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AnnnBrush said:

Right, I am off to the doctor, wish me luck :)

I hope you made it.:-) I am always somewhat entertained by arguments based on "statistics", especially when a serious point is supposed to be supported by them. I think Ann would agree (She nearly said it.) that we often use statistics to account for the probability of an event whose cause is so complex or poorly understood that we can't predict the event with our knowledge of the cause.

For example, flipping a coin is a common example of a statistically even chance of heads or tails coming up. If we fully understood and controlled its launch in all details and understood local air currects, density, and other influences on its tumbling, I suspect it would be possible to create scenarios where heads came up much more often than tails. A simple example is to lift one edge until it falls over without its other edge leaving the lauch base (much reduced complexity). With such controls in place, predicting the outcome is no longer a statistical problem. Most problems suffer that fate when they are fully understood. While I really enjoyed the Dr/gun accident comments, we are already at risk whem we see a doctor for an ailment serious enough to require risky action. A healthy individual is probably not at risk due to a doctor's action, unless the doctor performs a hit and run on the way to the hospital.

In most cases, statistical evedence I read about supports my observation that there are lies, damned lies, and statistics, and for the reasons Ann presented. Statistics are great when it comes to drawing conclusions from a data sample that contains no bias. Too often the known bias is ignored because it adversely affects somebody's agenda.

My gun is at the gunsmith getting a trigger job and my Dr doesn't work on holidays. I must be quite safe. :-)

guns and doctors urgent
Just For Fun Off Topic
Replies 33 Post by RCA_TX

I have a friend who owns a 70+ acre horse boarding facility. They had such a tractor and pretty much worked it to its limits when hauling a large water tank for the race track. It's crankshaft failed a while back. He questions whether the quality of steel that went into it is as good as it might have been if it was made over here. He also wonders if it was maintained properly before he bought the place. He didn't fix it. He bought an orange equivalent instead. He says it doesn't seem to know the water tank is being pulled behind it. He doesn't sound down on the old tractor as much as he is up on the new one. But, he didn't want to invest heavily in the old one's repair in case it had an inherent quality problem that would still be present after it is fixed.

MAHINDRA TRACTORS
Tractor Projects
Replies 11 Post by RCA_TX

$About the Construction accident..... Dear Sir: I am writing in response to your request for additional information in Block #3 of the accident reporting form. I put "Poor Planning" as the cause of my accident. You asked for a fuller explanation and I trust the following details will be sufficient: I am a bricklayer by trade. On the day of the accident, I was working alone on the roof of a new six-story building. When I completed my work, I found I had some bricks left over which when weighed later were found to weigh 240 lbs. Rather than carry the bricks down by hand, I decided to lower them in a barrel by using a pulley which was attached to the side of the building at the sixth floor. Securing the rope at ground level, I went up to the roof, swung the barrel out and loaded the bricks into it. Then I went down and untied the rope, holding it tightly to insure a slow descent of the 240 lbs of bricks. You will note on the accident reporting form that my weight is 135 lbs. Due to my surprise at being jerked off the ground so suddenly, I lost my presence of mind and forgot to let go of the rope. Needless to say, I proceeded at a rapid rate up the side of the building. In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel which was now proceeding downward at an equally impressive speed. This explains the fractured skull, minor abrasions and the broken collarbone, as listed in Section 3 of the accident reporting form. Slowed only slightly, I continued my rapid ascent, not stopping until the fingers of my right hand were two knuckles deep into the pulley which I mentioned in Paragraph 2 of this correspondence. Fortunately by this time I had regained my presence of mind and was able to hold tightly to the rope, in spite of the excruciating pain I was now beginning to experience. At approximately the same time, however, the barrel of bricks hit the ground, and the bottom fell out of the barrel. Now devoid of the weight of the bricks, the barrel weighed approximately 50 lbs. I refer you again to my weight. As you might imagine, I began a rapid descent down the side of the building. In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel coming up. This accounts for the two fractured ankles, broken tooth and severe lacerations of my legs and lower body. Here my luck began to change slightly. The encounter with the barrel seemed to slow me enough to lessen my injuries when I fell into the pile of bricks and fortunately only three vertebrae were cracked. I am sorry to report, however, as I lay there on the pile of bricks, in pain, unable to move and watching the empty barrel six stories above me, I again lost my composure and presence of mind and let go of the rope... More of my favorites on http://www.omegastar.com/rca/misc/humor/humor.html$ Joke o the day
Just For Fun Off Topic
Replies 73 Post by RCA_TX

