How much lift capacity to lift a ton of pellets with forks?

George2615 · Feb 23, 2018

screamin400 said:
I am thinking this is exactly what I will have to do to be sure. I am heading back to an indoor farm show tomorrow to look again at all brands and was kind of hoping I would be able to have an idea of what to rule out without spending too much time on a tractor that cannot work. Bottom line is before signing I have to do the test myself.

I'm guessing you're going to the Farm Show at the fairgrounds. I'm not going this year. When you go ask each dealer if they can do the loader lift test you want. I think either model you mentioned will do the job. Just a matter of which model cab fits you better.

LD1 · Feb 23, 2018

screamin400 said:
Interesting. The breakout force is much higher on the Mahindra. Not close. So the actual ability to carry stone in the bucket at a height of 2 feet would be better based off of breakout force? I did not know this. The pellets would only be unloaded same as you.

THen either tractor you are looking at will unload a one ton pallet with no problems provided you use SSQA forks.....which are way better than clamp on bucket forks anyway. Just keep something heavy on the 3PH and you will be just fine.

Since both loaders will do what you want I wouldnt get too hung up on loader specs. Look at all the other aspects of the machine, dealer, ergonomics, etc and dont let the loader be the deciding factor.

You wont fit enough dirt, stone, gravel, etc in either bucket to overload it and not lift it. Even if you heaped it on for all its worth

screamin400 · Feb 23, 2018

My 2538 is rated at 1650 if I recall and I cannot budge a ton of pellets. It also cannot dive into a pile of stone and lift itself when heaped. Close but not quite. The two tractors I am looking at have a bucket not a whole lot larger with much more lift capacity so I would agree either one could dig into a pile of stone and lift out of it.

screamin400 · Feb 23, 2018

George2615 said:
I'm guessing you're going to the Farm Show at the fairgrounds. I'm not going this year. When you go ask each dealer if they can do the loader lift test you want. I think either model you mentioned will do the job. Just a matter of which model cab fits you better.

As much as I do not want to say it I am thinking I liked the Kioti cab better. If the Mahindra fixed the seat to where it would actually fit a person I could get a better look at it. I am not purchasing real soon so they have time to sway me but they have to do something

Egon · Feb 23, 2018

After the lift question is settled check out the reach and moving characters of the unit. Going over on the lift capability may make for much easier operation.

George2615 · Feb 23, 2018

Since you are going tomorrow also check with the LS dealer about the XR4150HC and XR4155HC models and prices. Or even the XU series if you don't mind shuttle shift. I find my cab very roomy and laid out well.

screamin400 · Feb 23, 2018

I have looked at the LS before and again yesterday. I do like the cab but thought the specs on the Mahindra were better and again I like my dealer. Now the best part. I will stop today and look at the New Kiotis on my way to a dr appt and he sells LS also

LD1 · Feb 23, 2018

screamin400 said:
I have looked at the LS before and again yesterday. I do like the cab but thought the specs on the Mahindra were better and again I like my dealer. Now the best part. I will stop today and look at the New Kiotis on my way to a dr appt and he sells LS also

What specs are you getting hung up on?

Looks like the loader specs of the XR4150/4155 are spot on with the kioti NX you are considering? And the mahindra slightly stronger.

All 3 are ~4000# bare weight machines So any ground engaging tasks requiring lots of traction are gonna be about on par.
All 3 are in the same HP range.....so thats a wash.

So dont get hung up on specs like too many people do all too often. Dont know what your other uses for the machine are, but all three will handle 1-ton pallets unloading and loading to modest truck bed or trailer height. So what more do you want? Do you want a loader that specs 10,000#? It would be pointless.

Do you want to sacrifice comfort, ergonomics, etc just to say you have a loader that will lift 500# more.....and thats 500# that you wont use because the others will do what you want just fine?

Kudos to you, that you are at least looking at the right size machine from the start. But move on from loader specs IMO. There are more important things to consider from this point forward, like I have said. Dealer, location, price, ergonomics, visibility, etc

mikester · Feb 23, 2018

How high will you lift? How long are the forks and how far forward is the load? How heavy are your forks?

My old TC55DA with 18LA loader was rated at 3,500 lbs at the pins and 2,200 lbs 500mm forward of the pins up to 5 feet. In reality it struggled to lift a 1,000L Tote (One ton of water) to four feet.

My M59 is rated at 3,950 lbs at the pins and lifts the same load with the same forks to full height (approx 10 feet) no problems. Specs wise both are comparable machines.

If you need to make those lifts be sure to test it out first - have the dealer let you demo a machine. I'm assuming you need to unload from a flat bed truck so you're gonna need to make those lifts to at least 5 feet.