Front-End Loader Worst things to do to a FEL

[LD1]

Yep. Making the drawbar available is one of the best reasons for using a dedicated weight box on the 3pt instead of depending on a bulky implement. One of these days I might even get around to building one.

I have a concrete weight, but it isnt big enough. It is roughly ~500lbs. That with loaded tires the loader can still overcome the weight.

I would need closer to 1300 or so lbs to do what my blade (700+lbs) or my 6' cutter(1000+lbs) can do for ballast since those two place the weight much farther back.

Plus I like changing implements as little as possible. So When I dig out a stump, I like already having the blade on so I dont have to change back out when I go to backfill and grade over the area.

Call me lazy if ya want, I call it making the best use of my time. And I know the risks, and like I said, if something breaks, I've go no one to blame but myself. I will fix it and life goes on.

 

[caspar3259]

Ya, my new snow plow has trip springs also. A whole heck of alot of people here have them, and i have not heard of any bent arm problems from anyone. They all love them for 6-8" days (our usual daily snow fall).

grsthegreat >> What brand / model snow blade is that? I'm looking for one and so far have found Land Pride, Curtis, and Meyer.

-Jeff

 

[RoyJackson]

Originally Posted by grsthegreat
Ya, my new snow plow has trip springs also. A whole heck of alot of people here have them, and i have not heard of any bent arm problems from anyone. They all love them for 6-8" days (our usual daily snow fall).

Neither have I...although folks have posted about racked loader frames, most don't notice it until after whatever incident caused it. But none that I can recall attributed defintely to using a QA plow.

 

[IslandTractor]

Neither have I...although folks have posted about racked loader frames, most don't notice it until after whatever incident caused it. But none that I can recall attributed defintely to using a QA plow.

I believe there was one discussion here a few months ago that was pretty clearly related to plowing. Someone as I recall was helping a friend in a big parking lot or something like that and hit either a curb or manhole with an edge. Came to a hard stop and the loader was twisted out of true. Certainly it is not hard to imagine it could happen.

I imagine that most CUT owners are using plows for their own driveways and as they know the area these sorts of accidents are rare. Commercial plowing would be a different matter.

 

[grsthegreat]

grsthegreat >> What brand / model snow blade is that? I'm looking for one and so far have found Land Pride, Curtis, and Meyer.

-Jeff

Its made by Quick Attach....www.quickattach.com

for plows only

http://www.quickattach.com/shop-by-department/attachment/snow-equipment/products/quick-push/

i got mine with two side gates for doing driveways easier. They stay attached and just rotate over and lock in place

 

[Cruisin]

I believe there was one discussion here a few months ago that was pretty clearly related to plowing. Someone as I recall was helping a friend in a big parking lot or something like that and hit either a curb or manhole with an edge. Came to a hard stop and the loader was twisted out of true. Certainly it is not hard to imagine it could happen.

I imagine that most CUT owners are using plows for their own driveways and as they know the area these sorts of accidents are rare. Commercial plowing would be a different matter.

I think I remember that he was using his bucket (no plow) and hinted that he was moving quite rapidly! OUCH!

That would definitely make the list of worst things to do... Even a non-trip spring blade might bend or flex, but the loader bucket probably won't. Obviously, trip springs would be far better.

 

[IslandTractor]

I think I remember that he was using his bucket (no plow) and hinted that he was moving quite rapidly! OUCH!

That would definitely make the list of worst things to do... Even a non-trip spring blade might bend or flex, but the loader bucket probably won't. Obviously, trip springs would be far better.

You are right, I think it was a bucket but the physics would presumably be pretty close.

 

[BoFuller]

Glad to know this , I thought I might be the only person that buried a shovel
under 3 loads of dirt. <Grin>

Took me several hours to clean out my chainsaw from a load of dirt! :laughing:

 

[Egon]

Probaly the worst would be to pay good money for a FEL and not use it.:thumbsup:

 

[Glen Watkins]

Took me several hours to clean out my chainsaw from a load of dirt! :laughing:

I have seen on the job where they couldn't find a Cutoff Saw they had used earlier that day. Road work they figured someone stole it. Truck driver comes back from the dump site after dumping his next load and saw it in his last load! It got "forgot" in the bucket! :laughing:

 

[weedpharma]

Also remember if you put something in your bucket like chains, chainsaw etc and forget about them when you start digging into a pile of gravel. I know many people whom have done this...

Guilty last weekend!!

Weedpharma

 

[jmc]

If your loader has a skid steer quick attach, sometimes, depending on how you set down the implement, things down there settle when you unlock the levers. The loader arm or implement come real close to smashing your toes...

Someone on TBN came up with this loader equivalent of tying a string around your finger: If you put something in the bucket you don't want to lose, put a glove on the joystick to jog your memory. If you are that person who posted that tip, come forward so I can thank you.

John

 

[RoyJackson]

If you put something in the bucket you don't want to lose, put a glove on the joystick to jog your memory.

John

Of course....I'd just sit there and think "why the heck is that glove on the joystick?" and then go about my business...

 

[IslandTractor]

Of course....I'd just sit there and think "why the heck is that glove on the joystick?" and then go about my business...

I'd think "There it is, I've been looking for it" and then continue about my senile business.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Lift capacity with FEL is usually 500-2000 lbs. Yes you can push but the FEL bucket is not really designed to push against a narrow object (the tangent of contact between stump and bucket edge is typically 6-12 inches). The FEL arms are certainly not designed to push. It is a front end loader not front end dozer.

On the other end however we have a perfectly positioned drawbar engineered to take anything the tractor can dish out in pulling power.

My point, perhaps poorly expressed, was just that it is fine to dig out the roots of a big stump with the FEL but if the bucket is popping off while trying to displace the stump it means that stump would be better dealt with by wrapping a chain around it and pulling it out. My rough estimate was that a tractor can pull about three times what the FEL can lift.

Sorry for the confusion. Happy to debate stump strategy but I gathered from your post you didn't understand what I meant.

I thought that is what you were trying to get at. And I agree that the tractor can pull WAY more than it can lift.

BUT, the wording in your post in response to gaproperty read as if you could pull more than you could PUSH, not lift. Pull force would be the same (or nearly the same) as the push.

I push stumps out all the time. Some may argue that a chain and drawbar would be better, but the FEL is designed to push on things. Usually it is dirt, and not in just one location on the cutting edge, But I have found that my loader is stout enough to handle all the pushing force my tractor can deliver.:thumbsup:

All true, but when you really need to apply force to move something like a fallen tree or a loose stump the loader will allow you to push a great deal more than you would be able to pull. This assumes 4wd and strong loader arms. Lifting and pushing effectively makes the load easier to push while at the same time increasing traction.
larry

 

[IslandTractor]

All true, but when you really need to apply force to move something like a fallen tree or a loose stump the loader will allow you to push a great deal more than you would be able to pull. This assumes 4wd and strong loader arms. Lifting and pushing effectively makes the load easier to push while at the same time increasing traction.
larry

I understand your point that push plus lift might be greater than pull but there are other considerations. Not sure if traction would be the same for example. Lifting with the FEL would tend to unload (lift) the rear wheels. If that caused loss of traction (spin) then pulling might still be the greater force as pulling on the drawbar would tend to somewhat pull down on the rear tires rather than lift them.

Obviously the other consideration is that tractor FELs aren't designed or built like dozers so there is at least a chance of damage.

 

[SPYDERLK]

I understand your point that push plus lift might be greater than pull but there are other considerations. Not sure if traction would be the same for example. Lifting with the FEL would tend to unload (lift) the rear wheels. If that caused loss of traction (spin) then pulling might still be the greater force as pulling on the drawbar would tend to somewhat pull down on the rear tires rather than lift them.

Obviously the other consideration is that tractor FELs aren't designed or built like dozers so there is at least a chance of damage.

The last is the issue. Traction is close to directly in proportion to the amount of weight on the driving tires. Tremendous thrust is deliverd by 4wd fronts when lifting and pushing -- and this will cause the whole tractor to rotate rearward bringing the back wheels to firm contact. Poorly sized front drives or FELs need not apply.
larry

 

[samhudson3]

I'm glad some of you guys added some humor to this thread because after reading some of the advice given, I don't even know why some people have a FEL!

You can do many of the things listed as "not recommended" as long as you use some common sense.

Eventually, Darwinism will sort out those without the common sense

Agreed, just use common sense and go slow.

You know a redneck tractor owner's last words? "Hey y'all, watch this!" :laughing:

 

[dustinfox]

DO not dig with the loader bucket it is ment for loose materials only.


_________________________________________________________________
Once you flail you never go back:thumbsup::licking::drool:

I'm supposed to sign papers on my new CK35 tomorrow. Guess I had better call and cancel!

 

[dustinfox]

+1,:thumbsup:
Well Said.

James K0UA

Oh that was cruel... :laughing: