What have you done to your Wheel Horse today?

[balconio 600]

Got one of my horses a new battery today. Upgraded from 230CCA to 300CCA at 0°F since this is my year rounder that does mowing and snowblowing and also winch duty. Went to Lowe's because it said online they had 84 of them. Lies! They had exactly zero. I went to a local joint (CountryMax) and they had the same size Interstate battery for $10 less than Lowe's. I really should give my money to local business more instead of the big box stores.

[ebinmaine 63,114]

6 minutes ago, balconio said:

. I really should give my money to local business more instead of the big box stores

Agreed. 

Every chance it's practical and some that aren't.  

 

[balconio 600]

20 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

Agreed. 

Every chance it's practical and some that aren't.  

 

I tell you what EB it felt good to give them the business. Plus the girl at the counter didn't know how to process a core charge but now she does! They can have 2 minutes of my time for training, go ahead...

[ebinmaine 63,114]

6 minutes ago, balconio said:

I tell you what EB it felt good to give them the business. Plus the girl at the counter didn't know how to process a core charge but now she does! They can have 2 minutes of my time for training, go ahead...

Absolutely!

 

Everybody gotta learn something sometime. 

 

Well done.   

[squonk 38,916]

1 hour ago, Ed Kennell said:

Not sure about that mike unless they are some kind of special alcohol proof material..

One of the biggest problems resulting from the addition of ethanol was to the fiberglas tanks in older boats.    The gasoline and alcohol seperated with time and the resulting pure alcohol dissolved the resin in the fiberglas tanks.  The tanks leaked filling the bilge.  When the bilge pump fired, the boats exploded.     If the tanks didn't leak and the alcohol or water entered the engines, they usually blew up also.

 

Luckily the boats I owned had SST tanks when ethanol started.   I use E-10 in all my engines/motors  and never have a problem.  My go to additive is Sea Foam, and I never leave fuel in a tank for more than a couple weeks.

 

Sea Foam will combat many of ethanol's cooties. I know a lot of the tanks replaced around here had Owens Corning stickers on them. I almost hit one one night at an intersection in Rochester NY during a storm. Power was out and the wind blew a tank ready to be installed right into the road.

[Desko 552]

Speaking of ethanol I need to drain and flush the 1/2 full tank out of the 520-8 because it has been in there for who knows how long. I did get it running on that old gas though and the onan sounds strong aside from the dreaded onan surge. I was just shocked it started after temporarily "fixing" the 9 pin connector and all of the safety switches. Pulled the hood tonight so I can take it to work and spot weld the front radius back together the foot rests were pretty bowed also and the brake pedal wasn't catching the end so those got straightened and a stiffener added under where the brake pedal catches. At some point the electric lift struck the center support of the hood stand but only once and it bent that up pretty good also but the full extended stroke of the electric lift is 12" and from my understanding is correct so I have no idea why it did it but I need too! 

[Lee1977 6,217]

5 hours ago, Desko said:

Speaking of ethanol I need to drain and flush the 1/2 full tank out of the 520-8 because it has been in there for who knows how long. I did get it running on that old gas though and the onan sounds strong aside from the dreaded onan surge. I was just shocked it started after temporarily "fixing" the 9 pin connector and all of the safety switches. Pulled the hood tonight so I can take it to work and spot weld the front radius back together the foot rests were pretty bowed also and the brake pedal wasn't catching the end so those got straightened and a stiffener added under where the brake pedal catches. At some point the electric lift struck the center support of the hood stand but only once and it bent that up pretty good also but the full extended stroke of the electric lift is 12" and from my understanding is correct so I have no idea why it did it but I need too! 

Your foot rest may have different damage they mine  My 312 they were all bent out of shape and would move down when stepped on. I beat them back level and spot welded a 3/8" rod to the bottom. They don't move now when I step on them.

 

Edited April 29, 2022 by Lee1977

[Wheelhorse#1 1,445]

Completed install of the K181 in the B-80 today.Had to re adjust the float in the carb but now it’s running great.

[JoeM 7,623]

21 hours ago, squonk said:

Slotted screws are the worst.

and Torx got to be one of the best. Nice to see them used most everywhere today. 

[peter lena 8,064]

@ebinmaine  , no problem at all on the fuel issue , where I  live in conn , there are regular gas station gas tank standards , in the past  5 years have seen just about anyone that I  deal with , has new fiberglass tanks and related piping  /  venting  improvements . I  also regularly use my stuff and rotate their usage  . will  stay away from this issue , just read  what's going on , pete

[ebinmaine 63,114]

40 minutes ago, peter lena said:

@ebinmaine  , no problem at all on the fuel issue , where I  live in conn , there are regular gas station gas tank standards , in the past  5 years have seen just about anyone that I  deal with , has new fiberglass tanks and related piping  /  venting  improvements . I  also regularly use my stuff and rotate their usage  . will  stay away from this issue , just read  what's going on , pete

 

No worries Pete.

It's good to hear that you're taking care of your equipment and it sounds like you have a solution that works for you.

