Dirt scoop

[sandalwood]

Well I have decided on B2410 with 60" midmount mower. Unfortunately the budget ran out before my wish list did and there is no FEL for this year. I just know that I'm going to want to do something more with the tractor than mow grass this summer so I began to look at dirt scoops. They seem like a poor mans FEL (with the obvious limitations) but at 1/10 of the cost.

Tried several tractor places here in eastern Canada but nobody carries them anymore. Found 2 on the net, King Kutter and Worksaver. The 30" King Kutter weighs 272 lbs and 30" Worksaver apparently 178 lbs. Does anyone have either of these models and have any comments regarding quality/duarbility? The almost 100 lb difference in weight made me wonder about how rugged the Worksaver model is.

Want to have something to move gravel and dirt. One dealer suggested that 30" scoop too large for B2410 and I should look at 24" scoop. Anyone with experience (good/bad) with either size? Any other manufacturers out there?

Thanks

Lyle

 

[Will]

Lyle,
I've got a B2100 with a 30" dirt scoop. It is the no name variety and cost just $203 new. A 24" scoop would be too small, you'd regret it immediately. You'll need some weight on the front of the tractor (I've got 150lbs) if you want to pick up a full load of rocks, but with the superior 3pt lifting capacity of the 2410, you'll be able to lift anything that fits in the scoop easily. Is the heavy duty model worth the price - no idea. The cheapo version I've got is pretty rugged, and I can't think of anything that I'd want to do that could mess it up. For what it's worth, if you are planning on moving piles of stuff from one spot to another, a box blade is way faster than the dirt scoop.

By the way I'm trading up, I've got a B2410HSD with 60" midmower and a FEL on order, and I hope to have them in a week.

 

[jyoutz]

Sandlewood, sure wish you lived closer. I have a REAL HEAVY DUTY 30" scoop that I have used on my JD 4100. Just bought a loader so I would like to sell it. They do work great for what they are, and you can get alot of work done with them. They biggest pain I have found is that scoops tie up your 3-point, so you can't do any blading of dirt as you go, like you can with a FEL. So it goes like this: scoop, dump, scoop, dump, ect... remove scoop, install blade-grade and level, remove blade, install scoop, move more dirt, and so on. Other than getting a work-out by changing implements, they do work fine. A quick attach hitch of some sort would sure make life easier with these. Get a heavy one if you want to do any cutting with it. For moving loose material, the light duty one will work, but cutting hard dirt requires a heavy well-made implement. For what it's worth, I have looked at the King Kutter scoop and it seems to be fairly heavy and well-made. I've only seen the Worksaver ones on the website.

 

[Thomas]

That great your purchasing a B2410.
You right..one gotta take the most important things first w/out damaging the check book.

I believe there was a posting by gentleman on Saturday into Sunday that uses his rear scoop,not only for dirt projects but to haul logs,and I bet he could give you some pros & cons.

Thomas..NH /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[sandalwood]

Will,

I'm envious of the pending arrival, especially the FEL. My tractor is sitting at the dealer because I don't have any place to put it yet. Still at least 3' of snow on the ground here and at least another month of winter. I suspect I'll eventually give in and have him deliver it to my garage (just park the truck outside).

Thanks for the insight on the scoop.

Lyle

 

[sandalwood]

Thanks evryone for the suggestions. I'll let you know what the final decision is.

Lyle

 

[RobertN]

I had a Leinbach before I got my loader on the B8200 Kubota. It worked great for $200! My only though is you can not lift things very high. Otherwise, it did a lot of work. Ya, you have to switch between it and the scraper, back and forth. But, if you're on a budget, you can do a lot of switches on that $200 scopp when compared to the $$$ of that $3000 loader.

RobertN in Shingle Springs Calif

 

[GlennT]

I have a 30-inch dirt scoop that I use with my JD Model 670 (18 HP, about 1,800 pounds). I attach the dirt scoop to a Land Pride Quick Hitch. Even with 200 pounds of suitcase weights on the front, the front end comes off the ground with a full scoop of dirt or gravel. It works well although slow; mine is made by Modern and is quite durable. One thing that hasn't been mentioned. If you move dirt, gravel, whatever for an hour or two, you get the darndest pain in the neck from turning around and looking backwards that much. And of course next you get a pain in the back. Naturally, the fact that I'm in my mid 60s has nothing to do with it. Anyway, I'm pleased with my scoop and use it often.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I have the King Kutter 30" scoop which I use on my NH TC29D, which weights about 2500lbs. It works real good - now. I had to file down the pins to get them to fit my 3pt arms. The first time I tried to use it, it wouldn't dump. With it full of dirt, there was too much resistance and the trip lever wouldn't slide. The bolt that the bottom of the trip lever slides against was too tight and wouldn't allow the roller that goes over the bolt to roll. It's not a very precision fit and I'm not sure if they intended for it to roll or slide, but I modified it so it will roll. I removed it, greased it real good, and put the bolt back on and didn't tighten it down as much so the roller can roll. I also put a piece of treated lumber in the top brace so the pull cord will stay back a little farther, creating a better angle so the pull cord (use nylon so it will slide easy) will pull back on the top of the trip lever a little more, rather than straight up. Now it works great. It still doesn't hold a whole lot, so the 24" would probably be a mistake. I got mine at Quality Farm and Fleet. King Kutter stuff seems strudy, but they don't pay a lot of attention to detail. My brother bought one of their bush hogs and had to make minor modifications to the 3pt arms to get it to work right, but now it works good.