The Fordson Tractor Pages Forum

We've been collecting water with Billy and our tank made by J Bargans. This time we didn't need our pump as we siphoned five tons of water down about 20 feet of hill to the tank.


Then we dumped it in to our watering tank.



Our second run was in the dark


Our next full load will need the pump.
Sandy

What's the water needed for?
Nice tank!

It's pretty dry here and our garden wants lots of water, so we always end up having to go and get it. It's made worse by the fierce sun evaporating quite a lot of it.
The only problem with the tank is that the fibreglass coating is exposed and shedding glass fibres, making it nearly untouchable. We're hoping to paint it in a transparent coating to prevent further loss of glass fibres.
Sandy

if it is shedding fibers, painting is not going to help it much.. it needs a coat of resin to seal it up properly and for strength
then paint it.

Today we were back at the hill. We haven't managed to get anything out yet though.




Sandy

We eventually needed the pump, the well was emptier than last year, and when we uncorked it the pipe imploded, reducing the flow to a trickle, it eventually stopped and we then put the pump on and got what we could. At last we managed to run at full speed without loosing the belt!





Sandy

If you made a bracket for the pump you could bolt it onto the front of Billy using the weight holes, it would save having to line the tractor and pump up every time to keep the belt on, and if the pipes are long enough you wouldn't have to un-hitch the tank. Be easy enough to remove it when not in use and also make a good winter project
John

We have thought of that, but our main problem at the moment is the belt, as it's a bit narrow. We hope a friend might find a much bigger old AC pump so we can have it belt driven too.
Sandy

That looks good.

How much does the bowser weigh when you fill it up?
Looks pretty big. How steep a slope will the tractor cope with, with that in row?

Also, looks nice and warm there. Where is it if you don't mind me asking?

That was meant to say 'with that in tow' of course.

The tank (made by J Bargans, a local implement maker) takes 2.5t of water. I don't know just how steep it can be driven with, but pretty steep as Billy got water from quite far away years ago and there's a very steep hill on the way. It's been helish hot here (more than 40ºC), and very dry, which is why we're short of water now.
Sandy

The water shortage is bigger than ever, and the garden is already demanding a fair bit, so the tank had to be emptied, but first our trailer had to be moved, Billy of course doing it all. You can see Super Billy's cab in the trailer, it will go in the barn for fixing once Super Billy is running (it can't at the moment as the engine is in the way).


In the background you can see Kenny, the spare buckets, a small trailer awaiting major repairs and the recently removed MF parts.

Sandy

Did you manage to get hold of an AC pump for the tank Sandy?

Not yet John, unfortunately last year our belt deformed. meaning that now I don't think we can use it. Hopefully we won't need it just yet, but we'll see that fairly soon, in the meantime we'll see if we can find another one. The usual pump will do for now, the friend might well come to bring one some time as we told him ages ago that we're looking for one, although we hadn't got one to work until a couple of years ago (viewtopic.php?f=2&t=8126) .
Sandy

Very ingenious! Do you think gaffer tape would be strong enough to wrap round the shaft to make a high spot in the centre? It may stop the belt coming off

We tried it with insulating tape and a bit of old string buried in it, but it always came loose and covered the belt in dirt, eventually coming off the last time we used it last year. I think we really need to machine the correct shape on it, as it was very suceptible to any change, the other problem is that the belt streched on one side, making it impossible to use now. If we do have to go and get water before we get a better belt we'll try what we can, but I can remember just how difficult it was to keep on last time, which might make it take far longer. I'm hopeful we'll find one before that stage though.
Sandy

It's getting dry here also. The farmers have been doing hay all day.
I hope you get enough water for your garden.

At the moment we're ok, but our tiny reserve isn't going to last long, hopefully we should have a belt by the time we need it. The garden is having a hard time anyway with the heat and that we're trying to make the water last as long as we can.
Sandy