reliable.

While I'm not a supreme fan of most of the stuff from the chinese store.. I wouldn't blaspheme their pancake compressors just yet. I have one that is over 10ys old now. Just a few months ago it finally blew out some gaskets in the head. I was gonna junk it. but took it apart nd cleaned with carb cleaner spray and cut newgaskets out of regular automotive thin gasket paper and an exacto knife. thing works better than ever now. piston bore and piston were 'new' looking with no appreciable wear at all. I figure it's got another 10ys left in it at this rate.. I put that cost of owning at 9$ per year now.. not too bad. Considering the lifespan of many flexible tubings.. and the pain in the but it will be when one does blow or get a leak... that dedicated compressor may be a great idea.. heck.. keep the 30g tank as well... use it as extra air capacity. I used to paint tractors with that little 2hp / 4g pancake job.. I plumbed an extra 15g air-up tank in with it for more capacity and ran that little compressor till the paint burned off the head many times while painting....

the way i used it deffinately qualified as abuse.. and it's still going like brand new... I f i didn't know better.. I'd say it had a gasket leak from the factor when i got it as it builds aire 2x as fast now with my homade gaskets..

soundguy

 

[patrick_g]

Pat, I think you'd be better off to get a separate air compressor as you will loose about 10psi per 50ft of line. In order to keep the lose down you'd need to up the diameter of your air line quite a bit and it would need to be rated at about 200+ psi (even though your air supply will probably be about 135psi.). Also those flexible lines unless there rated for outdoor/under ground will probably rot in a few years and you'd be doing it all over again.

Sorry, but I disagree. Here is why...

I will not be trying to "use" air from the long run of hose but will just be filling a tank in the barn via the long run of small hose which I bought a couple days ago (250 feet @9 cents per foot.) It will fit inside 3/4 inch conduit along with the 6-3 with ground wire power run. This little tube will fill the 30 gal tank (which I will cannibalize from a failed Devilbiss compressor) via its check valve. At stasis the flow rate is zero so the losses are zero. The dynamic losses are not of consequence since I don't really care a lot how slow the initial or subsequent fills are (hours wouild be acceptable as I don't need minutes. My needs for air in the barn are not too HD, just maybe topping off tires, things a portable air tank could do (sort of) but I don't have to tote it back and forth to a compressor or air line doing it this way.

If I really cared I'd bury a larger pipe.

In the event I have to do some HD air work like with impact tools this set up will not be useful. But neither would a little HF pancake or similar which costs more and is more maint and failure prone than a run of tubing. If I have to get serious with air I can just press the button on my electric start 17,500 Watt (continuous rating) generator which is mounted on the same little trailer as a 10+ CFM @90 PSI compressor and air too away. The genny has an idle control so when the compressor runs the genny revs up and when the compressor stops the genny goes to idle (likewise other loads.) It has an electronic governor so load response is very good.

I will feed the little line from a regulator set at 125 pounds or maybe a tad less (Devilbiss was set for 125 max.) My shop air is a 175 PSI 60 gal. My air dryer (refrigeration compressor type) is not rated that high so I have to set the output regulator lower before distributing the shop air.

I understand your comments and they are appreciated. If I were trying to actually use air as it was delivered by the little tube all your comments would be valid and my installation would be really stupid. The little tube was less than $25 plus a couple fittings vs always having to carry a "turtle" back and forth from the shop to the barn to have a bit of air in the barn.

Regarding rot: Note the plastic tubing I bought is not your typical beaided air hose with cloth fibers in it. It is like what is often used for ice maker water lines and is pretty impervious to being buried. Since it is being installed inside a PVC conduit with no light exposure (UV degradation) it should last for a very long time.

I'd like to acknowledge other well intended suggestions such as Soundman's too. If my requirements were as some of you supposed then my approach NEEDED help. It never hurts to get a sanity check before doing unusual things.

