Alternative M 274 mule seat configuration

Hey guys, thought you might enjoy this pic of part of our stable, two of which are working just about every day. The hardest worker of the bunch is the one at the front, with a plastic seat mounted to plywood. The plywood protects the deck, has a cutout for accessing the engine hatch, and the seat is mounted on rails so can be positioned for custom comfort (the main driver of this mule is 6'4"+ and likes a lot of leg room). It's not the prettiest or most correct, but for those of us that use a mule as a work vehicle, it is perfect. The "dress" seat is stored away, and if we wish to mount it, the plywood just lifts off, leaving a clean protected surface. Since the mule stays out in all weathers, we have a drain hole drilled in the seat (just throw a bit of water into the seat, and mark the low spot accordingly)

We've used this setup going on 10 years now, and still going strong.

Hey rosie:
With a stable that size, you need a large water & feed trough. Right?
Looks good. Mine is a working mule also.
Thanks, Pvt. Hotdog

Good morning, hotdog,

The biggest problem we have at the trough these days is fuel. We have been replacing some parts such as tanks with stainless steel and it helps, and there are a few stations fairly close that sell ethanol-free fuel. When those run out we need to extract the ethanol ourselves which is a pain. Gotta do it, though, to keep up the mules (and saws, blowers, and other gas equipment)

Ethanol

What process are you using to extract the ethanol? I may need to do that in the near future.
Thanks,
Sarge29

Good morning, sarge,

Crude separation method is to shake half the amount of water with gas containing ethanol. Ethanol is attracted to the water layer. Allow to settle then drain off bottom water layer or siphon off top gas layer. We stopped monkeying with this when we found a couple of stations within reasonable driving distance that carried ethanol-free. We had tried a 3L plastic pop bottle which is only good for a couple of extractions, then put experimentation on a back burner since we could buy the fuel without ethanol. There is a website that comes up if you google "ethanol-free fuel" that lists gas stations by state and province in US and Canada. Supply is variable for these stations, too, but so far so good.

Good morning rosie,
I was not sure how that was done. You are right, it is best to buy ethanol free fuel. I was just curious if you were doing it in large volume. If it was separated and the ethanol was saved. Always interested in new ideas.
Thanks,
Sarge29

Hey sarge, after the separation there is a little bit of ethanol in a lot of water. It evaporates out pretty quickly, but we never did any large amounts. If you know someone who makes biodiesel at home they may have some ideas about drying the wash water out of the final product (the wash-and-separation process is very similar to one step in the biodiesel process) but since we have a source for the ethanol-free fuel we've gotten lazy on the experimentation: put on the very crowded back burner.

I know the feeling of putting things on the back burner. Mine is so full that I am considering getting a second back burner

Sarge, you said a mouthful! Each project begets a whole bunch of others, and next thing you know there are more back burners than front burners!!

rosie said:

Good morning, hotdog,

The biggest problem we have at the trough these days is fuel. We have been replacing some parts such as tanks with stainless steel and it helps, and there are a few stations fairly close that sell ethanol-free fuel. When those run out we need to extract the ethanol ourselves which is a pain. Gotta do it, though, to keep up the mules (and saws, blowers, and other gas equipment)

Click to expand...

Having made some inquiries and found some interesting facts for the Muleteers out there.

In Canada and USA: Shell V-Power 91 is ethanol Free across Canada and USA.

Canadian Tire 91 is also ethanol Free across Canada.

Alberta, Nova Scotia: all stations dispense ethanol-free gasoline.
Some also dispense E10, a ethanol Blend,so check the pump.

British Columbia and USA: all 94-octane Chevron fuel is ethanol-free.

Ontario: Co-Op gas has between 5 and 15% ethanol in most blends,
not friendly to rubber etc.

Hope this helps all, I will be sticking with Shell V-Power 91 I think for my Mule.