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What is the most useful tool you own? Not the most expensive tool, not the coolest tool, but the tool you couldn’t get along without?
Two service calls to malfunctioning planters 30-plus years ago remind mechanic Dan Anderson of how far pre-season preparation and maintenance has come.
A new generation of metal cutting tools span the divide between hacksaw simplicity/economy to plasma cutter precision/price.
Sometimes engine oil, transmission or fuel filters resist removal. As the frustration level rises, there is a succession of alternate tools to try.
Few would consider a brush a mechanic’s tool, but most professional mechanics have a range of brushes to help with unique cleaning needs.
I salute those fearless farmer-mechanics. They build their own splitting stands, they figure out how to diagnose hydraulic flow and pressure problems and tackle large-scale repairs.
Even if we’ve done it every year for decades, it never hurts to have a primer to jog our memories about basic planter maintenance measurements.
From positive to negative, or from negative to positive? Depending on your viewpoint, it can flow either way.
Cleaning oil and grease, baked by engine or transmission heat, can be especially challenging. Here are some options.
Not all planter problems are as they first appear. Here is a guide to those less-common culprits.
Picture this... a light bulb in the barn burns out. Here’s how farmers in five age brackets respond.
A lot of farmers buy a voltmeter but never gain confidence in how to use it. Here are the basics.
Don’t fall for “mouse milk” salesmen with miracle lubricants. Here are facts about oils and greases.
New ring and cylinder wall metallurgy, combined with improved break-in oils, require different strategies.
Research into the origins of common shop tools produces interesting results. Let’s take a look.
The knee-jerk reaction to “plastic” replacement bushings is, “Why’d they sell me this cheap junk?” In reality, high-tech polymer bushings can provide significantly better performance.
Modern diesel engines gel more easily than older engines. That’s cold comfort if you forgot to change to winter-grade fuel or add anti-gel additive before the weather turned frigid, but it’s the truth.
Some of their batteries lose power over a month or two; others go dead in less than a week.
Many people ignore tires as long as they aren’t flat. Here are some facts to help tires stay round.
I’m not pimping for this company, but after years of searching, this looks like a tool I’ve wanted for years.
There are dozens of fuel additives on the market designed to prevent or reduce gelling of diesel fuel in cold weather. The problem is there are no mandatory standards for testing the performance of anti-gel additives.
Is it really necessary to add a fuel stabilizer like STA-BIL to the fuel tanks of gasoline-powered engines that won’t be used over the winter?
While gasohol isn’t catastrophically destructive to small engines, it has properties that can create problems.
A pile of parts and a lot of spare time could produce interesting results.
Grease-able bearings come in two designs. One design has no seal on one side. The other design has seals on both sides of the bearing.
Battery disconnect switches, aka “kill switches,” discourage machinery theft and reduce problems with batteries being drawn down during storage.
Milwaukee’s portable air compressor kit sells for around $180 and includes the hose, chuck, battery and carrying case. Not cheap, but worth the money when there’s a flat tire in the far corner of the machine shed.
Here are the answers to common questions about bearings in ag equipment.
I wish the statement, “Oh, it’s just a blown O-ring,” was a simple as it sounds.
It’s almost a rite of passage for a combine operator to snag an unloading auger on a tree or power pole sometime during their career.