New Tractor and Winch

[Turkeyslayer]

I have been reading elsewear that the 2600 series have had some leaking issues. Have you run into any issues with your tractor TS. Still waiting for pics , I no I am a pic junkie.



Beefie

Hey Beefie sorry about the delayed reply, its been busy around here. I did have a leak in the front drive shaft seal which was fixed and no problems since, and the fittings for the steering cylinder were loose and drooling which after tightening have been fine. I will be going back into full time firewood production (and ice fishing) as I just got laid off today, so there should be a bunch of pics coming up in the next couple of weeks as I really get rolling.

 

[Beefie]

Hey Beefie sorry about the delayed reply, its been busy around here. I did have a leak in the front drive shaft seal which was fixed and no problems since, and the fittings for the steering cylinder were loose and drooling which after tightening have been fine. I will be going back into full time firewood production (and ice fishing) as I just got laid off today, so there should be a bunch of pics coming up in the next couple of weeks as I really get rolling.

Thanks for the info on the leaks, Can't wait for more pics:hmm3grin2orange::yourock:

 

[LumberjkChamp]

Hey TS, sorry to hear of your being laid off. That is never fun. Too bad the bills don't stop coming -things would be easier if it worked that way. At least you are able to use the situation to your advantage and increase wood production. Take care.

 

[Turkeyslayer]

Hey TS, sorry to hear of your being laid off. That is never fun. Too bad the bills don't stop coming -things would be easier if it worked that way. At least you are able to use the situation to your advantage and increase wood production. Take care.

LJC thanks, since the economic turn down winter layoffs seem to be the name of the game for my line of work (surveying). I am thankful that I was able to work as long as I did this winter, and will take full advantage of my time off. I think I will be all sold out of wood by this weekend, sales have been brisk to say the least. I am hoping to cut around 30-40 full cord for sale, and 20 full cord which will be split between myself and the FIL for our heat.

 

[LumberjkChamp]

Surveying sounds like an interesting line of work. I usually wish I knew more about it when I'm trying to get an idea of where a property line is when I'm sitting in between two pins that are a quarter of a mile apart.

Cutting 60 total cords of wood is a good way to fill the time. Do you cut all of that off of your place? Incidentally, how much snow do you guys have on the ground? Is it affecting your getting into the woods? We've got a solid 2 feet and its over the front axle of the tractor. Unless I want to do alot of trail clearing I'm limited to just cutting. I was throwing the ball to the dog this evening and her whole body just sunk in the snow. All you could see was her head. LMFAO!

 

[Turkeyslayer]

Surveying sounds like an interesting line of work. I usually wish I knew more about it when I'm trying to get an idea of where a property line is when I'm sitting in between two pins that are a quarter of a mile apart.

Cutting 60 total cords of wood is a good way to fill the time. Do you cut all of that off of your place? Incidentally, how much snow do you guys have on the ground? Is it affecting your getting into the woods? We've got a solid 2 feet and its over the front axle of the tractor. Unless I want to do alot of trail clearing I'm limited to just cutting. I was throwing the ball to the dog this evening and her whole body just sunk in the snow. All you could see was her head. LMFAO!

Surveying is nice, I enjoy the outdoors so it suits me well.

I will be cutting from my place, the FIL's, and a friends parents bush lot. Mine and the FIL's are cull trees while my buddies dad had a mini tornado go through his place with lots of downed trees. The snow will be a bit of an issue, but for the most part I can snow-blow or push a path to most of the areas I need to be.

My dog is nuts for all this snow, and I like the fact it slows her down a little if she has to search for the stick under the snow.lol

 

[LumberjkChamp]

Well, if you have a snowblower for the tractor then that makes things easier. Also having the winch is good since you don't have to back right to the tree. Sounds like you have it covered.

Funny though about your dog digging for the stick. Mine today (while sitting on top of a 9 foot tall pile of snow) decided she was going to punch her ball down into it and then dig it out. Kept going like that for a good ten minutes. Funny as heck to watch. Got down most of her body length and then recovered the ball and quit.

 

[Beefie]

Hey TS do you have any pics of your tractor with the blower on in action? Sounds like you will be a busy beaver to get that much wood in, should make for some good and tractor pics.


Beefie

 

[Turkeyslayer]

6' Econoplow blower, works really well for this tractor and sure beats using the blade or bucket

Edit: I'm not sure why the pics are so small but if you click on the attachment they are full size??

 

[Turkeyslayer]

So I made it out for a few hours this afternoon. There is alot of snow still in the fields, and we had a couple of warm days to settle it a bit. The first tree I pulled was an ash that blew into another tree last fall.

The next tree was a cherry that was marked as a cull tree due to the fact it had a large split where the tree Y'ed about 10' up. It was very tight quarters and I got the tree hung, but no worries with the winch.

And here is the cherry pulled in to the tractor.

And a couple of skidding pics to show the snow depth.

More to come......

 

[Turkeyslayer]

I was able to skid the cherry and ash together after I cut the top off the cherry, it was pulling way to hard in the deep snow.

Next was a beech tree that blew over in the fall.

Next are some random pics of the muttski playing with a stick.

More to come.....

