Valuable Farmhands: Essential TOPDON tools for Agricultural Equipment
The chores never end on a farm. And because farms require a variety of agricultural equipment to function, it’s crucial to have the right tools on hand to keep the wheels turning. In addition to tools for cars, motorcycles, and commercial applications, TOPDON makes a wide selection of tools to keep heavy-duty farm equipment working from sunup to sundown. The next time you invest in quality farm tools, consider adding these TOPDON offerings to your inventory.
Battery Service
A dead battery can ruin a day’s productivity. Being able to quickly tend batteries and put vehicles back into service is crucial on any farm or ranch. The V4500 Plus jump starter packs a powerful punch for 12V vehicles with up to 16 liters of displacement, either gas or diesel. With a peak current of up to 4500A, and the capacity for up to 45 jump-starts on a single charge, this is one jump starter that will get your heavy equipment up and running in short order. The professional-grade V4500 Plus also works as a battery/system tester with the TOPDON app, has 15 ultra-bright LED lights, and can charge a smart phone in 25 minutes.
Not all farm implements run a 12V system, so for maximum flexibility, the Tornado30000 30A smart charger and power supply is a well-rounded choice. It can revive 6V, 12V, and 24V lead-acid batteries as well as 12V/24V lithium batteries. Weather out in the fields can swing from brutally cold to scorching hot over the course of a year, and the T30000 can handle all those extremes with built in temperature sensors and fan cooling that can automatically change the charging power according to temperature.
For even more power, the Tornado90000 services 12V and 24V lead-acid and lithium batteries, with a wide battery capacity range from 5 to 90 amps. It can act as a stable power supply for a variety of farm implements and automotive appliances.
Thermal Cameras
A thermal camera is the tool most people never knew they needed. “There are all sorts of different ways you can use a thermal imager,” said Haakan Light, USA Training and Development Manager for TOPDON. “I always tell people, ‘It’s the one tool that is almost only limited by your imagination.’”
The advantage of a thermal camera is that it lets you see issues not visible to the naked eye, allowing you to track down problems. “If you have an electrical connection problem, high resistance or something of that nature, you can spot those easily with the thermal imager. If you have mechanical fatigue, say for instance a combine where one of the bearings is making a bunch of noise but you’re having trouble telling which one it is, you can see the differences in temperature between bearings.
“Do you think you have a hydraulic fluid blockage? There’s probably going to be a temperature difference on each side of the blockage,” Light continued. “You can even use it if you’re concerned there may be small animals hiding in your machinery.”
TOPDON offers a variety of thermal camera options. Light recommends the TC005 for farm and ranch use. “The TC005 is ‘ruggedized’ for extreme environments,” he notes. “It also has a dual camera. It has a regular photographical camera and a high-resolution thermal camera, and it interweaves the two images into one composite image. This provides a greater level of clarity.”
Diagnostic Tools
Modern agricultural equipment, like a modern car, is controlled by advanced electronic systems and must comply with emissions standards. A diagnostic scanner helps you track down fault codes and trouble codes that can sideline your equipment. “Being able to diagnose a work stoppage problem is absolutely critical. Downtime is the number one enemy,” Light said. “Being able to determine what may be a possible cause or gauge the severity of an issue is extremely important.”
TheTOPDON Phoenix Smart and Phoenix Max intelligent diagnostic tools, when equipped with the Heavy Duty Software and Cable Set, will allow you to diagnose fault codes easily. The coverage list of heavy-duty machinery and farm equipment is extensive, allowing high compatibility with some of the leading brands of agricultural equipment, powertrain manufacturers, and ancillary systems. The Phoenix scanners with HD software and cables will open the door to diagnostic repairs for major brands such as John Deere, Case, New Holland, Kubota, AGCO, Volvo Penta, Miller, CLAAS, and many more.
The Phoenix scanners can retrieve codes from a multitude of systems. “You can talk to the chassis, or the cab systems, but a lot of the time you may be able to talk to the powertrain system through the brand of software of whoever made the engine,” Light said.
Days are long on a farm, but you’ll get maximum productivity when your tractors, harvesters, utility vehicles, and backhoes are operating at capacity. TOPDON’s line of tools are the essential farmhands you can rely on to keep the harvest on track.