What did you do to or on your Kubota today?

sagor said:

Price to sell back to the power people is much better (2x to 2.5x the price than buying) than adding other "stuff", and much better than feeding power to myself. As for "just in case", I have a 7.5kW automatic start generator, integrated to my house, to handle those power outages (propane powered - can run at least 2-3 weeks). It is all automatic start and switch-over. It powers the furnace, pellet stove in garage, water pump, microwave, fridge and freezer. Most important, it also powers the satellite TV system, so I can do something while in the dark....

Of course, the entire solar "business" is insured, including liability in case something goes wrong....(tax deductible of course)

As for cost, with a government backed contract for 20 years, any bank will lend the money to you if there is a 7-10 year payback.

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There are a lot of tax payers and utility rate payers getting ripped off to benefit this program. No criticism intended to you, you didn't pass the laws to put this program in place, and there is certainly nothing wrong with you taking advantage of it as someone will. The problem is the cost of power goes up because of programs like this and makes it more difficult for industries in Canada and the US (we have stupid programs like this too) to compete in world markets.

Dug a burn pit. Cleaned up and burned off a lot of old furniture and and construction debris at the new house we are fixing up.

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Sure looks different with the pool and fence gone!

Wish I had dirt like that to dig in!

Thanks! It has been a joy to own so far. Just rim guard in rears does the trick for me.


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redmaher
It might be illegal to burn paint, plastic, and.... I know around here you can only burn brush and unfinished / untreated wood in open burn piles. Not being critical, but you might not want posted pictures.

Grouse Feathers said:

There are a lot of tax payers and utility rate payers getting ripped off to benefit this program. No criticism intended to you, you didn't pass the laws to put this program in place, and there is certainly nothing wrong with you taking advantage of it as someone will. The problem is the cost of power goes up because of programs like this and makes it more difficult for industries in Canada and the US (we have stupid programs like this too) to compete in world markets.

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You are right Larry, and yes, I took advantage of it because it was there. It is primarily the higher utility prices we have that pay for these systems. The concept, I guess, is that after the 20 years of the contract, they do not pay anything else, I just get credit vs what I use. Also, these solar projects generate a lot of power mostly in the summer, when demand is heaviest, preventing the startup of new gas/coal generation (or another nuclear plant) to meet extra demand. The brighter the sun, the more solar generates, to meet the "more" A/C units coming online. Also, within 20 years, what they pay me may be just about what I pay for electricity by that time.
This is somewhat all short sighted by the government, as they could have easily bought cheap power from Quebec, next door, instead of embarking on a "green" vision. But, politicians are not know for making wise decisions, now are they (regardless of country...)
At this point, to my understanding, the program is finished, no more new installs. However, anyone can still install a "net metering" system, where you get credit for kWh against what you use (averaged over a year), but never get paid anything if you produce more than you use. That makes more sense to me...

Another grid tied renewable energy user Kubota driver here!

40 years ago I bought (barely, no extra money at all) some raw rural property, and the 10 K the utility wanted to hook me to the grid was an unfathomable number. So the first night on the property I ran the lights in the fifth wheel trailer/cabin (home built, it came off the factory trailer frame, it was built like a small cabin, all wood) off of my truck battery, and driving into town the next day charged it back up. I gradually progressed into a small off grid wind system, then a larger one, then some of the first consumer available solar panels came along (magic!) and things got progressively easier.

Fast forward 30 years, I sold the property and home I had built, after installing grid power for the new buyers (their mortgage company demanded that, no problem, I just jacked the price up to cover it, and the house was wired conventionally) and moved 2 miles away to a 40 acre chunk of raw ground. What a difference 40 years make, this time round I had a couple hundred thousand bucks in the bank, so things went back together real quick! I had planned to go off grid, but when I found there was a power line to a semi deserted shack right across my property I went grid tie. Screw batteries, I had a gut full of them while off grid, pure grid tie is the way to go, simpler and more efficient.

My grid tie system now consists of 4 KW of solar, a 2.5 KW wind turbine, and since I have water production rights (not to use, I have to put every drop back in) of the creek that flows through my mountain side property (147' of fall, I use about 85 GPM to put back 800 watts or so into the grid,24/7, from April to early December, when I shut it down for the winter), and I have never looked back. My utility (or "my battery", as I think of them) does not pay me anything, but they store my excess power, at 100% efficiency, I put 1 watt in, I get one watt back, try that with a battery! Plus it's a "battery" of infinite size. Right now, after the usual winter months of my consumption eating into my excess (all electric home and shop, screw propane) I STILL have over 8,000 KWH credit. In another few weeks, as the weather warms up and the water starts flowing again, my heating demands go down (electric boiler for the radiant floor, plus numerous radiant panel heaters) and the days get long and sunnier, I'll start rebuilding my surplus, ending the year with 12 or 13,000 KWH in "the bank."

I just bought a plug in Prius, so I now drive back and forth to town, 15 miles, for free. I have another 2 KW solar system at my town property (my crane yard), so when I get there I also can drive back, for free. My crane shed is also heated for free, with another electrical boiler rad floor system.

I am not ripping off anybody, no more then I am by driving a fuel efficient car rather then a gas guzzler. Sure, the guzzler driver contributes more highway maintenance funds because he buys more gas, but that's not my problem. My excess goes into the grid when the utility needs it the most, it's a win/win and I know a lot of people who work for that utility. More power (ha ha) to the people who feel the need to continue throwing their money away by renting their electricity, instead of buying their own production facility. It's like RENTING a home instead of OWNING your home. I have not paid a power bill for 40 years, since grid tied just the 5 buck a month hook up fee, which I pay with a huge grin. The next time you pay your utility bill Grouse Feathers, think of it like taking money (money you had to earn as income, and pay income tax on) out of your wallet and setting it on fire, poof it's gone, and you have nothing to show for it. And plan on doing it next month, and the next, forever. Besides having free power for the last 40 years, I'll have it until I die, the value of this is many many times greater then the initial outlay.

