Senile Texas Aggie - comic relief for the rest of you

[Baymule]

My vote is for the propane generator also. I've used a gas generator in the aftermath of hurricanes, getting gas becomes a problem. No electricity=no gas. By all means, have the generator you have repaired, it will more than likely be much less than a new one.

We have a diesel tank. We filled it with 300 gallons, it took us 3 years to use it all. We used a diesel treatment and never had a problem. We used on road diesel as the tractor we have will not run well on high sulphur diesel and we sometimes filled the truck with it. Our Kawasaki mule also runs on diesel. When we ran out, we replaced the filter housing and filter, then it sat empty. Diesel was knocking on the door of almost $4 per gallon. Then--prices dropped like a rock in a pond. We bought 400 gallons for $2.14 per gallon and were thrilled to do so. Having our own tank is such a convenience, it is up on legs and is gravity feed.

 

[Bruce]

We used on road diesel as the tractor we have will not run well on high sulphur diesel

Is high sulfur legal in TX? It isn't here. The only difference between on road and off road diesel is the dye and less tax on off road.

Having our own tank is such a convenience, it is up on legs and is gravity feed.

I bet that is a lot more useful than my 5 gallon containers. I don't use enough fuel in a year to justify a large tank though, maybe 50 gallons a year?

 

[Senile_Texas_Aggie]

All,

I looked up the make and model of the (non-functional) generator we have. It is a Winco, which still makes that model generator. I removed the side panels on the outside portion of the generator and saw the propane-powered engine, but the electric generator part was in a separate compartment that I didn't see the need to open up. I traced the propane line that supplies the generator and was dismayed to see it is supplied from the same line that feeds the propane heater in the shop. The reason for my dismay is that there is a leak somewhere in those lines. I discovered that shortly after we bought the house and had the propane tank refilled. The company insisted that it do a pressure check to look for leaks, and discovered that the line feeding the shop was the one leaking. Since I did not plan to use the propane heater in the shop, then I had them cap off the lines from the tank into the shop. So now I will need to trace where the leak(s) is(are) if I plan to get the generator to work.

Regarding a diesel fuel tank, I may need to look into getting one of those. My new tractor uses substantially more diesel than my previous one did, and with my truck being diesel it would be nice to fill up here than having to go to the gas station. Currently I have 2 5-gallon diesel cans and I would guess I use 10 gallons of diesel a week in the tractor.

It is raining a lot here today. We received 4.7" of rain from Sunday morning to Monday noon and I bet we get that much today. Speaking of rain and its effects, you may recall that early this spring I did some work in the overgrown pastures and I left a lot of deep tractor ruts. Those ruts are still there. What is the best way to smooth out those ruts? There is quite a bit of grass there. I don't mind tearing up the grass if I need to do so, as the grass and ruts are in the overgrown pasture area, but I am not sure the best way to go about smoothing out the ruts. Any ideas?

Finally, I watched a video from the YouTube channel "How Farms Work" titled "COON Damage | Merging Hay | KUHN MergeMaxx MM 300". I thought the word "coon" was a play on words for "Kuhn", the hay merger featured in the video. But as I watched the video, it seemed Ryan was referring to raccoons that destroyed a substantial stand of corn. I had never heard of such a thing. Have you folks? Here is the video. Pictures and discussion of the coon damage start at 6:27.

Senile Texas Aggie

 

[farmerjan]

Hear in our area that would be bear damage. They will work in an area like that, and then they will pile the stalks up later in the season. But here, we have seen bear do this type of damage. I have never seen coons do that much damage, but then coons are hunted here quite heavily. I honestly don't think coons do that much damage, but again, we don't have that many in a given area to do that. Maybe that is more common out there. I sure as the devil would be finding people to hunt them more.
After watching the merger more, I am really not impressed. It handles the hay roughly as it goes from the pickup, to the belt that then throws it off again. If you are doing this with more than one row, other than the idea of getting more air to go through it, I find it to be a waste of time. Plus, we like out windrows to be neater so that he can straddle them better when running the round baler. The big wheel rake that I use, will extend out to pick up 3 rows and put them into one, with a neater row especially on the sides. The "middle row" that you are raking will get picked up by the 2 small wheels with teeth for pickup, mounted in the front of the rake so the hay from the sides does not just get piled on top.... thenmiddle gets picked up off the ground and incorporated into the windrow. You can see the big wheel rake they are using in the very beginning of the video, and then in one shot on the right hand field while he has the merger on the left with the section of corn inbetween. The hydraulics will extend it both in width and control the wheels up and down so they can be raking or up for transport. Mine has 7 wheels on a side which is very wide and better suited to more open straighter fields than some I do with it. I do a fair amount of backing up into some of the tighter pockets since it is too long to make some of the turns.

 

[Baymule]

I wanted a fuel tank with 3 vehicles that use diesel. Mostly we buy at the pump for the truck, but sometimes it’s just easier to fill up at home. I bought it off Craig’s list for $400 and the guy even delivered it. Having a tank full of diesel fits into my quasi prepper habits for any SHTF scenario. LOL Not having to haul fuel cans to town and back is well worth the fuel tank at home.

 

[farmerjan]

I wanted a fuel tank with 3 vehicles that use diesel. Mostly we buy at the pump for the truck, but sometimes it’s just easier to fill up at home. I bought it off Craig’s list for $400 and the guy even delivered it. Having a tank full of diesel fits into my quasi prepper habits for any SHTF scenario. LOL Not having to haul fuel cans to town and back is well worth the fuel tank at home.

