Power At Work

When doing small electrical repairs, make sure you understand the principles and correct procedures. It could save your life

by RALPH WINFIELD

While we usually hire an experienced electrician to do major wiring projects on the farm, many of us tend to do small electrical repair jobs in buildings or on equipment to save time and money. But we must be careful. We must understand things like wire gauge, polarity, voltage, amperage and voltage drop, as well as conventions such as wirecolours.

If your equipment starts to malfunction, keeping accurate notes and being prepared to put your complaint in writing can lead to a much earlier and much less expensive repair bill for both parties

by RALPH WINFIELD

How many of us wait until things go seriously astray and then expect others to respond positively? If you are as guilty as I am, then please pay attention.

What brought this to mind was a phone call from a Better Farming reader about a verbal understanding that somehow got badly distorted over a period of a year or two.

If your equipment starts to malfunction, keeping accurate notes and being prepared to put your complaint in writing can lead to a much earlier and much less expensive repair bill for both parties

by RALPH WINFIELD

How many of us wait until things go seriously astray and then expect others to respond positively? If you are as guilty as I am, then please pay attention.

What brought this to mind was a phone call from a Better Farming reader about a verbal understanding that somehow got badly distorted over a period of a year or two.

A torque wrench is a key part of your tool kit. Knowing how to use it for the maximum efficiency and safety can greatly enhance your mechanical performance

by RALPH WINFIELD

My first two back to basics articles brought so much response that I decided to add a third – this time on torque.

By now, most of you should have at least one torque wrench in your shop. There are many occasions when bolts or nuts must be tightened to a predetermined uniform torque.

It’s better than electrical tape, doesn’t unravel and lasts far longer

by KEITH BERGLIND

Heat shrink tubing is a simple product often overlooked for sealing electrical connections. This easy-to-install product does a better job than electrical tape and it lasts far longer than a few wraps of tape.

Electrical tape is always my second choice for covering any electrical connections. I plan most jobs to be finished and sealed with heat shrink tubing.

Asking yourself the right questions before you start and taking all the key factors into account will save you costly regrets five years down the road

by RALPH WINFIELD

Whenever you propose to start or build a grain drying system, you will have to answer many questions. If you do not think these questions are valid now, I guarantee that you will think they were valid when you are five years down the road.

Many vehicles on the road and in the field are being operated with unnecessarily sloppy free-play inside the steering box. Some simple tests to help you avoid this problem

by KEITH BERGLIND

There is an art to properly setting or adjusting any steering box. Sadly, because the majority of vehicles now have power steering, most regular mechanics and home mechanics have lost this art.

With today’s more sophisticated hydraulic systems and tolerances measured in microns, rigorous attention to cleanliness is the order of the day

by RALPH WINFIELD

Some of us started our “mechanics training” in the 1950s, when tolerances between metal components were not as close nor as critical as they are today. Neither diesel tractors nor hydrostatic drive units entered the small village garage of that era.

by RALPH WINFIELD

As I stated in an earlier article, what goes around comes around. Usually the time period is 20 to 30 years. Stray voltage is right on time.

I started hearing about this in the early 1970s when I worked as an agricultural applications engineer for Ontario Hydro. It was presumed at the time to be a greater problem in the United States, where they had many rural electrical co-operatives which did not have the quality of distribution line system we had in Ontario.

Everything from tractors purpose-built to run on canola oil to a warning system for children coming near farm machinery were on view at the world’s largest farm equipment show in Hanover

by NORMAN DUNN