What's your hoe doing?

Spud_Monkey · Jan 19, 2022

Willie B said:
The dozer batteries were manufactured just over 6 years ago Placed in service almost 6 years ago. They live in hot or cold as the weather brings. It hadn't been started in two months. It turned over a bit, but didn't start. I charged them on two different chargers, then tested. Neither was delivering its rated CCA. One is 100 under, the other is 150 under. Neither was frozen, both took charge.

I don't know if I've ever actually charged a frozen battery. Lots of times I've attempted to charge a dead battery, without success. I can't say I've heard of one exploding because it was frozen, though, I've never tried over a 10 amp rate.

I never heard of frozen batteries exploding either in that manner, seen them crack open from being frozen. Technically you should start off with .10C to .15C which is tenth of it's rated AH based on 20hr rating, the starting off is called the bulk phase which max based on the formula I gave is bulked in, next is absorb phase in which the amps drop down to absorb amperage/voltage, then towards the last 10 percent it goes into float which is around the 10 amps or less depending size of the battery since lead has a lot of resistance of what it will take.
In my opinion the battery was getting a high charge causing it to start off gassing hydrogen sulfide, a spark was created and someone ended up schitting their pants.

Tenwheeler · Jan 20, 2022

Spud_Monkey said:
I never heard of frozen batteries exploding either in that manner, seen them crack open from being frozen. Technically you should start off with .10C to .15C which is tenth of it's rated AH based on 20hr rating, the starting off is called the bulk phase which max based on the formula I gave is bulked in, next is absorb phase in which the amps drop down to absorb amperage/voltage, then towards the last 10 percent it goes into float which is around the 10 amps or less depending size of the battery since lead has a lot of resistance of what it will take.
In my opinion the battery was getting a high charge causing it to start off gassing hydrogen sulfide, a spark was created and someone ended up schitting their pants.

I have heard a frozen battery explode that way. I was a kid and have not always lived in the sunny south. While at my best friends house we heard the explosion and ran, toward it. There were jumper cables on some old farm junk and his dad was in bad shape. Arms waving, to his face and then away struggling. Man working with him grabbed him by the arm. They ran through the snow like Donner and Blitzen ( Thunder and Lighting ) to a water spicket with the underground cut off valve. They were both all in the water for awhile. Then they went half speed to the house. Pops ended up OK. We went and looked at he battery. Most of the top was gone and the inside was a block of ice.
Never take battery safety for granted.

Willie B · Jan 21, 2022

I never knew what went wrong. I had a two battery in parallel system on a camper. I was putting a new floor in it. First opening in spring. I brought the batteries up from the cellar probably 60 degrees F. Put them on the trailer that has its own charging system. I normally charge batteries one at a time with a battery charger, better control of charge rate. This time I didn't.
Probably 14 hours later, I happened to be walking past, one popped. Made a Hell of a loud noise, but the whole battery didn't explode. It was misshapen from pressure, I never did find the three hole cap, might be some distance away.

gasifier · Jan 21, 2022

It was -23 this morning. I plugged the 426 heater in about 3-1/2 to 4 hours before attempting to start. I also put a slow charge on the batteries overnight. This charger goes into maintaining mode once it gets them to full charge.

About two hours before starting I also covered it with a large tarp I left in a double layer. And plugged in a small, standing electric radiator type heater under the tarp.

By the time I tried to start it the temperature was just below zero. Success! It started hard, but it started. I moved some snow I wanted gone from an area I wanted to access without having to fight snow that is 14” deep. Tomorrow I am going to bring the tarp all the way to the ground by going to a single layer. It’s a big tarp. I think I can wrap it better that way and try starting it earlier. It’s suppose to be -23 to -29 at 6AM depending on what forecast I am looking at.

NH575E · Jan 21, 2022

gasifier, You folks are way tougher than I am. How do you keep animals from freezing to death?

gasifier · Jan 22, 2022

NH575E said:
gasifier, You folks are way tougher than I am. How do you keep animals from freezing to death?

The wife has a heat lamp in with the chickens. I’m sure that’s “good” for our electric bill. The horses have thick coats that come in for winter. Doesn’t seem to bother them much, they hang closer together too, but it still has to be cold. This morning…

Honcho · Jan 22, 2022

Gas, do you have a plug to warm fuel. Or you simply use winter type of fuel, do you add anything to a fuel tank. When it is too cold here we put a warm lamp into a tank, or pour some gas in to make it thinner.

gasifier · Jan 22, 2022

Honcho said:
Gas, do you have a plug to warm fuel. Or you simply use winter type of fuel, do you add anything to a fuel tank. When it is too cold here we put a warm lamp into a tank, or pour some gas in to make it thinner.

No plug for fuel. Just plug in heater for coolant. I haven’t done anything yet. But was the diesel ever thick pouring into tank yesterday! I have heard that they do switch to a “winter blend” at the stations here though. I’m not sure what they do to it. Maybe what your talking about? Thinning?

Willie B · Jan 22, 2022

Honcho said:
Gas, do you have a plug to warm fuel. Or you simply use winter type of fuel, do you add anything to a fuel tank. When it is too cold here we put a warm lamp into a tank, or pour some gas in to make it thinner.

In winter weather the fuel you use in summer will gel & in extreme cold it'll form wax gobs. The traditional prevention is cut it with kerosene. Kerosene is expensive & engines have less power on it. There are other additives that also do the job. Also, ice crystals can be a problem, clog the filter. Additives help with that also.

NH575E · Jan 22, 2022

All this talk of warming engines reminds me of my teenage days.

My first motorcycle was a Triumph 650 Bonneville. One time in winter my car wouldn't start so I needed to ride the bike to work. It had 50wt oil in it and wouldn't kick over. I started a couple of charcoal briquettes in a pan and slid it underneath the bike to warm up the oil. Worked like a charm.

hookedondiesel · Jan 22, 2022

NH575E said:
All this talk of warming engines reminds me of my teenage days.

My first motorcycle was a Triumph 650 Bonneville. One time in winter my car wouldn't start so I needed to ride the bike to work. It had 50wt oil in it and wouldn't kick over. I started a couple of charcoal briquettes in a pan and slid it underneath the bike to warm up the oil. Worked like a charm.

What a beautiful bike they were, those were the day's my friend.

Tenwheeler · Jan 24, 2022

It can be hard having parents that lived through the depression sometimes. Dad said he is taking my tire to town and have a boot put in it.

A buddy of mine was arguing with his dad. We were at the hardware store and 1/4 flat washers were 1 1/2 cents each. You questioned that. YES THEY ARE 1 1/2 CENTS EACH. There is no way! That is more than a penny. YES THEY ARE A PENNY AND A HALF EACH. Well I will not pay that. I will go home and drill holes in pennies before I pay that for a 1/4 inch flat washer. OK BUT THEY ARE 1 AND 1/2 CENTS EACH.
We went home and you made me clamp pennies in the vice and drill holes in them. " I did not " ! Oh yes you did. I remember that very well!

aighead · Jan 25, 2022

My hoe, last night, was moving more rocks. The path from the end of my driveway to where the barn is going is now frozen rutted mud. I've never experienced something so bumpy! I stayed in 1st gear, with the brakes on a fair amount, due to how crazy bumpy everything is. A lot of the mud, by the gravel pile, is very smooth and slippery, so it's been tough digging into the pile with the loader.

Willie B · Jan 25, 2022

Tenwheeler said:
It can be hard having parents that lived through the depression sometimes. Dad said he is taking my tire to town and have a boot put in it.View attachment 252625
A buddy of mine was arguing with his dad. We were at the hardware store and 1/4 flat washers were 1 1/2 cents each. You questioned that. YES THEY ARE 1 1/2 CENTS EACH. There is no way! That is more than a penny. YES THEY ARE A PENNY AND A HALF EACH. Well I will not pay that. I will go home and drill holes in pennies before I pay that for a 1/4 inch flat washer. OK BUT THEY ARE 1 AND 1/2 CENTS EACH.
We went home and you made me clamp pennies in the vice and drill holes in them. " I did not " ! Oh yes you did. I remember that very well!

Dad would save old nails, straighten them & reuse them. "The day may come you'll need a nail & can't afford it." I'd argue, "If I can't afford a nail, I can't afford the board."

