More info on the weird tractor

From FarmerTom:

My dad had a 4020 propane. I hated that thing too. Not because it was
a bad tractor, but because I was still a kid then, and I was scared of
the refueling process.

You hook up a line from the liquid valve of a standard propane tank,
to the liquid intake valve on the tractor, then you hook up a return
line from the vapor side of the tracor to the propane barrel,

One gallon of liquid propane expands to 13 gallons of propane vapor.
When you bleed the vapor away from the tractor into the propane barrel
the differential in pressure allows the liquid to flow into the
tractor tank. As the liquid takes the place of the vapor the tank is
filled from bottom to top with liquid.

The tractor runs on both vapor and liquid, you start it on the vapor,
then when it is running well you switch it over to the liquid.
Obviously there is much more energy in the liquid than in the vapor.


My dad was plowing with his, running on liquid, when it got hot
enough that it melted the pistons.

We bought a diesel engine to replace the propane one. Best thing that
ever happened to that tractor. We still have it, use it most every
day, on the home farm. Has a Buhler loader on it.

This fella has a workaround of some sort.

Just makin' sure I had your attention, Farmer Tom.

The wife and I saw this propane tractor on our recent trip through Mississippi. It's the wrong color, but still interesting.

While we are on the subject of ugly tractors, a friend of mine just bought an early 70's 4010 for $10K with a 10 foot Woods bushhog. Sounds a bit privey to me, but he says it has 1300 hours on a rebuid and a new transmission. What do you think, FT? He seems to think it's been only used for mowing.

JACmail From an Old Friend

So, I commence to googling and discover you're a motorcycle
expert farrier mechanic blogger. Well done.

Me, I'm a standard re-treaded programmer waiting for my
job to eventually end up in India, and living in the outer
suburbs, repleat with minivan.

But before I dribble any catch-up email, I've got a question
about how to avoid junking my 1989 Ford Ranger. Seems the
brake line has cracked behind the fuel tank. The shop here says
it's horribly difficult to remove the tank 'coz the bolts are all
corroded over with 18 years of rust, and the tank might break,
and this and that and it's not much in parts unless they destroy
the tank, and yada yada, don't I just want to junk the truck.

The answer is no, I want to keep the truck and not go broke.
Can't they just run a separate brake line from the master
cylinder all the way back to the rear proportioning valve, and
leave the gas tank alone?

They won't do it, so I'm going to coast it on home tomorrow
and replace the line myself (well, with some help of a real mechanic).

Waddya think? New truck isn't in the budget. This is just a toy
for occassional messy stuff.

Carl

How's it goin'!

A good old beater truck is worth a lot for its utility function as well as a backup transportation source. I have my doubts about the fuel tank falling apart. Those bolts will come out with some penetrating oil maybe. It's the hangers/straps you might rip apart. All of this is easily replaced/ fabricated by the son of a man who possessed every issue of Popular Mechanics from 1950 to date.

I would unhook the fuel lines and empty the tank. No smoking! Flush some H2O through it or maybe even leave a few gallons of water in it for safety's sake and commence to working on those fasteners. I know you have a dremel tool with a cutoff wheel. Male sure you have hosed off any fuel you spill from the driveway before gettin' nasty with heat and sparks. Worse comes to worse, there's a new fuel tank on ebay for $79.00. Get everything out of the way, fix the brakes properly (you don't want to deal with unforseen wear on a brake line routed to hell and gone) and then start worrying about how to put it back together. You might have to tear shit up to make the repair. Get over it.

Good to hear from you, old man!

JACIII

The Folks You Run Into

We ran into this fella with an ADV sticker on his BMW F650 Dakar. He's a professional balloon twister. What a world.

Finally! The New Kawasaki Concours and The New SwampThing

Based on the ZX14!!!

200mph with Hard bags! Biker cocaine, man. Pure biker dope.


Swampy is not quite as rugged lookin' but the new brakes and swingarm with (I assume) modernized components should make up for it.

