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Portable Scale Lowers To Ground For Weighing
"I'd like to share an idea with your readers that has made cattle management easier at our operation," says Vernon Ranch, Lakeview, Oregon.
"I bought a portable, 13,500-lb., 7 by 14-ft. electronic scale from the Powell Scale Company of Scio, Oregon. I took it to a local machine shop and fitted it with a retract
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Portable Scale Lowers To Ground For Weighing MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous 23-6-10 "I'd like to share an idea with your readers that has made cattle management easier at our operation," says Vernon Ranch, Lakeview, Oregon.
"I bought a portable, 13,500-lb., 7 by 14-ft. electronic scale from the Powell Scale Company of Scio, Oregon. I took it to a local machine shop and fitted it with a retractable axle, cattle rack, tongue, and four 1-ton gear jacks- one on each corner. As a precaution, we disconnected all electronics before welding.
"We use the scale ourselves and rent it out to others who need a state certifiable scale. You pull it into position, put down the jacks, rotate the eccentric axle up, and then lower it to the ground.
"After we used it for a while, we found the jacks we were using were not strong enough for the job. So we brought the scale back into the shop and put two 2 by 18-in. hydraulic cylinders inside pieces of 4 by 4-in. channel iron and then welded each piece of channel iron to a 12 by 12-in. steel plate. The plates bolt 4 ft. back from the front of the scale on each side. I then bolted a 3,000 psi hydraulic hand pump, purchased from Northern Hydraulics' catalog, onto one side of the scale. A 2-way valve off an old Farmhand loader directs oil to either raise or lower the scale.
"It's now very stable. The scale is only 13 in. off the ground when weighing, so no ramps are needed and it only takes 3 to 5 min. to raise and turn the axle for transport.
"To avoid having to remove the hitch tongue when weighing cattle, I covered the tongue with 2 by 10 boards and a 3/4-in. rubber mat and then propped up the tongue so that cattle coming off the scale won't bend it.
"This portable scale is heavily-built and maintenance-free. The state weighmaster is amazed each year at its accuracy, considering how many cattle it weighs and how much we move it around. This scale is used by a lot of local cattlemen."
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Vernon Ranch, HC 60, Box 1775, Lakeview, Ore. 97630 (ph 541-947-4804).
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