I need a redneck engineering consult

[eddiekay]

My daughter has to move about 80lbs of manure maybe 300’ every day from the barn to the dumpster. Composting not allowed here.
The move is over soft ground that is a little bit bumpy…the kind that hard wheels sink in.
PITA with a handtruck or wagon and we sometimes get enough snow to make it impossible.
But…it’s gotta be moved every day.
No budget for cutting a road back to the barn.
I was thinking maybe push along-pull along a “cable car”. Could put one together for maybe $125.
Anybody got any ideas.

[Worldtraveller]

80 lbs? Roughly how much volume is that compared to a 5 gallon bucket?

Is there some kind of standing structure at either end you could attach a cable to? Wouldn't need anything particularly heavy duty.

Cable

The other parts would probably not cost much at all.

If you hang it at least 6-8 feet up, when you're not hauling manure, you could charge the local kids to play on your zipline.

[alex.s]

why don't you just put bigger wheels on the cart

[eddiekay]

THAKS FOR RSVP
VOLUME WILL BE ROUGH EQUIV OF 2X2X2 and I can use 1/4" cable.
Think of it like a suspension bridge but the cable will need to be strait and level.
My question is really a mix of real engineering and looking for ideas.
Engineering:
I would plan to weight the ends of the cable to pull the cable taut or maybe weight one end and anchor the other in cement in the ground. My prob there is that I'm thinking the weights will cause the "towers" to tilt towards each other since I want to suspend the cable in a strait line and eventually fall inward to the center. And, y'know...since there are all kinds of people on this board with various expertise I figured i'd ask.
Zip line....great idea but around here, too many lawyers looking for a payday.
I dunno...there's gotta be a better way to move the bucket than a handtruck or wagon

[eddiekay]

Big wheels is probably the most practical way but i'm trying to find away around the snow days and wet ground. Baloon tires kits would be my first choice but i only saw them online for like $179....but that makes me think....maybe i can find some discared kids toy at the curb....like a Big Wheels with baloon wheels...hmmmm.
thanks

[csmith12]

Get a small dump trailer for your riding mower. (large phat tires)
Get a sled and pull it with your riding mower.
Get a sled and pull it with a cable.
I currently have 300lbs of sand on a tarp in my yard that I drag around filling in spots around the pool and driveway.

How old is your daughter? 80lbs is not that heavy but it's poo, so I get it. If 80lb is too heavy, multiple trips with smaller loads could fit the bill.

And a bit of redneck sarcastic fun....
Suck it up buttercup, everything in life aint easy.

[eddiekay]

got the mover and dump trailer but....it's gotta be done every day and to pull 80lbs, 300'.... she'd spend more time attaching the trailer, getting out of shed...etc,etc. Still...that's the overall easiest way.
Shovelling the **** into small containers is what she's doing now but that requires 4 trips. She's a girl...a small one so daddy wants to help.
Yeah...maybe my cable car is a bit much.
I'm thinking now....get big wheels for handtruck, get smaller containers for manure and on the snow days a sled is actually a very smart way to do it.

[corksil]

Get your daughter a boyfriend, and he'll gleefully haul your isht around any time of the day or night for free.

[corksil]

^^ that's how feminism works. Division of labor, assumed physical privilege, delegation. "Men are brutes, to be controlled for female advancement."

(Not that I agree, but I'm the minority.)

[csmith12]

Originally Posted by corksil

Get your daughter a boyfriend, and he'll gleefully haul your isht around any time of the day or night for free.

Ok, here is a nugget about me that I normally would hold back.

My daughter got pregnant at an early age, 19. When they came to my house to spill the beans, there was only one thing I could say to the boyfriend.

"My mower is all gassed up, you need to go mow my yard while we work this out".

[CC Cowboy]

Shiity job. Find something that eats 80 pounds of shiit everyday. Local politican!

[eddiekay]

She has a husband but he's not a horseperson. Wonderful guy but not a horseperson so she'll do most everything herself and whatever I can do when in neighborhood. So, I'm coming up with all these gadgets to make things easier.
To put it in perspective....one horse generates about 14000 pounds of manure a year,,,roughly equivalent to 40 ninjettes....with some gas in the tank.

[alex.s]

Originally Posted by corksil

^^ that's how feminism works. Division of labor, assumed physical privilege, delegation. "Men are brutes, to be controlled for female advancement."

(Not that I agree, but I'm the minority.)

actually i'm pretty sure that isn't how feminism works.

[alex.s]

just teach the horses to **** in the dumpster instead

[dcj13]

Originally Posted by Worldtraveller

80 lbs? Roughly how much volume is that compared to a 5 gallon bucket?

The redneck engineering part:

Let's assume poop is about the same density as water. If your poop sinks, its a bit denser than water. If it floats, it's a bit less dense than water. So, on average, it's a fair assumption that poop is the same density as water.

