Distance Education Course -Learn about Machinery and Equipment used in Land Management, in farming and horticulture
- Develop a foundation to manage the selection, operation and maintenance of tools and machinery
- Learn how machines and equipment can be used to make work more efficient and effective
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Lesson Structure
There are 8 lessons in this course:
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Engine Operation
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Hydraulics
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Machinery Components
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Hand Tools
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Power Tools
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Tractors
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Equipment Maintenance
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Specific Workplace Requirements
Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.
Aims
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Explain the operation of different types of motors, including petrol and electric engines.
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Explain the principles of hydraulics in relation to agricultural and horticultural use.
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Explain the operation of the main components of machinery commonly used in agriculture and horticulture including cooling, lubrication, fuel distribution, ignition and transmission systems.
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Explain the safe and effective operation of different hand tools commonly used in agriculture or horticulture.
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Determine the safe and appropriate operation of power tools in horticultural and agricultural situations.
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Explain the safe and appropriate operation of a tractor in horticultural and agricultural situations.
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Explain the maintenance procedures for different equipment commonly used in agriculture and horticulture, including hand tools, power tools and tractors.
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Determine appropriate equipment for minimum work requirements in an agricultural or horticultural workplace.
Machines
Most machines used on a farm or in a horticultural enterprise will be driven by either a 2 stroke or 4 stroke engines. Both engines are different types of internal combustion engines. Each of these two types of engines has certain advantages and disadvantages.
They both run by a series of controlled explosions occurring in an “internal” (enclosed) chamber or cylinder. The size of the equipment to be powered will dictate whether you use a two stroke or four stoke engine. Equipment size will also dictate how many cylinders are required. Two stroke petrol engines are used to power smaller equipment like chain saws and small horticultural equipment. Four stoke engines are used for larger equipment and may have one or more cylinders depending the power required.
When an explosion occurs it causes movement in parts of the engine. That movement is translated to a shaft which is caused to turn. As the shaft turns (rotates) it is able to cause something else to turn that does certain work (e.g. turning the wheels of a tractor, the blades of a mower or the parts of a hydraulic pump).
The four stroke engine has one power stroke in every four stokes, and the two stroke has one power stroke in every two strokes. This is explained in more detail later in this lesson. A four stroke is obviously more powerful, but also more expensive and more complex. In a two stroke engine, the intake, exhaust, power and compression strokes of the engine occur in one rotation of the crankshaft.
With a four stroke engine there is more time between this series of events with the crankshaft making two complete rotations for the four stages of one stroke to happen. Two-stroke engines have the advantage over 4-stroke engines by being lighter. They can be used at angles and upside down as there is no oil in the crankcase. A two stroke is however less efficient than 4-stroke engines and requires lubricating oil to be mixed in with the fuel and tends to run less evenly. Two stroke engines usually run at higher speeds than four stroke engines. Four stroke engines have intake and exhaust valves, two stroke engines have intake and exhaust ports.
Tips for Hand Tools
- Strong tools will take greater physical stress and handle heavier jobs without breaking (e.g: If you buy a cheap tool built with cheap materials it might not last till the end of the first day, particularly if you are doing heavy work)
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Sharp tools put less stress on the tool and less strain on YOU the user.
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Long handles give you greater leverage and increased reach, putting less strain on your back and other parts of your body.
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When you pay more for a tool, you are usually paying for long hours of thought which have gone into its design. Tools which do the job better and more easily are generally the more expensive ones.
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If your soil is heavy clay or rocky, your tools are likely to be strained more ‑you will need better quality tools.
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If your soil is easy to dig (perhaps sandy), you may get away with using cheaper, poorer quality tools.
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Metal tools made with stainless steel or aluminium do not corrode like those made with other metals.
FREQUENT QUESTIONS
Why Choose This Course
- Unique course materials (developed by our staff) and more current than some colleges (many reviewed annually); as a result, ACS graduates can be more up to date.
- We work hard to help you understand and remember it, develop an ability to apply it in the real world, and build networks with others who work in this field (It’s more than just serving up a collection of information –if all you want is information, buy a book; but if you want an education, that takes learning to a whole new level).
- Start whenever you want, study at your own pace, study anywhere
- Don’t waste time and money traveling classes
- We provide more choices–courses are written to allow you more options to focus on parts of the subject that are of more interest to you; a huge range of elective subjects are offered that don’t exist elsewhere.
- Tutors are accessible (more than elsewhere) – academics work in both the UK and Australia, 5 days a week, 16 hours a day. Answering emails and phone calls from students are top priority.
- We treat students as individuals –don’t get lost in a crowd. Our tutors communicate with you one to one.
- Extra help at no extra cost if needed. When you find something you cannot do, we help you through it or will provide another option.
- Support after you finish a course –We can advise about getting work, starting business, writing a CV, etc. We can promote students and their businesses through our extensive profile on the internet. Graduates who ask will be helped.
- Support from a team of a dozen professional horticulturists, living in different parts of the UK, and in both temperate and tropical climate zones of Australia.
About ACS
ACS was started in 1979 by John Mason, who at the time was a gardening author, horticultural consultant and lecturer in horticulture at several colleges across Melbourne (in Australia). Over the summer that year John discovered that there were thousands of applicants going to be turned away from horticulture courses at Burnley Horticultural College (now Melbourne University). There were simply too few courses being offered for the number of people wanting to study horticulture in Australia. This situation prompted a move to establish a correspondence course at Burnley; but after months of unsuccessful lobbying for support from government; John wrote a course, and with help from a colleague at Council of Adult Education, marketed it.
Standards were originally set in line with what were seen to be the standards of Australia's top horticultural college; and over the years, those standards have never been reduced. This makes our courses longer and more demanding than some other colleges; but it has also led to us building a credibility that stands tall in the horticulture industry across the world.
In the early 1990's John started visiting the UK and becoming involved with the horticulture industry there. Around the mid 1990's ACS began offering RHS courses, and in 2003, John was formally recognised for his contribution to British Horticulture by being made a fellow of the Institute of Horticulture. ACS, as a school, established an office and staff in the UK in 2001, and has expanded considerably since then. Today it is formally affiliated with five other colleges in the UK (including Warwickshire College); all of who license and deliver ACS courses.
A team of leading horticulturists work for the school's horticulture department, including 12 faculty members in both the UK and Australia
How You Study
- As soon as you enroll, we send an email to explain it all.
- We direct you to a short orientation video (downloadable over the internet) to watch, where our principal introduces you to how the course works, and how you can access all sorts of support services
- You are either given a code to access your course online, or sent out a CD or course materials through the mail (or by courier).
- Work through lessons one by one, each lesson typically having four parts:
- An aim -which tells you what you should be achieving in the lesson
- Reading -notes written and regularly revised by our academic staff
- Set Task(s) -These are practicals, research or other experiential learning tasks that strengthen and add to what you have been reading
- Assignment -By answering questions, submitting them to a tutor, then getting feedback from the tutor, you confirm that you are on the right track, but more than that, you are guided to consider what you have been studying in different ways, broadening your perspective and reinforcing what you are learning about
- Other - Your work in a course rarely stops at just the above four parts. Different courses and different students will need further learning experiences. Your set task or assignment may lead to other things, interacting with tutors or people in industry, reviewing additional reference materials or something else. We treat every student as an individual and supplement their learning needs as the occasion requires.
- We provide access to and encourage you to use a range of supplementary services including an online student room, including online library; student bookshop, newsletters, social media etc.
- We provide a "student manual", that is a quick solution to most problems that might occur
Recognition
- ACS has a highly respected international profile: by employers and academics alike. People are more aware of us than many other distance education schools –just do a search for “horticulture distance education courses” and see what comes up on the internet; or search for ACS Distance education on Facebook or Linked in, and see how many connections we have compared to other colleges.
- Recognised by International Accreditation and Recognition Council
- ACS has been educating people around the world since 1979
- Over 100,000 have now studied ACS courses, across more than 150 countries
- Formal affiliations with colleges in five countries
- A faculty of over 40 internationally renowned academics –books written by our staff used by universities and colleges around the world.
Extra Books or Reference Materials
- The course provides you with everything that you need to complete it successfully.
- Assignments may ask you to look for extra information (eg. by contacting nurseries, visiting gardens or searching the internet), but our school's resources and tutors are always available as a back up. If you hit a "roadblock", we can quickly send you additional information or provide expert advice over the phone or email; to keep you moving in your studies.
- Some students choose to buy additional references, to take their learning beyond what is essential for the course. If a student wants to buy books, we operate an online bookshop offering ebooks written by staff at the school. Student discounts are available if you are studying with us. The range of e books available is being expanded rapidly, with at least one new ebook being written and published by our staff every month. See www.acsebook.com
