Kubota U17 auxiliary hydraulic relief valve.

[Ronster]

Sodo, My dealer does not have the unit yet, so I cannot send the pics. On your machine you have a relief valve for each circuit? And they are adjustable? What brand of thumb did you buy?

 

[Sodo]

Ronster my thumb is HECK brand but the install looks like it was DIY. The thumb is kinda too wide for the little 2ton machine. Sometimes it helps being wider, other times it hinders.

I havent yet discovered the relief valve for the aux circuit. Someday when theres time I will try to follow hoses to it. I dont know if that method will work as internal passageways in the valve stack may confuse my search.

 

[DavidPR]

I have a U17 and I've just recieved the Amulet hydraulic thumb. The paperwork said that I "must" install secondary relief valves in the clamp circuit in both directions. On the thumb it says to set them psi to 1800 psi. The paperwork says set the psi to 70% of the bucket circuit relief pressure.

 

[Peter 315]

I have a U17 and I've just recieved the Amulet hydraulic thumb. The paperwork said that I "must" install secondary relief valves and set them to 1800 psi.

If the machine was factory plumbed for a thumb its should have a relief valve already . The bucket should push the thumb back when you close the bucket and not bend the rod...

 

[DavidPR]

I don't think it was plumbed for a thumb, but it is plumbed to use an auger or a rock buster...both of which Kubota sells, but they don't sell a thumb for the U17.

The length of the thumb rod is just so long, and I don't know, but I'm guessing that the thumb will move down to clamp (length) for only as far as I depress the pedal (before it reaches its full extension). So if I extend the thumb and curl the bucket to the thumb I should be able to control the amount of pressure that way. I have a mechanical thumb on the machine right now, but it's a hassle getting off and on to extend and retract it. I should be able to use the hydraulic thumb the same way as the mechanical thumb and eliminating the getting off and back on.

 

[DavidPR]

There's a discussion about adding a hydraulic thumb on a Kubota U17 on another site and the guy said that the hydraulic shop recommended a crossflow valve with return to tank be installed. I'm not sure what that is, but it cost him $1000 back in 2016.