rancherman

^^^^^^^ +1 as easy as it is to remove the radiator, and the ability to 'really get it clean'.. plus the safety of not punching a hole in it make this a home run in my book.

LOL..... actually, the kernel itself! There are corn stoves that has a little auger, that dribbles in 2-3 kernels every 10-15 seconds.. a five gallon bucket (1/2 bushel) lasts about a day. There is a tiny little blower, dampner, and a very expensive control board to manage the whole show.. They kinda 'fizzled' out when corn hit 7 bucks a couple years ago... but corn is very low 3 dollars now, might be some interest again.

I will advise you propane burners to get your tanks topped off early this fall... and prebook some! it's pretty reasonable yet. We are going to have a pretty good corn crop, and going to be WET... and propane is the main fuel to dry it on-farm. I've seen the statistics, and total propane use for drying crops is really a drop in the bucket... but guess who will 'use' it to their advantage??? THE SUPPLIERS. I can almost 'see' the headlines in a month or so..... " Farmers drying corn are causing people to freeze"... or something like that.

you guys seeing color now... has it been really wet or dry this summer?? I've see drought stressed trees give up their leaves early, and too wet will sometimes get a fungus/mold going that'll knock the leaves off early too..

I've only heard that we need to replace the fronts as pairs, not so much with the front AND rears.. I thought if your speedo was working properly, the rear sensor was good.

No kidding! Seen those new car commercials lately?? the ones that show 'smart' decisions made by collision detectors? I especially like the one where the guy is cruising down a road, he comes up behind a slower vehicle (while he was looking elsewhere) and the car goes 'beep', and stops for him. This whole time the driver looked at the dash board (which was lit up like a Christmas tree) BEFORE he looked ahead!!! People are going to get really too reliant/lazy/comfortable/false sense of security with these things..

Oh yes... not for the slave being out. LOL, had a disk rusted to the flywheel, took it out and thrashed on it until it broke loose.. My 1994 Toyota pickup has a provision right on the dash to start the rig "IN GEAR" They recommend being in low range.. Little button called "clutch start cancel' It's for those times when you may need 3 legs to get out of a precarious spot. My little 22re engine has zero torque, and 'idling away' isn't a possibility.. the starter motor has more torque than the engine @ idle..

Dave3500. you need to see this video. you said in a post somewhere that your driveshaft was collapsed all the way, but it still fit. Here's a perfect explanation on why you need a shorter driveshaft! If you have those bars adjusted to empty specs, and suddenly put a butt load of weight in, the bars are going to twist the axle... pinion will be pointed downwards. It's the way the geometry works out here.. You most definitely don't want to preload/bind a leaf spring when it's carrying a load! I'd disconnect them for those type of duties. (faster than re adjusting them????)

Well, my theory is an engine that has sat overnight, or longer has minimum oil in the bearings... the thrust bearings that keep the crank in one spot 'fore and aft' are vertical... and have poor oil holding capabilities. Oil is going to run off pretty quick, compared to the main journal bearings being horizontal. So, when we jump in to start, push the clutch in.... it's squeezing the last of the oil from the thrust bearing... THEN we hit the key... now, I don't know about you, but I've 'caught myself' holding the clutch down, whilst awaiting the 'wait to start' light to go out.... geez, that's even more time to ensure the crank is well-planted against the bearing! .........compound this now with a 5-600 pound increase of pressure plate in an aftermarket HP clutch! I've rebuilt several gas engines from vehicles from both auto and manual trans, and crank surfaces always been tore up on the manual equipped ones.. I've seen more 'good' cranks in the scrap barrel down at the machine shop with only bad (really bad) thrust bearing surfaces... we are talking .075 and up type wear.... some had .150! Starting in N with foot off the clutch should prevent a crank replacement @ 400k..(or whenever an overhaul is required) where a simple light grind/polish will suffice!

