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First week in December 2024 the Burnham Boiler SCG decided after 15 years to give up. In the last house I installed 2 Burnham 's both Natural Gas / Chimney vented. One in 1984 and the other in 2009 Both still in operation. That house has been transferred to another family member that my parents purchased in 1952. I would have hoped the one here in Maine would have lasted at least 20 years, no such luck. A '' newer technology type unit '' I should have known better , oh well. So the replacement boiler was ordered and delivered, all 435 lbs of it in 10 degree weather with a 12'' rise from ground level to the top of the basement entry threshold. Nothing I 'm not used to, seen it all at this stage of life in the trade, you guy's know what I;m talking about. It took 10 day's without heat and hot water to make this all happen because of the time of year, finding bodies to help etc, etc. Thank God for the 2 wood stoves CRANKED up for 1 full week keeping the house from freezing up and having a Cabin in the woods in the back of my mind as a last resort. Life is fun isn't it. I have shown the old boiler being disconnected and the new installed. There are other pics under the Plumbing & Heating thread, Non- Tractor Related. Check out the melted tape measure that an assembler must have forgot on top of the cast iron boiler, classic. The new boiler requires a slightly different near boiler piping. Jim , your not missing a tape measure are you ? @WHX??

With all this snow this year and no 44'' 2 stage set up on the 520 - H I installed the 48'' Dozer blade. I really can't believe the oomph this thing has. I'm sure the extra weight of the twin cylinder helps. I only put the trac weights on and not the heavier steel weights along with a nice set of 2 link chains. I was pushing at least a foot and a half of crusty snow with it. Very impressed. This is my main mower but I may have to think about using another WH for mower duties ?

I love my Bronco 14. That being said it tries my patience more than most of the others. It has alot of hydraulics mods and it has always had leaks to fix. But this latest was my fault. Or at least I thought so... I removed the balance gears last year and had no correct oil pan gasket. So I made one up, and as soon as I cranked it up it started leaking oil. So last week I changed out the oil pan gasket with a correct part. After driving it around, I see oil around the base of the engine again. Turns out the oil was coming from behind the fuel pump. It didn't contaminate my oil but it sure spit pretty bad. So today I made a steel plate cover for the fuel pump hole and added a low pressure (2-3psi) electric pump. This makes 3 tractors now using them and I've been very happy so far. When all back together she fired right up and ran like a champ. Absolutely zero oil leaking now and everything seems good. Even with the pump pulling on the rectifier it is still charging strong. It settles down to 12.6VDC after a few minutes.

A big shout out thank you to @Handy Don for helping me! I met him a few times at the Big Show, and you know when you talk to someone for a while and you can just tell they are smart? Well that’s Don!! My C-141 was not charging so after doing some basic testing I decided I needed help. I was going to post this here, but I kinda wanted some instant gratification. So I decided to call Don and pick his brain. After talking for a while we switched to FaceTime which enabled him to guide me step by step. His knowledge and ability to explain how things work is remarkable. Using my multi meter we were able to determine that the voltage regulator was not working properly. We probably chatted for an hour in total covering an array of topics! Afterwards I called Brian @76c12091520h at K+B Wheel Horse Parts and he informed me that he has one in stock and would send it to me. So I wanted to say thank you Don, Brian and everyone here at Red Square for helping keep my (our) hobby going strong! God Bless ❤️

Adjusting the Eaton 1100 to stop the creaping late last Summer on the 420 - LSE.

I 'm lucky I can even post pics on here. I've had too many head injuries in my lifetime and very lucky to still function properly.

Any chance you could photoshop out that green thing in the background of the last picture? It really diminishes the feng shui...

Today we processed the lesser quality parts that were left from around 20 deer that we harvested this year. These bones are frozen until deer season is over then the bones are boiled and the meat is separated and ground for scrapple. The raw meat is ground for bologna. We made around 200lb each of scrapple and bologna. Scrapple boiling Dipped out and cooling Bologna Grinding Mixing spices Stuffing Then to the smoke house Then a lunch featuring a fish fry of perch, walleye, and striper

Changed something else today. The hydro pedal that I was using just wasn't working as well as I wanted. Forward was great, but rocking it back for reverse was difficult. The lower part of the Kubota pedal just is too small. So I had another pedal, I think from a Toro mower. It has a longer lower section and it has a more natural lean towards the outside of the footrest. I'll give her a test drive tomorrow, but at least now just pushing down with my heel does the trick. It doesn't look as good as the Kubota pedal but definitely fits my hoof better.

