Today I spoke with David Pears, the designer of the AECT CEB machine. We talked briefly on the subject of the open source CEB design. One suggestion that becomes clear is to weld on reinforcing stops to hold the 20 ton pressure of the hydraulic cylinder. The frame will rip otherwise, even though the bolts themselves will not shear.
Otherwise, pace is slow as I am mastering the hydraulic controls. First, it turns out that I needed an open center valve to be compatible with the tractor hydraulics. Then I ran around getting the correct fittings and plugs for unused ports in the hydraulic system. Today I thought it would work – with all in place as guided by ever-helpful Doug of Sweiger Shop. Then I pressed down on the levers – and still no cylinder motion. The problem is the multi-port, controllable trunnion cylinder that I have. It is designed for additional controls, which just complicates the correct plumbing.
I’ll take the cylinder to Sweiger tomorrow first thing in the morning. Life is in the slow lane. I did not learn this stuff in college. That’s my recurring story here: lack of any real life survival skills for caring about my physical environment.
Other than this, we did succeed in some capital acquisitions for our facility: two king size beds, as well as a 10 kilowatt hour battery pack that was donated to beef up our off-grid power supply.
