Idle Chatter: Hot Rod Farmer

Looking back at my younger days with a gleam in my eye.

Originally published 2/16/2022.

This episode of Idle Chatter aired in the early days of the podcast. The introduction and audio are a little different from what I use today. The information is timeless, foundational, and just as relevant to your success.

Agriculture runs on machinery… but profits on reliability!

Thanks for listening, Ray Bohacz… the Hot Rod Farmer

This week Ray helps readers with a column he writes in Hemmings Muscle Machines magazine. He shows how, regardless if it a hot rod or an irrigation engine, the diagnostics are the same.

The machine often gives you hints.

Success on the farm or ranch requires efficient machinery. I am Ray Bohacz, the Hot Rod Farmer from New Jersey, and I want to help you maximize the reliability of your equipment.

Please join me every Saturday at 11:00 am Eastern for Farm Machinery Digest Radio, where steel and soil meet, on Rural Radio, Sirius/XM Channel 143, with a replay Sunday at 6:00 pm Eastern.

But if you miss an episode or you want to hear it again, you will find them here. Thank you for listening and never...

A carburetor equipped engine has a lot to tell.

Success on the farm or ranch requires efficient machinery. I am Ray Bohacz, the Hot Rod Farmer from New Jersey, and I want to help you maximize the reliability of your equipment.

Please join me every Saturday at 11:00 am Eastern for Farm Machinery Digest Radio, where steel and soil meet, on Rural Radio, Sirius/XM Channel 143, with a replay Sunday at 6:00 pm Eastern.

But if you miss an episode or you want to hear it again, you will find them here. Thank you for...

Impossible diagnostic procedures.

Originally published 2/9/2022.

This episode of Idle Chatter aired in the early days of the podcast. The introduction and audio are a little different from what I use today. The information is timeless, foundational, and just as relevant to your success.

Agriculture runs on machinery… but profits on reliability!

Thanks for listening, Ray Bohacz… the Hot Rod Farmer

In this episode the Hot Rod Farmer explains the dynamics of fuel puddling on the floor of the intake port and how to easily avoid the problem.

The art of negotiation.

Originally published 2/2/2022.

This episode of Idle Chatter aired in the early days of the podcast. The introduction and audio are a little different from what I use today. The information is timeless, foundational, and just as relevant to your success.

Agriculture runs on machinery… but profits on reliability!

Thanks for listening, Ray Bohacz… the Hot Rod Farmer

There are many design elements that differentiate a steady state engine such as one used on a generator set, from a transient operation engine as is found in a road vehicle. Each use has its...

What seems simple many are doing wrong.

Success on the farm or ranch requires efficient machinery. I am Ray Bohacz, the Hot Rod Farmer from New Jersey, and I want to help you maximize the reliability of your equipment.

Please join me every Saturday at 11:00 am Eastern for Farm Machinery Digest Radio, where steel and soil meet, on Rural Radio, Sirius/XM Channel 143, with a replay Sunday at 6:00 pm Eastern.

But if you miss an episode or you want to hear it again, you will find them here. Thank you for listening and...

More than ever, we need to learn proper protocols and procedure.

Originally published 1/26/2022. The amount of energy consumed by an engine or electrical device is an accurate indicator of a pending issue.  In this episode, the Hot Rod Farmer provides a simple way to track gasoline, diesel, or electrical usage and how to interpret the results.

You need to apply what you just learned.

I demystify the myths about E-10.

Originally published 1/19/2022. I have been blessed in my life to have met these two families and the three men. These gentlemen, working with minimal to no resources in their garage, accomplished what a major corporation would struggle to do. Their passion for engines and the for betterment of America and the world more than made up for their humble roots.

Internal meter resistance.

Lessons learned from attending a tractor pull.

Originally published 1/12/2022. It is critical to understand that parts of an engine or machine that rotate need to be in balance. But there are both fine and coarse balance, with the former being the desired result. In this episode, the Hot Rod Farmer also explains why components need to maintain their orientation if removed and reinstalled.

Checking circuit current flow.

Your engine may not be worn but glazed over instead.

Originally published 1/5/22. The Hot Rod Farmer takes a look at the potential problem areas you may run into with an EFI engine. Is fuel injection better than a carburetor? That question gets answered in this episode of Idle Chatter.

I answer two questions from a long time listener.

The truth about the GM engine failures were not what most said.

Originally published 12/29/2021. Though there has not been a engine made for decades that uses breaker points, there are still many in use on a farm or ranch. Also, the tenet of operation is the same for a modern coil-on-plug electronic ignition system. Understanding modern ignition systems begins with an investigation of the breaker point design.

Song writer Michael Hinton joins me to discuss his inspiration behind, A choir in the Gears.

Just like people or animals as machinery ages things change.

Originally published 12/22/2021. Since 1996, all light-duty vehicles offered a world of diagnostic data that can only be accessed with an OBD-II scanner. This is an inexpensive and easy to use tool. In this episode, Ray provides practical uses for a scanner beyond reading and erasing trouble codes.

Don’t we all want to stay in business?

We need to study and learn from our results.

Originally published 12/15/2021. In this episode, the Hot Rod Farmer explains the unique tools that are employed during the development of an engine. The journey from a concept to you owing it is a long and detailed one.

The elastic versus the plastic range.

How do we balance accepting the new while keeping the old?

Originally published 12/8/2021. A long time Idle Chatter listener has had problems with using E-10 in small engines. The Hot Rod Farmer has had no issues at all in 25 years. How can some people have problems with this gasoline while others do not? In this episode, Ray applies critical thinking and possibly has an answer, since both findings are valid.

You often pay the price for inexpensive parts.

This week I juxtapose how important the early life of an engine is against a bread ad from the 1960’s.

Originally published 11/17/2021. The lure of more power and fuel economy and no longer dealing with DEF and regeneration of the DPF can be alluring. But these gains come with a cost that many do not recognize until  it is too late. Be an educated consumer and learn all the facts before you decide to tamper with your diesel pick-up truck’s engine.

JCB just kills it at Speed Week!

You can’t learn if you don’t understand the terms.

Originally published 11/10/2021. The term high-performance is often misunderstood. In engineering parlance it is a design that is more efficient than the part that is normally employed. When replacing a worn or failed part, it is prudent to explore if a high-performance version is offered. In some applications the performance gain may be in fuel efficiency or longevity and not horsepower, but will be a worthwhile investment.

The same can happen to your farm machinery.

You can’t diagnose it if you do not understand it!