Cotton pickers spindle lube

vfauto · August 26, 2018, 07:26:10 PM

For those of you that use cotton pickers spindle lube, what ratio are you diluting it to?

Tom the Sawyer · August 26, 2018, 08:21:36 PM

Currently running 8:1 (water:cleaner) spindle cleaner

Lawg Dawg · August 28, 2018, 11:50:16 PM

About 4 four glugs to the jug :D

GAB · August 29, 2018, 11:48:43 AM

As an FYI: I purchased a 5 gallon pail from the local JD dealer this past May.
The part number is AN114022 and the description is Crop Cleaner.
I paid $94.51 plus VT sales tax.
GAB

Magicman · August 29, 2018, 01:54:15 PM

Don't know what the concentration level was? I paid less than $5 per gallon with $9 shipping for 4 gallons. I tried it for the first time yesterday and was well pleased.

slider · August 29, 2018, 05:54:43 PM

I used it for years then i switched to diesel lube because i cut so much heart pine. it worked well but not as good as diesel. around here the big farmers use mr charlies brand (jesco hi-speed spindle cleaner), i think it is around 40 bucks a pail,about half of the jd price .

Oliver05262 · August 29, 2018, 08:19:56 PM

GAB: did you get that from Yandow or Hendy? I can't imagine they stock it. Did you get any funny comments from the parts guys when you got it? The guys down at Hudson River Tractor always raz me when I order sumpin' oddball. I like to do that.
I want to get my customer in Stamford to try it, but he's getting along with water and dish soap when needed.

YellowHammer · August 29, 2018, 08:33:01 PM

The easy way to mix the spindle cleaner is to simply guess and dump a bunch in the tank, basically over mix it. Just dump a load in until it feels right. You should see it immediately turn the water white as it mixes. You'll know it's right when the blade stays bright and clean. Then when my tank gets about half empty I'll just add more water, but no additional cleaner and start sawing again. Usually it's still got more of enough in the residual mix to clean fine. Then the next day, do it again, and at some point you'll see pitch starting to build up. So add more juice and get back to sawing. Some species requires very little, some species more, so this is how I can optimize for what I'm sawing, when I sawing. It's not an exact recipe, it's just "hey, the band is getting buildup, need to dump a little more in" or "just top off the water jug, the band is still clean, keep sawing."

It's a trade off, the higher the concentration of cleaner the less actual water mix required to keep the band clean so the tank mix lasts longer and the sawdust falls off beter. The lower the concentration, the higher the flow needed and the tank doesn't last as long and the sawdust will stick to the boards.

Around here, in cotton country, it's cheaper than Pinsol which is $12 per gallon at TSC.

GAB · August 29, 2018, 08:46:54 PM

Quote from: Oliver05262 on August 29, 2018, 08:19:56 PM
GAB: did you get that from Yandow or Hendy? I can't imagine they stock it. Did you get any funny comments from the parts guys when you got it? The guys down at Hudson River Tractor always raz me when I order sumpin' oddball. I like to do that.
I want to get my customer in Stamford to try it, but he's getting along with water and dish soap when needed.

Oliver:
I had Yandow parts personnel order it for me.
Yandow's is ~2.5 miles S of me.
Hendy's is in Middlebury which is much farther from me.
By the way is it still Hendy's?
Gerald

Peter Drouin · August 29, 2018, 09:27:30 PM

Cotton lube, I had no idea there was such a thing. :D :D I cut dry all the time but, with the Boston job with 200-year-old timbers I thought I'd try some. Works ok. Will it freeze? :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

Dave Shepard · August 29, 2018, 10:00:50 PM

Quote from: Oliver05262 on August 29, 2018, 08:19:56 PM
GAB: did you get that from Yandow or Hendy? I can't imagine they stock it. Did you get any funny comments from the parts guys when you got it? The guys down at Hudson River Tractor always raz me when I order sumpin' oddball. I like to do that.
I want to get my customer in Stamford to try it, but he's getting along with water and dish soap when needed.

Do you go to Chatham, or Schagticoke? I'll have to order some, too. Really get them scratching their heads. :D

Crusarius · August 30, 2018, 07:32:24 AM

I have not put a water tank or anything on my mill yet. Does it really make that much of a difference having water drip or any other fluid drip? So far I have cut cherry, spruce, black walnut, red oak and random garbage that was laying around.

GAB · August 30, 2018, 09:25:20 AM

Quote from: Dave Shepard on August 29, 2018, 10:00:50 PM
Quote from: Oliver05262 on August 29, 2018, 08:19:56 PM
GAB: did you get that from Yandow or Hendy? I can't imagine they stock it. Did you get any funny comments from the parts guys when you got it? The guys down at Hudson River Tractor always raz me when I order sumpin' oddball. I like to do that.
I want to get my customer in Stamford to try it, but he's getting along with water and dish soap when needed.
Do you go to Chatham, or Schagticoke? I'll have to order some, too. Really get them scratching their heads. :D

No. If I had to go there I would have to get a map as I have no feel as to where those places are.
Have I missed anything?
Gerald

GAB · August 30, 2018, 09:36:38 AM

Quote from: Crusarius on August 30, 2018, 07:32:24 AM
I have not put a water tank or anything on my mill yet. Does it really make that much of a difference having water drip or any other fluid drip? So far I have cut cherry, spruce, black walnut, red oak and random garbage that was laying around.

