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Missouri | There's nothing wrong with [thisisamericawherefreespeechiscensored]-rigging, it has it's time and place. Ideally, it's done until the time and opportunity to fix it right comes along. I once strung jumper cables over the top of the combine, from it's own battery, into the cab, to make contact with the cigarette lighter plug, to jump around a fault at an unknown location, and power up the armrest console long enough to fold out the auger, unload the bin, and get those beans under roof before the incoming rain (that was wild). I once took the only wiring I could find (string of christmas lights), and jumped from the hot terminal of the tractor battery to the A/C compressor clutch hot terminal, to bypass a bad thermstat switch (it got damn cold without the compressor every cycling off ever, but that was better than hot.) I could go on.
Back when a 30# drum of R134a was $60, one season I charged 3# every day for a week on a system that had a leak in a low side line, and would only leak when the air was shut off. It's cost me $6 every day for air conditioning, and it was WORTH IT. Old timers will talk about how tough they are because they didn't *need* air conditioning, but they completely overlook the fact they were privileged with an open station tractor with all the fresh air the wind could blow, and not trapped in a tiny glass greenhouse. A 5 mph breeze pushes 13,200 cubic feet, per minute, of natural ventilation through the operator station area of an open cab. The blower on a cab ventilation system probably moves 500cfm, at best, with it droning in your ear at full blast. There's nothing wrong with considering the machine as "broke down" if the AC is broke down. People and pets have died when left in parked cars with no AC, a moving tractor is close to the same thing if the AC is out.
Does he understand the cost of downtime, when a mickey-mouse repair fails? Does he understand the cost of repeat repair? It sounds as though you're the one doing the repairs, is that right? A real simple solution is, you do it your way, I'll do it my way. If he feels strongly enough that it should be done his way, he can roll up his sleeves and go to it. If it's his equipment, and repair funding, and his time, it's his choice. Where the waters get muddied is when it's his equipment, his money, and YOUR time. You should respect his opinion, but at the same time, he should respect the value of your time, including your opinion of whether a hack repair is worth YOUR time.
I've been through this with my dad. It's one of the reasons I don't work full time on the farm anymore. He came around pretty quick once I was no longer there every day to perform "hack" repairs. Once he had to deal with the consequences of the failure of hack repairs by himself, he traded up a lot of equipment to newer machinery, and just has the dealer's service department fix a lot of things "by the book". I still help out part time, I still do many of his repairs. From time to time I'll even perform a "hack" repair if I think it's good enough, or for other reasons the situation warrants, but most of the time, things are fixed proper, and he's become ok with that. When he talks about something he wants repaired, and talks about an improvised repair, I will literally tell him it's not worth the time, but if you want to do it that way, go right ahead, and then I walk away from it. It's his time to waste, and his money to spend on the repeat repair. It may not be the perfect solution, but it has worked for us. | |
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Maintenance and upkeep: Am I wrong?
