Portable Mini Ferris Wheel

Portable Mini Ferris Wheel AG WORLD 31-1-21 "Kids love it," says Jim Polacek, Phillips, Wis., who with son David built a mini ferris wheel for his grandkids. The ferris wheel stands 10 ft. high and rides on a trailer chassis. It has four seats with seat belts and holds up to 8 people at a time. Painted orange with Allis Chalmers decals, the seats mount on an 8-ft. dia. wheel that originally held plastic natural gas pipe line. A solid steel tube serves as the axle. Power is provided by a 12 hp Briggs & Stratton engine which belt-drives the rear end off an old Allis Chalmers riding mower. The rear end belt-drives a variable speed friction transmission off a Dixon riding mower, which in turn belt-drives a roller chain system that results in triple reduction. "Using this system I can make the ferris wheel go forward or backward, and precisely control the speed," says Polacek. "We built it five years ago, and it took a lot of work. We started on Thanksgiving weekend and finished the following Easter. I took it four years ago to a æGathering of the Orange' annual show in Minnesota. People are always amazed at how small it is. Kids like it because it's small enough that it doesn't intimidate them." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Jim Polacek, Polacek Implement, Inc., N8068 State Hwy. 13, Phillips, Wis. 54555 (ph 715 339-4369 or 3323).

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