28-Jun-2024: New Hose Pipes, More Garlic, Kubota Woes, and Milking Parlour Storage

New Hose Pipes

Back in 2022 we hired a trenching machine to install water lines at top and middle of the veg field to have water in all (or most) of the places it might be needed for hand watering as well as timed soaker hoses in each of the two poly tunnels. This month I finally got around to installing the last two of the planned hose pipes (spigots) - one mid-field near the new rows, and a second one just past the current gravel road end just short of the bee hives. We didn't need them, but it does make watering easier and it gets rid of a pipe sticking out of the ground and hill of dirt that has made mowing that part of the field difficult for a couple years...

Harvesting Garlic - Part 2

Here is the rust mentioned last time - most of the garlic was affected, apparently due to too much rain in May as it was maturing. The tops were cut and we chose to dispose of them to prevent the rust from spreading in compost to future crops.

After digging the garlic, most of the dirt is removed by hand and then one or two layers are pulled off which allows the bulbs to dry with a clean outer as seen in hanging in the old hay barn.

Kubota Fuel Issues

We purchased a used Kubota B2400 (24HP) tractor several months ago primarily for field mowing, hauling trailers, and hopefully to help bring logs down from the spruce plantation for milling (more on that to come in a future post...). However, it has been plagued with a problem of stalling repeatedly for several weeks. At first I thought it might be temperature related because it seemed to run fine for 10-15 minutes and then stall, and then it appeared to be related to running on an incline. But experimentation over a couple weekend proved both theories wrong - sometimes it would stall within minutes of starting and on flat ground.

After reading the manual and watching several videos on YouTube - neither of which were particularly helpful with the specific symptoms - I tried replacing the fuel filter (which was a bit dirty, but not horrible) and treating the diesel fuel in case it was too old or had microbial bacteria growth. Neither of those resolved the issue, so I decided to drain the fuel tank and blow out the fuel line between tank and diesel filter - which at first seemed to work because the tractor ran fine for about 30 minutes, but then stalled and barely got back to the shed after several restarts.

Finally I confirmed the issue was a fuel supply issue by watching the fuel filter drain to empty under higher RPMs (see video) and drained the tank again in order to inspect the tank for sludge or other blockage.

To my surprise it was very obvious what the issue was - a small acorn (or something like that) was sitting on top of the fuel outlet where diesel went from tank to filter. A few minutes using long thin pieces of wood (think giant chop sticks) managed to remove the acorn, and upon refilling the tank the tractor is now working flawlessly.

I did also replace air filter, lubricate all the grease points, and check fluid levels while doing this troubleshooting.

Milking Parlour Storage

After cleaning out the milking area a few weeks ago, the concrete floor and most of the wall surfaces were pressure washed to get rid of years (decades?) of dirt, grime, and who knows what else.

Pipes and new 90° (elbow) fittings were installed above the existing railings in the milking area, and then a wooden platform built on top measuring roughly 5.6m x 2m (18ft x 6.5ft) to store various items. We also built two 2.4m x 1m (8ft x 3ft) benches with wood slatted tops to put in the well (or pit) for storing root vegetables - potatoes, onions, parsnips, etc.

In addition to the storage platforms, I started cleaning the front room where the milking equipment used to reside. The main door and frame are made of 25mm (1in) box steel covered in galvanised sheet metal. Most of the frame has rusted away and only 3 of perhaps 15 rivets were still holding on the inside sheeting. Later this summer this mess will be replaced by a new double-hung steel door.

I also removed the large sink cabinet which we had hoped could be reused in another project, but the under frame is badly corroded box and angle channel so may wind up in metal recycling instead.