Having a blast with our new M62

JenniferKubotaM62 · Sep 11, 2021

Neil discusses it a bit in this video... BUY IT!!!!!! You'll love it

Broke in the new Bobcat grapple today, what a blast

A little local store that helps the community was needing a lot cleared behind the store for a flea market they're putting on.... I had the time and equip so volunteered to do it for them... was a lot of fun and got a chance to use the new (new to me) Bobcat grapple, it sure made quick work of...

www.orangetractortalks.com

Smokeydog · Sep 11, 2021

Separate pump for backhoe swing.

Really enjoy our M59 for farm work.

fried1765 · Sep 11, 2021

Smokeydog said:
Separate pump for backhoe swing.

Really enjoy our M59 for farm work.

I think the L47, L48, M59, and M62 all have two hyd. pumps.
Makes a big difference between a real backhoe, and a BH attachment!

rScotty · Sep 11, 2021

mtputney said:
M62 BH Question:

Some sources online advertise the L47 and M62 TLBs as having a third hydraulic pump, supplying the left and right backhoe control levers each with their own supply of fluid. Reportedly, this means that the controls don't fight for the same supply of hydraulic fluid, allowing the BH to smoothly perform multiple motions at once, at least while the inputs come from separate levers. However, when we test-drove the machine, we found the opposite to be the case. Any input in the right stick (dipper / bucket) depowered the main boom's raise/lower function. It would still go down with gravity, and swing seemed minimally affected, but since boom-up inputs often coincide with dipper/bucket inputs, this seems like a problem. Was our experience a fluke, or is this normal behavior for this machine?"

Thanks in advance for any help - we're trying to make buy/no-buy decision.

Hello mtputney,

I have a M59, but other than the BH digging depth and emissions parts it is vertually the same as the M62. Just turned over 1000 hrs.

I think you are talking about the swing pump. Yes, it does have a separate pump for left right movement of the BH & I assume the M62 does too. And yes, any combined movement of the BH controls will slow down the movement of the hoe. It doesn't slow the movement much, and it is only noticible at low RPM on mine....but it is there. Oh, also "depowered" isn't quite the right word since it is the speed of movement that slows, not the power. Hydraulically, engine speed determines flow/minute, but power is a function of hydraulic pressure...and the pressure actually goes up a smidge when the flow falls off.
So a reduction in speed, but not in power.
But yes, at low idle engine RPM (about 1250 RPM) where I like to work the BH there is a noticble drop in BH speed when I am moving boom, dipper, and curling bucket all at the same time. Not so much slower though if I add swing to the mix.

An engine can only flow so much at any RPM, so if you do a lot of multiple control movement then this may be an instance where you want to set the basic motor speed higher with the throttle. That will fix it of course. These TLBs also have that fancy auto-throttle setting that is operator selectable....although I am not sure it does the same for BH work that it does for HST+ transmission work.

That same reduction in speed is hardly noticble at all in our bigger JD310 TLB no matter how many levers are moving at once , but then it is a much larger machine than the M62 with way more flow/minute - which BTW makes the 310 jerky to operate compared to the M59.

If I had to have only one, it would be the M59 & thumb.
Luck,
rScotty

Jchonline · Sep 12, 2021

mtputney said:
M62 BH Question:

Some sources online advertise the L47 and M62 TLBs as having a third hydraulic pump, supplying the left and right backhoe control levers each with their own supply of fluid. Reportedly, this means that the controls don't fight for the same supply of hydraulic fluid, allowing the BH to smoothly perform multiple motions at once, at least while the inputs come from separate levers. However, when we test-drove the machine, we found the opposite to be the case. Any input in the right stick (dipper / bucket) depowered the main boom's raise/lower function. It would still go down with gravity, and swing seemed minimally affected, but since boom-up inputs often coincide with dipper/bucket inputs, this seems like a problem. Was our experience a fluke, or is this normal behavior for this machine?"

Thanks in advance for any help - we're trying to make buy/no-buy decision.

I have not had the issue you are describing at all with mine. I have dug probably 80 hours alone (trenching, propane tank holes, stump pits). I have not noticed any issues, but I do think there are some minor conflicts with Movements.

For example when digging a trench, you boom in, stick in, bucket out a bit. I have never had an issue with smooth operation. I also dont dig fast, I try and dig clean.

I wonder if they had something plumbed wrong? I am with rScotty, it is more than enough for me.

4570Man · Sep 12, 2021

I might be in the minority here but I never liked the controls for my M59. The loader stick sucked and the backhoe was just ok. I traded that machine and spent a lot more money and I’ve never regretted it. The only thing I missed was the low ground destruction the M59 offered. When it comes to doing work the mini and the skid will make the M59 look silly.

mtputney · Sep 12, 2021

Thanks everyone, we really appreciate your insights.

We use our current Deere 110TLB around our woodlot alternating quite a bit between loader and BH work. So the TLB configuration has seemed perfect for us.

But the Deere is living in the shop these days with one breakdown after another - and the company doesn’t support the electronics anymore. So were looking for something similar.

