72" Piranha Tooth Bar Install and Review!

[wsc9tt]

I find myself very confused by the Ratchet Rake. It appears to be the same price as a heavy bolt-on tooth bar, but not as flexible. It does give you the extra set of teeth facing down, but often you can just rotate the bucket. The tooth bar can be left on for more uses.

But also why the piranha bar instead of teeth? It appears the piranha is better for removing shrubs and ripping out vegetation, but some angled teeth would be better at digging in heavy dirt/clay.

Then again I have never used any of them, so someone educate me.

 

[HarryN]

Thanks for the review. It's much more important to hear from a user like you rather than the manufacturers propaganda!
Look forward to more details as you use it more.

 

[dakotagun]

think I need both, the Piranha and the Ratchet. I don't dig lots with the bucket, but if I needed to, the Pbar looks like the ticket. mostly I'd use the RRake as a tool to drag/rake the gravel driveway/road and to prepare the yard for grass seeding. but it doesn't seem to me that you'd leave the RRake on during any kind of bucket use?

 

[PapaPerk]

Mostly clearing ~20 years worth of dead / wind fall & neglect from ~20 acres of woods. I liked the RR website stump removal demo, though the stump looked a little "aged" in the video. Not sure how well it will work on a fresh green rooted stump.

How big of stumps? Yeah I don't know about that. I think you may need a stump bucket or backhoe for stump removal.

 

[square1]

How big of stumps?

Most are 6' or less of the ones to take out. The aren't very many bigger ones in the area I'm most concerned about.

 

[jerrybob]

Bought the Piranha last year.....easy install and very well built. I have used the bar to clear lots of blackberry's and have dug out a side hill along my driveway. Worked great in both applications. My bar was custom fitted for my bucket.......the folks at Piranha were great to deal with.

 

[PapaPerk]

I find myself very confused by the Ratchet Rake. It appears to be the same price as a heavy bolt-on tooth bar, but not as flexible. It does give you the extra set of teeth facing down, but often you can just rotate the bucket. The tooth bar can be left on for more uses.

But also why the piranha bar instead of teeth? It appears the piranha is better for removing shrubs and ripping out vegetation, but some angled teeth would be better at digging in heavy dirt/clay.

Then again I have never used any of them, so someone educate me.

Yes the piranha is far more useful than the RR. Its great for digging and removal of vegetation. It has very sharp teeth all the way across which makes it excellent for cutting into dirt and sod. Plus it's flat bottomed so you can still smooth with it.

That RR is a specialized tool. You can not scoop dirt with it while installed. However it's great for dragging on gravel drives and prepping seed beds and ripping out vegetation without disturbing base dirt too much.

 

[PapaPerk]

Thanks for the review. It's much more important to hear from a user like you rather than the manufacturers propaganda!
Look forward to more details as you use it more.

You are welcome. So far I'm very happy with purchase but then again I only have about .5 hours of testing with bar! (0:

It is certainly better for digging than my standard edged bucket. Much easier to control and cut into dirt. Similar to using a dull and sharp pocket knife.

 

[PapaPerk]

think I need both, the Piranha and the Ratchet. I don't dig lots with the bucket, but if I needed to, the Pbar looks like the ticket. mostly I'd use the RRake as a tool to drag/rake the gravel driveway/road and to prepare the yard for grass seeding. but it doesn't seem to me that you'd leave the RRake on during any kind of bucket use?

That's correct. You would remove the rake when scooping with bucket. It's awesome on gravel driveways. It brings up rock and tears out humps. Can rejuvenate driveway without having to add more rock.

Here's some pics before and after RR.

 

[newbury]

Most are 6' or less of the ones to take out. The aren't very many bigger ones in the area I'm most concerned about.

What do you mean by 6'? is that the diameter above ground? If so your area has some big trees.

Bought the Piranha last year.....easy install and very well built. I have used the bar to clear lots of blackberry's and have dug out a side hill along my driveway. Worked great in both applications. My bar was custom fitted for my bucket.......the folks at Piranha were great to deal with.

The ease of the install depends on if you get things which fit easy or not. PapaPerk didn't have to drill thru the reinforcement. I did. Lot more time spent drilling.
Note to potential buyers - give Harry the dimensions of how far back your bucket is reinforced and he can probably make the "ears" a little longer so you DON'T have to drill thru the reinforcements.
PapaPerk didn't use a washer and put the bolt head on the outside.

I put the bolt head on the inside and used washers on the outside.

Yes the piranha is far more useful than the RR. Its great for digging and removal of vegetation. It has very sharp teeth all the way across which makes it excellent for cutting into dirt and sod. Plus it's flat bottomed so you can still smooth with it.

That RR is a specialized tool. You can not scoop dirt with it while installed. However it's great for dragging on gravel drives and prepping seed beds and ripping out vegetation without disturbing base dirt too much.

Please don't start an implement war. There are several threads here praising the RR and I think some users never take them off. But they are a different tool. It's like comparing a rotary brush cutter with a scythe.

Also per 1 comment - tooth bars are PROBABLY better for pure digging, especially in rocky areas. Piranhas work GREAT cutting thru vine and bramble roots. I try to cut them just under the surface. I've about 400 acres of land with virtually no rocks in Mississippi, and about 35 acres with rocks (glacial till) in Vermont. Rockless won.