Questioning Lift

[woodlandfarms]

I think one of the gags I am going to build this winter is pressure guages for my system.. Put it on the list is what the wife says...

Anyway, so when we were home for Thanksgiving I moved some dirt to level off a section of road. The soil is clay, wet as all heck. The bucket I use is a larger bucket than stock... My lift capacity is 1200lbs I think.

Anyway... So I would ram the dirt pile, get a scoop in which would fill the bucket half way (I mean fill it if I pushed it all the way back and leveled it out). And I could not get any more lift. the bucket would just stay in the position. To me it seems that half a bucket of wet clay should not way 700lbs.

So, I was thinking of finding / borrowing some sort of scale and bolting to the ground and lifting the other end to see if I can get 1200lbs of lift. Does this make sense or is my drug addiction addling my mind?

I do plan to replace my cylinders this fall to get more like 1800lbs of lift...

Carl

 

[J_J]

I think one of the gags I am going to build this winter is pressure guages for my system.. Put it on the list is what the wife says...

Anyway, so when we were home for Thanksgiving I moved some dirt to level off a section of road. The soil is clay, wet as all heck. The bucket I use is a larger bucket than stock... My lift capacity is 1200lbs I think.

Anyway... So I would ram the dirt pile, get a scoop in which would fill the bucket half way (I mean fill it if I pushed it all the way back and leveled it out). And I could not get any more lift. the bucket would just stay in the position. To me it seems that half a bucket of wet clay should not way 700lbs.

So, I was thinking of finding / borrowing some sort of scale and bolting to the ground and lifting the other end to see if I can get 1200lbs of lift. Does this make sense or is my drug addiction addling my mind?

I do plan to replace my cylinders this fall to get more like 1800lbs of lift...

Carl

Carl, I had the same problem. I rebuilt the cylinders, thinking that was the problem. It turned out to be the steering and lift pump. I replaced it for about $115. The internal parts were worn, and would bypass some of the fluid, giving me about 50 %. I now have a pressure gage in the lift system to monitor the pressure.

 

[J_J]

Carl, To test your lift capacity, here are some facts for consideration.

gal of water= 8.34 lbs.
55 gal drum of water=459 lbs plus the weight of the drum.
standard cement block= 38 lbs.
pallet of 31.5 cement blocks= 1200 lbs plus the weight of pallet.
wet clay= 109 lbs per cuft.

 

[woodlandfarms]

Well, based on 109 lbs I could easily have had 500lbs in the bucket... Hmmmm.....

 

[Barryh]

I think one of the gags I am going to build this winter is pressure guages for my system.. Put it on the list is what the wife says...

Anyway, so when we were home for Thanksgiving I moved some dirt to level off a section of road. The soil is clay, wet as all heck. The bucket I use is a larger bucket than stock... My lift capacity is 1200lbs I think.

Anyway... So I would ram the dirt pile, get a scoop in which would fill the bucket half way (I mean fill it if I pushed it all the way back and leveled it out). And I could not get any more lift. the bucket would just stay in the position. To me it seems that half a bucket of wet clay should not way 700lbs.

So, I was thinking of finding / borrowing some sort of scale and bolting to the ground and lifting the other end to see if I can get 1200lbs of lift. Does this make sense or is my drug addiction addling my mind?

I do plan to replace my cylinders this fall to get more like 1800lbs of lift...

Carl

Carl, here's a link to help build your pressure gage. You really don't need to go this route, there are easier simpler ways to make a pressure gage. This would make a very nice one though, looks like it was well thought out. I plan on putting one together myself this spring.
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/owning-operating/111787-pimp-my-tractor.html#post1278466

 

[J_J]

Carl, here's a link to help build your pressure gage. You really don't need to go this route, there are easier simpler ways to make a pressure gage. This would make a very nice one though, looks like it was well thought out. I plan on putting one together myself this spring.
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/owning-operating/111787-pimp-my-tractor.html#post1278466

Barry/Carl, I installed a tee connector and a female quick disconnect in my lift circuit. Four fittings and a pressure gage is all you need. This could be done through out the hydraulic system. Just plug in the pressure gage into the section that you want to check, or keep a pressure gage in all three hydraulic circuits. If you are really serious about monitoring the pressure, run a 1/4 hose from each tee fitting up to the dash which would have three pressure gages installed. You are looking at under $125.00 for the whole setup. Keep this in mind, although the hydraulic system is running, or has the capability to generate pressure, if you are not doing work or using the hydraulic system, don't expect to see max pressure. You will expect to see from 0 psi up to the relief valve setting, and including peaks or spikes in the hydraulic system.

 

[woodlandfarms]

JJ, Where did you put the T connectors? Right at the pump or somewhere else?

Also, on my PT when you change the oil filter you let the air out. I was wondering if I could just plump a tube up to that outlet and put a guage at th end or am I really missing something (I usually am).

Back to the nearly original question. By bolting down a scale, is this a legit way to test my lifting force or am I missing something. With this scale I guess I could test my pulling force as well...

Carl

 

[J_J]

JJ, Where did you put the T connectors? Right at the pump or somewhere else?

Also, on my PT when you change the oil filter you let the air out. I was wondering if I could just plump a tube up to that outlet and put a guage at th end or am I really missing something (I usually am).

Back to the nearly original question. By bolting down a scale, is this a legit way to test my lifting force or am I missing something. With this scale I guess I could test my pulling force as well...

Carl

Carl, you could plumb a tee fitting into the line gong to the wheel motors to check that circuit. It could be at the pump or down stream.

I put a tee on the back of the joystick valve, in-line with the hyd lines going to the lift cylinders.


On the scale thing. That is possible if you can find a scale with the limits you need. Be careful when pulling that much on a single point, you could bend something. The bucket design is to spread out the load across 60 in.

Using something like the picture below, you could hook a chain to a scale and lift to test your lifting ability. Just beware of chain coming loose and flying around.

 

[Barryh]

Barry/Carl, I installed a tee connector and a female quick disconnect in my lift circuit. Four fittings and a pressure gage is all you need. This could be done through out the hydraulic system. Just plug in the pressure gage into the section that you want to check, or keep a pressure gage in all three hydraulic circuits. If you are really serious about monitoring the pressure, run a 1/4 hose from each tee fitting up to the dash which would have three pressure gages installed. You are looking at under $125.00 for the whole setup. Keep this in mind, although the hydraulic system is running, or has the capability to generate pressure, if you are not doing work or using the hydraulic system, don't expect to see max pressure. You will expect to see from 0 psi up to the relief valve setting, and including peaks or spikes in the hydraulic system.

I just want to make a simple gage 1/4 inch hose with a male / female connector to plug in for testing my loader / other hydraulics . I'm thinking of shimming up the relief valve ( just a little bit ) for more loader lift along with larger cylinders this summer. Do you have a picture of your gage setup? Guess I'll check Surplus Center. Thanks for the info.

 

[ponytug]

Don't discount how heavy clay is, and you have the Monster Bucket, which probably weighs in a little more than the PT bucket.

Per JJ's numbers, a 60" wide bucket 1' deep in wet clay 28" deep would be right at that 1200lb mark.

Last weekend, we were digging wet clay out to repair a broken main water line, and the power trac part of it was a piece of cake. The last 2-3" that had to be hand dug was the pits. The clay was unbelievably heavy, and then it stayed stuck to the shovel, as you banged the shovel on the ground to dislodge the clay. The PT dug 30' of trench 24" deep, and 3' across in about twenty minutes, mostly because I'm still learning- the 4N1 did it in about three scoops, and then a rip back for width. Mentally, the PT paid for itself in that one project.

All the best,

Peter