Question about a grapple

[PineRidge]

Do you think that a double piloted check valve would be a welcome addition to a grapple cylinder?

Have seen a few posts here from TBN members using grapples where the jaws started to relax once they got off the control stick and were traveling with the loaded grapple.

What's your opinion? Would it make sense to add the check to the hydraulic circuit, or a waste of time and money?

They do work well with a T&T configuration but when we talked with a grapple manufacturer they didn't see any advantage in adding one.

 

[stevenf]

Pineridge I have a BTR Grapple rake from FFC it is a wonderful piece of equipment but YES I think a check valve would be a nice addition I am sometimes transporting trees and stuff a mile or better and every once in a while I have to reclamp the pile because you can tell they are loosening their grip. Add the check valve you won't be unhappy as a matter of fact I think I'll look into it as one of these times I'm going to forget to tighten the grapples and loose a load. What I can't believe is FFC didn't forsee this problem and include it for the money I spent.
Steve

 

[ACMan]

I use a Markham grapple rake, I too thought it was relaxing its grip. What I did is grab/pinch blocks of brocken concrete with grapple jaws opening straight down and carried it accross the property to a dumpster to see if it would fall out due to loosening grip... they never did. However with trees and brush its seemed to happend. What I concluded was that the jaws crushed the debris then as I traveled the load would settle enough for the brush and trees to loosen. I just occasionally hit the lever to further crush the load. My jaws were just going as far as they could and stopping...it didnt have continous pressure past the point my lever put it. I could be wrong or it could be that I have 80% steel tubing and less hose flex. Who knows. I would suggest getting the grapple and trying it out before buying anything else.

 

[texbaylea]

I have been considering this very thing and have made several posts about it. I am clearing in an area with mature mustang grape vines. They vary from 2-3 inches up to nearly 6 inches in diameter. When they run along the ground they really anchor themselves. Several times I have gotten a good grip on a vine with a bucket full of brush and when backing off had the vines pull out. The grapple has popped up, releasing the vine then snapped back down. I have been attributing this to the expansion of the long run of hose to the grapple. If that is truly the case a check valve at the cylinder should eliminate this problem.

I am currently looking at what is available and will post more when I have the information.

Vernon

 

[PineRidge]

The perfect scenario would be a control valve with zero leakage and hydraulic hoses that don’t allow for any expansion. In this case a grapple could function without the additional need for a double piloted check valve.

Some control valve leakage can be expected. If you raise your full loader bucket and come back to it in an hour that there’s a good chance that it isn’t going to be in the same position as when you left it.

Double piloted check valves are installed on top and tilt cylinders to prevent the implement from drift while you are working with it, and this same feature in our opinion would be a welcome addition to a grapple.

So why don’t the current manufacturers offer this feature as an addition to their products? Could it be that they aren’t getting feedback from the customers that have purchased their products and used them out in the field?

If it’s purely a case of keeping manufacturing costs low, then it would seem to me that the check valve might be marketed as an additional cost upgrade so you could still buy the grapple in the configuration that you want and not have to mess with adding it at a later time.

 

[JASTN70D]

My 2 Cents

I must say that after well over 150 hours of use of the grapple I have really never felt it was a big deal to re tighten the load every couple of minutes if need be.

I have never had the grapple "POP" open just loosen its grip some. And I have probably 35 feet of rubber hydraulic hose to it.

I think the load shift is more likely to be problem. Seeing that the check valve would not close the teeth if the load shifted (This seems the biggest cause of loose grip) I am not sure you would not be re tightening the grip often anyway.

I would like to try the check valve though just to see how it would work with the grapple

 

[PineRidge]

John once we get the front hydraulics finished on the TC I'm going to pay you a neighborly visit and try that "bad boy" grapple out that you have on your TN. Since we both use the quick attach changing it over won't take but 5 minutes. If I do will we need to return it once we have tried it out? /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[JASTN70D]

Yes you do have to return it.! /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif But you do not have to remove it from the tractor you can just head out back with it and finish up the 10 acres of clearing. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif I will not complain one bit if I should find all that brush in a big pile one day. I mean you do want to try it out don't you.? /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[PineRidge]

John that still sounds like a good idea to me, after all, you're furnishing the toys and the playground. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Thanks for the kind offer. We are getting the hydraulics together a bit more each day, still waiting on the latching solenoid that Junkman recommended, it's coming in from Detroit.

 

[ACMan]

I just had the pleasure of demolishing a old 16'x20' shed with plywood flooring. The shed was built by the prev. owner who was an electrician. It had a breaker box and romax wire running all through the shed. After I smashed it with my dozer I then used the grapple to remove debris and through into a 20 yard dumbster. At times I would grip a partial wall with romax and pull sometimes the wire would break loose, but most of the time it would actually tilt the tractor enough to scare the ....well you know what ..out of me. It never lost its grip. Usually had to get off the tractor and cut the cable.

Besides the grip issue another reason I wrote this is to warn: when pulling something up/out with a grapple up be carefull not to pull the tractor over. It happens real fast and real easy. Especially if in a slight angle. The wire would be slidding then all of a sudden it would stop and the tractor would tilt forward or worse sideways.

By the way thanks to the grapple I cleaned up the mess in one day.