Oh by the way... why not direct burial wire since the air line would be OK for direct burial? Because direct burial wire costs $1.11 per foot more and conduit is $0.24 a foot. I will save about $0.87 per foot for a bit over 210 feet (less the cost of glue and a few fittings at the ends.) $174 (200 ft) less the cost of the glue and fittings makes it worth while to assemble conduit. I can have a lot of fun with the $150 + difference.

Pat

 

[Soundguy]

Have fun with tht project... I don't mind doing water line.. ut hate messing with underground electrical... I'm glad someone is enthusiastic about it!

soundguy

 

[patrick_g]

Have fun with tht project... I don't mind doing water line.. ut hate messing with underground electrical... I'm glad someone is enthusiastic about it!

soundguy

Might as well be enthusiastic as overhead this close to the house would be butt ugly. Once I learned to pull the wire before gluing the conduit it got easy! Besides 6-3 with ground isn't THAT tough to work with.

Pat

 

[gemini5362]

pat if you get into the situate where you have glued the conduit before you run the line you might try some light string tie it to a piec of paper that is rolled up and folded over then hit it with some air from your air hose. that should force the string through the hose and then you can pull your wire with it.

 

[denmansoft]

Around here electrical inspectors would not allow anything in the conduit with your #6/3.
I agree having the 30gal pig is all most casual use would need. I have an 8gal dead compressor which will get into a similar application.

 

[gemini5362]

Around here electrical inspectors would not allow anything in the conduit with your #6/3.
I agree having the 30gal pig is all most casual use would need. I have an 8gal dead compressor which will get into a similar application.

I doubt if any electrical inspectors would ever see his conduit.

 

[patrick_g]

I doubt if any electrical inspectors would ever see his conduit.

Thomas, RIGHT AGAIN!!! I have yet to have pulled a permit or been visited by an inspector with the following sort of exceptions. A government guy came out to inspect a 5 wire barbed wire fence I put up on a GOV assistance program. They require all pipe to be painted and capped to prevent rain water getting in, certain designs to be followed, and such.

My septic systems had to be registered with the DEQ. IN one instance the installer (lisc for self inspection) nevertheless had a state inspector come out anyway to uh huh his work.

I have 375 amp service to the house, 2 each 200 amp breaker boxes with 200 amp mains, 4 sub panels (and counting) and not a single inspection. Here in rural Oklahoma you don't need jacks or better to open, just open on your own guts. Of course I used only lisc electricians who did everything to code or better (I demanded that)

If a plastic (1/8 inch ID) hose run through the same conduit as 6-3 with ground in an insulating jacket as well as individual insulation (except ground) is a dangerous thing I'll eat my VOM.

Regarding the trick with the glued up conduit:

The electrical supply houses sell a little piece of fluff with a leader on it. You tie on your own light string and use a small vacuum cleaner to suck it from where you put it into the conduit to where you want the wire to exit. There is no conflict between a tight fit of the vacuum nozzle and the string when you use it to suck instead of blow.

Works pretty good for pulling additional wires in an existing conduit. I'd hate to try to pull the 6-3 with ground through 3/4 conduit (without the air hose added in) it there were very many bends. I will have considerable elbows in this run so will not consider gluing until the wire and air hose are all in place.

Pat

 

[gemini5362]

Thomas, RIGHT AGAIN!!! I have yet to have pulled a permit or been visited by an inspector with the following sort of exceptions. A government guy came out to inspect a 5 wire barbed wire fence I put up on a GOV assistance program. They require all pipe to be painted and capped to prevent rain water getting in, certain designs to be followed, and such.

My septic systems had to be registered with the DEQ. IN one instance the installer (lisc for self inspection) nevertheless had a state inspector come out anyway to uh huh his work.

I have 375 amp service to the house, 2 each 200 amp breaker boxes with 200 amp mains, 4 sub panels (and counting) and not a single inspection. Here in rural Oklahoma you don't need jacks or better to open, just open on your own guts. Of course I used only lisc electricians who did everything to code or better (I demanded that)

If a plastic (1/8 inch ID) hose run through the same conduit as 6-3 with ground in an insulating jacket as well as individual insulation (except ground) is a dangerous thing I'll eat my VOM.