The KLR or the BMW

I kicked around buying the BMW F650 before I settled on the SwampThing. I was leanin' toward the BMW, but I kept seeing pictures like these:

Trail Tail

I have seen it all. Go here.

6Mb video - work safe.

Alcohol Stove Experiment #1, #2

Constructing a Low Pressure Alcohol Stove:

If you try this - do it outside away from flamable material and yourself. These things are dangerous and can explode. Some folk have cautioned against lighting it with the fill hole uncovered. You play at your own risk.

This Alcohol Burner is constructed of two coke can bottoms nested together in the manner in which it comes out looking like a midget coke can with two bottoms. It is helpful to scrounge around and find to cans of different diameter. If you have calipers get them out, ; even .010" (that's ten thousandths or 10/1000 of an inch girls) will matter. But most cans are the pretty close to the same size. If one is slightly larger than the other mark it for use as the "top".

The stove is constructed in just a few simple steps as follows:

Place a razor blade (in a safety holder) in the pages of a hardback book. Loading manuals work great. Rotate a coke can while pressing the can against the razor blade to "score" the can. You are not slicing the can with the razor blade, just putting a deep scratch into it.







You can see the note MrsJAC wrote me so I would be sure and add a caution about playing with dangerous stuff.








Once you have completed the scoring work your fingers on either side of te score to initiate an propogate a slit around the can.

Repeat once more on another can.

Now, mark 16 equidistant points around the circumference of one can bottom (use the larger diameter of the two if you determined a difference) with a "Sharpie". The marks go just outside of the raised ring on the can bottom. Poke small holes at the points you just marked. Use a pushpin or a sewing pin held in a pair of pliers. It is important that these holes very small.

Poke a hole in the center of the same can bottom. This one needs to be large enough that alcohol will readily flow through it. This is the "fill" hole.

This same can bottom must be stretched to fit over the other can bottom. Do this by pressing it onto a third (unmolested) can AT AN ANGLE. Do not press it straight onto the bottom of the can - it will stick and nevercome off. Rotate the angled can bottom against the other can while pressing on it.

Slip the stretched can with holes over the other can bottom. press these together, but do not "mash" them. Closing them up too far will cause the inner can bottom to warp and leak between them. I wasn't real confident in the seals on either of my stoves so I Used some J-B Weld to seal it up.

Fill the device with alcohol until there is a small puddle over the fill hole. light it.


It take a bit to get it hot enough to burn through the perimeter holes but it will. Once the perimeter holes light drop a coin over the fill hole to prevent it from spewing burning alcohol everywhere.

If you have trouble getting it to start you can hold a lighter to the side of it. I am constructing a base pan that I can put a little alcohol in to start the stove rather than light it from the top. The alcohol burning in the base pan will boil the alcohol in the stove and get it cranked up and running.


The one below is burning too rich (I think the holes are too big) and still boiled a pan of water in under 5 minutes. Total burn time was 24 minutes for about 2 ounces of alcohol.

Now BrandX Can Go, Too.

'course that tool kit is gonna come in real handy...

These Dumbasses

Must spend all day on the phone with frenchmen.

“The world is beginning to doubt the moral basis of our fight against terrorism. To redefine Common Article 3 [of the Geneva conventions] would add to those doubts. Furthermore, it would put our own troops at risk,” Mr Powell wrote in a letter to Mr McCain released yesterday.

Can the USA project weakness any more strenuously? The left has been harping that this conflict must be treated as a police matter, but what they really want is to get this into the court system as a kind of WPA for lawyers.

Somebody Try This....