Solar rant over! Back to tractor stuff! I need to unplug the 1,000 watt engine heater from the Dodge Cummins flatbed (why put up with a cold start when I can pre heat for free....) and run down the mountain to meet the truck driver who's bring my new set of forks for my new L3301. The rest of the day I'll be fine tuning my procedure for loading, unloading, and securing for transport the tractor, using the 12' dump bed trailer I also just bought. Then clearing more snow! Then, in a day or so, I have a antique safe to move in town, the people called me thinking it was a job for a crane, but after looking at where it was, I realized it was a job for the Kubota, AND the new QA forks. I can't believe I get paid for having fun like that. I'll see if I can post a few pics.

Agreed, lets get back to tractors...

Steve

Finally got my quick attach plate mounted inside my bucket today. My sidewalk machine is ready to go now!

Went up to my property 65 miles from where I live. They had a good storm up there last night. House and outbuildings were fine, but there were a bunch of big limbs and one big tree down on trails around the lake. This used to be a PITA, but today I was glad to climb on my shiny new orange MX5800 and make short work (play) of the mess with the fel. I used to have to haul the chainsaw on the 4wheeler and cut stuff into bite sized chunks then haul it off the trails by hand. Took a good part of the day.My 50 year old tractor didnt have a loader. Quick and easy task for the orange.

North Idaho Wolfman said:

That blade look like it's twice as big as the tractor...better hope for real light snow...can you even pick it up without doing a rear axle wheelie???

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It's a 9'-6" V blade. Weighs about 1,000 lbs. Little Kubota lifts it no problem.













Just kidding. I was just messing around and pushing the plow further back towards the trees to give me more room in my driveway!

I backed down my new trailer's ramps for the first time with the L 3301. It was a bit more demanding then I'd like, OK if you go painfully slow, but not ideal. After looking underneath, it will be pretty easy to cut out half of the ramps underbed storage rack, and then utilize an existing part of the trailer frame structure for the new other half of the rack. I'll also need to enlarge the rear access doors of course. Kind of a shame as right now it's all new, shiny, and well designed. With the new ramps (I'll peddle the stock ramps to help defray the material cost of the larger ones) I'll be gaining 5" in width, that will make it quicker and stressless to drive up or down.

Then I got a call from the motor freight outfit, my new Titan forks had arrived! I opted for the 48" ones, (can't recall the capacity, much more then needed, but the lightest 48" ones they had) not for picking more weight, as a crane operator I fully get the way capacity drops off further out, but for more horizontal reach for lighter loads, and for setting a pallet down in a truck and then pushing it a bit further back, longer is better for that. These also have a receiver tube welded in, which accepts a stock 2" receiver, which is a super handy way to move trailers around. 30 seconds after unpacking them, I got the torch out and blew a hole through the end of one of them, big enough to pass a 5/16" chain through. I had a length of chain with a slip hook, I'll also have a grab hook on the same short length of chain, that way I can use whatever makes sense for the pick, things like my welder generator, air compressor, and the FEL bucket. A long 1/2" bolt ( no nut needed, once under load it'd take a hammer to drive it out) goes through whatever link needed to get the desired hang length. FWIW: the tips of the 48" forks reach about 13' high at max UP. And yes, I do have my tires filled, to 75% anyway, with windshield wiper fluid, 100 bucks for a 55 gallon drum.

I have decided to remove the FEL bucket when trailering the tractor, (I am really like the QA setup) which means I'd need to load it into the flatbed first. Easy enough when the trailer isn't already hooked up, and with the tailgate down. Trailer hooked up, I have to reach over the sideboards, maybe clear over to the other side depending what else I had in there, so I didn't want to depend on the the FEL QA's reach. Using the single fork, I can easily get the bucket up and over the sideboards and clear to the other side if needed. Plus there are lots of times when being able to reach out a bit will come in handy.

So far so good, but then I realized that without the bucket, I had to have the forks back frame in place in order to do any picks, so I made another "tool" out of stuff found out in the barn. I live 40 miles round trip from town, so I largely work with what is handy a lot of the time. Some thick wall 2" sq. tube, pinned in place with a couple bolts (also no nuts needed, so quick and easy to pin into place), with a scrap length of 3" angle welded across them, and a hole blown into the angle so the same short length of chain will make a pick point. While this doesn't have the horizontal reach of the fork, it does give me a way make picks to the loaders capacity, without needing either the bucket or the forks in place, keeping the weight I have to haul up and down the mountain side I live on (1200' vertical, 12% grade) to a minimum as much as possible.

Flyidaho- nice shop.

3 day with no power and going running pto generator from northern tool. Is brushless and oscilloscope shows a nice pure sign wave. I just impressed. Running BX at 3K rpm non stop 24/7 worries me but seems happy so far using about 0.8 gallon desiel an hour.



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Nothing much. Since we're getting snow Sunday and freezing temps next week, some wood hauling needed.



Then back in the shop tearing the Woodmaxx 8H aperture for maintenance and tlc.

This was Sunday when I was moving some dirt, this top from a cedar fell out of the bucket and I ran over it.



I have put a plug in the tire so I can get the tractor on the trailer to take it somewhere to have a patch-plug put in it.

I was going to plow snow tis morning, went out and started the old girl, came in got coffee,, went back out and shut it off,,, yup all the snow in the driveway melted before I could plow it

Installed 3 new G6 gator blades on 72 inch mmm and finished the outlet discharge cover.