Water's density is 8 lbs per gallon, so a 5 gallon bucket would hold 8x5=40 lbs. Therefore, 80 lbs would require two 5 gallon buckets.

[eddiekay]

Yeah but the bucket would have to be filled level and since my feet are shaped like feet that means i cant stomp the turds level....leaving the top of my head as the only suitable ram....but i cant stand on my head so...that's out.
The cable bucket seems still a very sensible idea and i'd still guess that the rolling resistance of 2, 40lb buckets on trolleys on a taut cable is far less than that of wheels on bumpy ground ( handtruck, wagon) with 80lbs of manure.
However, a new dimension has arisen....aaad...it's not gonna look right". And, in the end....whatever makes the kids happy makes me happy.

[dcj13]

More redneck engineering...

The cable's gonna be too damn high off the ground in order to support 80lbs in the middle without it dragging on the ground. Bummer!

(Draw the free body diagram to see what I mean).

[dcj13]

and then you'll be pushing the bucket uphill the second half of the trip. Then you won't be able to reach it.

[csmith12]

Originally Posted by dcj13

The redneck engineering part:

Let's assume poop is about the same density as water. If your poop sinks, its a bit denser than water. If it floats, it's a bit less dense than water. So, on average, it's a fair assumption that poop is the same density as water.

Water's density is 8 lbs per gallon, so a 5 gallon bucket would hold 8x5=40 lbs. Therefore, 80 lbs would require two 5 gallon buckets.

My grandmother always told me that turds float, so I could go out in the rain at any time and only get wet.

Therefor.... you can dig a ditch and float all said poo down to the destination location assuming it's downhill.

[eddiekay]

I thought about the cable sagging.
This is where real engineering comes in.
Not having a clue...I was figuring that by putting enough weight on the ends of the cable i could pull it perfectly straight between 2 towers...and it would remain straight as long as the 80lbs of manure didnt exert enough pull to raise the weights. But then I got to wondering if the towers were acting like fulcrums in any way. I got to thinking this simple idea was really m ore complicated than I thought

[CynicalC]

The towers would need to be well anchored, not just weighted. They'd also need to be built pretty stout, and the cable would need to have quite a bit of tension between them. It would be impossible to remove the sag from any rope at that distance. The amount of tension needed to take the sag out completely would exceed the tensile capacity of the rope (wire or otherwise).

TL;DR buy a wheelbarrow. 80 lbs is not a great deal of weight and 300' is not a great distance.

[corksil]

I'm with the wheelbarrow idea.

*national geographic narrator voice* The homosapien is an intelligent animal, and it uses tools.

The wheel is a pretty nifty invention.

Oh, and get her some dumbells. Perhaps the skinny metrosexual boyfriend would begin lifting them and become impressed with his progressive strength gain, then become obsessed with his body image and begin taking steroids and then their marriage would crumble and if that particular chain of events were to happen, I sure hope you would not hold me liable.

I'll keep my mind on this, but so far -- the wheelbarrow idea sounds like the winner to me.

[corksil]

Originally Posted by alex.s

actually i'm pretty sure that isn't how feminism works.

To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure anyone knows how feminism works. Men are the problem, but they are men, and that's the problem. And they are the problem because they are men, and they will continue being men, some might try and change, but in the end they will always be men, therefore they will remain the problem. I tried to explain it to my cat once when he asked, but even after some research and a lengthy explanation, I still remain unclear as he was.

But that is not a discussion for the here and now. That is a discussion for when one such as myself has infinite time, which is metaphysically impossible, as time is finite.

[alex.s]

Originally Posted by corksil

To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure anyone knows how feminism works. Men are the problem, but they are men, and that's the problem. And they are the problem because they are men, and they will continue being men, some might try and change, but in the end they will always be men, therefore they will remain the problem. I tried to explain it to my cat once when he asked, but even after some research and a lengthy explanation, I still remain unclear as he was.

But that is not a discussion for the here and now. That is a discussion for when one such as myself has infinite time, which is metaphysically impossible, as time is finite.

where do you get your acid

[corksil]

Bro didn't you hear? If you do enough, you never come down. So to answer your question, I do not, have not, and never will partake in illicit drugs of any kind under any circumstance.

But back in the day... Oh man let me tell you. If a rat crawled under a bus, and that bus was capable of defying gravity.. would the rat be crushed when the bus performed a vertical takeoff? Honestly I haven't pondered upon it, but my heart still goes out to the rat that was dumb enough to wander under the bus. FORCED TO LIVE IN A WORLD HE DID NOT CREATE! Such imagery... such a metaphor... oh wait act normal act normal act normal

[CynicalC]

Originally Posted by corksil

To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure anyone knows how feminism works. Men are the problem, but they are men, and that's the problem. And they are the problem because they are men, and they will continue being men, some might try and change, but in the end they will always be men, therefore they will remain the problem. I tried to explain it to my cat once when he asked, but even after some research and a lengthy explanation, I still remain unclear as he was.