Regarding the trick with the glued up conduit:

The electrical supply houses sell a little piece of fluff with a leader on it. You tie on your own light string and use a small vacuum cleaner to suck it from where you put it into the conduit to where you want the wire to exit. There is no conflict between a tight fit of the vacuum nozzle and the string when you use it to suck instead of blow.

Works pretty good for pulling additional wires in an existing conduit. I'd hate to try to pull the 6-3 with ground through 3/4 conduit (without the air hose added in) it there were very many bends. I will have considerable elbows in this run so will not consider gluing until the wire and air hose are all in place.

Pat

Thanks for the advice on the vacuum cleaner and fluff. I am cheap I just take a small piece of paper and an air hose. But then again I dont do much conduit work anymore either.

 

[PILOON]

For pulling wires there exists a lubricant that the pro's use.
Basically it is a silicone grease of sorts that you blob onto a rag as you insert the wire into the conduit.
I recently had to insert a 100 ft length of heat tracing wire into a buried water supply line and tried that method with great success.
Dry i could barely inch the tracing cable when over 20 ft.
With the lube at 75 ft I was pushing 2 ft at a time and accomplished the 100 ft insertion in no time at all.

Note if it hadn't been a previously buried line I would have used the vacume and ball of fluff method. (Plumbers call that sending a mouse to do the job)
I also have done that 'mouse' trick. Works!

 

[denmansoft]

Around here all electrical work must be permitted and inspected by a provincial gov. inspector. They won't allow anything (other than chaser string) in a conduit with 'High voltage ie 110/220vac. I have no problem following code, getting and timing the inspections when you live 4 hours away and are at the property mostly weekends in a pain.

 

[patrick_g]

Thanks for the advice on the vacuum cleaner and fluff. I am cheap I just take a small piece of paper and an air hose. But then again I dont do much conduit work anymore either.

I put in about 120 feet of 3/4 inch conduit today, after lunch till 3:30, with a helper. Wholesaler guy said the wire would fit in 1/2 inch conduit but would be easier in 3/4. I'd like to see him do what we did today with 1/2 inch. We removed the 3 HUGE aluminum cables from the meter box on the pole where the transformer is that had provided 200 amp service to the bld I moved and replaced them with 6-3 with ground. Way more than enough to power a 240 volt submerged pump. I have another run of 6-3 with ground running from the well house to the hay barn so it can have lights and support power tools.

Tomorrow we will install a breaker box in the well house and a sub panel in the hay barn. As soon as I can get the backhoe guy out again I will run conduit with 6-3 and ground from new 21x48 metal/welding shop (ex tractor shed) to the relocated 35x70 ft barn. This is the run that will have the 1/8 inch ID air line.

The 6-3 with ground was fairly easy to do in the 3/4 inch plastic conduit by adding a single 10 ft piece at a time but going around elbows and such was a bit of a struggle.

The backhoe operator "discovered" a fair sized concrete conduit running parallel to the highway several feet from the fence line toward the interior of my property. He didn't hurt it, just reported it to me. Where my run crosses over it I am only a foot down from the surface. I think it is the AT&T main line which would have been a real hassle had we cut it.

This morning we installed about 120 ft of 6 inch S&D line to plumb the 4 down spouts of the building I moved to divert the runoff water south of the bld toward a pond and not anywhere inconvenient. Glad to get that done as it may rain later in the week.

Pat

 

[gemini5362]

I put in about 120 feet of 3/4 inch conduit today, after lunch till 3:30, with a helper. Wholesaler guy said the wire would fit in 1/2 inch conduit but would be easier in 3/4. I'd like to see him do what we did today with 1/2 inch. We removed the 3 HUGE aluminum cables from the meter box on the pole where the transformer is that had provided 200 amp service to the bld I moved and replaced them with 6-3 with ground. Way more than enough to power a 240 volt submerged pump. I have another run of 6-3 with ground running from the well house to the hay barn so it can have lights and support power tools.

