Power At Work

With time-of-use billing, it’s more important than ever to program your electrical water heater and other appliances properly

by RALPH WINFIELD

Electric water heaters are used on many farms and rural properties in Ontario. The only significantly cheaper source of energy for water heating is natural gas, which is not available to most rural properties.

So let’s look at how the standard 40- or 60-gallon electrical water heaters perform their functions. An understanding is critical so that adjustment errors are not made.

Since 1996, U.S. environmental regulations have used a tier system to regulate emissions from ‘off-road’ diesel engines. Expect a new set of regulations covering carbon particulate matter and nitrous oxides in 2011

by RALPH WINFIELD

Up until 1994, “off-road” diesel engines, which include all farm diesel engines, were not regulated. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had set lower diesel emission standards under the Clean Air Act of 1970 for “on-road” diesel engines.

The past 50 years has witnessed great strides in combine design. What’s ahead? Perhaps completely robotic, remote-controlled combines

by RALPH WINFIELD

Some of us older folk can remember when the objective of the combine manufacturers was to have a combine on every 100-acre farm in Ontario. These were the self-propelled units such as the Massey-Ferguson “35” and the International Harvester “91.”

Follow the lead of the guys in machine shops and use Silicone Carbide bench grinder wheels

by KEITH BERGLIND

 Carbide bits and tools can be a bit of an annoyance for most of us ordinary home shop guys. Most of the time, when you try to sharpen a saw blade or lathe tool bit on the regular grindstone, it turns out badly or remains dull.

For quick shop work, the thread files are the best tool when it comes to counting 
or repairing external threads

by KEITH BERGLIND

Thread files are a handy dual-purpose tool around any repair job. They come in imperial and metric thread and are not very expensive. I keep one of each in each of my workshops. The most common tool source is the K-D tool display you see in many hardware and auto parts stores.

Let us collectively tell the major equipment manufacturers that we need direct access 
to the layout of the working systems for the equipment on which we spend big dollars

by RALPH WINFIELD

Electrical faults that “come and go” can cause serious frustrations and take machines out of service at critical times, such as harvest days when time is big money.

‘Tightening’ the bearing in place with metal compound is the answer if you 
are worried about spindle wear on your trailer axle

by KEITH BERGLIND

Trailer axles seem to have a problem with spindle wear that is not normally seen in cars and trucks. 
The problem is that the inner race of the inner wheel bearing turns on the spindle and slowly wears back and into the face of the spindle.

Regardless of the year, it is critical that operators pay attention to temperature or moisture content increases in stored grains or oilseeds


by RALPH WINFIELD

Shortly after I went on staff at the then Western Ontario Agricultural School at Ridgetown in 1964, I started talking about grain drying and storage. My colleague Ralph Clayton and I actually started an elevator operator’s course in 1967.

So what has changed? Primarily, my hair colour and the people who are operating elevators and on-farm grain drying/storage systems.

Most vehicle wheel bearings are greased the same way. But our expert recently encountered one trailer bearing that could cause you problems if you don’t approach it properly

by KEITH BERGLIND

Vehicle wheel bearings basically have always been greased the same way. You pack the bearings with grease, then install the bearings in an enclosed hub, with an inner seal and an outer cap. There is no provision to add grease. There are no grease nipples.

Technology has evolved, so that you no longer need to impress your neighbour with the plume of smoke pouring from your truck or tractor

by RALPH WINFIELD

Some of us remember when we looked at the colour of engine oil on the dipstick and then rubbed it between two fingers to see if it felt okay – with not too much soot (carbon particles) in it. Those two criteria determined if it was uncontaminated enough for additional miles or hours of use.