 

[Turkeyslayer]

Here is that beech pulled up to the tractor.

And here is a pic of some up at the barn.

And another beech blow down in the woods. Cut it in half and skidded it out.

And a couple more ........

 

[Turkeyslayer]

Lots of snow and no frost in the ground means you have to be careful not to bury yourself.

And the few logs that I did get pulled out.

I think we are getting a bunch more warm weather and rain by the end of the week. So hopefully we will lose some more snow and it should get a lot easier to move the logs around.

 

[LumberjkChamp]

The New Tractor and Winch thread is back! Its the best thread on AS in my opinion. TS, the pics. are better than ever. The snow blower is impressive and the winch even more so. Looks like the dog is having fun too. She resembles mine in every way.

Thanks again for posting.

 

[Turkeyslayer]

The New Tractor and Winch thread is back! Its the best thread on AS in my opinion. TS, the pics. are better than ever. The snow blower is impressive and the winch even more so. Looks like the dog is having fun too. She resembles mine in every way.

Thanks again for posting.

Thanks LJC. I also enjoy posting

 

[Beefie]

Thanks TS for posting the pics, you have the very setup that I hope to have some day. If I had your setup now I would have my challenge site done in stead of waiting for the snow to go down and trying to get everything out with the atv. Keep the pics coming, Always enjoyable to look at your pics.


Beefie

P.S. My three year old likes your tractor too.

 

[bpirger]

I'm new to this thread, but just spent the last hour it seems reading it and the various links.

I'm looking to buy a winch and the FX90 has made it to the top of the short list. Seems like you have used yours more in the last year TS than I might use mine in 10 years. I'm looking to bring in 10 cords or so a year for myself from my 44 acres.

Sounds like you are very pleased with the FX90. It must answer all your calls given your two broken chains and replaced cable...and you still sing its praises.

Did Wallenstein get back to you as to why the chain may have broken?

How did you the 3/8" cable break? Where you pulling hard against a snag, or just some cable abuse? Did it snap and cause and whipping action? That scares the crap out of me...

I've read in other places that Wallenstein saved a few dollars using bushings instead of bearings, etc. Do you see anything from a design/construction standpoint that you'd call "second rate"? Doesn't sound like it to me, but I thought I'd ask an experienced user.

One more comment TS...Wallenstein now gives a 5 year warranty on the clutch...so you might just be able to get this support from them.

Thanks,
Bruce

 

[Turkeyslayer]

I'm new to this thread, but just spent the last hour it seems reading it and the various links.

I'm looking to buy a winch and the FX90 has made it to the top of the short list. Seems like you have used yours more in the last year TS than I might use mine in 10 years. I'm looking to bring in 10 cords or so a year for myself from my 44 acres.

Sounds like you are very pleased with the FX90. It must answer all your calls given your two broken chains and replaced cable...and you still sing its praises.

Did Wallenstein get back to you as to why the chain may have broken?
I called Thursday but the gentleman I have been dealing with is in the US for a few days. I will try again after this Tuesday.

How did you the 3/8" cable break? Where you pulling hard against a snag, or just some cable abuse? Did it snap and cause and whipping action? That scares the crap out of me...
The 3/8's cable always broke on heavy pulls. IMO regular cable is rough not like swedge which is smooth. This roughness causes more binding on the drum which can crush the cable. Once the cable has been crushed it has a weak spot which can break on a hard/heavy pull. I have had no problems since switching over the the heavier swedged cable. And no whipping action on any of the cable breaks so far

I've read in other places that Wallenstein saved a few dollars using bushings instead of bearings, etc. Do you see anything from a design/construction standpoint that you'd call "second rate"? Doesn't sound like it to me, but I thought I'd ask an experienced user.
I personally think they are made very well, and heavy. Just compare the weight of the Wallenstein to the weight of similar winches. The chain breakage thing is slightly annoying, but Wallenstein has been very good to deal with so far on the issue.
One more comment TS...Wallenstein now gives a 5 year warranty on the clutch...so you might just be able to get this support from them.
Thanks for the heads up.
Thanks,
Bruce

 

[Turkeyslayer]

Just one pic for today. Pulled some ash trees out of the gully that I cut down yesterday, it was way to muddy to skid yesterday, and to windy to cut today.

 

[bpirger]

Thanks for the help TS.

I've never operated a winch before...and I have a few more questions.

1. I see you replaced your line with swedged 1/2" cable. The original cable wasn't of swedge (or swaged...appears to be the same thing) construction?

2. Does the winch line spool up cleanly when pulling in a load?

3. My understanding is that the Wallenstein is either pulling in (if the clutch is pulled to engage), the brake is applied (holding the drum fixed), or the drum will freespool out. Have you had any troubles pulling the winch line out? Does it ever tangle on the spool?
It just pulls out easily as you walk into the bush? Do you require a second person to help pull it out back at the tractor?

4. The choker chains wrap around the log through the "C" ring and then the chain is "locked" into the slider on the winch line? Never used such a setup before, but it sure sounds sweet and easy.

Thanks so much for your help. Indeed, looks like you have a nice machine and setup there. I agree, a small utility seems like a better value than a compact diesel.

Thanks,
Bruce