Wanted - Grapple recommendation for Kioti CK20S HST

[crabjoe]

Yes, I know there seem to be many, many threads on grapples, but most of the ones I see are for larger CUTs.

Years ago, there was the Millonzi lightweight grapple. That would be my choice, but they have long sense gone, so I'm looking for one comparable. The closest thing I've seen is the EA 50" Wicked grapple, but I'd love a larger opening. 30"s just seems a bit on the short side. It should have been built with a 36" minimum ... and 40"s would have been grand....

Ok... So what should I be looking at or is the EA 50" the best compromise? I'm looking for lightweight because I need to maintain as much lift capacity as possible, but with a large opening for brush...

BTW, I've seen other grapples with a larger opening but they're all 350 to 450 lbs. Do you think that'll take to too much away from my lift capacity (I've already lost some because I have a SSQA) or will the odds of me noticing be slim to none with a small grapple? I know that EA makes a 54" grapple with a 37" opening @ about 350lbs, but I'd like a light weight 48" grapple with a big mouth..

Thanks for your suggestions!

 

[davrow]

crabjoe, that seems to be it at the current time... "small" opening lightweight EA, or "larger" opening heavier by lots of folks.

But many people here seem to have the EA... maybe you need to ask: "once a person has used the small opening EA do they still feel it is too small?"

 

[jimmysisson]

I have a Millonzi 5' wide twin lid. I've never noticed how far it opens, really. Only thing I wish sometimes is it would close tight on smaller logs or such. If you have to take 2-3 more "bites" in a morning's work, who cares? I don't do commercial work with it but don't think I'd care then either. Brush is usually awkward- you get used to rolling it into a bunch then lifting.
Jim

 

[crabjoe]

Thanks for the input guys!!

What do you think of the EA 54" compact grapple with the 37" opening? At 350 lbs, do you think losing 75 to 100 lbs in lift capacity might be too much versus their 50" grapple on my little tractor?

I've always heard people say that the CK20S's lift capacity was underrated, but I'm not sure it is. A couple years ago, I had to unload a large tool box with my pallet forks and it felt like it was struggling. I also picked up a rim clamp tire changer with it and it was struggling with that too..

 

[Rocky Hoffler]

very happy with my EA grapple how much does your bucket weigh by itself? that would help me in making a decision on grapple weight.

 

[RSKY]

I also have a CK20S and after looking at the prices for grapples, very high, and the weight taken from my lift capacity, a lot, I decided it was not worth the cost. I bought four bolt on bumper receivers from Harbor Freight, four pieces of 36" long 1/8" thick wall square tubing, and some heavy duty drill bits, nuts, bolts, etc. Drilled eight holes in my bucket, mounted the bumper receivers under the bucket, cut slots in the ends of the tubing and beat em down to a point with a sledge hammer. Put it all together with good hardware and Wa-la.... heavy duty forks. All for less than $100. Using an impact wrench I can mount/dismount them in ten minutes. And I have around $1200-$1600 more to spend on something else.

 

[Snowback]

You will love the EA grapple if you go that route. For your machine the 50" compact would probably be perfect. Perhaps you could get away with the 54" single lid unit. I run the slightly larger 60" that has the larger mouth opening, and I have never found it to be a limiting factor for my work in the brush, roots, and woods. My 2538 has a 1,634 # loader rating, so I was comfortable to take on the extra hundred pounds. If my quick search is correct, you have aprox 1,076 # loader capacity. That is healthy, but you would still be giving up approximately 10% of your lift capacity when stepping up to the next size range of single lid EA grapples.

For a really good and proper answer you should call EA and ask for Travis. They are happy to talk to potential customers. He has dealt with thousands of these transactions and can give you good and honest feedback based on prior customer testimonials. He talked my through my search and did not press me to purchase something more expensive. EA is motivated to have happy customers. I think they did a great job with both the product and their service. Good luck with your decision!

50" wide with 30" opening on the left vs the next size up 54" or 60" wide on the right (Like mine in picture above)

 

[biodegraded]

Crabjoe, you're in a tough spot. For my uses, the wider opening is a "big deal". Which actually surprises me. I didn't think it would be, but after 75 hours or so with my EA 54" single lid (37" opening), there have been a number of times that I'd wish it could open even more. A common example is when I'm going in to tear out living brush, which in my parts usually means 10' blackberry patches. I have found the most effective angle for the lower teeth is pretty much at the angle of the front chamfer on the tines. But the lid then is far enough forward to push the canes back for less effective cane capture for ripping out.

Of the other grapple parameters, I have found no need for anything wider that my 54" even though my tractor can effectively mount a much wider unit. (My DL135 loader specs 2400# at the pins.) Lid clamp force has never been an issue for me. All I use it for is to hold stuff in place so it doesn't bounce out when driving over uneven terrain. I don't use it like a claw.

For what it's worth. I can answer, in hindsight, that for me, the wider opening would be a good tradeoff for 100# less capacity. I would trade more trips because I could schlep less weight per trip for that wider opening. But that's me, knowing exactly how I use my grapple. And maybe I'd be singing a different tune if I didn't have 2400 pounds lift to play with. I dunno. Good luck.

 

[crabjoe]

biodegraded,

That's the issue.. My CK20S is rated at just over a 1000#s like snowback stated, but in reality I have less because that's at the pins. I already have a ATI universal QA on it, so that's about a 100# loss there, plus it causes any attachments to be moved forward of the pins..

Based on what I've lifted (heaviest was a 550# rim clamp tire changer) with a set of 42" Brado pallet forks, I'm thinking I will have close to 600lbs of lift available with the 50" Wicked grapple..

Any idea on what 500lbs of fresh wood looks like? If I could visualize how much wood 500 lbs might be, I might go with the 54" grapple @ 349 lbs.

The EA 50" compact would be perfect if it just had a larger opening. I wonder if EA might modify the 50" grapple to allow a larger opening... and if they did, I wonder how much weight it might add to do it.. I'd love a 36" or more opening...