Started working on this to mount on the front of my X728. it will have a battery powered string trimmer motor and spool at the head but the electric actuators will be run from the tractor electric.
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Ditch/Hillside Trimmer
PA318Guy
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What you have done looks good but what is the strange sound coming from during the blackouts?
Why are you limited to a 30A fuse?
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I don't want to go over the main fuse in the electrical system.
You might need to connect directly to the battery w a higher A fuse, and perhaps consider a thermal or slow-blow fuse, if it continues to happen. Electric motors use more current under higher load.
Perhaps consider testing it on a overgrown patch of grass in a worse-case scenario to see how it works?
Perhaps consider testing it on a overgrown patch of grass in a worse-case scenario to see how it works?
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Dave, that is my worst case scenario! The 30 amp held the entire time. I think there is a temp protection circuit in the trimmer motor that if it gets too hot it goes to a lower setting. I'll be checking that probably tomorrow. If I turned off the trimmer and then turned it back on it would spin right back up to speed but as soon as I was in anything thick it would back down again.
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About 4 hrs total. I'm trying to find bigger blades for the trimmer so that I can cut that down. If I can get 2 - 21/2 hours that would be about the same as doing it standing on the banks. As you saw in the video I can do both sides in a single reach, but a 10" swath isn't condusive to speed! My issue with it before was that I needed to throttle up the tractor a bit more to compensate for the extra electric draw from that step up transformer.
That’s awesome! I did flinch watching the first video when the string was lined up right at the camera
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OK, reviving this since when I tried to use it the other day it had a failure at the bottom bracket that caused it not to be able to be lifted and it was in the ditch when it happened. The rubber used for compression worked itself loose as I was using it and then when I recovered it from the ditch it twisted the brackets:
![Image]()
Straightened them with a cresent wrench this morning and decided that I needed a method to connect both sides together so it couldn't roll quite so easily (this should help with stiffness overall too) so going to use a long bolt to connect the compression brackets across the top:
![Image]()
The trick will be to get both the poles and rubber slid into the brackets together so this can be tightened properly. I may add some pins through the brackets and poles to prevent them from pulling out once they are in place.
Straightened them with a cresent wrench this morning and decided that I needed a method to connect both sides together so it couldn't roll quite so easily (this should help with stiffness overall too) so going to use a long bolt to connect the compression brackets across the top:
The trick will be to get both the poles and rubber slid into the brackets together so this can be tightened properly. I may add some pins through the brackets and poles to prevent them from pulling out once they are in place.
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I changed out from small rubber pieces in the clamps to some of the leftover bailer belt cut to fit. Putting two together replaced a bunch of the thin gasket material that I used that seems to move around a lot. Hoping this prevents me from needing to drill a pin through the base piece.
I built this prototype to show what could be done without too much fabrication but I may decide to change the round tubes out for some square tube steel so I can strengthen it more overall. I may even make it work with hydraulic rams for the base and second section so that it will speed the process a bit. That would still require electric for the final actuator and the line trimmer, but I think that will work OK.
I built this prototype to show what could be done without too much fabrication but I may decide to change the round tubes out for some square tube steel so I can strengthen it more overall. I may even make it work with hydraulic rams for the base and second section so that it will speed the process a bit. That would still require electric for the final actuator and the line trimmer, but I think that will work OK.
1997 Ford F350 CC 8' bed 4x4 Centarus upgrade with 7.3 diesel and E4OD tranny
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I just got a reaction to this old post so I have a little more info to add. If you have poison Ivy goats will eat that before they touch anything else. If you get poison ivy it is claimed if you drink the milk from goats eating poison ivy, you will not get it as bad and eventually you will not get it at all. Not sure if I believe that or not.
Also right after I made the post above, someone posted the DR fence mower. I have used one, not sure if the one I was using was not adjusted right or what, but it did leave a little to be desired. The one I ran did not spring back like it should have after it went around a post. Still better that a weed eater, but not exactly like it is advertised.
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Thanks Bill! Needs to be twice as wide to really make it efficient. I also am going to look at changing the control to 3 function joystick. That should make it easier to operate. Had to come in as it started to rain shortly after taking the video.
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