Simple Foolproof Stove

Needed to Build items
1 a 6 ounce round tuna can with Lid
2 an Altoids Sour tin with Lid
3 a Hand paper punch like wal mart sells for a couple of Dollars,and on ebay.
4 a good can opener
Now we are ready to build a Simple multi fuel fool proof stove.
open your tuna Can, and eat, or give to your cat the tuna, keeping the
lid, wash them out, and remove the paper label.
Now taking your Paper punch, punch out 4 holes evenly spaced, as close
to the bottom of your tuna can, as you can
then punch out 8 holes evenly spaced as close to the top of your
tuna can, as you can.
Your tuna can lid is used as a fire snuffer to put out the stove
Eat the Altoids sours, sharing with friends, Clean out the Can when done.
now your stove is complete, it will burn Hexamiene, and triox heat bars and tabs,
also rubbing Alcohol, denatured Alcohol.
as a heat tab stove, just turn the altoids sour tin bottom portion, with its lid removed
upside down, and place your heat tab or triox bar on top, placed inside of your tuna can.
Light it, and put your pan on the tuna can, and cook.
for rubbing alcohol, or Denatured alcohol, turn your altoid tin right side up,
fill the bottom portion, less than half way up with alcohol
place in your tuna can. light, and place your pot on top of the tuna can, your now cooking
If you want to get fancy, one can get some perolight , from a nursery store, and some copper screening
putting them in the bottom portion of your altoid tin, this will give a better regulated heat
when burning alcohol (Safe for the endorsement)
have fun camping

And tell me how it goes.

The Central Committee Speaks

Harry Reid is not pleased at the prospect someone (even nearly two terms later) might tell the tale of the leadership and priorities of our National Socialist Democrats.

This is not even a subtle veiled threat:

The Communications Act of 1934 provides your network with a free broadcast license predicated on the fundamental understanding of your principle obligation to act as a trustee of the public airwaves in serving the public interest. Nowhere is this public interest obligation more apparent than in the duty of broadcasters to serve the civic needs of a democracy by promoting an open and accurate discussion of political ideas and events.

No doubt, the network will scramble to cave to the commisar. Pride in servility and all that.

Must they grow up?

I was wonderin' why the little one was in such a grumpy mood this morning. It seems "somebody" didn't see the note and only left a dollar.....

I'm bettin' a few dollars fell behind the headboard.

I've Never Forgotten a Campsite...

or remembered a hotel room.

We met a lot of nice folks on our little trek. A surprise was these two Indian folks working at the Econolodge we stayed at in Clinton Mississippi:That's Pamela and Ramon. We stayed there on Friday on the way down and Saturday on the way back. Pamela spoke no english, but when we pulled up Saturday night she ran out of the lobby and gave MrsJAC a big hug. Later, after a great supper at Sombrero's resturant, she met us at the door to our room with some kind of Indian food. We thanked her, tried it, pretended to like it, closed the door and immediately started trying to figure out how to get rid of it. Looked like a cross between curly fries and potato chips.

Mission Accomplished

Gumbo Got!

More to come...

I'm Out

Me and the MrsJAC are two-up on the SwampThing gone for Gumbo at the Magnolia Cafe' in Natchez Under the Hill. I'll hoist one fer y'all.

Nate was gonna go, but his wife said, "No." Bummer. Maybe next time, Bro.

We're Sorry, BrandX. You Can Come Back Now!

Actually, even though I've been givin' the Harley fella's hell, Ol' BrandX is still checkin' in and even contributing every now and then. Good on ya', Brother.

He did try to get us Jap bike riders to use anti-sieze compound when replacing screws on our bikes, though, so he might actually be pissed. I can just see myself Thumpin' blissfully down the road when I hit 6500RPM; ol' SwampThing goes into Auto DisAssembley Mode and all the Self Removing Bolts start turnin' out at speed.

And just so y'all know I ain't takin' myself too seriously while whackin' the Harley boys, this fella was spoted in pennsylvania on his KLR:

I don't have the optional milkcrate, but if I did mine would be black.

Harley Bashing Never Gets Old

From my inbox this morning:

Since this also seems to be the funny-Harley-story thread I'll chime in.

I was sitting in the shade on my parked R100 eating my lunch between classes yesterday when a 40-something Harley rider rides up on his shiney '06 model and parks right next to me... in my parking space. I didn't say anything and I didn't really even mind because if he felt enough kinship with me to park in the same space just because I also ride a motorcycle then he must be alright.

It turns out he was alright and we talked while I finished my lunch. He told me about his bike and how much he enjoyed it and asked questions about mine.

