Sawing in the rain...will my LT40 melt?

bkaimwood · June 15, 2016, 06:23:12 PM

So I'm swamped with work and mamma nature isn't helping. Lost 3 days last week due to rain, looks like I'm going to lose tomorrow and Friday ...so out of 2 weeks sawing time, total lost tally will be a week. I just keep getting further behind and eventually someone is going to get pithed off. Most customers are great and understand I do t control the weather...but not all. I'm not complaining about being busy, I'm extraordinarily grateful, and still can't believe it...I'm complaining about the weather. Thanks for listening, but here's the question... I'm done with the delays, and can't get further behind....and I could care less about getting wet. But I'm concerned about my girl, the lt40... as far as I know, the only thing preventing me from sawing in the rain is the debarker...it can't get wet. Is this true? I don't want to saw dirty logs without it, waste of blades, cleaning them, waste of time, plus not set up for it...thought about mounting a debarker umbrella......

Magicman · June 15, 2016, 06:55:28 PM

When it is raining I would think that it would also be cool enough to run the Debarker with the cover on.

Edit: I intended to add; "I do not saw in the rain".

Peter Drouin · June 15, 2016, 07:04:35 PM

Do you have accuset ? I would not let that get wet.

Kbeitz · June 15, 2016, 07:11:50 PM

Why not put up one of those cheap tarp canopys over the mill ?

bkaimwood · June 15, 2016, 07:20:28 PM

Accuset 2... supposedly waterproof, but I'd prefer not to...it's easy to mini-tarp that...guess I'll be moving forward with the debarker umbrella, or use the debarker cover, loose fitted, and check its temp often...

John S · June 15, 2016, 07:24:53 PM

I was sawing in the rain a couple of years ago, guide arm motor dropped a magnet (probably had nothing to do with the rain) epoxied back on the next day. I don't mill in the rain anymore.

ppine · June 15, 2016, 08:30:39 PM

Having spent a lot of time in WA and SE Alaska I cannot imagine missing a day "because it is raining."
That's what Filsons are for. Your equipment will be fine.

Peter Drouin · June 15, 2016, 10:13:09 PM

My debarker cover has never been off, And I have a 100' roof over it.

YellowHammer · June 15, 2016, 11:09:47 PM

Quote from: Peter Drouin on June 15, 2016, 10:13:09 PM
My debarker cover has never been off, And I have a 100' roof over it.

I'm with Peter, when they dropped my mill off, years ago, they told me to just leave the cover on. It's never been off, and never had a problem.

Brucer · June 16, 2016, 12:17:31 AM

Since I got my last mill (10 years ago) it has spent most of its life outdoors. I saw in the sun, the rain, and the snow :(. Never had the slightest bit of trouble with the mill. And I've never had the cover off the debarker motor

.

I work (when I've got orders) Monday to Friday, 7 hours a day regardless of the weather. The only times I've had to shut down for rain is when ...
- there's a thunderstorm,
- it's raining so hard the raindrops bounce back up to my knees,
- I've saturated both sets of rain gear and all 6 pairs of gloves.

bkaimwood · June 16, 2016, 06:09:26 AM

This is great information fellas, I truly NEEDED and appreciate the info... knowing what I know about electric motors and electrical components in general, I would never have thought or even considered running the debarker with the cover on...but you guys are the testament, and experience says it all!!! So I'm off here shortly to saw in the rain, debarker cover on...😃

JustinW_NZ · June 16, 2016, 06:57:46 AM

People DONT mill in the rain?
huh... ???

Left the cover on my debarker rain or shine.. never taken it off once.

Computer screen gets a bit fuzzy with lots of rain some times, but keeps on going.

Just be a little more wary of sawdust 'clinging' to things under the covers or in general.

Cheers
Justin

4x4American · June 16, 2016, 07:10:18 AM

Ask Jake (Custom Sawyer) if he's a sunshine sawyer :D

I've run into the same hesitation, and I used to worry, but nowadays, if it's raining, I just go. The WM dealer told me before I bought it, "our mills are designed to be out in the weather"...so that's that...after all, it's a piece of equipment, not a piece of furniture. If you can't use it, then what good is it?

Chuck White · June 16, 2016, 10:16:09 AM

Not to hi-jack this thread, but........

If it doesn't cause any problems running the debarker all day with the cover on it, why doesn't the manufacturer of the debarker just make a solid cover for it, instead of the open cover?

Just sayin'!

4x4American · June 16, 2016, 12:24:41 PM

Prolly cause of adaptability and cost would be my guess.

Magicman · June 16, 2016, 01:13:49 PM

That motor is manufactured for many different applications.

bkaimwood · June 16, 2016, 06:50:10 PM

Well, sawed 6 or so hours today, got hit with some hard rain atleast that many times... debarker cover on... kept checking the temperature...it never developed ANY heat, so I am now a rain or shine sawyer. And a productive day, too. Sawed up 1200 bf of board and batten siding, some misc. stuff, some 8/4 live edge slabs, prolly about 1600 bf or so. Not bad for a solo rain day! Feel great about gaining on the schedule, and gaining a day rather than losing one. At times, I thought how nice it was to not be sawing in the direct sun at 95 degrees. And all this thanks to you guys!!! Thank you!!!

Percy · June 17, 2016, 07:06:28 PM

Quote from: bkaimwood on June 16, 2016, 06:50:10 PM
Well, sawed 6 or so hours today, got hit with some hard rain atleast that many times... debarker cover on... kept checking the temperature...it never developed ANY heat, so I am now a rain or shine sawyer. And a productive day, too. Sawed up 1200 bf of board and batten siding, some misc. stuff, some 8/4 live edge slabs, prolly about 1600 bf or so. Not bad for a solo rain day! Feel great about gaining on the schedule, and gaining a day rather than losing one. At times, I thought how nice it was to not be sawing in the direct sun at 95 degrees.

Exactly! AS long as you dont get cold, rain sawing is niced. Less dust boogers in yer nose. Easier breathing, and the coolness of evaporation make the sweat work easier...

4x4American · June 17, 2016, 09:42:49 PM

Percy, how would you know? I thought that it never got warm enough to rain up there it was just always snow? Could I be wrong? :D

Brucer · June 18, 2016, 12:23:12 AM

It was the Wood-Mizer dealer who sold me the saw that said to leave the cover on the debarker motor. It's never been off - 2500 hours of sawing.

YellowHammer · June 18, 2016, 12:42:30 AM

Sometimes, this time of year, sawing in the rain feels better than sawing in the sun. ;D
My mill is under cover, so I get to saw watching the rain.

highleadtimber16 · June 18, 2016, 01:23:05 AM

If I didn't work in the rain I wouldn't be able to work 11 months of the year. My lt 40 has seen more water than a river. Keeps going everyday.

WV Sawmiller · June 18, 2016, 06:07:53 PM

I've not had any major concerns for my mill sawing in a light rain but I rarely do so. I find the rain is a royal pain with the sawdust clumping and sticking to everything and I can't blow it off easily with my leafblower. Also it makes it harder to handle the wet slippery wood when stacking and off-bearing in general.

Chuck White · June 18, 2016, 07:48:54 PM

Biggest issue I've seen when getting rained out and just wanting to finish what's on the mill, is that the rain makes everything slippery and slippery means danger!

scully · June 19, 2016, 08:13:27 AM

I had to big saw jobs last summer ,one of them I sawed for 10 hours in a down pour . The other I got one of those patio table umbrellas and wired it to my command pod . At least I was dry some of the time . The mill has no problem . It is good to check stuff after I always give everything a nice mist of W-D 40 .