Farmer-Designed Automatic Oilers

2002 - Volume #26, Issue #4, Page #33

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Everyone knows lubricated chains and gears work better and last longer, but it's sometimes hard to get yourself to run around a machine with an oil can, especially at peak times like planting, irrigating and harvesting.
    After a series of irrigator breakdowns caused by poor lubrication on his family's farm near Idaho Falls, Idaho, John Hoff decided there had to be a way to automate the needed maintenance.
    "We had 36 wheel lines and each had two or three transmissions. The combination of soil and water causes real problems on the drive chains and every time we moved lines, we had a breakdown," says Hoff.
    He says the manufacturers recommended using grease to lubricate the chains, but the result was caked-on grease and dirt that caused even more problems.
    After a little time in the shop, Hoff designed an automatic oiler that mounts right on the irrigation rig. The oiler consists of a rectangular gallon tank made out of a piece of square tubing that mounts on the transmission and rotates with it. There are no moving parts.
    Each wheel line has two transmissions, so each line gets two oilers. Hoff says installing oilers on the irrigation lines solved most of the breakdown problems. And because the transmission and chains are adequately lubricated, the lines move more freely and track better through the field.
    Soon word of his "Oil'er Up" oilers spread and he was making them for friends and neighbors. He now designs and makes five different types of oilers that can be used on a number of types of equipment, including chain-unload semi trailers, beet pilers, potato diggers, forage choppers, manure spreaders and combines. Some use needle valves, while others rely on gravity-flow drip tubes to distribute oil. He's sold more than 3,500 oilers since he started making them in 1991. He says his oilers can be checked and adjusted with the machine turned off. "They adjust remotely and you can check flow from the operator's seat or from work stations on the machine, so they're safe to use. Continuous oiling, even with very low flow, cleans, quiets, cools and protects the machine from corrosion. By reducing friction, it saves fuel and prolongs the life of the machine.
    "You can use vegetable oil in them, too," he says. "We use canola oil in most of ours. It doesn't pollute like petroleum and it's okay to use in equipment that's used to handle food crops."
    He says the price is determined by the application. "A Deere combine has 16 chains to lubricate, while a Case combine has only 10," he says. "A sugar beet piler has 40 points that need lubrication and requires about 300 ft. of hose to get to them all. For semi-trailers, we make them look more showy, so they dress up the equipment. Each oiler is priced accordingly."
    For example, an oiler for a Deere combine sells for $625, plus shipping. "I also make them for headers. For a six-row Deere corn head, the oiler would be $450," he says.
    For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Follow, John Hoff, Oil'er Up, Inc., 990 Jenkins Creek Road Weiser, Idaho 83672 (ph 208 549-1232; Website: www.buyidaho.org/oilerup.htm).

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Farmer-Designed Automatic Oilers COMBINES Accessories Everyone knows lubricated chains and gears work better and last longer but it s sometimes hard to get yourself to run around a machine with an oil can especially at peak times like planting irrigating and harvesting After a series of irrigator breakdowns caused by poor lubrication on his family s farm near Idaho Falls Idaho John Hoff decided there had to be a way to automate the needed maintenance We had 36 wheel lines and each had two or three transmissions The combination of soil and water causes real problems on the drive chains and every time we moved lines we had a breakdown says Hoff He says the manufacturers recommended using grease to lubricate the chains but the result was caked-on grease and dirt that caused even more problems After a little time in the shop Hoff designed an automatic oiler that mounts right on the irrigation rig The oiler consists of a rectangular gallon tank made out of a piece of square tubing that mounts on the transmission and rotates with it There are no moving parts Each wheel line has two transmissions so each line gets two oilers Hoff says installing oilers on the irrigation lines solved most of the breakdown problems And because the transmission and chains are adequately lubricated the lines move more freely and track better through the field Soon word of his Oil er Up oilers spread and he was making them for friends and neighbors He now designs and makes five different types of oilers that can be used on a number of types of equipment including chain-unload semi trailers beet pilers potato diggers forage choppers manure spreaders and combines Some use needle valves while others rely on gravity-flow drip tubes to distribute oil He s sold more than 3 500 oilers since he started making them in 1991 He says his oilers can be checked and adjusted with the machine turned off They adjust remotely and you can check flow from the operator s seat or from work stations on the machine so they re safe to use Continuous oiling even with very low flow cleans quiets cools and protects the machine from corrosion By reducing friction it saves fuel and prolongs the life of the machine You can use vegetable oil in them too he says We use canola oil in most of ours It doesn t pollute like petroleum and it s okay to use in equipment that s used to handle food crops He says the price is determined by the application A Deere combine has 16 chains to lubricate while a Case combine has only 10 he says A sugar beet piler has 40 points that need lubrication and requires about 300 ft of hose to get to them all For semi-trailers we make them look more showy so they dress up the equipment Each oiler is priced accordingly For example an oiler for a Deere combine sells for $625 plus shipping I also make them for headers For a six-row Deere corn head the oiler would be $450 he says For more information contact: FARM SHOW Follow John Hoff Oil er Up Inc 990 Jenkins Creek Road Weiser Idaho 83672 ph 208 549-1232; Website: www buyidaho org/oilerup htm

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