Pearson Squeeze Chute

[Archaic]

I live in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. This is an area of high salinity, and everything rusts away before your eyes. On the Ranch we have a Pearson Squeeze Chute which should have been worked on many years ago. As you can see from the pictures, the bottom (floor) of the chute just completely rusted away. It is lucky that the entire thing was not destroyed since the floor provides structural support to the rest.

The original floor was 2"X3"X16Ga. tubing as well as I could tell. On top of that frame was 1/8" diamond plate. On top of that were rebars cross welded at intervals to provide traction. Photos show that just about all of the diamond plate was gone, as well as most of the 2"X3" frame. I made the new frame out of 2"X3"X3/16" tubing. Inside of the frame is a 2"X2"X1/4" angle to provide support for the floor. The floor is 1/4"X1" hot dipped galvanized grating. I had various pieces left over from a set of stairs that I had fabricated years ago. Cow pee is about as corrosive as anything out there. So, I ran a weld bead on every element to prevent rain or cow pee from starting rust behind members. There is something in excess of 64 LF of bead laid on the floor structure. 1/4"X3" flat bar on the ends and 2-1/2" flat bar on the end top to accept the frame.

Photos Floor 1, 2, 3, and 4 show the condition of the chute and floor. Photo To Shop shows the old darling loaded up and headed into my shop. Since I am limited to five photos, I will continue this in the reply.

[Archaic]

It is probably difficult to tell from the pictures, but the first problem that I discovered was that the stub pipes on the floor frame on the rear that control the bottom movement of the back of the side gates were full 2" diameter pipe. On the front the two long pipes that run inside the pipes that contain the neck gates, and serve as a pivot for the front of the side gates are full 2" diameter pipe. So, SCH 40, or SCH 80 1-1/2" pipe could not be used for a replacement, as it has an OD of 1.9". I could find NO full 2" OD SCH 40 pipe anywhere. Although one company did offer to make it for me if I would order 10,000', which was about 9,980' more than I needed for this project. I cut two pieces of 2" shaft for the rear stub shafts. The front legs though, had to be kept "as is" and no shorter or things would rapidly go downhill.

Thus begineth the grinding. The bottom was cut off. Then I had to carefully grind down to the OD of the pipe on the four legs to get the piece of 2"X3" angle off where they were originally welded without screwing up the legs. The grinding went on forever, but was successful, thanks in large part to the original welder whose penetration into the leg pipes was zero. If the weld had penetrated as it should have I would probably still be out in the shop grinding.

Picture Floor Frame shows the new floor frame welded up. Picture Floor Grating shows the floor frame with the grating pieces installed and bolted down with grating clips. Picture Floor & Frame shows the frame welded to the new floor. One more reply and we are through.

[Archaic]

I've got a monster sand blaster, so everything got blasted to white metal and then coated with epoxy primer and an industrial epoxy top coat. These pictures show the finished chute ready to go back to the ranch and go to work. This project turned out to be far more work than I had anticipated.

If anyone out there needs to rebuild a Pearson Squeeze Chute I have measured drawings and lots of pictures that I would be glad to share with you. A new Pearson with palpation cage is $4,250 plus freight. I would have been out about five grand if I had not been able to repair this one. Which goes to say, I guess, take care of it BEFORE it rusts to pieces.

Picture With Sides is floor, frame and side squeeze gates reinstalled. Picture Pearson Completed is the end of the job. Picture Completed Front is a shot of the finished job from the front.

[Hotfoot]

Very nice job, archaic! What is the grating material you used in the floor?...I can't really tell by the angle of that picture.

[TexasLonghorn]

Way to Cowboy up! Great Job!

[Archaic]

Very nice job, archaic! What is the grating material you used in the floor?...I can't really tell by the angle of that picture.

Hotfoot that is an industrial grating. Made in various sizes from mild steel, aluminum, to hot dipped galvanized mild steel, which is what I used. Basically 1/4" X 1" flat bar welded to a twisted rod. In this grating the flat bar is placed 1-1/4" on center. Used for bridges, catwalks, stair tread, etc.

Photo of the grating in the frame showing the grating clips that hold the pieces down to the frame.

Thanks for the kind words, Longhorn.

Adios-----

[Willy Victor]

Start feeding the cattle baking soda maybe their piss won't be so corrosive.

Willy

[Archaic]

Well Willy, if it does not rain down here pretty darn quick the cows aren't going to have anything to eat but dirt and caliche rock. That ought to dry them up.

[R W]

You have done a great reconstruction job.

[Archaic]

Time to end this thread. I moved the rebuilt chute back out to the ranch. We had seventeen mature bulls to work. Now we will see how good my welds are, and how the newly designed floor works. All the force of the animal is carried by six pipe welds. The four legs and the two stub shafts. I am not going to say that my cowboys were skeptical, but there was good money being wagered that the entire top of the chute would leave on the back of the first bull.

Shown in the photos is the first customer. Two thousand one hundred and eighty pounds of muscle and bad attitude. Sixteen more like him came through. The welds all held. The grating works great with no deflection or any other objections.

[Idahofarmer53]

Archaic -- Are you still out there ??

I have a Pearson squeeze that I bought "used." It's still in pretty darn good shape, but no thing and no body lives forever, so I'd like to take advantage of this offer, if it's still open: "If anyone out there needs to rebuild a Pearson Squeeze Chute I have measured drawings and lots of pictures that I would be glad to share with you. A new Pearson with palpation cage is $4,250 plus freight. I would have been out about five grand if I had not been able to repair this one. Which goes to say, I guess, take care of it BEFORE it rusts to pieces."



Thank you!
idahofarmer53@yahoo.com

[ToolBoxTavern]

Nice. I need to build a corral to herd my little herd in when we get ready to take the calves to the sale barn. It is a bit of a pain now with the old pens we got.

[Idahofarmer53]

. . . Hope I didn't wait too long !!!

[FWI]

Very nice job, archaic! What is the grating material you used in the floor?...I can't really tell by the angle of that picture.

Looks like 19WR4 1" Serrated Bar grating.

[FWI]

Archaic nice fab work looks great give G90 hot dipped Galvanize a chance should give you 6-8 years of low maintenance. AZZ Galvanizing in Houston has a kettle that can dip that as a weldment.