But that is not a discussion for the here and now. That is a discussion for when one such as myself has infinite time, which is metaphysically impossible, as time is finite.

A+ post. Will read again.

[adouglas]

As my wife likes to say, "don't make this more complicated than it has to be."

Barn has horses in it.

Horses need daily exercise.

Build sledge/a-frame/whatever, with tarp or platform of sufficient size. Or if you want to go full redneck, go to harbor freight , buy a blue tarp and some rope.

Attach sledge/tarp/whatever to horse.

Place poo on sledge.

Exercise horse by walking 300' to dumpster.

Done. Two birds, one stone.

It's only 80 lbs. to drag. The horse won't even notice it.

[eddiekay]

Feminism was a reasonable demand as it began. Regardless of what your daddies and uncles tell you, women were treated in ways that were totally fcuked up.
Think a pat on the butt is no big deal...think a crude remark is no big deal or some comment about boob size ? Wait till you watch it happen to your daughter. Or mother or wife. Women couldn't request equality in those days, they had to demand it and be ready to kick ass to get it and they did. I think, but may be mistaken that it was Jesse Jackson who , on TV once said ( regarding racial equality) that, : If we cant sit down at a table and talk about this, we gonna kick the legs out from under the table". He got what he demanded. It's easy to understand how the womens movement got to where it is...Washington for better or worse. But anyone who wants to understand it and why it began...see if you can YouTube the full version of Thelma and Louise...makkes easy Rider look like a nursery rhyme.

[Worldtraveller]

Originally Posted by dcj13

More redneck engineering...

The cable's gonna be too damn high off the ground in order to support 80lbs in the middle without it dragging on the ground. Bummer!

(Draw the free body diagram to see what I mean).

Just a rough guess, it would require some kind of support every ~50 - 60 ft.

[Worldtraveller]

Originally Posted by alex.s

where do you get your acid

It's not drugs, that's just his personality.

Makes a great prophylactic, ya know.

[/derail]

[CC Cowboy]

Originally Posted by eddiekay

She has a husband but he's not a horseperson. .

He only has to be a shitman!

Sell that shiit as is. Rent buyers the shovel to scoop their own. Advertise as decorative road apples (PITA won't know what you're selling).

[eddiekay]

We're on Long Island...near an itty bitty lake....so it';s federally protected ground....you need a DEC permit to fart.
Cable sag....is that a function of the cable stretching rather than the ends getting closer together ? Not knowing...I'm thinking that if a straight line is 300 feet long, any change in the shape of that line would have to move the end points closer. If the end points are set in a million tons of concrete then the only way to change the shape of the line (sag) is if the line stretched....which means it increases it's length.
I like this...we used to have discussions like this when i was 19 and drunk....What if God and Superman had a fight ?

[CynicalC]

http://physics.stackexchange.com/que...etely-straight

Physics, man. A rope is not a solid object no matter how tight you pull it. You're going to get deformation at any length on a horizontal plane. Over 300 feet, with a bending load in the center, the deflection would be significant.

Also, are you in Patchogue?

[csmith12]

omg....

This problem was solved eons ago.

[eddiekay]

EXCELLENT explain...the last one...physics. My fantasy is done.
No...not in Patchogue....bout 50 miles west in Malverne....but I was at a wedding in Patchogue last week...Molly Malones. The hookers on the street are gone, they have quaint shoppes and a well known performance venue now. The town is getting very artsy on the main street, gangsta's being slowly displaced by hipsters....fearless crowd who will recivilize NY metro.

[subxero]

just buy a used cheap ride mower so there is an extra one and you can keep it all hooked up to the wagon and keep it designated for that particular task and at the horse stalls or whatever.

Shovel **** into wagon, drive to dumpster wash rinse repeat.

easiest solution for everyone IMO

[csmith12]

I am gunna show my age here a little bit.



Put turds in wagon or put turd buckets in wagon. Pull to dump area and kick wagon over like a boss.

[eddiekay]

All good answers but i found a way to further complicate a simple task:
I have a load of copper tubing in the garage and a torch and some fitting and some solder....and people around here throw out kids bicycles all the time.
I'm gonna solder up a wagon....like a pony cart or sulky...get some wheels off a bike and have a big wheeled cart...Of course there's a problem....where do i find an axle that will both fit the bike wheels and be long enough to run the width of the cart.

[corksil]

This thread just will not end.

I'm not sure who would win because neither god nor superman exist in tangible reality. They are fictional characters.

Feminism, yeah that's one of those topics...

Things to never bring up in conversation
-religion
-sex life
-politics
-feminism

[Whiskey]

Originally Posted by CC Cowboy

Shiity job. Find something that eats 80 pounds of shiit everyday. Local politican!

Your politicians eat 80lbs of **** a day rather than spout 80lbs of **** an hour