 

[METAL BENDER 25]

My horse is a 312 H classic hydro. 3 =300 series 12 =12 hp Kohler h = I'm guessing hydro.But it don't have the 8 for the gears because mine is like an automatic =low neutral and high. I was like auto trans ok. One tiny detail I did not comprehend friends lol, Well the fact that the mower could possibly stop running lol you see if this mower stops moving hell it cant be towed lol. You see the neutral I mentioned is not actually neutral its ,,,, well its,,,,,,,,,,, .well it says neutral. So my horse decides to stop running on the other side of the property yep the edge of the beaver pond, For anyone that doesn't know what springtime and beaver pond means, it is the edge of the pond is now the swamp lol. (busy as the beaver ) . I'm currently looking for the failed safety switch sitting in a swamp with the multimeter  and the rear tire off lol. By god, this horse will take me back today minus a few small parts never to be seen again haha.I hope everyone is having a good day today I'm finished rant lol.

[JoeM 7,623]

17 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

I really should give my money to local business more instead of the big box stores

back in the day when i worked, the company had and initiative to support the local community. they called it partners in progress. a truly wonderful idea until purchasing got involved. 

 

I remember using a local print shop uptown for all the forms and reports in my department. Excellent quality and service. I received an email from purchasing requesting all my forms in electronically.  They stuck a deal/ sourcing agreement with a large supplier and now we had to use them for all of our documents.

 

I resisted. The clerk came in one morning and told me the buyers want the forms and we have not complied. She said they we not going to process any more PO's to the local vendor. What do you want to do, because we are getting low? Tell them we are not using much and printing some here, in the meantime order what you need and use my purchasing card. They would never see those purchases. 

 

I could not see any benefit. The agreement prices were the same with the exception of a rebate, based on volume,  going back to corporate on a quarterly basis.  

 

Eventually the agreement failed and we went back. There was many times when documents were so late, they ran out.

 

Local is best! 

 

 

[Handy Don 10,595]

6 minutes ago, METAL BENDER said:

One tiny detail I did not comprehend friends lol, Well the fact that the mower could possibly stop running lol you see if this mower stops moving hell it cant be towed lol

Yes, 300, 12hp, hydro.

It is possible to roll a hydro tractor but slowly, as in a slow walking speed. Any faster and you risk damage to the hydro. Step on the brake pedal firmly and then release before moving it to put the tractor in neutral.

Will it start with the PTO disengaged?

Are you in the seat when trying to start it?

[squonk 38,916]

9 minutes ago, JoeM said:

back in the day when i worked, the company had and initiative to support the local community. they called it partners in progress. a truly wonderful idea until purchasing got involved. 

 

I remember using a local print shop uptown for all the forms and reports in my department. Excellent quality and service. I received an email from purchasing requesting all my forms in electronically.  They stuck a deal/ sourcing agreement with a large supplier and now we had to use them for all of our documents.

 

I resisted. The clerk came in one morning and told me the buyers want the forms and we have not complied. She said they we not going to process any more PO's to the local vendor. What do you want to do, because we are getting low? Tell them we are not using much and printing some here, in the meantime order what you need and use my purchasing card. They would never see those purchases. 

 

I could not see any benefit. The agreement prices were the same with the exception of a rebate, based on volume,  going back to corporate on a quarterly basis.  

 

Eventually the agreement failed and we went back. There was many times when documents were so late, they ran out.

 

Local is best! 

 

 

Don't you just  love purchasing depts.? My last job we had blanket P.O.'s with vendors. Usually $2-$5000. But if a repair's parts were over $1000 you needed a separate P.O. which usually took about a week to get. If there was an emergency we go get an emergency P.O. as long as the school superintendent signed off as it was an emergency. Well a school's walk in cooler went down on a Thursday afternoon. We get the super to sign the papers. The woman who is in charge of the P.O.s is on vacation and nobody else can do it. The school has to rent a reefer truck. Monday rolls around and the lady is back at work. Now she won't give us the P.O. because in her eyes it's no longer an emergency. So of course we have to wait 4 days to get it and end up having to work straight thru the weekend. 

[KrazeyOlDave 859]

Made my 310-8 a new key. Still waiting on my 520H to be done. I’m itching bad to start building it up.

[ebinmaine 63,114]

2 minutes ago, KrazeyOlDave said:

Made my (various models) a new key

That's pretty cute Dave!

[JoeM 7,623]

4 hours ago, squonk said:

Now she won't give us the P.O. because in her eyes it's no longer an emergency

I used to call that ruling a world you don't live in!

[balconio 600]

I took off my rear receiver and added a bottom gusset (been meaning to do this for months now) and also bent up some rebar for attaching safety chains. This is probably overkill given the low speeds, but if the hitch ever pops off the ball I don't want a load of wood rolling across the yard.

 

I wanted the chain loops to be smaller and more "D" shaped but that proved to be more difficult than I thought. I was able to bend decent 90s so I just made these rectangles. I drilled 3/8 holes and pounded the loops in then welded which seemed the strongest way to go.

