If you have Toolcat questions, ask them here...

[yellowdogsvc]

seems that the rollback issue is minor and can be overcome with practice. Sure, I will miss the power of my s300 when mowing but I think the comfort in the toolcat will make up for that. I hope!

Anything I should watch out for on a B series? I have I believe an August '05 manufacture B series with serial # starting at 4247121... Hopefully it has enough updates that I won't have many problems with it. It even has the pto. Anyone find a benefit of using a PTO driven mower vs. the brushcat or similar? Luckily my brushcat is old stock and isn't all that heavy.

 

[radman1]

seems that the rollback issue is minor and can be overcome with practice. Sure, I will miss the power of my s300 when mowing but I think the comfort in the toolcat will make up for that. I hope!

Anything I should watch out for on a B series? I have I believe an August '05 manufacture B series with serial # starting at 4247121... Hopefully it has enough updates that I won't have many problems with it. It even has the pto. Anyone find a benefit of using a PTO driven mower vs. the brushcat or similar? Luckily my brushcat is old stock and isn't all that heavy.

A rear mower on your toolcat would have to be towed/hitched pto mower. The downside of a towed mower is you can't turn as tight because of the pto binding in sharper turns, usually requires a rear hydraulic cylinder to raise and lower mower and thus need a hydraulic connection to the rear of the toolcat, and requires looking backwards which is more tiresome.
The advantages of rear mower would be cheaper (but you already have the brushcat), less weight to be carried by the toolcat, easier to turn since don't have to slide the brushcat over the ground to turn, easier to mow up to items/obstacles rather than backing up.
It would seem that the brushcat is the winner.

 

[yellowdogsvc]

A rear mower on your toolcat would have to be towed/hitched pto mower. The downside of a towed mower is you can't turn as tight because of the pto binding in sharper turns, usually requires a rear hydraulic cylinder to raise and lower mower and thus need a hydraulic connection to the rear of the toolcat, and requires looking backwards which is more tiresome.
The advantages of rear mower would be cheaper (but you already have the brushcat), less weight to be carried by the toolcat, easier to turn since don't have to slide the brushcat over the ground to turn, easier to mow up to items/obstacles rather than backing up.
It would seem that the brushcat is the winner.

my toolcat has the rear tractor hydraulics next to the PTO which is connected to TC hydraulics. Brushcat does a fine job but does seem heavy though I lifted and loaded it on my truck w/ no problems.

 

[PAFarmboy1]

UFM82: I purchased a C series in June of 2006. First let me say, I really like my Toolcat, but I am surprised with all the issues I have had. It has been in the shop three times for an overheating issue. I currently run a chipper, mower, and snow blower, all Bobcat attachments. I do everything by the book. My dealer is great, I have the best customer service possible, but hear is my nagging issue. When running the mowing with the air conditioner on, like clock work after one hour the machine will overheat. If I don't shut down and I mean stopping in the field literally for an hour, I will have a major boil over and lose most of the coolant. But contrast, I have run the chipper for three solid hours and nothing malfunctions. My dealer has orderrf a new cooling fan, hoping to solve the problem. I would be interested on your comments on this issue.

 

[Rolando]

You've probably done all this, but just in case...

Are you cleaning all three components of the radiator? I've found that even though the top filter is clean, and the radiator underneath looks clean, there will be a lot of dust in there that I can see when I clean the radiator with air pressure. You also need to pivot the radiator up and clean under it. Mats of grass will collect under there.

The only other thing I can think of is whether you're mowing with the engine at full throttle. It may seem counter intuitive, but you'll get better cooling with high revs. As many other problems I've had with my Toolcat, the only time I had trouble with overheating was when I forgot to clean under that top filter.

 

[yellowdogsvc]

You've probably done all this, but just in case...

Are you cleaning all three components of the radiator? I've found that even though the top filter is clean, and the radiator underneath looks clean, there will be a lot of dust in there that I can see when I clean the radiator with air pressure. You also need to pivot the radiator up and clean under it. Mats of grass will collect under there.

The only other thing I can think of is whether you're mowing with the engine at full throttle. It may seem counter intuitive, but you'll get better cooling with high revs. As many other problems I've had with my Toolcat, the only time I had trouble with overheating was when I forgot to clean under that top filter.

I can tell you from running an FAE brush mower on an s300..keep the radiators clean from top and bottom. I am not sure how the C series TC has it's radiator oriented, but on my B series, I place the same AC cut to fit filter over the radiator before I put the bed down. Always mow at full throttle, period. You need the engine rpms up to run the hydraulic fan at full speed without taking away from other components. The more air, the better cooling when using hydraulics. I can't emphasize enough that at least through the B series TC and K series skid steers, the oil cooler and engine coolers will clog up and need to be blown out from underneath and I occasionally vacuum material back out. The cut to fit AC filters are not recommended by Bobcat but we had to find our own solutions years ago for grinding on high flow in hot Texas! Everyone is doing it now because the AC filter lets enough air through but catches the bigger stuff that will clog the little radiator fins. Another thing, check the cap on your radiator overflow and make sure it is tight. You need pressure in the system, I believe.

 

[PAFarmboy1]

I have been so caught up in listening to my dealer and Bobcat that perhaps I have ignored the obvious. I never thought of the cap on the cooling system and also never thought of cleaning under the grid on the radiator. I will take care of these items immediately. Thanks! I will keep you posted!

 

[Rip]

Does the bucket "curl" or roll-back function have a "float" mode? I know the lift arm does and am assuming the roll-back does not, but just to be sure...

 

[UFM82]

Sorry to be away so long. I just read through most of the threads here and have gleaned some info. The #1 issue I see is the overheat issue and the #1 problem is a lack of knowledge about what to do. I can tell a person 100 times to make sure the radiator is clean and 99 times I'll lift the cooler and see a blanket of clippings in there. The look on a customer's face is priceless as he just realized that calling me every name in the book just came back to bite him. The machines I sell are only as good as the people who run them.

There is no float on the bucket circuit- just the boom. Push your joystick forward until it detents and you have float. There is no provision for bucket float.

 

[jmfox]

#1 problem is a lack of knowledge about what to do. I can tell a person 100 times to make sure the radiator is clean and 99 times I'll lift the cooler and see a blanket of clippings in there... The machines I sell are only as good as the people who run them.

Maybe the radiators shouldn't be designed with hiding spots for collecting garbage. Tell customers that because of limited space the radiator design did not give any thought to self clearing or easy cleaning, so cleaning is necessary but not obvious. That should help.

jmf