3 Point Carry All & Aerator Meet...

[Tom Scott]

Ok, before I lose all credibility wallowing around in SGT indecision, time for some experimentation gone bad...

So, last week it was time to aerate the yard again with the dreaded Brinly tow behind 40" plugging aerator. Dreaded due to the many tractor dismounts as you can't back up or cross hard surfaces with the aerator engaged. Backing up or crossing hard surfaces means getting off the tractor and raising the aerator up on its transport wheels, backing or crossing as needed, then getting off again and lowering the aerator spoons back into the turf. I had to call BS on this, I have a 3 point, so why not a 3 point aerator?

Let's start by meeting Mr. Aerator:

Brinly 40 Tow Aerator.JPG (833.03 KiB) Viewed 8606 times

So of course I have no time for planning, and this is where things start to go off the rails. Ideally, I need to build a nice 3 point frame for the aerator. I study what is commercially available and it makes sense. But I don't have time for that, how can I cheat?

How about a nice Carry-All for the 3 point? I could mount the aerator to it temporarily, and have a carry all for the rest of the year. Sounds ridiculous with a loader at the other end, but some of the biggest logs that I wrangle won't fit in the bucket. Northern Tool had a more appropriate cat 0 carry all, but with shipping we were banging on $200. TSC is local for me and they had a Cat 1 for $129. I was all in; meet Mr. Carry All:

TSC Cat 1 Carry All.JPG (677.67 KiB) Viewed 8606 times

Going off the rails bad now. Mr. Cat 1 Carry all is way too big, but money talks and he was priced right. Time to start drilling for 5/8" Cat 0 pins:

Carry All drilling.JPG (720.2 KiB) Viewed 8606 times

[Tom Scott]

Drilling complete, mount Cat 0 pins inboard with a piece of drilled steel plate as a spacer, and we are good to go there.

The Cat 1 top link was way too high, so I need to lower it. No time to go to the steel distributor, so time to scavage. Some used up 50C blades get repurposed:

50C blades as material.JPG (648.22 KiB) Viewed 8605 times

Some angle iron gets cut and drilled for positioning brackets:

Angle Iron Brackets for Top Link.JPG (781.13 KiB) Viewed 8605 times

A bit hard to see, but the 50C blade material is used as extensions to provide a new lower top link connection. The large hole in the center of the 50C blade material is the same size as the bolt that goes through the carry all original top link connection. The angle iron brackets keep the extensions centered and spread apart without having to drill the carry all. The extensions were drilled lower to accept the new 5/8" Cat 0 top link pin:

Carry All Top Link Installed.JPG (584.1 KiB) Viewed 8605 times

[Tom Scott]

The stupidity of the project takes full form now; the Cat 1 carry all is just too big and hits the back of the seat if raised too far. I originally drilled three levels of Cat 0 pin holes to try to have adjustment range, but the extreme height can't be adjusted out. Too far in to back out now, just keep plowing ahead:

Installed carry all.JPG (735.62 KiB) Viewed 8605 times

Next I went about mounting the aerator to the carry all. I had hoped with some 4x4 wood spacing I could get the aerator closer to the tractor, but with the top of carry all to seat interference, this was not to be. The end result:

Mounted Aerator.JPG (1.15 MiB) Viewed 8605 times

Mounted Aerator 2.JPG (1.06 MiB) Viewed 8605 times

So now we have several compounded errors; the carry all is too big and won't allow full raising of the hitch. This causes the aerator to be placed too far away from the tractor. This now means that I discover the limits of the SGT lift circuit; the further away the load is from the 3 point, the more force is required to raise the same load. (it's a stupid leverage thing...) It turns out that I can just barely get the whole assembly lifted with the number of concrete blocks needed to weight the aerator.

[Tom Scott]

The biggest surprise was that it worked. I was actually able to aerate the yard without getting out of the seat.

The worst compounding of the errors was that with the aerator so far behind the tractor every turn is magnified. As you turn the tractor, you are trying to force the aerator sideways because it is so far back. But somehow I got away with it and I only broke one spoon on the aerator during the whole aeration process.

I really didn't save any time over the tow behind method due to the difficulty in lifting the whole mess and needing a careful turning radius.

So, as an end result this was a fail, but it proved it is worth my time to build a proper 3 point mount for the aerator. But hey, that is a year away, so I will get to it when I can.

I am going to lower the height of the carry all and use a lighter section for the top. Reducing the height and weight of the carry all will make a big difference. I will probably shorten the legs too; with the loader and carry all combined I was driving a 13 foot long rig. It was like driving a battleship around the yard.

For the aerator I will just build a dedicated 3 point mount. I will try to retain the ability to tow it in case I need to take it to somewhere without a 3 point hitch tractor.

