Archive through January 03, 2005

[kweaver]

Terry it looked pretty well laid out to me with the pics ... you not been here long enough to figure out that you make your own ? You can't harden the rod like that ... first thing it has to be hardenable steel and then it could be water hardening , oil hardening , air hardening ... most likely you've got mild steel which wont harden at all other than a couple thousandths case harden. If it was going to be the steel you can harden you'd have to get it to around 1500ºF for 20 minutes then temper it between 350º - 600º for another 20 minutes.

(Message edited by kweaver on January 05, 2005)

 

[bmcmeen]

Terry B. -

Rereading your first question and something has me stumped. WHY would you be trying to put THAT much pressure on your blade if you're removing snow? That's just not right. The lift should be set to floating (so it glides over the surface), the blade should be set to trip (assuming you have a spring-trip blade) so you don't fly over the hood if you hit something and you should have the blade setup so it drops AT MOST about an inch or two below level to ride thru any dips in the pavement.

I use a standard, hardware store variety 1/2" rod, a bit of MAPP heat on either end to make the bends and that's all it takes. I haven't bent the rod yet. And if it DID bend, I'd take it as a sign that I was doing more than the tractor was designed to do.

Tom H. -

'Bout ready to head out with the 169.

Was a fun trip home. Engineer ended up sliding 4 cars past the first 2 stations 'til he got the hang of it. Thankfully he got it right for FRG

Worklights & S/Gs -

My 169 S/G has NO problem keeping up with two halogen headlights, two front worklights, two side flashers and flashing taillights.

 

[tcbusch]

Ken,
Thank you thats what I was looking for. Basically I have to fab a new rod.

Bryan,
Good points. I used to have a manual lift on the 147. Now I have a hydraulic lift. With the manual lift I could just push and pull on the lever as I was plowing to dig harder if I needed too. Now that I have the hydraulic I loose the ability to float the blade, so to speak. Before the manual lift I had an electric lift. When I installed the hydraulic lift I welded the electric lifts slotted yoke on the end of the hydraulic piston. My hydraulic setup does float because of the yokes slot but sometimes I need to dig a little more to get those stubborn icy spots. To dig I lock the yoke and lower the blade. This bends the rod. Maybe I need to design a spring tensioned lift rod or something. How do others with non-manual lifts dig there blades down? With weights?

 

[bmoore]

Well, that was fun.
Got home and bladed off about 2-3" of my drive, the block sidewalk, and the drives of three neighbors. During the last part, I hit a bump and the lights went out on the 147. Hope it's something simple (and cheap). At least there wasn't any smoke.
I don't think I like pushing snow with the electric lift, even with the spring assist. It was faster and easier to control with the hand lift on the 109 last year. Just ordered some parts for it from a sponsor, including the spring lever that activates the brake safety switch. I went to adjust it yesterday, and it snapped off when I barely touched it. The break was rusty all the way across. And before somebody asks, no, I'm not going to wire around it, since somehow those unsafe "temporary" fixes tend to last longer than intended. Parts should be here in a few days, then I can get it in shape, followed by some time working on the $40 149. Might be nice having a comparison among manual, electric, and hydraulic lifts.

 

[digger]

"My 169 S/G has NO problem keeping up with two halogen headlights, two front worklights, two side flashers and flashing taillights."

And a partridge in a pear treeeeeeeee!

 

[tcbusch]

Bruce,
The same thing happened to me with my 147 last week. The wires that run back to the tail lights aren't ran in a wiring harness. The insulation crumbles after 30 years.

I agree, the electric lifts are very over rated (unless their rating wasn't very good in the first place). They move way too slow. With a manual you can slam it up and down quickly.

 

[bmcmeen]

Terry B. -

Hydraulic lift floats just fine. Perhaps someone left the float lockout pin installed or stuck a bolt in there or welded the sucker together. You'll have to remove the tunnel cover to check. Hey Charlie, got a pic?

 

[bmoore]

Thanks, Terry. I'll check that.

 

[jlang]

Bryan, Are you from near Barrington, IL? My wife bought an 02 T'Bird from the Motor Werks there!
Have you been there? Quite a place! I'd recommend it highly!

 

[dkirk]

Kentucky Ken,

What a great idea - volunteering to clear airport runways - that could be hours of fun!

Here's my contribution to the lift rod controversy. Bought this nice clevis at NAPA to install on the stock lift rod, after sawing the end off and threading it. Allows for perfect adjustment of vertical travel.

 

[lbaker]

Have the 149 with blade ready to go! Only thing is it was 74 here yesterday and 71 today. Cold spell coming tomorrow thou, down to hi 50s. Have a feeling cubs here will get a work out as we'll pay for it before its over. Right Ken? (ketch any fish?)

 

[tcbusch]

The hydraulic lift does float fine, it just doesn't push down on the front of the blade hard enough to dig into harder snow. In order to dig the blade in I need to lower the locking clip over the clevis assembly. However, then the rod bends if I lower or retract the cylinder too much. I believe everything is working as designed but I need more cutting power on the blade. I suppose I could do what the old timers did and strap a concrete block to the blade for weight. But that would look stupid.
Has anyone ever designed a spring loaded lift rod? or should I say push rod? That way the rod could give a little but still push down?

 

[bmcmeen]

John L. -

That's a long way to go for a free car wash

Been there many a time. Always disappointed when they won't give me the towing capacity of a 740iL

 

[digger]

I can't for the life of me find what I was lookin for but here is what the NF lock out thingy loocks like.

I'll keep lookin.

 

[jgeorg]

Dang, now I find out this looks stupid.

John

 

[klindstedt]

Concrete blocks look stupid, not chunks of rail...

 

[jsimpson]

If any of you guys are tired of ice and snow, come visit me in Florida! Oh, and could you bring those decks I bought up north and haven't figured a way to get down here?

 

[digger]

Pardon me guys but I've moved dirt, gravel, boulders, ice, snow and anything else you can push with a blade and some things you shouldn't and I just don't understand the need for all that weight on'um!
Am I missing something here?

 

[thoffman]

I disagree. THAT looks stupid, but any port in a storm. I hope you have strong arms. Won't have a digging problem with that.

(Message edited by thoffman on January 05, 2005)

 

[jgeorg]

Charlie, I was leveling out the mud on the driveway when it was just starting to freeze and needed a little extra weight on it. I don't have the lift lock thing on my 109.

John