Senile Texas Aggie - comic relief for the rest of you

[Senile_Texas_Aggie]

Given all the goodies it already has, could you put a camera on the hood or loader so you could see the SSQA parts?
And the dealer gave up on the SSQA problems?

I gather there is no way to disengage the self leveling loader?

Guess I have no ideas for the clutch problem. That is an advantage with the hydro. My tractor has one of those rocker pedals for forward/reverse and the brake pedal is also on the right. I think that is a superb design. I can stand and use both pedals with my right foot for "creeping" to attach either in the front or back.

Maybe I could put a camera on the front end loader, but it would need to be temporary. If I mounted a camera there permanently, it would almost certainly get knocked loose/off whenever I entered some brush. As for the dealer giving up on the SSQA problems, I haven't talked to them since they visited. Until I can prove that the SSQA adapter fails with the bucket which came with the tractor, I won't have any way of convincing them that it is the SSQA adapter's fault.

I am glad I got the power shuttle instead of the hydro. I like the dependability of a manual transmission compared to an automatic. Recently Messicks compared the two types of transmissions on two otherwise identical Kubotas and the manual transmission won hands down compared to the hydro when it came to putting power to the ground. (See past my signature.) But yes, a hydro can be nice for things like hooking up an attachment. I am surprised that you can stand while driving your tractor. I would expect the occupant safety switch located under the seat wouldn't kill the engine. Did you bypass it?

Yesterday I drove to Fort Smith and bought another mower -- a Landpride 6 ft RCR1872. This one is rated for my tractor and has a slip clutch, so I hope it would get too riled up whenever I hit a stump. I hope to try it our some time today or tomorrow.

No more news on the homestead.

Senile Texas Aggie

 

[Bruce]

I am surprised that you can stand while driving your tractor. I would expect the occupant safety switch located under the seat wouldn't kill the engine. Did you bypass it?

Not overridden. Have to be sitting in the seat and press in the clutch pedal to start the tractor. That doesn't seem to be the case with (at least the smaller) JD's. I've seen TTWT start his 1025R while standing next to the tractor. I suppose he could have overridden the OSS?

It is a good thing I CAN stand while the tractor is running, makes it a lot more possible to line up the SSQA or see where the front of the forks are relative to what I need to pick up off the ground. And it would be kind of annoying if I had to restart the tractor after getting off to close the levers on the SSQA. Or when I need to open a gate and then again after passing through and having to close it. And do I really want to sit in the seat for 10 minutes while the tractor warms up in colder weather?

 

[farmerjan]

THANK GOD none of our tractors require you to have to be seated to start or run the tractors.... how many times have I put the 4600 ford in neutral after starting it and getting the wheel rake to lift up all the way so I can get off and remove the hitch pins that hold it up as a safety feature to travel with it... they settle down a little while in transit and then have to be raised back up so you can pull the pins.... then get back on it to go... and all the gates I have to go through into different fields....
my mower was such that you had to be sitting on it, in neutral to start it, but I could get off it after it was running....
Would be the first thing to get disconnected if it was on anything we owned...

 

[Bruce]

My garden tractor will run about 5 minutes if I'm off the seat IF I've set the brake AND the PTO is disengaged. Otherwise it shuts off as soon as I lift my butt up.

 

[rachels.haven]

My garden tractor will run about 5 minutes if I'm off the seat IF I've set the brake AND the PTO is disengaged. Otherwise it shuts off as soon as I lift my butt up.

Full feed sack. A big rock might work too.

 

[Senile_Texas_Aggie]

All,

I thought I would provide an update on what has been happening lately.

First, my Beautiful Gal's next older sister Treasa and her husband James recovered from COVID-19 with no long-term ill effects. We are all glad that happened.

On Monday I decided to try out my new mower. After installing the mower to the tractor, I raised up the rear of the mower (by shortening the hydraulic top link) in order to more easily access underneath the mower. I considered removing the guards from the mower, fearing that they would become bent from hanging on tree stumps. The guards were not easily removed so I decided to leave them on. When I went to mow, I had forgotten about having raised the mower. So when I dropped the mower with the 3-pt hitch, the mower's tail wheel was not even touching the ground. I decided to lower the 3-pt hitch, thinking that perhaps the mower sat lower to the ground than the previous mower. Then I heard the blades hitting the ground. The slip clutch started smoking. I raised the mower back up, knowing that something was wrong. Then I noticed the top link being fully shortened. Once I lengthened the top link to its correct link, when I set the mower back down using the 3-pt hitch to where I had previously, the tail wheel touch the ground and the blades were not digging into the ground.

I then took the mower to where there were several small stumps that caused my previous mower to break shear pins. This time, the mower cut through the grass, and when it hit the small stumps, the slip clutch worked and the mower was able to keep on mowing. So now I can mow my pastures along the edge of the woods without fear of breaking a shear pin.

Senile Texas Aggie

 

[B&B Happy goats]

Well that's good news all the way around STA , congratulations on having a mower now that will do the job for you without all of the past headaches

 

[farmerjan]

Glad this one is working for you and is heavy enough to do what you are trying to do. Better to have it all at the same capabilities than to have a too light mower with a slip clutch and all and wind up damaging the tractor or something much more expensive to deal with.
Yeah, it helps to have it lowered to a "level" instead at an angle with the blades digging in.....

 

[goatgurl]

hey STA good to see that things are truckin' alone at your place and that you and your beautiful gal are well. the ongoing tractor saga continues. i'm just glad the darn thing hasn't hurt you. i read with interest your thinking about renting your pasture for someone to run cattle on. i did that this late spring and it has been s great help to me. the cow guy keeps the place brush hogged and the fences repaired so it has worked out well. if you decide that you want someone to help you get rid of the stumps, etc give me a holler. i know a young man who does land clearing and that sort of work who lives in your area. TTFN

 

[Senile_Texas_Aggie]

Miss @goatgurl,

Good to hear from you. Regarding your leasing out your land for cattle raising, did you already have good fencing in place? And how did you find the guy who rented it from you? Currently we have either really bad fences, which wouldn't keep in a blind 3-legged goat, or no fences at all. So whoever leased our place for fencing would need to invest a good bit of money for fencing or perhaps have docile cows acclimated to electric fence. Either way, I doubt I would find anyone interested in leasing the place. But maybe I am being a bit too pessimistic. I think Greg Judy leases a lot of his land from others, and I think he only uses electric fencing. So maybe it would be possible.

All,

My Beautiful Gal asked me to look into getting an electric generator. I know very little about them. I watched a few YouTube videos about generators, but still don't feel qualified to make a decision. I would even consider a backup battery bank if the cost of that is comparable to an electric generator. I would consider a gasoline, diesel, or propane powered one. Any advice or suggestions?

Senile Texas Aggie