MIE Ripper on my BH92

[GreatWhitehunter]

To the OP sorry for the thread hijack lets get back to you. I don't think the Brotek would hold a candle to the MIE. The MIE unit looks like it's made for full size equipment.

Matt

 

[IslandTractor]

I commissioned the first MIE ripper and helped design it (based on features of several rippers I'd seen for big excavators and adding the scoop function).

I had looked at the Brotek but thought it was too light for my Woods BH90x and was concerned about the lack of substantial lateral gussets to support the blade. Remember, the Brotek ripper was originally designed for the BX23 which has a very light weight BH. I suspect the Brotek would work fine for six or seven foot BHs but I wanted something more stout for a nine foot hoe on a heavy 40hp CUT (DK40se). Having used the MIE for one season of work I can say that it is clearly more solidly built than a 9foot BH could ever conceivably damage. I like the 24 inch depth and the fact that the scoop on the back acts kinda like a combo plow/shovel and helps remove spoils so that a second pass can go deeper without stopping to remove dirt.

 

[acme97]

I commissioned the first MIE ripper and helped design it (based on features of several rippers I'd seen for big excavators and adding the scoop function).

I had looked at the Brotek but thought it was too light for my Woods BH90x and was concerned about the lack of substantial lateral gussets to support the blade. Remember, the Brotek ripper was originally designed for the BX23 which has a very light weight BH. I suspect the Brotek would work fine for six or seven foot BHs but I wanted something more stout for a nine foot hoe on a heavy 40hp CUT (DK40se). Having used the MIE for one season of work I can say that it is clearly more solidly built than a 9foot BH could ever conceivably damage. I like the 24 inch depth and the fact that the scoop on the back acts kinda like a combo plow/shovel and helps remove spoils so that a second pass can go deeper without stopping to remove dirt.

I remember reading you thread on the development and agree. For what I need to do and putting it on my L35 I think the MIE ripper would be the better fit. From talking to them, this will be the first that will go on an L35, so I have to take some measurement this weekend. Thanks for the input.

PS: OP sorry for divergence.

 

[bird1968]

To the OP sorry for the thread hijack lets get back to you. I don't think the Brotek would hold a candle to the MIE. The MIE unit looks like it's made for full size equipment.

Matt

To be fair, The MIE ripper looks nice, but will it hold the test of time.

Yes, The original Bro-Tek ripper has been first on the BX.
Bro-Tek has Ripper on +50HP on multiple tractors for more than 6 years & all happy customers.

You can now find us Bro-Tek: Tractor Add Ons

Always great to be on TBN
Richard

 

[IslandTractor]

The key measurements for a BH mount can be copied exactly from your standard bucket. Alternatively Kubota may be able to provide you with engineering drawings in PDF format. That's what I got from Woods. Be careful about measuring offsets etc as well as center to center distance and diameter of pins. Also which side of the pin has the bolt. Detailed photos of your bucket would probably help if you cannot get drawings.

 

[magicheater]

I am sure both the Brotek and MIE ripper tooth are manufactured to high standards. I guess the point is do you need one on your back hoe. I prefer to use my bucket when tackling small to medium size stumps. The maneuverability of using the front end loader works for me and the bucket I use. A ripper tooth is a nice addition to the arsenal of attachments though, I have one, but it fits on my loader. Backhoes by nature are limited to reach and arc of swing. I have one of these too and use it when I need to.

 

[IslandTractor]

Removing trees is where the ripper excels. The ability to quickly rip the roots on all sides (repositioning the tractor once) and the to use the tractor with loader about eight feet high to push over the derooted tree is WAY faster than using a chainsaw to cut down the tree then use either standard BH bucket or ripper to remove the stump. The use of the tree's own weight to pop the stump out of the ground is where the time savings occur. I lost count but removed something over 50 trees from 4-15 inches in diameter last fall once I had the ripper. Before then I could have managed only about 5-10 in the same several day time period including stump removal.

The major limitation of this method is having 1) a BH strong enough to rip the major lateral surface roots easily and 2) having a tractor heavy enough to push over the derooted tree. Again, for up to about 15 inches I could do that with a heavy 40hp tractor and Woods 9 ft BH. While I did remove trees up to 15 inches, my tractor/BH/ripper combination was especially efficient at getting out 5-10 inch trees. Those can be popped out in just 15 minutes or so with a good amount of that time spent repositioning the tractor or hauling away the downed tree. Indeed, I got to the point that in a clump of such trees I would deroot several at once and then push them over in turn. That cut down on moving the tractor.

I don't disagree at all that a standard bucket can do the same job but it will take longer and leave a much bigger mess to clean up. This last point is important for me as I mount a grapple on the FEL to carry away the downed trees and that means I don't have a bucket to replace the displaced dirt in the stump hole. With the ripper technique the "hole" was really only a divot most of the time and could be ignored. Sometimes I'd just use the grapple to smooth over the area. See some of the photos I posted earlier to see the size of the hole after ripping out a tree.

 

[IslandTractor]

To be fair, The MIE ripper looks nice, but will it hold the test of time.

Yes, The original Bro-Tek ripper has been first on the BX.
Bro-Tek has Ripper on +50HP on multiple tractors for more than 6 years & all happy customers.

You can now find us Bro-Tek: Tractor Add Ons

Always great to be on TBN
Richard

I don't think there is much doubt that the MIE ripper is heavier duty and with considerably more reinforcement than the Bro-Tek. That said, I am unaware of anyone complaining about bending or breaking a Bro-Tek so that is also a well engineered and made product. The Bro-Tek can be seen on their website. Here are a few shots of the MIE which show a considerably thicker root and much more lateral support. I don't think longevity of the MIE is a serious concern. On the other hand, I imagine it is easier to mount a Bro-Tek as it is considerably lighter. The MIE weighs about 80-90lbs and can be a handful to manipulate while trying to line up the pin holes with tight tolerances.

 

[JoshPA]

I like the back plate on the MIE ripper, when ripping thick roots it acts as a base to push from while curling the tooth.

My dad (pipeliner/steamfitter/welder) gave it a passing grade on quality. If it was crap he would have chopped it up and built one on his own for me.

As for mounting - it's 102 pounds - ouch - but sits in a perfect position for mounting. Easy on and off.

 

[acme97]

The back plate is one of the things that I thought would be better for the type of work I need to do. Just about all of mine are stumps, so being able to us it as a smaller dirt moving tool will help.