Yes I do. I've had one on one of my tractors for 3 years now and it works fine. Given they can be had for about $6 each, I'll buy them in bulk if I have to. I have them on 4 tractors so far.

This is a long story so bear with; Dad was a Wheel Horse dealer. My moms uncle was also a Wheel Horse dealer from the 60's thru the 90's. My dad has only owned 3 Horses all these years: a 701 , a C141, and his only new Horse- a 416H. In 1978 moms uncle sold a new C141 to my grandparents neighbor. He stored it in my grandfathers barn but he died in 1980. My father sold our 701 and purchased the like new C141 for our own personal use. I had the majority of the seat time as mowing the grass was my job. We kept the C141 until 1993 when it was sold and dad took a new 416 for his own use. The C141 was sold somewhat locally and dad took a really ragged C120 on trade for it. Dad gave me the C120 which I totally restored and has been my everyday tractor since 1996. Fast forward to this week. I scroll the local Facebook marketplace listings several times a day and saw a C141 listed about an hour away and gave it no thought whatsoever because I am not looking for anything other than parts tractors. Looked at the listing another day or so later and for some reason looked closer: there were 2 things that gave it away : when we got it back in 1980 there were holes punched in the muffler ( God only knows why ) which Dad brazed shut, and there was a faded, worn decal on the left rear top of the hood. A few carefully asked questions and a rode trip was in order. It's had a rough life and multiple owners ,but our old C141 came home today after 33 years. Sold new by moms uncle, dads tractor for most of my life that was spent at home, and I own the tractor that was traded in on it. Needless to say it's going to get a full restoration and it's not going anywhere again.

Absolutely agreed. @Handy Don has a way with words that most folks don't possess.

Snow plowing with a garden tractor is nearly all about traction. Apparently you've nailed the combo that suits your needs. Very nice!

That's the "En-gin-eer" thing coming thru...

Happy Valentine's Day !! Being as such, it seemed like a good day to spray some red paint. The outside temp in the low 50's also made the shop easy to heat. A big THANK YOU to Jim for helping me wet sand this morning.

Dave, All great advice from @ebinmaine, but I'd get photographic verification of this mostly mythical creation... there have been sightings in the past, but few that are not grainy and of the "big foot sightings" genre...

Eric, Thanks for the prompt response and for sharing the information and previous post. I will heed your advice on actual tire measurements. Dave

Excellent

Of course when I was done plowing it reassured me I could take it for a trail ride carefully without getting her stuck.

Not an issue here. I've seen enough non-electrician homeowner wired houses to know that it's a good idea to go through every connection in the house. In this case he even had a couple dozen+ junction boxes in the attic. There were several potential problems with a few that I would call serious. Still, it wasn't the worse I've seen. All the receps and switches have been checked or replaced to get rid of the back stabbed nonsense and verify solid connections. Heavily used receps have been upgraded to 5362's. My main concern was that the often changing landscape in the garage made it a bit of a challenge to make sure one of them wasn't near something combustible.

I'm pretty sure I've never heard a version of Voodoo Child quite like this, very cool...

All of my tractors fall under that name!

Wow!!!

Yep upon further review we'll call it "custom"

Yeah I just used an "L" shaped bracket and used one of the engine bolts to hold it. With the tank under the steering wheel there isn't much room behind the engine. I made a second floor on the battery box for another tractor, but since the Bronco has all that room between the engine and hood it just made more sense to me.

I spend so little time at a time in the shop, I haven’t fired it once this season. I don’t want to get it all hot and bothered and try to shut it down on schedule or in a rush. Perks of afternoon wrestling coaching

Maybe loosen the bolts and drive it around ?

Just sayin ...

