Dairy Barn Issues
It seems that there are always issues to be faced around a dairy farm and esp the barn where we milk. September issues were:
I walked into the barn at 4:30 a.m. on Sept 11 and the agitator was turning. No big deal as it is supposed to come on and stir the milk periodically. I happened to look at the temperature gauge and it said 75 degrees. That is much too hot as it should have been 39 degrees. I opened the tank and sure enough the milk was turning to butter. I checked to see if the cooler unit was on and it was. I flicked breakers and tried all I could but to no avail I could not get it working properly. I called the local repairman and got him out of bed and said "help". He assured me he would be right over. I tried calling my field man but could not raise him. I opened the valve and dumped the milk on the floor and down the drain. At least I could get it washed and ready for when it was working again.
I gathered the cows and waited for Steve S. to arrive. He finally got there and started checking it out. He found a small freon leak that had suddenly gotten worse and I had lost all the freon and that was why it was no longer cooling. A small 1/4 inch copper line had been against a screw and the vibration had worn a hole in it until it was big enough to lose all the freon. Steve S. repaired it and filled it with freon and we thought we had everything going great. He did not have enough freon so he headed home to get more and I started milking.
Everything was working great when I got done and since I had to get to Mtn Grove I headed out. Going down the road to Mtn Grove I get a call from Steve S. that he was back at the barn and that the compressor had blown up and he was headed to get a new one.
I walked into the barn at 4:30 a.m. on Sept 11 and the agitator was turning. No big deal as it is supposed to come on and stir the milk periodically. I happened to look at the temperature gauge and it said 75 degrees. That is much too hot as it should have been 39 degrees. I opened the tank and sure enough the milk was turning to butter. I checked to see if the cooler unit was on and it was. I flicked breakers and tried all I could but to no avail I could not get it working properly. I called the local repairman and got him out of bed and said "help". He assured me he would be right over. I tried calling my field man but could not raise him. I opened the valve and dumped the milk on the floor and down the drain. At least I could get it washed and ready for when it was working again.
I gathered the cows and waited for Steve S. to arrive. He finally got there and started checking it out. He found a small freon leak that had suddenly gotten worse and I had lost all the freon and that was why it was no longer cooling. A small 1/4 inch copper line had been against a screw and the vibration had worn a hole in it until it was big enough to lose all the freon. Steve S. repaired it and filled it with freon and we thought we had everything going great. He did not have enough freon so he headed home to get more and I started milking.
Everything was working great when I got done and since I had to get to Mtn Grove I headed out. Going down the road to Mtn Grove I get a call from Steve S. that he was back at the barn and that the compressor had blown up and he was headed to get a new one.
 Old Compressor |
 New Compressor |
Finally $1170 later I again had cold milk.
Moving on the the next issue. My hot water heater in the barn had started going out and could not keep the pilot light lit back in July. I had tried to get the servicemen out but they had been too busy but they finally told me how to clean the burner myself. So I ventured into the world of hot water heater repair. My hot water heater in the barn is a large commercial type because it takes lots of very hot water in a dairy barn. I took the thing apart and blew the burner out and all like the man said and got it back together and it worked fine for over a month then it started the same thing. I tried cleaning it again and it worked for 24 hours. I was able to get the repairmen out this time and I guess they thought I did not know what I was doing because they cleaned it again. Of course it didn't help, then they put a new thermo-couple on it and assured me that was the problem but it wasn't either. Finally they ordered a new control box. When it came in a week later they came out and put it on and now I have hot water, $353.00 later.
 new control in place |
 has been |
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