[dag1450]

Wow,looks like u have been hard at work ! Im just thinking outside the box, why cant the handle and tow hitch b on the same side. what if u remove the tow hitch from the Brinly and flip them to the other side,the side with the handle to raise and lower, or flip the handle to the hitch Not sure it that could b done, then the next question would b the amount of force needed to raise the weighed aerator and if u could do that while seated. Dave

[Tom Scott]

Dave - You are seeing the handle in the transport position which is as far back as it goes. When in use, the handle does come all the way forward towards the tractor.

There would be no way possible to operate from the seat; that handle is that long for a reason. When you are putting the wheels down for transport you are lifting all those concrete blocks. It requires both hands and you have to be standing back with it to get the right leverage. When towing I usually have a lot more blocks than shown. There are less in these pictures because the weight of the carry all and hitch helped provide downforce.

By next fall I hope to have a proper 3 point setup for it or I will just go back to towing it.

[dag1450]

I should have known things r never that easy ! I have never used anything like that untill last yr my father who is 73, now thinks his yard has to much dead grass or thatch. So we looked online real quick and ended up at the home depot for a brinly thatcher. I was not to expensive like $80 i think and did a good job ,but i think my dad will out live this brinly tow thatcher! Dave

[Tom Scott]

Yeah, same with this aerator. It is ok, but when the clay ground here is a little on the hard side and I weight it heavily, the outer spoons do their job, but the axle the spoons are spinning on just flexes up in the middle, so the center spoons don't penetrate as deep. Their wider aerator has a center axle support that this one needs as well.

I am thinking of bolting a block of wood with a v-cut to ride against the axle so when it flexes up it has some support. I am actually surprised it has taken this long to break anything on it.

The spoons are also spaced a little far apart, so it takes two passes to do an adequate job. But, it works, and I am glad to have it.

[rweaver]

I think time for some rear hyd to put a cylinder on it for lift problem solved

[Tom Scott]

Well a year passed and I got too busy to make a dedicated 3-point bracket for the aerator, but I did modify the carry-all for this year.

The carry-all was a Cat 1 model that was just too big, so I cut down the top and put a lighter section on for the top and link mount. I cut about 7" off the height and 8-1/2" off each horizontal leg:

Carry-all removed and new parts.JPG (155.44 KiB) Viewed 8455 times

Using my new Horrible Freight chop saw where I can and a cut-off wheel on a 4" angle grinder where needed.

Chop saw.JPG (147.25 KiB) Viewed 8455 times

After much measuring, cutting and drilling, here is this year's result:

Aerator 2014, right.JPG (1.06 MiB) Viewed 8455 times

You can see the new top angle and top link mount better in this shot:

Carry-all, top.JPG (875.86 KiB) Viewed 8455 times

[Tom Scott]

Making the carry-all shorter allowed it to lift higher and eliminated the seat interference. Lifting the carry-all higher allowed the aerator to be moved closer to the rear of the tractor. Having the aerator closer meant less stress on the unit during turns; well theoretically...

In actual use, the ground was much harder this year. The ground really should have had more moisture to aerate, but I needed to get this done because I wanted to overseed and fertilize. I needed much more weight on the aerator this year and the spoon supports on the axle took a beating, literally. I bent some several times during use and had to beat them straight again. I have some ideas to reinforce them, but this is a once a year implement, so it will have to wait until next year for improvement. Surprisingly I didn't break any spoons this year.

As far as parts go, I will give Brinly an A+ for service. I ordered some spare spoons off their website for reasonable money and they showed up in several days.

At least the carry-all is now a usable size. We will see how it does with the next log that is too big to roll into the loader bucket.

Hey dag1450, notice my good looking brushed on painted wheel weights! (dag is a sucker for new paint!) A little prettier than the last time I posted this tractor.

[dag1450]

Ok Ok ... The wheel weights do look good !


....Your tractor is so heavy, when u drive it i feel the earth shake up here ! 3cyl kubota, loader, lots of wheel weights, thick steel carry all, cinder blocks.....Hey, i got an old frig/freezer u could strap to that carry all. lol Dave

[dag1450]

Oh i forgot...u like to load your tires too

[Tom Scott]

Yes, sir, with Rimguard! Heavy stuff, but almost as cheap as RV antifreeze (at the right place)...
I figure she is sittin' there at more than 2000 lbs between the tractor, loader, ballast and aerator rig.

The 21 hp was much appreciated with all that weight and the resistance of the aerator almost 3" deep in the soil going uphill!

[Tom Scott]

Looks like I skipped last year's aerator update, so I'll start there. This is all about continuing to make this thing less aggravating to use.

