4n1 bucket techniques?

[Marks481]

Any advice for how to emply the 4n1 bucket. I started moving some dirt around, and other then emptying the bucket faster or using the trailing edge of the forward clamshell to grade the dirt pile a bit, I don't really seem to be getting the 4n1 techinque.

It is definitely awkward to use the quick attach lever, since it seems that to really use it right you have to curl and lift the bucket while closing the clamshell and moving backward. Definitely need to change the auxiliary circuit control; seems like for this sort of activity, the pushbutton with the diverter valve wouldn't work as well (since you couldnt curl the bucket while shutting the clamshell).

 

[Gravy]

Tim,

As the old joke goes: Practice, practice, practice!

For me, some of the most useful techniques have involved the ability to reach over something and grab it. "Biting" a "mouthful" of gravel , brush, or other material is definitely an acquired skill, involving left/right hand movements something akin to rubbing your belly and patting your head at the same time.

You have to curl the bucket forward while starting to close the clamshell, then smoothly transition to curling backward as the clamshell finishes closing. You may also need to raise or lower the bucket at the same time to keep the biting edges just skimming ground level.

However, unlike the belly/head trick, the 4in1 moves actually have practical applications. I've found the Bite & Lift technique to be considerably more effective for filling the bucket with gravel or soil than trying to drive the bucket straight in.

While (as Fourteen will surely agree) a grapple bucket is better for moving brush and big logs, the 4in1 will pick up and move some very useful quantities of forest products, too.

Also, when spreading gravel or similar materials, it can be useful to slowly open the clamshell to a spacing that will let the material flow out at an even rate. You do need to curl the bucket forward to get the last bit to flow out.

If you don't have an equipment operator guru on call to train you in the most effective techniques, try to find an unfinished spot where you can practice with a pile of sand, gravel, brush, or whatever. Work at it until you're so frustrated that you'd like to drop-kick the PT across the yard. Then take a few hours and a beverage or two, or a good night's sleep, and try again.

If you're like most of us, suddenly things will work much better, at least until you start to *think* about what you're doing. From this point, it's a matter of developing "muscle memory" that lets you do something without having to think about *how* you do it.

It may be hard to believe right now, but soon you will probably be tickled at how much fun it is to learn these new skills.

In the meantime, don't worry about it. Just try different things, try to remember what you did, and what the results were. In a matter of days, or weeks at the most, you'll be trying to figure out why you had such a hard time at first...

Above all, remember that one of the most valuable benefits of PT ownership is the sheer Fun Factor! As long as you don't run into a car, or the house; or hurt someone, or some such, there really isn't much damage a PT can do that it can't undo.

Just spend some Quality Time with your PT, and life will get better. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Gravy

 

[mlhunter]

I'm pretty new to the 4n1 bucket myself and I agree that getting in some practice on a dirt pile is useful if you have a lot of that type of work to do.

I recently learned a lot more about the 4n1 bucket's capability when I used the 4n1 bucket to clean up a couple of farm roads that go through "old forest" areas.

The work included picking up limbs up to 6" in diameter and carrying them to a new brush pile, shoving downed trees to one side or another, moving old brush piles to widen the road a bit for bigger equipment and clearing an area where we like to skin and quarter our deer during deer season.

What I found that technique was less important for me than assessing the situation to determine what I wanted to accomplish and determining how the 4n1 bucket could best do it. I also looked to see if anything had the potential to harm myself or the tractor. My 1st attempts didn't always turn out to be the best technique but I soon learned what worked best for clamping different things, shoving, smoothing, etc. The bottom line is I couldn't believe all the heavy work that I got done in a short peroid of time (and my back didn't hurt when I was done!).


Also, once you have used the thing some you'll dream up different uses or it. I recently built a simple wooden platform that I could insert in the bucket for moving stuff around. I used it to move a refrigerator to my neighbor's house and to load a stove and microwave into a pickup. I also loaded some new furniture components on it and laid them over some landscaping and right up to a patio table for unpacking and carrying into the house.

Stay with it and I gaurantee you'll impress your friends and neighbors with what you can do with it!