I have mixed feelings on the clutch safety switch.. no doubt it adds a safety element... which is good. On the other hand, I've never liked the idea of placing 3000+ pounds forward pressure on a non rotating and non floated crankshaft... then start turning it with the starter... then holding the clutch down for a few more seconds while the OP starts building... Ok, let me do a little math here, most pressure plates are what? 3-4:1 ratio on the fingers? so the 3000 lbs would only be 750-1000 'felt' on the end of crank.. not as bad as I first thought, but it's still a consideration!

I'm surprised Dorkweed didn't have something to add here...

The association or 'club' they belong to, really is entertainment. Meaning yes, the association has members (pullers) they join and pay dues, and 'enter' the sanctioned pulls.. At this level, it costs about 20 bucks for each 'hook'. The County fair 'hires' the association to put on a show. This year, 4500 was spent to 'book' them. These pullers, are running for year end points... sure, If you win a class on a particular weekend you'll win some money, 1st is ~ 150 bucks hardly worth it! doesn't cover the gas money to show up!! At the end of the year, the bigger money is awarded to the total point leaders in each class... ( 'booking money) Still, it isn't a paying proposition! These guys do it for the camaraderie, the women , and most importantly... BREWSKI!!! Yep, Dorkweed, you got it! I imagine it is 'structured' very similar to the local rodeo, when they come to town. if I start posting videos more often... I gotta find a way to upload them faster! I burned up the whole night for that 2 minute clip.. Hughesnet satellite speed are 'ok'.... for downloading, but uploading is about 1/3 of that

All this time, I thought you guys were kidding about the toilet paper thing.... I've seen several fuel filters built that way... Me, I'd run the 'different' oil for a bit. 3-4k miles .. change it, then move into your yearly regime. You may have some 'stuff' moving around/breaking loose that you may not want circulating due to the change in oil..

I heard anywhere from 1500 up to 2500 HP... so the math in figuring torque.... lets say 32,000 rpm, and 1500 HP = 246 ft.lbs. @ the input to the gear reducer.. so @ 4:1 and 100% efficiency ( never happen) lets just say it's ~ 850 torque 2500 HP @ 32,000 rpm would be about 410 @ the input side of the reducer... so ~ 1200-1300 ft.lbs.. As you can see, ^^^^^ it's all about rpms! soon as they start lugging, they are done... Talking about 'slipper clutches/ in another thread...... here's the perfect place to use one! The clutch isn't hooked up until almost max engine rpm.. and will 'let go' pretty quickly as the turbine lugs. This is where a good driver can 'see' how the track is grabbing... so he can adjust tire pressure/weights... to keep those tires spinning! They really don't want 100% traction.. 50% or less for a turbine I really can't remember a turbine ever lugging down to zero... only spun out. Now, when there are 3-4 of these turbines tied together on the same chassis... No amount of drugs or alcohol would prepare me for a ride on those!

can anyone read the values marked on that transistor? .........go buy one, hook it up to various loads, and measure what kind of heat it's putting out?? Or would it be impossible to figure 'load' A 'desoldering' to me says high resistance at the point of connection. . not necessarily stemming from the transistor body itself.. wouldn't the body itself be wiped out too?? only ideas here..

Oh heck yeah! the scariest part was NOTHING WAS LABLED.. dude would say "push this, turn that"... cripes I didn't know if I was hitting the ejector seat, or the kill switch! The fire ball was for 'wowing the crowd'... simple hand bent copper tube with holes drilled (like a soaker hose) in the exhaust stack... push a button to get the sparker going, and another to squirt JP8.. It 'idled' at ~ 6000 rpm.... 100% throttle was around 32-36k. there was a 4;1 reducer on the turbine output shaft.. so his truck transmission was still seeing about 8000 rpm. no vibration at all, none! the owner of this machine runs a turbine rebuilding service here in Ne. and says these really are cheaper to buy and maintain than just about any engine.. especially in THIS sport. about 8 grand gets you the engine and supporting hardware.. (engine, instruments, and starting system) a single 12v battery is all he needs... and you'll need about 3 gallons of JP8 per 15 second pass.

sounds about right! mine was quoted 825 for a rebuilt. plus they wanted 300 core if I couldn't return one!