Tomorrow we will install a breaker box in the well house and a sub panel in the hay barn. As soon as I can get the backhoe guy out again I will run conduit with 6-3 and ground from new 21x48 metal/welding shop (ex tractor shed) to the relocated 35x70 ft barn. This is the run that will have the 1/8 inch ID air line.

The 6-3 with ground was fairly easy to do in the 3/4 inch plastic conduit by adding a single 10 ft piece at a time but going around elbows and such was a bit of a struggle.

The backhoe operator "discovered" a fair sized concrete conduit running parallel to the highway several feet from the fence line toward the interior of my property. He didn't hurt it, just reported it to me. Where my run crosses over it I am only a foot down from the surface. I think it is the AT&T main line which would have been a real hassle had we cut it.

This morning we installed about 120 ft of 6 inch S&D line to plumb the 4 down spouts of the building I moved to divert the runoff water south of the bld toward a pond and not anywhere inconvenient. Glad to get that done as it may rain later in the week.

Pat

I may never come visit you again. If my wife sees all the work that you have done to your place since we were there last. She is going to throw rocks at me and more importantly ask why I cannot get at least half of that amount of work done. Sounds like you have made some big changes to things. I am still trying to figure out where everything has been moved to and is sitting. I know you said you had posted pictures of the building move but I am not sure which thread you posted them in could you provide me with a good starting place to search. Sounds like you are getting your place set up so that you can be comfortable doing whatever you feel like doing at any particular time. I have to fill john roberts in on all the changes. Have a good thanksgiving

 

[patrick_g]

I may never come visit you again. If my wife sees all the work that you have done to your place since we were there last. She is going to throw rocks at me and more importantly ask why I cannot get at least half of that amount of work done. Sounds like you have made some big changes to things. I am still trying to figure out where everything has been moved to and is sitting. I know you said you had posted pictures of the building move but I am not sure which thread you posted them in could you provide me with a good starting place to search. Sounds like you are getting your place set up so that you can be comfortable doing whatever you feel like doing at any particular time. I have to fill john roberts in on all the changes. Have a good thanksgiving

Humor intended? and taken as humor 'cause I can't picture the rock tossing.


Got the well house breaker box installed, wired up and feeding he convenience outlets and submerged pump. Got the sub panel off of that installed in hay barn and ready for lighting/convenience outlets runs. Have a call into the backhoe guy to get him out to trench to run power from the metal/welding shop (shares common wall with 3 car garage and my wood shop) to the BIG RED BARN (was next to highway but is now 200 ft from my 3 car garage.)

Putting the finishing touches on the fiber cement panels (in lieu of sheetrock for better fire resistance) in the first 3 bays of 4 bay metal and welding shop (adjoining wood shop.) Will then install the 10 ft wide 8 ft tall overhead door.

Tractor is running again. NEW THEORY...

The clutch depression switch requiring yo to push the clutch all the way in to start the engine was not bad and was not changed out. I suspect (haven't got conclusive evidence) that the problem was the HST pedal switch that requires you to have the HST in center detent (not to run you forward or back) before allowing an engine start. I think maybe the pedal was not quite in the right position or the switch is slightly maladjusted. Then when I forcefully depress the clutch the shock and vibration may have overcome the pedals stiction and let it relax to center detent. Anyway it starts first time every time now and I didn't really do anything (except tear the dash apart to get to the clutch switch.) There is also a safety switch inhibiting a start if the PTO is engaged. I think it more likely that the problem is with the HST pedal position switch than the PTO switch.

Taking much of thanksgiving off and then back at it Friday. Gov inspector is coming Fri PM to inspect the 1/4 mile cross fence I did. If (er ah, I mean WHEN) it passes I get some $ (I'm on a conservation plan under contract to Gov, NRCS in particular.)

Put out two round bale feeders and two round bales and a couple buckets of 50-50 corn gluten and soy hull mix. Boy howdy do they go for the gluten big time. Some of the herd tries to eat out of the buckets while I am carrying them prior to pouring them out.

Pat