As I mentioned - when we tried the M62 at the dealer, we couldn’t convince ourselves that - when rolling in the bucket/dipper with our right hand to take a shovelful, that we could extend the main boom to put more power into the bite… But of course they wouldn’t actually let us actually dig. Or it might have been mis-plumbed...

Are you able to do that on your machines? Bite in for a shovelful with your right hand while extending your left hand to put more power into filling the bucket?

Thanks again for all the good advice.

Jchonline · Sep 12, 2021

mtputney said:
Are you able to do that on your machines? Bite in for a shovelful with your right hand while extending your left hand to put more power into filling the bucket?

Absolutely I can do this. I dig in rock most of the time. Our ground is almost all disintegrated granite Or granite. There are some spots that are good topsoil, but lots of rock. For a 5 ton machine the backhoe does a great job in my opinion.

rScotty · Sep 12, 2021

mtputney said:
Thanks everyone, we really appreciate your insights.

We use our current Deere 110TLB around our woodlot alternating quite a bit between loader and BH work. So the TLB configuration has seemed perfect for us.

But the Deere is living in the shop these days with one breakdown after another - and the company doesn’t support the electronics anymore. So were looking for something similar.

As I mentioned - when we tried the M62 at the dealer, we couldn’t convince ourselves that - when rolling in the bucket/dipper with our right hand to take a shovelful, that we could extend the main boom to put more power into the bite… But of course they wouldn’t actually let us actually dig. Or it might have been mis-plumbed...

Are you able to do that on your machines? Bite in for a shovelful with your right hand while extending your left hand to put more power into filling the bucket?

Thanks again for all the good advice.

Sure, I do that all the time if I need to. I'll curl the bucket in while also pushing down with the boom and pulling the dipper to fill the bucket as it moves towards me. It works well that way to cut through real tough going - like tree roots and such. I'm self-taught on the BH, but thought that was what everyone does?
Generally though, in simple rock & dirt the M59 has more than enough power with curl alone. Keep in mind I'm an old guy and tend to enjoy working work slow and pretty rather than fast and furious.

Here's something interesting that I hadnt thought about, but I also do a lot of the reverse of that motion you describe when I am building berms or rock walls. A lot of times I want to pack dirt UNDER a big rock to level or lift it a few inches.
To do that, I will push some dirt toward the base of the rock with the back of the BH bucket and then as the dirt gets to the rock I need to work all the levers together to get power from the bucket uncurling as well as the boom and dipper all pushing together to lift the boulder while forcing the dirt up under it. That would be a boulder of a size that I could lift with the FEL, but wouldn't want to lift with the BH....Not too big for the machine to handle, but getting near the limit.

But what I really like about the M59 control valves is not how they work together but how delicate they are. I can move a rock an inch at a time with perfect control with the M59 and our JD310 just does not have that fine control - though maybe it did when newer. I got it well-used.

BTW, the JD110 has always been a favorite of mine and it is a crying shame that JD stopped production on that fine machine. It only had a few simple flaws and I thought they were in a good position to use what they had learned to make it very nice indeed. Evolution is how designs should grow up. Plus the 110 is sure a good looking machine.

Of course the M59 is a full step larger, stronger, and more rugged than the JD110 from the get go. Not really a fair comparison, but I still wish JD had kept in the medium size TLB game too.
Enjoy,
rScotty

RedNeckGeek · Sep 13, 2021

mtputney said:
M62 BH Question:

Some sources online advertise the L47 and M62 TLBs as having a third hydraulic pump, supplying the left and right backhoe control levers each with their own supply of fluid. Reportedly, this means that the controls don't fight for the same supply of hydraulic fluid, allowing the BH to smoothly perform multiple motions at once, at least while the inputs come from separate levers. However, when we test-drove the machine, we found the opposite to be the case. Any input in the right stick (dipper / bucket) depowered the main boom's raise/lower function. It would still go down with gravity, and swing seemed minimally affected, but since boom-up inputs often coincide with dipper/bucket inputs, this seems like a problem. Was our experience a fluke, or is this normal behavior for this machine?"

A few weeks ago, I finished a 650' trench in very rocky ground with an M62. What you described does happen, but only when one or the other of the sticks is held all the way to one extreme of its travel. It's almost as though there's only so much hydraulic pressure available, and all three directions have to share. If any one of them tries to take it all, it's at the expense of the other two. At least that's the way it works on my machine. So I learned to be delicate with the controls, moving them slowly, and in small increments, to get the boom to lift, the stick to move in, and the bucket to uncurl, all in pursuit of the perfect, flat bottomed trench. I'm still not very good at it, even after all that practice. A neighbor has a large Cat backhoe with all electrical controls. He makes it look easy, and it's my belief that working with valves instead of elecro-mechanical servos is a lot harder.

One other thing I noticed. Half the trench ran down a pretty steep hill. When I'd swing the boom to one side to dump the bucket, it would go down hill just fine. But after dumping, if I didn't give the control stick a strong shove right from the start, the boom would fall farther down hill until it started to move upwards again. Kind of a PITA, especially in other digging situations where it meant the bucket would hit something I really didn't want to hit.

Even with these quirks, though, the M62's backhoe is light years better than the Nardi 3PH unit I had on the old tractor. And both of those backhoes were a heck of a lot better than a pick and shovel...