What are your general implement care routines?

[cold1313]

I've got a new Woods brush cutter coming to the house in a few weeks and I got to thinking of general care and storage of implements.


In the fall, for my old cutter, I would scrap the underneath, blow out the pulleys, grease the joints and spray WD40 under the deck and anywhere that the powder coating had come off.

Farmer down the road does diesel fuel to cover all his implements - but they stay in a storage barn, not a smaller pole barn like me.

When I get the new cutter - anything I could apply to it now, to help prevent an issue. Like a dry lube spray? Or use that when storing? What do you guys like to use / do?

 

[mcfarmall]

Rotary cutter, keep the top surface free of clippings, leaves, etc. with a leaf blower after use. Under the deck...nothing as there is no perceptible buildup of clippings. If you park it outdoors, I'd cover it with a good tarp in between uses.

 

[cold1313]

I do clean off everything after each use with the air compressor, then store everything indoors....(until I run out of room here...quickly!)

 

[cold1313]

Also curious...I grease my PTO shaft...but I've watched videos where people just spray some WD40 on it and call it a day. Grease seems better to me, just messy.

 

[Thomas]

Your on the right path for care,also tighten any nuts and bolts.

 

[bdog]

I have definitely seen material build up and stick to the bottom side of a shredder. You wouldn’t think it could but it does. I have a 10’ shredder and I mowed 15 acres with it right before Christmas and then parked it. I moved it last week and there was at least a wheelbarrow full of cake up clippings and dirt mix that had fallen off the bottom side of it where it was sitting.

Another thing to do is make sure your pto coupler isn’t laying in the dirt. Some shredders have little brackets to hold it up when not in use. If yours doesn’t tie it up with some wire or something so it is off the ground.

 

[BrokenTrack]

It depends on the implement. For anything that touches something corrosive like fertilizer spreaders and such, it gets a good rinse before it is stored, but for others it might just mean parking them. I do like to remove my PTO shafts completely off the machine and store them inside; today PTO shafts are expensive, but don't take up much room if removed.

As for older implements, I have found I take one implement and totally rebuild it from the ground up about every year. Its often not that expensive compared to buying new.

 

[MESSMAKER]

Park them in the fall. Paint and grease them the next spring.

 

[bspeedy]

I look them over, clean as needed, replace / repair any damaged or missing items. Full lube. Park inside.

The last one is the most important, IMO.

 

[cold1313]

I look them over, clean as needed, replace / repair any damaged or missing items. Full lube. Park inside.

The last one is the most important, IMO.

Agreed. I keep everything inside. Especially here in Ohio with our weather, salt, etc.

 

[RalphVa]

I blow everything off with compressed air before taking off and setting them on something that'll allow them to be moved. For the bush hog, I put the front onto a 2x6 that has STEEL castors underneath: 3 on each end. The chipper/shredder goes onto a little dolly built for it. A furniture dolly might work. Have castors underneath the carryall, again STEEL; I occasionally forget to raise it. Plastic won't survive. Don't bother with underneath the bush hog, because it's usually dry when I use it, and stuff doesn't stick there when dry.

On my old LX4, I eventually extracted the oil from it (when hot) and replaced it; haven't done this yet on the Frontier. Every spring, I put the rear end up on jack stands and remove the tail wheel and remove the blades. Grind the bad spots out as best I can and do a pseudo sharpening job and put the blades back on. Then run around with the tail wheel off for a while knocking down briers that I can see now with other stuff around, etc. and then retorque the nuts with my precision 6 foot pipe on a 3/4" drive and pushing as hard as I can to hopefully get 450-500 ft lb.

Regrease the chipper/shredder's 3 zerks generally before using it again. Occasionally grease the U joints on the bush hog and chipper/shredder but not too religious about it because too easy to over grease them.

Occasionally give the back blade rotating blade apparati a few shots of silicone lube.

Stuff is all stored inside on concrete.

Ralph