Talk:LifeTrac

What application are you using to develop the hydraulics schematic?

On the Matter of Animals vs machines. Horse Performance, can be found in the Small Wars Manual of the US Marines. http://www.scribd.com/doc/8218892/Small-Wars-Manual-1940-Edition

Can perform 5 hours a day for a week, every succeeding week has continuously diminished performance. That is 25% body weight of the Animal for 5 hours. The animal has to eat about 2-3% their body weight in quality grains and sugars, and about 8-16 gallons of water.

Animals are also used seasonally, since they need time to heal.

Plow Horses, being the most efficient are not effective in Tropical Locations and Wet Farming Cereals.

Digging Capacity of Prototype II

From the picture, it looks as though the Prototype II capacity for digging below the level of the wheels (when fitted with a bucket) would be very shallow. This is due to the bucket supports being hinged at the top of the cab. Most tractors are hinged somewhere in the middle of their working travel with angled beams designed to get over their own front wheels. Bobcats on the other hand often have straight bucket supports but the hinge is high enough to clear the front wheels and the wheels are close enough together so as to not create a significant obstruction.

I propose therefore that we adopt a more centralised hinge for the bucket so that its capacity is good both above and below the level of the wheels. Useful for digging and earthmoving.

Discussion moved from main page
The point is to work on the design of the machine, having already decided that the machine is a good idea. The following was moved from the page to the discussion section. In addition, you cannot, or should not mount a bucketloader and backhoe on a horse! Horses do not push or lift, they pull (as far as I know).

Horses
In terms of biofuels conversion, horses may be far more efficient than tractors. In no-till or low-till permaculture farming with local fuel production, tractors might not make sense at all. http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2008/04/horses-agricult.html

Response
One would have to do more careful, side-by-side analysis on the above. A horse, whether used or not, eats the equivalent biofuel crop for 1 gallon of liquid fuel every day. A tractor, on the other hand, eats zero gallons of fuel when it is not used.

''Who said that? Claim about liquid fuel equivalent needs a reference. (Doesn't sound likely as biomass to liquid fuel conversion is not a BTU-in = BTU-out operation.) --Jeb 11:29, 20 June 2011 (PDT)''

moved from LifeTrac page
I tried this with a small garden cart. My experience was that because insulation foams are non-elastic, once they are compressed, they stay compressed. This would cause a flat spot on your tire each time you hit a rock.
 * I've heard that you can fill a tire with insulation foam - as a dirt-cheap alternative to professional puncture-proofing gels. Has anyone done this?


 * That makes lots of sense. Similar foams are available with some rubberiness, for e.g. upholstery.

The tyres of most Elevated work platforms are foam filled. Brand names Genie, JLG. They are sealed with a 3/8 (10mm) bolt. I presume the tyre needs to be sealed while the foam goes off

product evolution
really nice work with the product evolution graph. will be a good example for other pages. --Dorkmo 19:27, 18 January 2012 (CET)