3 Spool Valve meant for Joystick Loader with Grapple

HomesteadOC · Mar 30, 2018

Im not really excited about a grapple function on my loader, but the valves with the joystick and separate lever for grapple is ideal for my purpose. I want to use the joystick for my loader, and the 3rd spool for a hydraulic top link to actuate my 3 point forks. My tractor is a 77 Satoh Beaver S370D and the area around the sear and fenders is pretty tight. I have no where to mount a single spool control unless I put it on top of my fenders, but that just seems tacky. The only downside I see is the extra hoses running to the back, but I can bundle them with the 2 I have going back to the transaxle/transmission/reservoir tank. Currently I have 2 spool 2 lever operation of the loader and want to move that to a joystick anyway, getting the 3rd grapple spool adds less cost to the valve set than does buying them seperately. This also saves money on hoses as the main cost is the fittings on the ends and not the total length of hose.
The main problem I might see arising are being able to reach the lever and turn around to see what Im doing. Im tall and the beaver is small, so Im thinking it might be ok. The current spool is mounted on the right tower of the loader and I can turn to my right and use the left hand and still see the end of the 3 point lower arms. My pump is 3.8gpm and the valve handles up to 25gpm. Still not sure how float works, maybe I just need to install a joystick with it so I can see it in action.
Here is the link for the valve set I have in mind.
3 Spool 25 GPM Joystick Loader Valve w/Grapple | Directional Control Valves | Hydraulic Valves | Hydraulics | www.surpluscenter.com

swnoel · Mar 30, 2018

Float is just that... in the float position the loader will float with the contour of the land. Keep in mind that is an extremely large assembly.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/customization/384911-swapped-out-fel-valve-got.html

CincyFlyer · Mar 30, 2018

Yeah, it works with no issues (that's my post that swnoel has linked). You'd figure it wouldn't be as sensitive, but it actually is the equal to the factory valve (which gets mounted to the rear in a couple of weeks as "top'n'tilt" control); the lever is twice as long, so that helps. But your flow is much lower, mine's about seven gpm, so it may appear to be more "on and off" in action.

HomesteadOC · Mar 31, 2018

Those are big, I didnt look at the dimensions online, but its probably bigger than mine since its meant to handle 8 times the flow I have.

Dave M7040 · Apr 1, 2018

HomesteadOC said:
Im not really excited about a grapple function on my loader, but the valves with the joystick and separate lever for grapple is ideal for my purpose. I want to use the joystick for my loader, and the 3rd spool for a hydraulic top link to actuate my 3 point forks. My tractor is a 77 Satoh Beaver S370D and the area around the sear and fenders is pretty tight. I have no where to mount a single spool control unless I put it on top of my fenders, but that just seems tacky. The only downside I see is the extra hoses running to the back, but I can bundle them with the 2 I have going back to the transaxle/transmission/reservoir tank. Currently I have 2 spool 2 lever operation of the loader and want to move that to a joystick anyway, getting the 3rd grapple spool adds less cost to the valve set than does buying them seperately. This also saves money on hoses as the main cost is the fittings on the ends and not the total length of hose.
The main problem I might see arising are being able to reach the lever and turn around to see what Im doing. Im tall and the beaver is small, so Im thinking it might be ok. The current spool is mounted on the right tower of the loader and I can turn to my right and use the left hand and still see the end of the 3 point lower arms. My pump is 3.8gpm and the valve handles up to 25gpm. Still not sure how float works, maybe I just need to install a joystick with it so I can see it in action.
Here is the link for the valve set I have in mind.
3 Spool 25 GPM Joystick Loader Valve w/Grapple | Directional Control Valves | Hydraulic Valves | Hydraulics | www.surpluscenter.com

Do you know about power beyond?

You cannot just stick additional valves on a hydraulically simple machine like a beaver.

Buying a valve with far too high a flow rating is a waste of money, much larger than you need physically so harder to install and lastly a very poor way to have fine control over hydraulic features.
Bigger is not always better!

If you want more hydraulic features, order a 4 spool valve.

You really need to be talking to someone like CROSS hydraulics who will help you tailor the valve you need to your tractor.

This is not meant to insult you, but with limited knowledge: No idea what float is, do you need want a Regen feature on the spool for the bucket, do you want a valve for the grapple with a detent, do you want the spool (4th one) for the rear to have a detent or a float position.

These seemingly unimportant details make the difference between a hydraulic system which is a pleasure to use and one which is constantly frustrating you.

Many FEL and remote valves are cable operated. With the help from CROSS it may be possible to have all the spools you want together and the one serving the rear of the tractor be cable operated from a lever at the rear of the tractor.

Dave M7040

Teachu2 · Apr 3, 2018

HomesteadOC said:
Im not really excited about a grapple function on my loader, but the valves with the joystick and separate lever for grapple is ideal for my purpose. I want to use the joystick for my loader, and the 3rd spool for a hydraulic top link to actuate my 3 point forks. My tractor is a 77 Satoh Beaver S370D and the area around the sear and fenders is pretty tight. I have no where to mount a single spool control unless I put it on top of my fenders, but that just seems tacky. The only downside I see is the extra hoses running to the back, but I can bundle them with the 2 I have going back to the transaxle/transmission/reservoir tank. Currently I have 2 spool 2 lever operation of the loader and want to move that to a joystick anyway, getting the 3rd grapple spool adds less cost to the valve set than does buying them seperately. This also saves money on hoses as the main cost is the fittings on the ends and not the total length of hose.
The main problem I might see arising are being able to reach the lever and turn around to see what Im doing. Im tall and the beaver is small, so Im thinking it might be ok. The current spool is mounted on the right tower of the loader and I can turn to my right and use the left hand and still see the end of the 3 point lower arms. My pump is 3.8gpm and the valve handles up to 25gpm. Still not sure how float works, maybe I just need to install a joystick with it so I can see it in action.
Here is the link for the valve set I have in mind.
3 Spool 25 GPM Joystick Loader Valve w/Grapple | Directional Control Valves | Hydraulic Valves | Hydraulics | www.surpluscenter.com

That plate it's mounted on is around 9x10". The valve weighs about 33 lbs.

At the bottom of the page you linked to is a PDF with dimensions. This valve is yuge!

swnoel · Apr 3, 2018

Teachu2 said:
That plate it's mounted on is around 9x10". The valve weighs about 33 lbs.

At the bottom of the page you linked to is a PDF with dimensions. This valve is yuge! View attachment 546976 View attachment 546977

How's it work?? I've been considering either going that way to just run a grapple off a rear remote.