Senile Texas Aggie - comic relief for the rest of you

[Senile_Texas_Aggie]

Wow, you have some serious fortitude STA. I think I would be pondering the possibility of sleeping face down in the trench after the 4th leak. I guess that on the plus side you didn't need to dig up the pipe in a lot of places, install shutoffs and repeat until you found the leak. I sure hope that is the last one you have in this lifetime!

And I really hope your tractor is OK!!!!

I hope I never have to work on a water line again!

Call the people that repaired the tractor and tell them to come get it. It is on them because even if your luck is not that good, you did not have it back long enough for anything to have gone wrong...

Hate to say it but it sounds like my subaru saga......

When I took the tractor to them back in late April and they had disassembled it, they then told me that I could either have them do an entire overhaul for around $5000, or I could have them replace the rod bearings for around $1500, but that they would NOT warranty it. They thought that merely replacing the rod bearings would be enough, but I would be the one taking that chance. I decided to have them replace the rod bearings only, taking the chance that would fix the problem. (It ended up costing $1900+.) When I picked it up, they had tested it and noticed that the PTO would not even generate enough torque to test on the dynamometer. So when I got it home and it failed within 30 minutes, I figured that it may be time to get a new tractor. I plan to talk to them on Monday but figure that the tractor is toast and I will need to buy another one.

Senile Texas Aggie

 

[thistlebloom]

 

[farmerjan]

Sorry, I thought you had taken it to a different place, not back to the original place to do a "lesser" job. If the PTO wasn't showing then it was a wasted job all around. Don't know what to tell you now.

 

[drstratton]

What an overwhelming experience, my body & back are aching just thinking about it. I'm so glad that you finally managed to fix your leak. Such sad news about your tractor! I'm just so sorry that you had such a horrendous week and hope that your back is starting to mend!

 

[Baymule]

You remind me of the song on the old Hee-Haw TV show

Gloom, despair and agony on me
Deepest dark depression, excessive misery
If it weren't for bad luck
I'd have no luck at all
Gloom, despair and agony on me!

Since my husband's "fix-it" consists of a hammer and roll of duct tape, we are fairly safe from such mis-adventures. I bet your Beautiful Bride never lets you touch another PVC pipe ever again! Hope your back feels better and that your tractor makes a nice yard ornament. Time for a new one.

 

[Larsen Poultry Ranch]

I would have the shop look at it and at least see if that's the part that failed before starting to shop for the new tractor. With the work you've been giving them you'd think they would at least do that for you.

 

[Ridgetop]

STA: We need to have DNA testing done - you are definitely a genetic relative of the Ridgetop bunch! What a horrible 20 days! However, it is easy to see why your Beautiful Gal loves you so much.

So glad to have you back with another of your adventures. It gives me hope after our own misadventures.

DH says he hopes you put in Schedule 80 pipe which is much thicker and harder to bend or flex. Did you put in a couple of T's where you can eventually hook another water run if you need it for animals later? Also, DH says that if you take a hollow pipe and put it on the water pipe you should able to hear the water running when you turn off the house water. It can show you where the leak is. He did not do that with our exterior water leak though, so . . . ? He assures me that it was because he knew where the leak was and also it was only in a 30' span of pipe where the tree fell over from the house to the barn. While digging up the area around the tree to install our raised garden boxes, DS1 found the old galvanized feed pipe. It was bent up in a semi circle where the giant tree root had forced it up and caused the leak!

Glad you have water again. You should see a substantial decrease in your bill next month. I would make it a routine to check the water usage every month now to catch any raise in usage from future leaks since whoever laid in your pipes did not seam to do a very good job. Also, on your water line map, you can now mark off the places you have I agree with everyone to have the repair shop look at the tractor again. If they can fix it for $3000, having already paid $1900 for the new rod bearings, maybe it would pay you to do that since you have all the attachments for your current tractor and are familiar with it.

Hope your back gets better!

 

[Senile_Texas_Aggie]

STA: We need to have DNA testing done - you are definitely a genetic relative of the Ridgetop bunch!

Could be! Do you suppose a member of your family attended Texas A&M and contaminated the blood line?

DH says he hopes you put in Schedule 80 pipe which is much thicker and harder to bend or flex. Did you put in a couple of T's where you can eventually hook another water run if you need it for animals later? Also, DH says that if you take a hollow pipe and put it on the water pipe you should able to hear the water running when you turn off the house water. It can show you where the leak is.

I have never heard of schedule 80 pipe! I wish I had known that before I installed the schedule 40 pipe. And, no, I did not install a couple of T's. It never occurred to me. The only thing I installed besides the pipe itself along with its bracing was a cutoff valve. Thanks for the tip about listening with a hollow pipe. If it starts leaking again, I will try that.

I would have the shop look at it and at least see if that's the part that failed before starting to shop for the new tractor. With the work you've been giving them you'd think they would at least do that for you.

I agree with everyone to have the repair shop look at the tractor again. If they can fix it for $3000, having already paid $1900 for the new rod bearings, maybe it would pay you to do that since you have all the attachments for your current tractor and are familiar with it.

Yesterday I talked to the mechanics at the shop where it was overhauled and told them what happened. After hearing about it, they said that it would probably require replacing the engine, which would be hard to do, as that engine is no longer manufactured and I have been unable to locate a rebuilt engine, only used ones. The deal with buying a used one is that the engine may be in similar condition to mine. So they guessed it could be quite a bit higher than $5000.00, more like $10,000. Plus, the PTO needs repair, which would be quite expensive due to it being a hydraulic PTO. They advised to cut my losses and buy another tractor. So I am looking for another one at the moment.

Senile Texas Aggie

 

[Larsen Poultry Ranch]

I hope you can find a tractor that works Maybe you can sell the broken tractor for parts and at least make some of your money back.

 

[Ridgetop]

Could be! Do you suppose a member of your family attended Texas A&M and contaminated the blood line?

Not contaminated! Added PIZZAZ!

Ouch! That is a lot of money!
Good thing you filed for the Social Security - you can save up for a new tractor.