The funny part happened at the end of the conversation when he said "You're not going to believe this, but I've put 1200 miles on this thing since I got it in June."

I just smiled and said "Wow, you must have had a great summer."

He asked how many miles I have on my bike and I told him 256,000. The look on his face was great and then I said "Yeah, you're not going to believe this, but I put about 1200 miles on this thing every two weeks."

(Disclaimer: Yes it's a 25 year old bike and no I didn't put all those miles on it, but I do put about 1200 miles on it every 2 weeks just because of commuting. That doesn't include weekend riding or trips.)

I had a similar experience with my parent's neighbor. The fella is restoring and old Sportster 1000 and doin' one hell of a job. The Brothers 'C' are always pickin' with him about it, especially since he knows better having had a Z1 "back in the day.

Well one day he had enough ribbing and whined, all but throwing a crying fit. All because I playfully scoffed at how little he and other Harley owners actually rode their bikes. My first reaction was to try and smooth things over, but I quickly figured out it was just that he was havin' trouble reconciling his Harley fantasy with our assertions of reality, how ever much they were in jest.

It must have really stuck in his craw 'cause later he came over to poke fun of SwampThing loaded on the trailer for the trip home.

"You ride that much?"
-yep.
"I bet those knobbies are rough on the highway"
-Not too bad.
"They wear out fast, too, don't they."
-Not as fast as you'd think. They're a pretty good on/off road compromise
"How many miles that thing got on it?"
- 30,000.
Keep in mind SwampThing looks for all the world like a dirtbike and it's only a 2003.

He kept his composure, but those eyes were on the ground.

Dude Bought a Harley

Ever wonder what those dentists are thinkin' out there on their chrome pigs?

A little insight:

It ran great! In the course of about an hour I put about 15 miles on it in stop-and-go traffic without encountering any problems at all. Aside from a few embarrassing moments when I killed it trying to take off while facing up a hill (with cars racked up behind me, all probably laughing uproariously at the geek on the Harley), it was righteous. It was stupendous. I motored around Greenlake in the sun with my feet on the pegs, the wind in my face, and tears of joy streaming down my cheeks. I was a badass. Bad to the bone! Ride to live, live to ride you sumbitches! The sociopathic tendencies that exist in all bikers blossomed and coursed through my veins. A foot-long grey beard magically sprouted out of my face as faded tattoos spread across my arms and back. Blasting through a busy crosswalk doing 40 over the limit, I stuck my leg out and laughed as my titanium shinguard smashed a little ol' lady's walker into smithereens. I tore off my helmet and hurled it at The Man sitting in his cage in a Winchell's parking lot. I pumped 12-gauge rounds into a whole row of Quiet Please / Hospital Zone signs and then held the throttle wide open with my shin through the center of the shopping mall while I leaned back and reloaded. Raised $50,000 for a local children's home through a biker club rally too. It was a most enjoyable day.

After having it for awhile, he comes to this conclusion:

Over the next 18 months, I put over 3000 miles on the scooter and over 1000 miles on the Sportster. I can safely say that there are significant differences between the two. In many ways, the little scooter is the superior machine.

Within about 3 weeks of daily commuting on the scooter, I began to feel more confident in my ability to come to a rapid stop without having to think too much about it. The scooter felt more and more like riding a motorized bicycle. The Harley felt like riding an aircraft carrier in comparison. It never felt as nimble as the scooter, probably because, well, it isn't. This was true at speed as well as when parking. The scooter can be bumped over curbs and wedged between dumpsters without a second thought. There's no danger of it tipping over while you're weaving around at low speed because it doesn't weigh anything. If it does fall over, it's no big deal.

I ride the scooter rain or shine, mud, gravel, whatever. Part of the Harley's appeal, and value, is it's gloss black paint job, stainless steel braided cabling and hoses, and chrome. I don't want to blast through mudpuddles with it.

After All the Shit

Reuters still has their staged "Suffering Lebanonese Broad" pic up on their website: