Tony Wells
Senior Member
Got a project now that I predict will keep me occupied next year. We have two Peterson horizontal grinders, one a 4700 and the other a 4700B. Both have been scavenged a good bit. Lots of mechanical and hydraulic parts "borrowed". But that doesn't bother me as much as the controls. The newer one had (emphasis on "had") a microprocessor with an LCD screen that drove the whole machine. From what everyone here says I get they are told by Peterson they are NLA. Plus they must be factory flashed, of course. The older of the two is still PLC controlled, it seems. Lots of missing wiring and gauges and I don't know what else. And guess what? The SN plates are removed. Somehow, although I am skeptical, we have records of purchase that has the supposedly correct numbers. They match the syntax of a couple that are for sale on an auction site, so they might be. I got a call...."We found the book on the Peterson!" They found a 3/4" ring binder with scant information that will be useful to me. It's for a 4710B, which is a tracked version of the machine, whereas these are both rubber tired with super singles. Sigh
The plan is as soon as I can make room for them, I'll move them inside, parked side by side, with the idea that there is enough alike that I can sort of get an idea of what's missing. Hmm...sounds good if you say it fast. But they are different models, so there will be differences. I'm always up for a challenge, but this is a whopper.
At this point, I have absolutely no connection with Peterson. I got nobody. If anyone can lead me to a source that I can work with on this project, I'd appreciate it. If not, I'll have to start with a few phone calls to see if I can find a competent service dept that can at least get me the books on these, and hopefully find out if there is a retrofit controller for the B model. This will be interesting, to say the least. I'd hate to think that I might have to downgrade the B to an older control system. THAT would be a project!
The plan is as soon as I can make room for them, I'll move them inside, parked side by side, with the idea that there is enough alike that I can sort of get an idea of what's missing. Hmm...sounds good if you say it fast. But they are different models, so there will be differences. I'm always up for a challenge, but this is a whopper.
At this point, I have absolutely no connection with Peterson. I got nobody. If anyone can lead me to a source that I can work with on this project, I'd appreciate it. If not, I'll have to start with a few phone calls to see if I can find a competent service dept that can at least get me the books on these, and hopefully find out if there is a retrofit controller for the B model. This will be interesting, to say the least. I'd hate to think that I might have to downgrade the B to an older control system. THAT would be a project!
