Reclearing fence lines

[Silver]

Figured I better get over some line today. Didn't think it was a good idea to use the camera where the brush was thick though. I figure if I can get over some when I can I might catch up some day. I'm not getting to close to the fence now, but if I get it opened up not bad I can go over it with the hoe during when the frost is gone.

 

[C-Ranch]

When you get done clearing, feel free to come on out and clear some willows. I normally use a brush beater along fence lines but have a few spots that are to thick for the brush beater to handle. Keep up the good work!

 

[wbvs58]

The fan in my D4D blows forward, does a good job blowing the dust away rather than sucking it in but I would think that you need a fan that sucks it through the radiator to blow a bit of hot air back at you Silver. I'll be on my D4 in a couple of days to clear a few tracks through scrub and to clear 2ha for a feedlot.

Ken

 

[sstterry]

The fan in my D4D blows forward, does a good job blowing the dust away rather than sucking

Does that not draw hot air across the engine and through the radiator? How does it affect cooling?

 

[wbvs58]

Does that not draw hot air across the engine and through the radiator? How does it affect cooling?

It seems to be very efficient with the cooling. I guess a lot of reserve in the radiator. I work it pretty hard on hot days without problems.

Ken

 

[sstterry]

It seems to be very efficient with the cooling. I guess a lot of reserve in the radiator. I work it pretty hard on hot days without problems.

Ken

That seems like it should be the way with all systems. It would sure help keep the debris out.

 

[Silver]

The fan in my D4D blows forward, does a good job blowing the dust away rather than sucking it in but I would think that you need a fan that sucks it through the radiator to blow a bit of hot air back at you Silver. I'll be on my D4 in a couple of days to clear a few tracks through scrub and to clear 2ha for a feedlot.

Ken

Currently the fan is on suck. I was in my shirtsleeves and cussing myself for wearing my felt pack boots.
The blades are reversible, so I change them depending on the weather or if the rad gets full of crap it works well to turn it around.

 

[wbvs58]

Here are a couple of photos of my machine in position to start clearing a track through that scrub around in front of it. I have the stick rake on it minus the wings on either side. The solid part in the centre gives good protection for stuff going into the radiator plus I have a heavy mesh on the grill. The tree spear is pretty typical of Australian bulldozers used for clearing and the scrub canopy gives good protection though I would like to put some heavy mesh around the cockpit as well. Have to be very vigilant for those branches that want to come in at you. The tree spear allows it to punch above its weight with taking out trees. I can usually deal with ones up to about 450mm (18") diam. with help from the rippers on the bigger ones. She has a good strong motor (3304) and the tracks are in excellent condition.

Ken

 

[Silver]

I've seen the tree spears in pictures, but didn't realize that they weren't part of the blade (rake in this case) and that they hinged on the c-frame. Is it fastened somehow to the rake or does it lift up as you push a tree? At 18" diameter you can push a larger tree than I can with my D6C.
One would have to be very careful in the brush with no side curtains on the engine compartment or screens on the operators station.
I rebuilt my entire undercarriage a year or two ago. It was a bit of a contract but well worth the effort. It's amazing how well built those old Cats are. Mine is 57 years old, I would guess yours is of similar vintage. What other make of machine of that age could you still get parts for?

 

[wbvs58]

I think mine is about 45 years old. Yes I do have to be carefull, if I'm feeling tired I knock off. I avoid any long pushes until I have it all piled up parallel to the rake. Now that you have mentioned it I think I will prioritise making some more screens for it, I have some good mesh rolled up near an old tin sluice.
What are your clearing laws like in Canada Silver? Here we are very limited in what we can clear, about 10 m for fencelines and management tracks. I can clear 5 acres on each block for essential infrastructure, fortunately the 600 acres of the tin mine is on 8 titles so that will keep me busy for a while. There are a couple of areas that show white on the vegetation map which means they have been cleared previously and I can control the regrowth. In the 1990's our prime minister sacrificed farmers rights to manage our land so he could meet the targets in the Kyote agreement for carbon. It is heavily policed.

Ken

 

[Silver]

I had no idea you had such laws down there. Here there are no rules dictating land clearing of private land.

 

[wbvs58]

The people policing it are overzealous as well so you have to be carefull what you do. There is a fellow serving life in jail for shooting and killing a "tree cop", that's put the wind up them a bit. It is not nice to kill someone but I can understand how it could happen, they harass landholders to the point of desperation.

Ken

 

[Allenw]

I can just imagine the kind of person who would take a job being a tree cop.

 

[Silver]

That sounds awful. Here we have grazing tenure on crown land. This is administered by the Range division of the Ministry of Forests. Which to me is akin to hiring the fox to guard the henhouse. It is a constant battle over trees vs. grass, so I can well understan how under the right circumstances tempers boil over.

 

[Lee VanRoss]

Silver... Don't know if you have access to it but a bottle Tordon RTU and a hand trimmer will do wonders when a tree is an inch or less.
Takes less 'engineering' once you get the big ones out of the way. I like not having to worry about a fence down any time the wind blows

 

[Silver]

Silver... Don't know if you have access to it but a bottle Tordon RTU and a hand trimmer will do wonders when a tree is an inch or less.
Takes less 'engineering' once you get the big ones out of the way. I like not having to worry about a fence down any time the wind blows

As I get them cleared I have been spraying with Grazon. Works wonders, lasts a long time and lets the grass grow quite nicely. The trick is getting over the grown in lines with the dozer to get the process started. Seems like a job you just have to keep at and never get done.
On the gov't land I can't legally widen out the fence line to a falling tree length so I'm stuck with trees falling on fences.

 

[Lee VanRoss]

plusieurs facons d'e'corcher un chat eh? or so I have been told,,,,,,,,,

 

[Silver]

plusieurs facons d'e'corcher un chat eh? or so I have been told,,,,,,,,,

C'est un fait