It has returned to where it belongs. Glad to hear that you got it and are going to restore it back to original.

I don't know Unit ... @Sparky s neck of the woods there are many old stone fences ... many dating back to colonial days. Plunge's code required here on a new build. Floor no tho. Things really sound messed up there ... as much as I would enjoy living in the woods of Maine I would be mowing a lot in the dark & The @Pullstart would be on speed dial. ..

Looking good Jim, but please don’t ram the piles with my future 418-A 😂😂

Keeping my promise Jim @WHX?? you wanted pictures of the 2 in 1 vent for the Modine heater with concentric on the outlet side. I used black aluminum screening with good ole aluminum tape. I had to make 2 vertical cuts on the storm collar to make it fit between the Battens on either side. Cheers

What the hell it's tradition now! I didn't do a damn thing. Looks like them hood hangers worked purty good. Thank you for the P clamps ... ended all my misery. I got nice ... well decent ... throttle range without having to add that little tab.

Maybe the paint was still wet when they were put on??? What about trying heat, or spraying something in that edge? A steel bar through the slots from the rear side and hammer it out? Just spit balling ideas

My kinda crew ther Ed !

Left cold snowy CT for much warmer Katy, TX to watch our granddaughter ride in her first rodeo with the Katy Cowgirls in the Katy Rodeo and parade.

@CD Long Jr going the right way , like to take advantage of a related zone , if nothing else , get some marker tags or stick on writeable tape , to relate issue / idea , as you transition to that mind set , rite it down , brain farts as also part this . look at what you have already done , you are kickin it , pete

The hood gas tank and carburetor are on coming together little at a time

There's a place about 5 miles from here called Baileys Discount Center. It's like a Big Lots on steroids and ya never know what you will find. Sometimes a great deal, sometimes a so-so deal and sometimes you wonder where the heck did they find that brand. Once in a while it's fun just to walk the isles to see what's there. I did just that this morning and wasn't really looking for anything. It was kinda ironic that, after this thread, they had these stacked on pallets. 4800, 7500 and 10000 watts at a very fair price. I had been thinking about one but never pulled the trigger but then they go and shove them in my face. I opted for the 7500w. I'll go ahead and hardwire it into the panel. The 3 milkhouse heaters were getting the job done but it was a pain making sure they were sitting in a safe spot (and on separate circuits). Gotta get right on it because the boss has me doing a pretty major facelift to the front entry/deck as soon as the weather breaks.

Friends thought I was wasting money to fully seal and insulate our below-grade basement--walls and most of the floor--at the time of construction. It has made it much more livable in the play area and in my shop. Switching to sealed combustion for heat/hot water also made a big difference.

Likewise, where we are, it wouldn't be easy to dig very far into the ground, as ledge is protruding from many places in our back yard. Relating to the thread topic, the type of subsurface under a shop/garage/home can have an effect on one's heating and cooling costs. We've pulled some big boulders out here and there, but for the most part, our land is solid ledge, with areas of shallow soil and clay. Our current house was built directly on solid ledge, and the floor of the basement is the ledge itself. Even though the basement is not heated, and there is an open vent to the outside (our rather old boiler draws its air from the basement, which draws outside air into the basement), the ledge acts as a massive, high-density heat sink that helps keep the basement much cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter than if the floor was just typical concrete over gravel and deep soil. If/when we replace the boiler with a more efficient one that uses outside air for combustion, the basement will be even cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter than it is now. Likewise, the foundation of our new garage was poured directly on ledge, which made it a challenge to fit the forms to the rock. As an aside (pardon any interruption), I made a custom scribing tool to mark the forms accurately. Here are a few photos of the forms for the footings that went under the foundation walls of the new garage. Examples of footing forms scribed to fit the convolutions in the rock: Here's the garage foundation after pouring the foundation walls on top of the concrete footings, installing interior and exterior perimeter drains, backfilling, insulating the inside of the foundation walls, and filling with compacted crushed stone: Ledge/bedrock extends all the way down to our shore on the river (photo taken about mid-tide).

Figured some o you would get a kick outta the future projects collection... Various pics.

I guess that explains most of us!