The concrete blocks were always a hassle, hard to hold down, just a pain. Switched to barbell plates last year with some lumber over them for the hold down straps to bear on:

Aerator weights 2015.JPG (539.01 KiB) Viewed 8322 times

Aerator ballast hold downs 2015.JPG (752.91 KiB) Viewed 8322 times

This was a huge improvement for last year. Much easier set-up, easier to adjust weight, didn't have to worry about weights moving around or trying to jump overboard during use.

Also, the year prior I added a center "rub block" for the shaft that was previously bending up in the center excessively. 4" x 4" lumber is as crude as a plain bearing gets, but it worked well. Sometimes simple and crude is the answer, at least for now. Two 4x4's stacked was a good starting height, will work until it needs improving. Rear view shows a little better:

Aerator rear 2015.JPG (842.1 KiB) Viewed 8322 times

[Tom Scott]

So, moving on to this years improvements/repairs. I still haven't been able to get to making a dedicated 3 point mount. Had to deal with the most important issue, and that has been the problem of the outer spoon mounting plates bending due to the cornering forces. The outer spoon mount plates have been bending repeatedly and had to be reinforced. As found from last year, even after beating on it halfway through the job:

Aerator bent spoon mount plate.JPG (615.42 KiB) Viewed 8322 times

Even though it was mostly the outer plates bending, I went ahead and reinforced all of them. The mounting plates were 3/16" plate that I backed up with 1/4" flat bar placed radially like spokes. Welded all around to the tube as well. A total of 7/16" thick, not likely to bend now. I will likely break a spoon before anything bends, which is much easier to deal with:

Aerator spoon mount plate reinforced.JPG (400.28 KiB) Viewed 8322 times

[Tom Scott]

The next problem with this underbuilt Brinly was the bearings that the tubes rotated on. Each tube had a nylon flanged sleeve bearing at each end, with a steel washer separating each flange from the adjacent flange or the weight tray vertical support at the end. The bearings had held up surprisingly well, except for the ones at the extreme ends. On these, the plastic flanges were long gone and the ends of the tubes had eaten halfway through their steel washers. Rather than just replace the plastic bearings I wanted to beef it up and not wonder when the plastic was going to break again. I ordered up some oilite bearings from McMaster-Carr. New vs. old bearings:

New vs. old bearings.JPG (406.6 KiB) Viewed 8322 times

As can be seen, the oilite bearing is not as long, but it is much stronger and based on the load ratings should last much longer. The problem with my bearing "solution" is that the nylon bearings were extremely thin. Oilite bearings need a certain minimum thickness for their strength and I had to buy bearings that had a 0.050" larger diameter. So, had to swage the tubes to expand them for the new bearings. No big deal to swage a 1" tube 0.050", but I don't have tube swaging tool. Common swaging tools for pipe are fairly cheap, but I needed this to be exact for a light press fit for the new bearings. I got lucky and found that one of my 9/16" sockets had a nice transition to a final diameter that was about 0.004" less than the bearing. So, tube swaging:

Ready to expand tube.JPG (471.45 KiB) Viewed 8322 times

Expanding aerator tube with press 2.JPG (498.15 KiB) Viewed 8322 times

[Tom Scott]

I actually swaged the first tube using a hammer to beat the socket in, as I wanted a feel for how much force it would really take. Wasn't too bad using a hammer, but I used the shop press for the rest. Since the flanges for the oilite bearings are thicker, I also had to cut about 5/16" off each end of the center tube to maintain the same overall length.

Bearings installed easily with some moderate taps from a no-bounce hammer. You can see the slight bulge of the newly swaged tubes.

Aerator flanged oilite bearing installed.JPG (469.01 KiB) Viewed 8320 times

Reassembled. I also drilled each tube for a grease fitting, but I wasn't thinking ahead. There isn't enough clearance to leave the grease fittings in place, as they rub the shaft inside the tubes. I could have welded a 1/4"-28 nut at each fitting location to provide a raised mount, but I didn't consider that until after I had already greased it. Too late to weld, I would fry all the grease. Was easier to just remove the fittings and and apply some fancy yellow electrical tape to cover the holes for use. You can also see the steel washer between each bearing flange.

New bearings, assembled.JPG (749.57 KiB) Viewed 8320 times

[Tom Scott]

Final shot before attacking lawn...

Mounted ready to destroy lawn.JPG (853.92 KiB) Viewed 8320 times

Was really still a little too wet, but needed to get done, almost out of time to place some seed before it is just too cold. Working the mud:

Muddy rig 2.JPG (954.84 KiB) Viewed 8320 times

An area with less grass shows the results better.

Aerated near woods 1.JPG (912.82 KiB) Viewed 8320 times

[dag1450]

That is some contraption u got there Tom. Sure has evolved over the years. Looks like u have most issues solved......Good job.

[keiths]

Tom that looks good. I love the idea of not having to get off the tractor and unload the weight just to swing the wheels down when going across the driveway. Great idea