DemocracyNow

Piper184;

Thanks for the response;

I did the clutch replacement 8 years ago at  900 hours,(Now at 1700).
It was an 8” but all I replaced was both clutch discs,the Bellville springs,throw out bearing and maybe pressure plate.
So far I do not need a new clutch system but was hoping to beat the 153% Chinese Tariffs that officially go into effect in November 2025. Not one of the parts suppliers will tell me if the prices advertised are tariffed. They will undoubtedly increase after November.
And the 6 finger upgrade supposedly requires a different clutch throw out  bearing and lever.
If I can’t beat the tariffs I will hold off until Trump is voted out(Trump is breaking the law as only congress can legally impose tariffs) and hope my 8” holds up.

Mr. Privett;

My shiny zinc plated clutch pedal springs break after 5-8 months.
Are the black oxide ones any better and where can I get them?

The auto retract lever on my Prince log splitter valve would not function to retract the splitter ram.
I found that relieving the spring pressure on the detent ball fixed the problem.

Here in Northern Virginia below forest loam  is exclusively red clay. And Four feet and below at my property it is more sandy/loose. But this area has suffered a prolonged abnormally dry climate (as much of the world ) and so the dirt readily shakes out. But I have fought the problem you referenced.
My geothermal is 8000 feet of 1&1/4” polyethylene tubing. Eight loops of 1000 continuous feet in a 500’ long trench seven feet deep. Five hundred feet at 7 feet depth and a 90degree turn back to the house at 3 feet of depth. I used filtered rain water exclusively in the tubing ….absolutely no antifreeze.
In 2011 we had a 5.8 earthquake with the epicenter 50 miles from here.
We were at the outer banks in a elevated rental in NC and it shook that barrier reef 100 miles away.
When I returned home I had one 3×5 window shattered and some items off the shelves….. but no geothermal leaks luckily!! I guess it shook the whole state and not many fault lines to produce cleavage or utility problems.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Virginia_earthquake

That geothermal tubing is tough and durable/pliable. An engineer for the company says in Alaska the rocky terrain forces many to just run the tubing above ground when freezing is not a problem. (He didn’t elaborate on  when freezing wouldn’t be a problem).He was explaining that the carbon black mixed into the the tube manufacturing keeps sunlight from degrading the tubing over long periods.

Ps You must invest in Solar Panels. I have 32 panels since 2012 and have never had to pay a monthly electric bill. I do use wood heat but my geothermal radiant system is only backup in winter and it cools in summer for free.

My introduction to hydraulic machinery was late in life.
Amazing power !, and versatility. Other than my Front End Loading Farm Pro I also built a Caddigger841 from a kit.

My backhoe operating friend laughed and called it cabbage-patch. But I have dug a two mile system of geothermal trenches plus with this machine and consider it a versatile tool.
Those geothermal trenches only held a 1&1/4” poly tubing so I built a 4” bucket to dig a seven foot deep trench. A 4” wide trench must be dug by feel as it is near impossible to see into other than high noon.
The hydraulic pump that runs this Caddigger is the same size pump that might be on a fuel oil furnace yet developes 2000 psi. from an 18 hp Briggs/Stratton.
The carburetor went bad and there was no replacement. I converted it to propane.
CADDigger Model 841