Recent Posts

Zero Dollar Fix for a Loose V-Belt

My new Yazoo Mower

I recently picked up a Yazoo mower that is a pretty neat piece of equipment.  It’s a 3-wheeled design, with the 3’rd wheel in the back providing rear steer. The Yazoo model I picked up at auction has the 23HP Kohler engine and a massive 76″ front mower deck.

I don’t know the full history of my new (to me) mower, but the folks at the site where I picked it up said they really liked it, but were selling it because parts were becoming hard to find. They also mentioned that the large belt for the mower deck was quite expensive.

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Fixing up a 40’s – 50’s Era Chevy Pickup Bed Trailer

We just recently moved to a new property, and tucked away in an old out -building was this abandoned trailer.  I was looking for a trailer small enough for the four wheeler to pull, and while this will need a little fixing up, I think it will be perfect for the job.

The trailer was full of junk, had a flat tire with one wheel partially buried, and   mouse nest through-out the inside of the differential. It had definitely been sitting a while! Looking at the body shape and construction, it was originally built from a 47′- 54′ Chevrolet Pickup!

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Understanding Basic Electricity & Troubleshooting an Electrical Circuit

Understanding basic electricity can be invaluable in both safety, as well as when troubleshooting and repairing an electrical circuit.  We will add more posts soon on many topics such as how to build a solar generator, and this post will help build the basics on which those posts will expand.

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Restoring a Kubota B20 Tractor – Part 2

You can find part 1 on this rebuild here.

Update: I have tires and wheels on the Kubota B20 and aired up. Was able to get 3 of the 4 to hold air with some tire slime. Front left still has a slow leak that I am hoping will seal up once I get it rolling.

Kubota-b20-7.jpg

Changed the engine oil, oil filter, air filter, fuel filter and radiator fluid.

Engine was completely seized and would not turn over. Removed the injectors and squirted sea foam and engine oil into the chambers to let sit for a couple days. Still wouldn’t crank over with the starter so I used a wrench on the flats of the crankshaft / hydraulic pump shaft coupler to work it loose.

Kubota-b20-8.jpg

Also needed a new fan belt. Side-note – Not an easy job on these machines. If I ever need to do a belt on a machine set up like this again, I am using one of these:

Engine now cranks over and after lots of working the air out of the injector lines sounds like its firing on one cylinder, but not enough to start. It was in the low 40s (F) when I was attempting, so I plan to give it another try on one of the upcoming warmer days.

Part 3 on the Kubota B20 Rebuild.

My Favorite Strippers… Wire Strippers That Is

I have used a lot of wire strippers. When I first saw this type of wire stripper, I was skeptical, because every type of auto-stripper I had used before would work sort of, but seemed like they were more hassle than they were worth. They would either only work well with a small window of wire sizes, or they would need constant adjusting between wire sizess.

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Restoring a Kubota B20 Compact Utility Tractor and putting it back to work!

A friend of mine has this tractor that was been sitting unused for several years. It ran when it was parked, but at the time it was having some overheating issues, as well as we suspect at least one of the injectors was leaking down causing a surge of heavy smoke for a few minutes when it would first start up.

I am going to go through it and get it back up and running. Once I get it back operational again, I may also consider setting it up to run on waste fuels such as used vegetable oil, motor oil, etc.

Kubota B20

First up is get the front tire back on it (was borrowed to be used as temporary spare for a different tractor),new battery, and get the supplies together to change out the motor oil, and coolant.

Kubota B20

It definitely has been sitting for a few years!

Kubota B20
Kubota B20

The hours meter has definitely turned over at least once. I am also not sure what the expected lifetime is on these Kubota 3 cylinder diesels.

Kubota B20 Hours

The engine compartment isn’t too bad. There is a mouse nest in the coolant overflow bottle though!

Kubota B20 Engine

Should be a fun project! Click here for part 2 on the Kubota B20 project.

Prepping 101

Prepping is a nickname for the act of preparing.  Preppers is a label used to describe those who like to prepare for the unknown. This post will give a broad overview of the various components to a good, versatile survival plan, and hopefully start the wheels turning on your own preparation plans. A good strategy will also be beneficial to you and your family during everyday life, as well as actually save money.

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Fire Building 101 – Complete How To Guide

Fire building is among the most important skills to have in a survival scenario. It can be utilized for warmth in the bitter cold, it can disinfect water, it can cook food, and it can even be used to cure meats into jerky to prevent spoilage.  It can be utilized to signal search and rescue teams and to help them locate you. It provides light at night, and even has a calming effect that is excellent in a high stress environment.

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Water Purification Guide

Water purification, or to make water safe for drinking and cooking generally falls into two steps:

Water Filtration – the process of removing chemicals, particulates and some types of microbes and bacteria. There are many products on the market for this process, such as this  Dual Ceramic Water Filter Bag. You can also learn to improvise filters with natural materials, such as a Sand Filter.

Water Disinfection – the process of killing of any remaining microbes and live bacteria to render them inactive. Read some great techniques for this here.
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