 

Edited April 29, 2022 by balconio

[Ed Kennell 35,767]

6 hours ago, METAL BENDER said:

My horse is a 312 H classic hydro. 3 =300 series 12 =12 hp Kohler h = I'm guessing hydro.But it don't have the 8 for the gears because mine is like an automatic =low neutral and high. I was like auto trans ok. One tiny detail I did not comprehend friends lol, Well the fact that the mower could possibly stop running lol you see if this mower stops moving hell it cant be towed lol. You see the neutral I mentioned is not actually neutral its ,,,, well its,,,,,,,,,,, .well it says neutral. So my horse decides to stop running on the other side of the property yep the edge of the beaver pond, For anyone that doesn't know what springtime and beaver pond means, it is the edge of the pond is now the swamp lol. (busy as the beaver ) . I'm currently looking for the failed safety switch sitting in a swamp with the multimeter  and the rear tire off lol. By god, this horse will take me back today minus a few small parts never to be seen again haha.I hope everyone is having a good day today I'm finished rant lol.

A 312H has the Eaton 1100 hydro transmission.. one of the best.      It can be pushed by hand slowly, but towing could do damage to the hydro.     If it is in a swamp, I would feel safe in towing it slowly  out of the swamp as the wheels will surely slide before doing damage.     It aids the pushing if you jiggle the motion control lever from forward to reverse as you push.

Not sure why yours lever  says low..neutral.. high.   It should be reverse...neutral..forward.

 

BTW, if it is a 312A, it has the Eaton 700 hydro that is nearly impossible to push.

Edited April 29, 2022 by Ed Kennell

[METAL BENDER 25]

9 hours ago, Handy Don said:

Yes, 300, 12hp, hydro.

It is possible to roll a hydro tractor but slowly, as in a slow walking speed. Any faster and you risk damage to the hydro. Step on the brake pedal firmly and then release before moving it to put the tractor in neutral.

Will it start with the PTO disengaged?

Are you in the seat when trying to start it?

It tried to start a few times,yes I was seated,It was running as it should I had shut it down to get dead wood out of the way.Long story short I found the switch on motion control showed no continuity when I tested it.one of the leads had rusted clean off.I found the parking break switch was not even hooked up it was also rusting and did not work anyway.I like the machine its a beast but it was not taken care of at all.It was no real point in pushing but I did and the parking brake linkage was in such bad shape it would re engage every few steps.I looked it over later in the day and the brake handle/release is not grabbing onto the linkage below it,I don't remember what that piece is called at the moment but its number 26 I believe on the manual schematic.She needs a lot of work ,all over but the parts are not to hard to find I'm using ebay and amazon for most .It may seem I was disappointed with the classic 312 H I'm not at all.It 30 years plus and shes a beast I knew what I was getting into and it will be in tip top after a year or so,,,,I hope lol

[cleat 4,983]

4 hours ago, balconio said:

I took off my rear receiver and added a bottom gusset (been meaning to do this for months now) and also bent up some rebar for attaching safety chains. This is probably overkill given the low speeds, but if the hitch ever pops off the ball I don't want a load of wood rolling across the yard.

 

I wanted the chain loops to be smaller and more "D" shaped but that proved to be more difficult than I thought. I was able to bend decent 90s so I just made these rectangles. I drilled 3/8 holes and pounded the loops in then welded which seemed the strongest way to go.

 

Wow, you even wired your Wheel Horse with a trailer plug.

 

Love it...

[METAL BENDER 25]

3 hours ago, Ed Kennell said:

A 312H has the Eaton 1100 hydro transmission.. one of the best.      It can be pushed by hand slowly, but towing could do damage to the hydro.     If it is in a swamp, I would feel safe in towing it slowly  out of the swamp as the wheels will surely slide before doing damage.     It aids the pushing if you jiggle the motion control lever from forward to reverse as you push.

Not sure why yours lever  says low..neutral.. high.   It should be reverse...neutral..forward.

 

BTW, if it is a 312A, it has the Eaton 700 hydro that is nearly impossible to push.

Yes its reverse/neutral/forward,Toro wheel horse classic 312-H 1990 garden tractor.This trans is an Eaton but I have not looked up transmission spec.I looked at more than 50 garden tractor leaders,most of them wheel horse.A lot of them were basket cases for 100 or 200 hundred US.A lesser few were showroom quality price accordingly,I wanted to spend low looking for a certain few builds"the classic was one of them because of the best transmissions and ease of original parts locating" plus this one had an immaculate cutting deck and was reasonably priced $400.So as she breaks down im going to restore what is needed for a strong badass Wheel Horse.

[balconio 600]

40 minutes ago, cleat said:

Wow, you even wired your Wheel Horse with a trailer plug.

 

Love it...

Yeah man, we're all lit up for twilight wagon rides with the kids during summer! 2 of the 4 trailer plug pins are for running lights and come on with the light switch, and the other 2 are wired to a separate switch for powering my 25 gallon sprayer which uses a 4 pin plug now.

[davem1111 1,932]

Doing some mowing with the 312-A, push mower, and weed whacking. Rain is coming, so I'll be in the garage working on the 416-8 when it gets too wet outside.