Amen to the high dollar leese Neville! whoever imagined a cast iron alternator????? I had one on a combine 2 years ago.. it was ONLY a 150 amp, but they wanted 825 bucks ! say the least, a delco now resides there. Like I said many many posts ago, I be really surprised if Bosch built those boards in-house. They had to been low bid supplied..

yep! yours truly at the wheel... The owners only concern was that I kept my left leg firmly planted on the brake... even though these use a large truck transmission, in neutral, they still like to 'creep;... the airflow by itself will pull it along.. I was really amazed at how quiet it was... even when I kicked it up about 1/3 throttle... still could talk to the guys.

Geez, this has been brutal! almost 5 hours to upload a measly 2 minute clip.. So, I told you guys I got to fire up a turbine powered pulling tractor at the county fair a couple weeks ago... Here's a face to the 'rancherman'! http://youtu.be/xfXxSCRUX68

I'm putting this altogether in my head now... Katoom compared this transistor to a capacitor (there is a field) So when a charged vessel is 'hit' with a shot of reverse polarity (dirty AC) no matter how quick or small, it's the same effect as a short circuit... however small and also quick.. Mike, on the above diagram, one leg (+) would have our 13.5 volts dc plus 0.1 ac right off the alternator... the (-) leg would have the other side of the 0.1v AC. how can it not allow the 13.5 to pass (or whatever the output is?) but only .1v DC?

oh geez, I'll never forget the day my FIL came driving up with his 'new' purchase... the 2000 ram I currently have in my sig.. They pulled into the drive, engine racing.. ( but to his defense, they just traded a ford gasser with 5.0 and manual trans) some habits are hard to break!! anyway.. it took about 6 months of me chewing him out for bringing up the rpm and slipping the clutch!! especially with a load! I think the 2 stock type clutches later finally 'sank home' (in the first year!) One day, I was behind the wheel, stock trailer with 12 cows.. so about 20k behind the pickup... We were in town, sitting under the stop light. Idled away... I looked over at him and said "see??" plenty of torque, don't need to even touch the fuel.. ......... geez, I hate it when I prove a point to him~ The only time I can ever see slipping being good, is when you are on the starting line of a drag race, or sled pull... and you need to light the turbo... Crower makes a pretty good slipper clutch for just that!

I was going to suggest a delco generator... but I think they are 6 volt only...

Remember back in 'the day'.... A new clutch almost needed to be 'put against a tree' and burnt in.. well, not quite burned... I remember as a lad, hearing my 'heroes of the 'hood' talking about their trucks/cars with a new clutch being grabby as heck... and they ' burned it in'.... literally against a tree. Thinking back, I'll bet they weren't too careful with greasy paws, and that may have been some of their problem.. Or they didn't grind the flywheel, and the disk was 'making friends the hard way' with flywheel! I can see the potential for a long break in period with a over rated clutch. (not the over-rated version of bragging, but the power rating) If it grabs and chatters every time, might get some chunking of friction material... If that chunk is wedged and is the sole driver... yah, I can see 'burning'.. because it'd be holding part of the pressure plate askew.. temporarily anyways. It doesn't take a very large crumb. Oh, btw, Do these aftermarket performance clutches come with a recommended finish grind for the flywheel? I'm with you Tom, 'slipping' is for just the brief moment at roll out.. If I find myself 'feathering the clutch' it means I'm in the wrong gear, or RANGE! Rule of thumb with a load... If right foot is working... the left is resting

Wife's Aunt and Uncle live in Weed, Cali.. in the shadow of Mt. Shasta. They've been under a shroud since June, and the big cumulous clouds (smoke generated) have been awesome.. some say up to 50,000 feet high! Uncle says they look like giant stacks of popped corn with many different colors too Dangs things only produce lightning and more fires.... never a drop of rain.