Loader Digging with the 2920 FEL

taborekle · Sep 1, 2010

Hi all,

Yesterday my neighbor asked me to bury a cat that had been hit by a car. The ground was to hard for her to shovel so she asked me to use my FEL to dig the hole.

And it was difficult to get down 3 feet. I finally stopped at about 2 and a half.

Would a toothed blade attachment on the FEL blade help in digging? Anyone have any suggestions on how to improve digging performance for the light material bucket on the B2920?

Larry

thavil · Sep 1, 2010

A toothbar would greatly improve your digging performance. I finally bought one and what a difference. I bought a W.R. Long flat toothbar from the Kubota dealer in Faulkner.

jcims · Sep 1, 2010

Tremendous difference. If you plan to do any digging, you need a toothbar. I just ordered on from Markham for $225 (plus shipping) and it's leaving their shop today.

KU Gator · Sep 1, 2010

I bought the Quick Spade and have used it to dig holes such as for a basket ball goal or to pop rocks out. It is very heavy duty. On a light weight bucket, I don't know if you would have an issue with it bending the bucket. The only issue I have is with the relatively small bucket on a 2920 it is hard to use the ratchet devise to get the chain tight that holds it on the bucket. It would probably do better on the forks. Obviously a back hoe would be good, but kind of expensive for the occasional cat internment.

Paumco Products Quick Spade Combo  Model# 1101-Quick Spade | Skid-Steers + Attachments | Northern Tool + Equipment

Evil the Weasel · Sep 1, 2010

As much as I love using my tractor when I can, I think I would have pulled out the trusty old pick mattock for a job like this. A middle buster would work too.

Ken45101 · Sep 2, 2010

As the salesman told me when I bought my first FEL, they aren't really for digging. He was right. They are a loader not an excavator.

I know the soil you have

Yes, a tooth bar will help, but still not make it dig like a skid steer or a backhoe. Loosening the ground up with a middle buster or ripper tooth (subsoiler) would help a lot. Or a box blade with the ripper teeth.

FWIW, adding a tooth bar to my skid steer bucket made a world of difference in it's digging ability in your type of soil. But again, a ss is a more capable digging machine than a tractor.

Ken

taborekle · Sep 2, 2010

Hi all,

Yes I agree that it's a loader not a excavator, but you use what you got.

Thanks for all the input. I'm going shopping for a toothbar.:thumbsup:

Larry

Ken45101 · Sep 2, 2010

taborekle said:
Yes I agree that it's a loader not a excavator, but you use what you got.

yes, I agree. Just wanted to make sure you didn't get unrealistic expectations.

Years ago, I dug a very small pond ("pondlet") with a box blade and a 3pt scoop. You use what you got even if it's very inefficient.

Ken

consaka · Sep 2, 2010

taborekle said:
Hi all,

Yesterday my neighbor asked me to bury a cat that had been hit by a car. The ground was to hard for her to shovel so she asked me to use my FEL to dig the hole.
Would a toothed blade attachment on the FEL blade help in digging? Anyone have any suggestions on how to improve digging performance for the light material bucket on the B2920?

Larry

I just helped our neighbor bury the remains of their pet cat. we found a spot in the corner of their garden in between two rows of vegetables. I dug a 4 foot hole with the backhoe in about 13 minutes or so. I cant even imagine digging a hole to bury a cat with a front end loader.
That being said I love my ripper bar that I have attached to the 5 foot bucket on my tractor. It does make quite a bit of difference when digging because it actually helps break up the packed dirt before the blade gets to it. It also makes it easier to throw boards and logs up on your bucket. Helps with large rocks too.
I dug a 4 foot deep trench with it a couple of times as well. The way to do that though is with the tiller on the back. Till it one way and scoop it the other. Much quicker that way.
Backhoe or post hole auger is the way to dig for burying a cat IMO.