I do have a tire on a tractor with loader looks about that bad. It hasn't gone flat yet, & about all the tractor does is split wood these days. It looks like a recap? ribs are separating from the casing. Been that way 25 years. Valve stem rubber separated from the steel center about 15 years ago. I grabbed a roll of electrical tape, it hasn't lost a pound of air since.
Ten years ago, the cheap "new" rears it came with in 1987 when I bought it were cracked. Tube squeezed out through the crack, I bought liners from Gemplers, about $100. They sufficed until we did a two tractor upgrade last year. New tires went on newest tractor, tires with torn tread where a city boy's girlfriend acquired the tractor in a real estate deal. He didn't know about three point hitch sway chains. Those tires went on the old tractor, good enough to split wood.

gasifier · Jan 25, 2022

My 426 is going to sit another day. Charged the two batteries and when I pulled them out to do so I found a couple of connection issues. Fixed those and it is up and running. At the real job for a couple of 12s, so hopefully I’ll get to play again soon.

colson04 · Jan 25, 2022

Too cold, didn't have time to take pictures of my chore this morning.

I had a 300 gallon boiler tank I picked up 3 years ago for a project that isn't going to happen. So, I listed it and ended up with a serious buyer from out of state. Tank weighs 1500 pounds +/-, so I can't use the bobcat to handle and load on buyers trailer. We scheduled for this morning for transaction. I pulled batteries out of backhoe, brought them inside heated shop and charged then up. This morning, I ran out 60 ft of electrical cord to the block heater and plugged it in about 8am. At 9am, I drive my truck with the charged batteries over to it, install batteries (6 volt in series). Block still feels cold, coolant lines are warm, tube heater is cooking. It was about 5deg last night, an hour wasn't enough. Go find a can of ether before attempting. Give air filter a spritz, crank and nothing. Click click click. Voltage meter shows batteries down to 5 volts now. Hook up truck to starter and then we were able to jump it. Let it warm up, plow snow with bobcat to make a trail. Move backhoe next to tank, get it hooked up and hoisted. Now in stuck. Tank took too much weight off rear tires and they're just spinning on the snow. Dig out chains and chain up one tire, buyer is here and watching. Lock rear diff, and successfully get tank loaded without and issues. Get done and park it and notice a small coolant drip under backhoe. Not sure where that's coming from, but now I have something else to resolve, on top of getting new batteries and replacing a funky looking battery cable.

Tenwheeler · Jan 25, 2022

colson04 said:
Too cold, didn't have time to take pictures of my chore this morning.

I had a 300 gallon boiler tank I picked up 3 years ago for a project that isn't going to happen. So, I listed it and ended up with a serious buyer from out of state. Tank weighs 1500 pounds +/-, so I can't use the bobcat to handle and load on buyers trailer. We scheduled for this morning for transaction. I pulled batteries out of backhoe, brought them inside heated shop and charged then up. This morning, I ran out 60 ft of electrical cord to the block heater and plugged it in about 8am. At 9am, I drive my truck with the charged batteries over to it, install batteries (6 volt in series). Block still feels cold, coolant lines are warm, tube heater is cooking. It was about 5deg last night, an hour wasn't enough. Go find a can of ether before attempting. Give air filter a spritz, crank and nothing. Click click click. Voltage meter shows batteries down to 5 volts now. Hook up truck to starter and then we were able to jump it. Let it warm up, plow snow with bobcat to make a trail. Move backhoe next to tank, get it hooked up and hoisted. Now in stuck. Tank took too much weight off rear tires and they're just spinning on the snow. Dig out chains and chain up one tire, buyer is here and watching. Lock rear diff, and successfully get tank loaded without and issues. Get done and park it and notice a small coolant drip under backhoe. Not sure where that's coming from, but now I have something else to resolve, on top of getting new batteries and replacing a funky looking battery cable.

Glad that worked out for you. Hope you got a good price for it. Sounds like $750 worth of work just to load it.

Toxic · Jan 30, 2022

Plowing some snow today. Backhoe worked good and no issues..lol..8 do need to start covering up the front grill..my battery was completly covered in snow that had blow in..still started no problem tho .

JL Sargent · Feb 7, 2022

Erecting a flagpole!

Spud_Monkey · Feb 8, 2022

JL Sargent said:
Erecting a flagpole!
View attachment 253399

Should of strapped it to the backhoe bucket instead, a lot more easier to maneuver into the hole. I did my poles on my pole barn this way 20' long.

What's your hoe doing?

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