Product Instructions
Want to know how to assemble the gourd rack or pole you are purchasing? Here are some basic instructions, and you can infd color instructions in PDF format available to download at the bottom of this page. Additionally, various how-to's can be found on this page.
How to care for gourd racks on Two inch square poles.
- Wax Poles: Wax can be any quality car wax. Waxing the pole helps to deter the elements from pitting the aluminum
- Oil pulleys: Pulleys should be oiled with 3 in 1 Household oil (or like). Place the oil onto the pulley sheaves. Do not use WD40 as this will dissipate.
- Check to be sure all bolts and nuts are tight.
- Check your rope for fraying. A damaged rope should be replaced.
- At the end of the season remove the gourd arms. I store the hitch pins in small zip lock bags, and place the bag inside one of my gourds from the corresponding rack.
- If possible remove your pole from the ground stake and store the pole in a garage or shed. If you remove the pole this is a good time to check that the set screws holding the top perch rods are nice and tight. When tightening set screws use the short side of the allen wrench. This allows you to apply more torque which helps the set screw bite into the rods or poles better.
- If you remove the pole from your ground stake and you did not fill the stake with concrete cover the top of the ground stake with a piece of duck tape.
How to care for gourd racks on Three inch square poles.
- Wax poles with any good quality car wax. Due to the weight of this pole its best to do this BEFORE you mount the pole over the ground stake.
- Angle arms can be waxed at seasons end, but not necessary.
- Check that all nuts, on the hub, and to the winch brackets are tight.
- Brake Winches are designed not to be oiled. Doing so could cause the braking mechanism to fail.
- Please see step 6 from above about a great tip on tightening set screws!
How to care for Pole Guards.
- Pole Guard should be waxed with any quality car wax yearly. Failure to do so could cause your tube to become weathered or oxidized giving climbing predators such as snakes something to grip.
- Pole Guards should never be mounted lower than 48” from the ground up.
How to care for Plastic Gourds.
- Gourds should be cleaned out at the end of each season.
- Gourds can be washed with any mild detergent, but not necessary. I have used the "Mr. Clean Magic Erasure" on the exterior of my gourds and it really cleaned them up
- Store gourds inside during the winter months
- Place several large handful of soft pine needles or other bedding material inside the gourds before the martins return in the Spring.
- Replace broken caps and consider adding liners to the interior of the caps to darken the gourds interior. I also add electrical tape to the threads of my gourds access port. This help to keep the gourds cap (lid) secure.
- Consider adding vents to your gourds.
| PDF Instructions | Posted on | Size |
|---|---|---|
1/1/09 |
260KB |
|
2/19/11 |
1.18MB |
|
1/1/09 |
284KB |
|
1/1/09 |
184KB |
|
2/19/11 |
1.15MB |
|
2/19/11 |
295KB |
|
2/19/11 |
1.17MB |
|
2/19/11 |
345KB |
|
2/19/11 |
429KB |
|
2/19/11 |
224KB |
|
2/19/11 |
863KB |
|
2/19/11 |
256KB |
|
2/19/11 |
949KB |
|
2/19/11 |
884KB |
|
2/19/11 |
171KB |
|
2/19/11 |
223KB |
|
2/19/11 |
223KB |
|
2/19/11 |
317KB |
|
2/19/11 |
1.03MB |
|
2/19/11 |
1.03 |
|
2/19/11 |
748KB |
|
2/19/11 |
365KB |
|
2/19/11 |
193KB |
|
2/19/11 |
168KB |
|
2/19/11 |
117KB |
|
2/19/11 |
766KB |
Most common tools used in assembly