Amen to that. I want a fuel tank on the back of one of the trucks so I don't have to haul a couple of cans to a tractor at a pasture or a hayfield all the time. I use one of those simple hand pumps like you use for kerosene... I call them the squeezy thing, and then don't have to pick up the can and get it all spilled on me trying to pour it into the tractors. Set the 5 gal can on the step or the hood of the tractor, and start the squeezy thing and it will run all the fuel in unless you break the vacuum.... Still, would be nicer to have a fuel transfer tank on the truck.... But yeah, having the fuel there is alot better, and you can take advantage of when the prices are more reasonable to get it filled, not to mention the security of having it like you said for bad times.

 

[promiseacres]

We have 3,4 fuel tanks at the farm. I think dh hopes we can use one for farm use. We have enough gasoline engines too.

 

[Baymule]

@farmerjan L shaped tanks fit in the back of the truck and aren’t too terribly expensive. They sure make things easier.

 

[Bruce]

So now I will need to trace where the leak(s) is(are) if I plan to get the generator to work.

If you don't plan to use it a lot could it be run off a 20 lb tank? And how far is it from the existing tank to the generator? If not far it might be worth just running a new line and not worrying about finding the leak especially of the line is buried (which I suspect it is).

I don't mind tearing up the grass if I need to do so, as the grass and ruts are in the overgrown pasture area, but I am not sure the best way to go about smoothing out the ruts. Any ideas?

I think it is pretty hard unless the ground has dried out. If not you'll just make more ruts with the tractor while filling in the old ones. If it is fairly dry you might be able to run the tractor's rear wheels over the "humps" to squish the dirt back out to the sides and into the ruts. I would guess you could level it out with the landscape rake. I imagine the REAL way would be to use a land plane or box blade or maybe a rear blade.

 

[Senile_Texas_Aggie]

If you don't plan to use it a lot could it be run off a 20 lb tank? And how far is it from the existing tank to the generator? If not far it might be worth just running a new line and not worrying about finding the leak especially of the line is buried (which I suspect it is).

For the time we have resided here, I can recall only a few minutes while we were without power. Since we don't reside near the coast, we need not worry about hurricanes. We don't have wild fires or earthquakes. We DO have tornadoes, but their path of destruction tends to be quite narrow. I suppose we could have a derecho akin to what Iowa had, with a large power outage as a result. So maybe using a small tank would make the most sense.

I think it is pretty hard unless the ground has dried out. If not you'll just make more ruts with the tractor while filling in the old ones. If it is fairly dry you might be able to run the tractor's rear wheels over the "humps" to squish the dirt back out to the sides and into the ruts. I would guess you could level it out with the landscape rake. I imagine the REAL way would be to use a land plane or box blade or maybe a rear blade.

Until the last week, the ground had gotten quite dry. With all of the rain we have received, I will have to wait for several weeks before I work on it again. Perhaps I should have listed all of my FEL attachments and 3-pt implements I have to use:

FEL: bucket, grapple, pallet forks, stump bucket, bale spear, tree shear
3-pt: mower, box blade with scarifiers, landscape rake, broadcast seeder, wood chipper

I have considered using the box blade and deploying the scarifiers and then drive across the ruts, to try to cut the ridges of the ruts down. I have considered using the bucket or maybe the grapple and back drag across them. I have considered renting a disc plow and turning all under and then smooth it all out, although that is probably overkill. I'll figure something out.

After watching the merger more, I am really not impressed. It handles the hay roughly as it goes from the pickup, to the belt that then throws it off again. If you are doing this with more than one row, other than the idea of getting more air to go through it, I find it to be a waste of time. Plus, we like out windrows to be neater so that he can straddle them better when running the round baler. The big wheel rake that I use, will extend out to pick up 3 rows and put them into one, with a neater row especially on the sides. The "middle row" that you are raking will get picked up by the 2 small wheels with teeth for pickup, mounted in the front of the rake so the hay from the sides does not just get piled on top.... then middle gets picked up off the ground and incorporated into the windrow. You can see the big wheel rake they are using in the very beginning of the video, and then in one shot on the right hand field while he has the merger on the left with the section of corn inbetween. The hydraulics will extend it both in width and control the wheels up and down so they can be raking or up for transport. Mine has 7 wheels on a side which is very wide and better suited to more open straighter fields than some I do with it. I do a fair amount of backing up into some of the tighter pockets since it is too long to make some of the turns.

I remember your explaining about a merger earlier when I first saw Ryan of this channel use one. I never could see what good it did, either. I like to watch all the different hay making videos where they use a large mower, sometimes a tedder, a large rake, and baler, and sometimes an accumulator, if they are making small square bales. (See past my signature for videos of two different types of accumulators in action.) I don't know what your favorite part of farming/homesteading is, but I think my favorite would be making hay. I enjoy mowing the grass in my overgrown pasture area, and I think I would enjoy tedding, raking, and baling -- assuming I had all of the necessary equipment. I hope you enjoy hay making as well.

As I mentioned on Miss @farmerjan's journal, we received 4.8" of rain between ~2:00 AM to 12 noon yesterday. The water overflowed the creek and washed out some of the slag I laid down a couple of weeks ago. I am trying to come up with a better solution. I watched a video on the YouTube channel "Colorado Mountain Living" where they installed something called Geo-Cell on the steep part of their driveway. Do any of you know anything about this product and how well it works?

Senile Texas Aggie

================== just for fun ====================

Two videos of square balers and accumulators at work:

Raking, baling, and accumulating at the same time:

Baling and accumulating with a different kind of accumulator: