New to hydrostatic

[jenkinsph]

James makes some good points and it is harder to explain than to do it.

I would add that I try to limit tire spin and slippage as much as I can. If you develop habits where the tires are spinning and slip is too high you will be buying new tires prematurely. Usually a person just needs to learn to use the loader controls through practice and with that can easily get full buckets each trip.

 

[k0ua]

James makes some good points and it is harder to explain than to do it.

I would add that I try to limit tire spin and slippage as much as I can. If you develop habits where the tires are spinning and slip is too high you will be buying new tires prematurely. Usually a person just needs to learn to use the loader controls through practice and with that can easily get full buckets each trip.

After you have done it for a few years, you don't even think about your technique, you just go up to the pile and grab a bucket of materiel. BUT I do remember my pathetic attempts during my first few days of tractor ownership so many years ago. It is hard for me to believe that I was once that pitifully bad at scooping materiel but I was.

 

[JerryK]

Same here... it is a timing thing... whether it is a PST or a HST. Both have a little time delay in the system. And you try to scoop up the whole pile instead of a scoop full. Kind of sad in a way... but fun....

 

[Garandman]

I have an L3200 HST. It is in medium range 80% of the time. Low for pushing or pulling, high only for transit.

 

[Gary Fowler]

With my B26, I mostly use medium range when loading with the FEL, but I have on occasion been able to load loose material using H range and just backing of the pedal as it stalls out while curling and lifting. I can usually get a full bucket in loose dirt or sandy material this way.

In old settled dirt piles, I may have to even go down to L range to loosen up the pile from the bottom. Many times I will also use the curled bucket to scrape material from the top. I may have to do a couple passes to get a bucket full with the B26. This process works very good on my LS P7010 utility because it has the weight and power to pull huge quantities of dirt from the top in one pass.

 

[check]

After you have done it for a few years, you don't even think about your technique, you just go up to the pile and grab a bucket of materiel. BUT I do remember my pathetic attempts during my first few days of tractor ownership so many years ago. It is hard for me to believe that I was once that pitifully bad at scooping materiel but I was.

Yup, timing is everything, and I do try to get a bit of a "run" at the pile, because I want all the power to go to the FEL at the right second. And I do need all of it, because I have the BXpanded bucket expander on my BX25, which significantly increases the volume of my bucket. So, I can fit quite a bit in, and often times can't get a full bucket (although still more than without the bucket expander). As you lift and curl, you eventually run out of steam, and you have to resist the temptation to push the pedal down at the same time, in order to push further in to the pile. It does take practice, especially when there are rocks in the pile! (That's where my Piranha Tooth Bar comes in.) Also makes you want more tractor - must resist with all my might! (Especially when the B2650 keeps "calling" me.:drool

 

[check]

After you have done it for a few years, you don't even think about your technique, you just go up to the pile and grab a bucket of materiel. BUT I do remember my pathetic attempts during my first few days of tractor ownership so many years ago. It is hard for me to believe that I was once that pitifully bad at scooping materiel but I was.

Oh, yeah, and my friend who has an old B21 called my BX25 a "toy" when he couldn't dig in to a dirt pile very well.

 

[AxleHub]

I found years ago that dirt or rock piles like a "knife" action better than they like a "plow" action. When using a skidsteer, snowblower, plow, or a tractor . . I use the same method.

A "plow" action meets the dirt or rock pile straight on with the bucket edge in full contact. So too often I see operators having to force or hit the pile . . . lots of pressure on the loader arms and strain on tires snd transmissions and can be wearing on operators backs too..

A "knife" action meets the bucket to pile at an angle . . just as you angle a snowlow blade. The bucket fills with far less strain and less force and you've increased efficiency by leverage and by "pattern flow" rather than brute force.

 

[jenkinsph]

While I often load at an angle to the pile it isn't to make the bucket easier to fill. I load at an angle to make one side of the bucket have more dirt than the opposite side. This can be useful when building and leveling a pad or roadway that needs more dirt on one side than the other.

For even distribution of material a straight on approach to the pile is best for a uniformly loaded bucket.