New to the Forums ...........Saying HI

[bajapointe]

Hey Guys
I just bought a TC35DA today.

It has a FEL,72" finish mower,72" Box Blade, and a Pulverizer.

I bought it used. It has 362HRS on it.

I plan to put it through its paces this week. After I read the Manual of course.

I do have on question to start with. What are the two buttons on the joystick FEL control valve. One has a rabbit and th eother a turtle.

Also I'm a little confused about the Bucket neutral position.

Bare with me I'm a NOOB here

Thanks a bunch.

 

[MadDogDriver]

I do have on question to start with. What are the two buttons on the joystick FEL control valve. One has a rabbit and the other a turtle.

Also I'm a little confused about the Bucket neutral position.

Welcome to TBN!! Nice BLUE tractor too.

If you don't have an owner's manual or want one in pdf on your computer, you can download it here courtesy of gregkabob & maxfior (thanks guys):
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/nh-owning-operating/98256-owners-manuals-tc35-40-45da.html

The rabbit and turtle buttons give you on-the-go HI/LO speed control from the FEL joy stick. Press the rabbit for high range and the turtle for low range. They work with your HST range lever in either I or II, effectively giving you 4 speed ranges. They perform the same function as the switch that's on your right fender and you can see the corresponding light illuminate as you press each button. Most of us use it when filling the bucket and needing the extra power by shifting down into low, then as you back out of the pile pressing the rabbit into high range to give you your speed back without taking your hand off the joy stick.

Not sure what you mean by Bucket neutral position, unless you mean the float position. As you push forward on your joy stick you will feel a detent. If you keep your joy stick at that position the hyd pressure on the booms of your FEL will continue down and will actually lift the front tires off the ground. (BE CAREFUL how your bucket is oriented when doing that. Don't have the Bucket in the dump position when doing that). If you push the FEL controller through that detent the booms of your FEL will no longer force the front tires off the ground, but will allow the bucket to "float" on the ground.

There is another detent on the joy stick that you'll feel when pushing the joy stick outboard to the right. Moving the joy stick to the detent will uncurl the bucket in the dump direction, moving the joy stick all the way outboard past that detent will dump the bucket very quickly.

Is this what you were referring to, or are you referring to the metal rod on your right boom that helps you know when the bucket is level on the ground?

 

[jbrumberg]

Welcome to TBN ! Nice rig - Jay

 

[kozak]

bajapointe,

Nice looking machine & lots of implements.....I'm jealous !! I only have 230 hrs on my tractor & yours looks better.

MadDogDriver covered your questions nicely so................HAPPY TRACTORING & stay SAFE !!

Vic

 

[Soundguy]

Welcome. Nice looking machine you got there. Looks ready to tackle all you can throw at it.

Soundguy

 

[bajapointe]

Thanks Gentlemen,

I took the tractor out for the first time Yesterday. WOW!! It sure made short work of cutting the lawn. I couldn't believe the difference it made. No more lower back pain from being tossed around on my little Cub Cadet.

I learned pretty quickly what the Turtle/Rabbit switch did. I don't think I could live without it actually.

Much Thanks to MadDogDriver for the intel on the joystick. I thought there was something wrong with my machine when the front wheels wouldn't lift off the ground with the joystick pushed all the way forward. I guess I was pushing into "float" mode.

One question though. Why wouldn't I want the bucket poised at the "dump"
position when trying to lift the front wheels? Would this damage the FEL?


All in alll I am super impressed with my new toy. I cleared some brush yesterday. It sure beat my original intent of using a chainsaw.

BajaPointe

 

[MadDogDriver]

One question though. Why wouldn't I want the bucket poised at the "dump" position when trying to lift the front wheels? Would this damage the FEL?

YES, it could damage your FEL.

??? Why would you want to lift the tractor front end into the air with your bucket in the dump position? You are putting tremendous pressure on your FEL bucket's curl cylinders and could potentially bend one or both cylinders.

Take a look at the link I provided in my previous post. It not only includes your tractor's operating manual, but the 16LA/17LA FEL operator's manual as well. It describes how to use your FEL, and gives many cautions on what not to do with it. Here's the direct link to the manuals, Index of /tractor/NH/MANUAL

One of the most common reasons the FEL would be forced down with the wheels off the ground is when you're backgrading. With the bucket level, the heel of the bucket will receiving most of the pressure while backing up, and is engineered to handle that stress. If your bucket is in the dump position with any significant downward pressure and you travel in either direction you are setting yourself up for damaging the FEL. Please read the FEL manual. You'll find a lot of good info and operating techniques in it.


Glad you're having fun with your tractor. Hope you get to enjoy it for a long time. It may seem to be indestructible, but it's not made of Kryptonite. (wish it were too though)

 

[bajapointe]

."...........................and could potentially bend one or both cylinders"

Alrighty then. I will definitely not be doing that. Thanks for the heads up.

I will read the manual before I go any further.

Thanks again

 

[MadDogDriver]

No problemo Have fun and get some action pics when u can. Also take some time and fill out your profile so we can know more about what you have to deal with and can help the answers be in better context for you.

 

[jinman]

One question though. Why wouldn't I want the bucket poised at the "dump"
position when trying to lift the front wheels? Would this damage the FEL?

Congratulations on your tractor purchase Bajapointe. I noticed that you have a 17LA loader, but you didn't mention having SuperSteer. Your tractor does have SS, doesn't it? You'll also have to tell us how you like the turf tires. Most of us have R4s because that just seems to be the type most often ordered with the NH CUTs.

I'm not sure where MadDogDriver's loader manual mentions not lifting the tractor with the bucket curl, but I could not find that in my manual. I use my bucket curled down anytime I want to raise the front tires for removal or maintenance. As long as you are not moving, I don't see any harm to curling the bucket down and lifting the front end. If you are moving, you have to be extremely careful with the bucket curled, especially going forward. If you catch the lip of the bucket on a stump or rock, you will probably pop a hydraulic hose. I don't think you will damage the cylinders, but I can tell you from experience that you WILL pop a hose.

As far as backdragging goes, I'd say you would be alright if you don't curl the bucket beyond about 40º. Most of the time when backdragging, I don't have the bucket curled anymore than that about 20º down. If you go to the 90º position, be very careful that you are only dragging loose sand or gravel.
If you are moving and hit an immovable object, the shock load would probably pop a hose or in an extreme case it might bend a hydraulic cylinder.

One more thing...
Your hydraulics has a pressure relief valve in the circuit only when your joystick is not centered (as when lifting a load). When the joystick is centered and the bucket position is held constant, there is no relief valve in the circuit because the joystick valve isolates the system. If you hit something immovable in this case, something will blow or you'll come to a very sudden stop. Of course, if you are backdragging, what normally happens is the front of the tractor lifts and you just get a little bounce. Knowing how your hydraulics work can help you determine what is safe and good practice.