What are the ears on my bucket for?

[pwright]

So my FEL bucket has two sets of ears on it. What are these for?

 

[ProjectKing]

So my FEL bucket has two sets of ears on it. What are these for? <img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/files/attachments/444218-what-ears-my-bucket-bucketears-jpg"/>

Looks like a brackets for attaching a grapple. Just a guess though.

 

[nybirdman]

That's what I would have guessed also.

 

[boggen]

from scratchs / dents i am seeing on tractor, going to assume bought used tractor. and last person had a grapple on the bucket as well. due to cost of grapples going to assume last person took grapple and just sold the tractor.

 

[CDN Farm Boy]

Grapple is a good thought but wouldn't there need to be minimum of 3 sets not 2 for it to be grapple? 2 for the hinge pins and one for the cyl mount.

 

[powerscol]

I use mine with a clevis for attaching lifting chains or straps to the bucket.

 

[pwright]

Actually the tractor and bucket were bought new. The bucket gets up close and personal with a lot of rock. :laughing:

I was thinking they might be for grapples but as CDN Farm Boy said there would need to be some place to attach the cylinder.

My other thought was for mounting directly to loader arms instead of with the SSQA mount but, again, there would need to be more sets of ears.

Just one of those things I've always wondered about since I bought it.

 

[N2DFire]

Swing over pallet forks maybe? Look a little far back on the bucket for that though. :confused3:

 

[MORRISONSTEEL]

The ears are there for a grapple, the hyd cylinder would not mount to the bucket but to the grapple frame higher up. This allows for a wider opening grapple more common to the ag world as opposed to a construction style grapple that hinges at the bucket with limited opening height. Ag or silage grapples are designed to open wide enough to grab large bales and use a relatively short hyd cylinder.

 

[MORRISONSTEEL]

Here's one example of an ag style grapple.