Posted on 01/23/2015 5:38:59 AM PST by thackney
Renewable-fuels advocates are promising to spend millions putting ethanol back in the debate for Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucus next year as cheap oil and setbacks in biofuels policy make the additive less central to voters.
Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, backed by state corn-grower and renewable-fuels associations and the Washington-based biofuels lobby Growth Energy, on Thursday formed America’s Renewable Future, to make the Renewable Fuels Standard an issue in the 2016 race. The Iowa caucus is set for early January.
“We are designing it to look like a presidential campaign, but the RFS is our candidate,” said Eric Branstad, the governor’s son and a group organizer. “We’re going to be talking to people” and making the presidential candidates respond, he said on a conference call.
(Excerpt) Read more at fuelfix.com ...
Mea culpa
I meant aviation fuel.
The most terrifying words in the English language are ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’
- Ronald Reagan
Subsidies from the feds are not the way to make a lasting growth in any private industry.
Maybe I should just quit being a cheap Yankee and go out and buy a Honda 9/28 track drive snow blower.
I have a small(20”) Honda HS 550 snow blower. It will run fuel that will not run in the other machines. Same with my Honda generator. I never have problems with that.
Any machines that have Briggs & Stratton engines or Tecumseh engines are problematic.
Honda and Stihl products ALWAYS start and run better than any other small engine equipment.
I have a 1969 Ariens snowblower with a 1982 Tecumsuh motor, a 1982 Homelite Super two chainsaw, a 1962 Simplicity Wonder Boy 700 with a 7 HP Briggs, a 1994 John Deere with a 14HP Kawasaki and a 1992 Homelite string trimmer and Hedge trimmer. My latest is a 2014 ECHO Multi-tool head with attachments.
Six of one half a dozen of the other.
Crony capitalism at work
Doesn’t poison my pickup engine, I run on propane. Might hurt my lawnmower. I could convert the lawnmower to propane but where the heck would I put the tank?
My List:
1999 John Deere LX 255 lawn tractor
Honda EV7000 Inverter generator
Honda HS 55 single stage snow blower
1977 Simplicity 8hp/28” Snow Away with bad carb
Stihl 026 Chainsaw
Stihl Straight shaft brush trimmer
Echo GT80 curved shaft string trimmer
DR 4” wood chipper
Troy Built sickle bar brush mower
“Ethanol is a huge boondoggle that enriches farmers and a few large companies “
I object to that statement as I am a farmer and do not grow corn. I am like the overwhelming numbers of farmers in this country, many of whom cannot grow corn.
Suggest you modify that by saying “a few farmers”
sorry for that. I have only one within 50 miles and happily it is close by
Wonder Boy 700 7HP Tractor.
Built like a tank. For brute strength would run circles around my ‘94 JD 172
I found out from my local Stihl dealer that there is a Sunoco station in downtown Nashua(about 5 miles away)that sells racing fuel. It is 100 octane. He said it is about $8/gallon, but it will stay fresh for six months and not cause all these problems. Gonna get me some.
Regards
Jimbo
So, is yours a rear engine rider or a front engine machine?
It looks like over the years they made both.
My dad had a late 60s Cub Cadet with the 10hp Kohler engine. It had the mower Deck, snow blower, wheel weights and chains.
Those engines and rear ends on those machines were 100% cast iron. As long as you kept oil in them, they would run forever.
He sold it when he bought a new Cub Cadet in the early 1980s.
That is sitting in my mom’s barn right now.
My dad and mom both grew up on the farm. My dad was always an International Harvester man. No Massey Ferguson’s or John Deeres for him. Hence the Cub Cadets. He also had a 1950s Super H farm tractor. You still see those on Craigslist today for $3-5k depending on their condition. We also had the original SUV, the 1970s International Harvester. I think they had the same straight six cylinder engine they put in tractors. It was a beast. It think it had a 400 cubic inch straight six engine. My oldest brother literally ROLLED it(360 degrees). He and his two buddies walked away with bruises. The truck had some superficial damage, dents.
My 80 year old neighbor
has a Gravley walk behind tractor. I think in is also 1970s vintage. He has the snow blower, brush mower, tree sprayer and sulky type seat attachments. All those implements are shaft drive too.
Like the saying goes: they don’t make them like they used to.
My next machine will be a Kubota or John Deere 4x4 tractor. I need something in the 25-30hp range. I am going to need something with a bucket on the front, brush hog, scraper blade , York rake and finish mower. I bought a 1972 house on 12 acres a couple years back. I had it logged in the fall of 2013. I need something bigger than a lawn tractor to maintain this property. The new growth brush you get after logging will take over this property if I let it. Also, I now have about 600 feet of gravel and 150 of paved driveway. So far only about a half acre of lawn, but that will grow. In another year there will be field to mow too. Plus I want to turn the skidder trails into something I can drive my pickup on.
ALWAYS BUILDING, it keeps me busy.
Regards
Jim
good for you.
since you will not burn gallons per day, the high cost is not too much overall.
“My next machine will be a Kubota or John Deere 4x4 tractor. I need something in the 25-30hp range.”
What? No Mahindra. (grin)
Yes, the Simplicity was the front engine type. Cast Iron Briggs 7 HP. Transaxle all cast iron and planetary gears on the axle. We used it when we moved into the new house in 1970 and did everything with it. Got it used in the Pennysaver with W/Wts, plow, snowblower, mower. Snowblower ran off the front shaft of the motor. Had a full size Delco Generator on it like a car. They were like small versions of big tractors. Got it for 525.00 at the time.
Allis-Chalmers merged with then eventually and they were both the same machine for years. Guys in upstate NY, southern tier had thousands of them and spare parts galore. Must have been quite popular in that area.
Yes, they don’t make them like they used to.
Had a helluva time with my JD 172 cranking over slow. Found out it was all the safety switches dropping the voltage to the starter solenoid. Rigged up an auxiliary relay circuit to the starter solenoid worked beautifully and retains the safeties.
Take care
Are you from western NY?
When you said the Pennysaver I thought so.
I grew up in Orchard Park where the Bills play. Now I live in southern NH. Moved up here in the 80s.
The 1977 Simplicity 1008 Snow Away snow blower I have was actually made by Allias Chambers. It has an old 8 hp Briggs engine on it. There is not one piece of plastic on the entire machine. The first and second stage impeller are chain and shaft driven. The secondary impeller has hard rubber paddles that throw the snow up the shoot. It will throw slush twenty feet and light snow fifty. It will also throw a rock at least fifty feet. The engine burns a little oil, but I can deal with that.
The after market Chinese carb I bought was $29. They wanted $150 plus shipping for the OEM Briggs carb. So, I would much rather pay a little more for fuel than deal with all the ethanol problems.
“Are you from western NY?”
South Eastern NY about 60 miles north of Deblasio City.
We get the Yorktown Pennysaver down here.
My sister lived up in the Southern Tier, Binghamton for about 20 years. Used to go up there a lot.
Yeah, was out today with the Ariens. Heavy wet snow about 6-8 inches.
Baby is getting tired, can’t throw too far anymore, engine blows some oil, everything is worn.
Hell, 45 years+ of service, doesn’t owe me a thing. I was about 11 when my dad started letting me use it under his supervision of course.
Pretty wild.
Would it be bad for to tell Iowans to go to hell?
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