Not knowing what you have for equipment, how fresh the logs are, and how wide you are sawing I'm at a loss as to how to answer you comment.
When sawing fairly fresh soft wood log I can see the built up on the blade. In my opinion this has to be generating more heat than necessary thereby increasing the horsepower needed to saw and reducing the blade life. If you are sawing 4" wide it is probably more forgiving than sawing 20" wide.
Recently while sawing Ash I could see the pitch built up on the blade as I went along.
Gerald

Crusarius · August 30, 2018, 09:40:57 AM

the last stuff I cut was 22" wide black walnut. didn't notice anything on the blade but I did notice very fine sawdust. Guess maybe I should get a bottle and at least try using water and see if it cuts better.

alan gage · August 30, 2018, 10:32:51 AM

Crusarius:
I think we've been cutting similar woods. My tank has a lube setup and I don't use it very often. Sometimes I'll get some light build up on the blade so I'll use some water (now mixed with cotton spindle lube) to keep it clean. Other times, usually wide cuts in drier logs, I'll notice that if I shut down the motor right when finishing a cut and put my hand on the blade it feels hotter than I'd like so I'll run some lube to help cool it.
Recently I had a chance to cut some pine (not common here at all) and it was a completely different experience. Lots of buildup on the blades and belts. I had to pour diesel on the blade and then let a stick rub on the blade at low speed to clean all that junk off. For the rest of the logs I ran the lube at a higher rate and it stayed pretty clean.

Alan

Quebecnewf · August 31, 2018, 05:49:14 AM

Any ideas on where I could get this in Canada. Not much cotton growing going on here so not much chance that any farm supply place is stocking it

Quebecnewf

terrifictimbersllc · August 31, 2018, 06:03:41 AM

Just pointing out that I think there are two different products being discussed here whose names are easy to get mixed up.

Yellowhammer is talking about Cotton Picker Spindle Cleaner, a water soluble oil available in 5 gallon buckets and costing about $10/gal.

Peter Drouin's picture above is of Spindle Lubricant and Detergent, a mostly water product available for $4/gallon. No way I would call this an oil. Magicman, myself and several others of us have been trying this recently.

Wondering if Yellowhammer would post a link again or picture of the product he is using. I saw it earlier in one of his posts but can't find it. Also wondering which one Tom the Sawyer is using.

YellowHammer · August 31, 2018, 07:26:58 AM

I've used two kinds, first was the Deere version which seemed to be the best but typically sold in pallet quantities, and for the last few years I've been using the Jesco version, which is very easy to get from my local Famerfs CO-OP.

The liquid is very slick and oily, due to its oil base, but also has a lot of detergent in it, and has the same look and viscosity as 30 wt, or thick vegetable oil. I pay about $10 per gallon in 5 gallon buckets. When a cupful is dumped in the water tank, it just turns an immediate white, just explodes when mixed with water, don't know how else to describe it.

You can see on the bucket below "The oil that will not burn."

Link to
John Deere Spinde Cleaner Solvent, AN114022, sold seasonally

PMB Product:

KirkD · August 31, 2018, 12:19:18 PM

Interesting read on some of the different uses.

http://cottonpickerspindlecleaner.com/

rooster 58 · August 31, 2018, 01:06:40 PM

Is this stuff better than the ole' pinesol/dish detergent mixture?

Magicman · August 31, 2018, 05:11:57 PM

Someone on here posted the link to where I got mine from. I have no idea how it compares with what anyone else is using but it is some slick stuff and my blades are staying much cleaner than with my Cascade mix. It obviously is a water/soap/oil emulsion.

trapper · August 31, 2018, 11:42:19 PM

What percent spindle lube to water you use? just got mine. Mostly sawing ash.

Magicman · September 01, 2018, 08:31:18 AM

I used the same glug per gallon that I use with Cascade. ;D

GAB · September 01, 2018, 11:38:01 AM

Quote from: trapper on August 31, 2018, 11:42:19 PM
What percent spindle lube to water you use? just got mine. Mostly sawing ash.

This morning I followed YH's suggestion (a previous entry) and added some water to the jug and went for it sawing pine.
I definitely need to add at least one GLUG more of spindle lube as I had to run a lot of mix to clean the blade.
When mixing lube and water I use the same method as when I'm cooking or baking. I'm very lucky that my wife has been a good sport and has helped me get rid of the evidence.
Gerald