My guess is that you have an intermittent dead short on the 7.5 Amp circuit. If the 7.5 Amp circuit is downstream of the 30A fuse, it is just a question of time which blows first. The lower rated fuse is usually going to go first, but maybe the thermal stress of many shorts weakens the 30A fuse so it occasionally goes first.

I once had a Mustang whose headlights would go out occasionally at the worst times. It had an automatic reclosing breaker instead of a fuse, so they always came back on after a while. I couldn't reproduce it while checking the wiring for months. Finally one night, I stood on the trailer hitch and jumped up and down to try to cause the problem. The headlights went out AND I saw arcing at my feet! The body shop that had repaired the rear end a few years before hadn't bothered to replace the grommet for the wire going through the trunk wall to the license plate light. It's insulation had finally worn through from vibration and occasionally shorted.

When I get a short to persist long enough to test the wiring, I jumper a 12V bulb across the dead fuse so I can see results of my efforts break and make the short momentarily. A bright bulb gives the indication of the short. Of course you will want to make sure the light bulb in line with power to some electronics won't hurt anything by limiting current to the load.

You might ask your dealer for a copy of the schematic for the tractor. It may help you test the circuit.

TC33 Fuse won t start problem
New Holland Tractors
Replies 16 Post by RCA_TX

Well, this is my first post since I'm in a lurking and learning mode in anticipation of replacing a 20 year old garden tractor with a NH TC33 next spring. This thread got my attention though.

I agree with Mike. The advice that the contractor is providing is about as patently unsafe as anything I've ever heard. I can't believe he suggested that installation method if he understands the safety issues to a minimal degree. That makes me question his overall wisdom and expertise in every area. Good contractors do NOT knowingly accept undue safety risk (spelled lawsuit). I would be real suspicious of ANY work he does. I don't like to be critical, but he truly knows no fear, and it appears he simply doesn't know better.

If you use him, I would redesign the system so that you can switch to 12VDC power if you have to. Any cut in the insulation or leakage of any sort will likely allow enough leakage to trip your 120 VAC GFI when the soil is conductive. This would render the whole project a waste of time for the sake of a shallow trench.

I would consider increasing the wire size to handle larger currents and lower voltages in case 120 VAC power doesn't work out for you with the GFI option. Run wires to each light as independently as you can (many parallel loads starting at the power source) so each circuit from the power source can be a reasonably inexpensive guage. A single circuit with many 12VDC loads daisy-chained would likely draw too much current for inexpensive wire guages. It also helps in troubleshooting to have separate loads in case of a ground fault on one of them. I like to be able to isolate loads when troubleshooting from the beginning of the circuit (a dry and comfortable place preferably). Figure about 5 Amps per 60 watt lamp if you use 12 VDC. You will probably want to keep power loss in each run to about 5% or so. If you were going with 120 VAC in order to mimimize line losses for long runs, and are going to consider low voltage options, let us know. Mike or I can tell you what guage you need to consider if you can give us the length of each run and the expected load in watts for each circuit. It may be more trouble to configure your system like spokes from a hub, but there are benefits. You might even be able to use the same trench with multiple independent lines in the trench. Don't skimp on conduit size. It is inexpensive, and it is easier to pull through larger conduit, especially if you add circuits later.

If you have to stick with 120 VAC power, follow all local and national codes and take pictures of anything you cover up. If you ever sell your property, it will help to be able to show compliance with the depth and conduit codes by pictures. Inspections that reveal shoddy electrical work can ruin a transaction and result in having to re-do the work.

I would also use cable suitable for underground use even if you use conduit. Down here in Texas underground conduits can fill up with water from condensation as humid air migrates in and out the conduit. It isn't much more expensive. All I keep on hand is underground feed.

- Randy

Electric Wire Trenching Safety
Operating and Attachments
Replies 26 Post by RCA_TX