Adjustable width backhoe bucket (Kubota BX24)

[Sodo]

Hello,

Just got a 2007 BX24. I'm new to the forum and this is my first "question". Looking forward to lots of tractor fun.

I see several clever folks making narrow trenching buckets for the little BX24.
(Charlz and Red Dirt and perhaps others). Very interesting reading.

Has anyone looked into an adjustable width bucket? Where you cut the bucket to as narrow as possible, and make it bolt back together. Then you can use a wider strip on each side to restore it back to the 12". And for some materials/applications I suppose you could make it wider than the 12". My BX24 is 3 hours away I can't really look it over to see if this is feasible.

It SEEMS like this could be a simple project, possibly a lot simpler than building the whole bucket from scratch. I guess you would just have to buy boxes of 1/4" carriage bolts which are easy to just twist off if they become difficult.

 

[KWentling]

I also built my own 9" wide bucket. As easy as it is to change buckets, I don't see any advantage to building an adjustable width bucket. It would take longer to change out bolted in sections than to pull 2 pins and change the whole bucket.

Kim

 

[tonyoz]

It would take longer to change out bolted in sections than to pull 2 pins and change the whole bucket.

Kim

Especialy when the threads are full of dirt.

 

[Sodo]

Agreed, buying a 2nd ($350 from Kubota) bucket can work out depending on how often you need to change bucket size.

If you use small 1/4" bolts they just twist off and you replace with new. Little bolts are inexpensive, $2 per box of 50.

 

[Groo]

I have never honestly felt the need to change bucket sizes. Its fairly narrow as is and much wider would just slow it down. I really only see the need to swap buckets for larger and stronger machines.

The real problem with an adjustable width bucket is that the enclosed scoop shape lends the bucket a whole bunch of strength compared to a slice and dice, so both halves would have to be significantly stronger for this idea to possibly work. It would probably cost the same as 5 buckets when it was all done.

getting a small bucket then bolting on wings might be a viable option, but it sounds like way more trouble than it would be worth to me.

 

[Sodo]

It would probably cost the same as 5 buckets when it was all done.

????? Seems to me it would cost a lot LESS and be a fairly easy project.

 

[woodlandfarms]

How many people have more than one bucket? I guess I ave thought of something like a 6 inch to tench and a 30 inch to clean ponds but the 12 inch bucket has worked well for all my needs.

 

[Groo]

????? Seems to me it would cost a lot LESS and be a fairly easy project.

sure, it you don't care about attachments and don't care about strength. :confused2:

The mounting points are in the center section, and they can't be changing widths. That makes your adjuso bucket a 3 or 5 piece+ contraption. Then whatever you cobble together has to be able to take being smashed into rocks with Kubota's claimed nearly 1 ton of digging force and all the prying forces too. A small bucket with removable wings would be the only simple way to do it, and that would probably cost as much as 2 buckets, so what would be the point?

If you want to take a cutting torch to your new bucket, I just hope you have a good welder to stick it all back together.

One other thing to consider; Aren't trenching buckets usually longer than the standard buckets, in addition to being narrower?

 

[Gary Fowler]

The B 26 that I am buying comes with 2 buckets (12 and 7") the original owner bought an 18" and cut it down to a 7" for some reason which made absolutely no sense to the me or the 2nd owner but it happened.
I just dont think you could easily make a bolt together bucket to add sections in the middle that would increase the width and still be strong enough to hold together. They do make wings that bolt on to the outside of a bucket to make contour ditches and such but they dont mess with the bucket integrity.
The OP obviouslythinks he can do it and cheaper than buying another bucket, so by all means go for it. I would suggest that you check with your dealer first to see about availability of a new one after the project is finished and in pieces, just in case you want to dig something with your hoe. You will of course get a "Chinese Guarantee" on the work, If it breaks you still own all the pieces.:laughing:

 

[Sodo]

the original owner bought an 18" and cut it down to a 7" for some reason which made absolutely no sense to the me or the 2nd owner but it happened.

I suspect a 7" trenching was an immediate need. Maybe he started with the 18 simply because it was"in-stock". That makes sense to me anyway. Small bucket requires less horsepower, is less ground disturbance. It makes a lot of sense for a little tractor.

I just dont think you could easily make a bolt together bucket to add sections in the middle that would increase the width and still be strong enough to hold together.

Thanks Gary, that IS the question. Narrowing a bucket and welding it back together (permanent) sounds like a 2 hour job to me, maybe less time than a round-trip driving to the Kubota store. But making the width restorable ( and if 5 pcs can be made strong enough ! :confused2: ) is another story! I know it won't break, but if the little BX24 is able to bend it..... the bolts won't go back in and then I'd have to weld it back permanent.

My tractor that I have owned for all of 2 weeks is 3 hours away, thus I can't take a look at how the bucket is constructed. If I could see it I might know that answer and not have to ask the forum. The task at hand is to trench 700 feet thru the forest, ASAP, before the ground gets too hard! I have to make the decision whether to order a new (narrow) bucket, or plan to modify, so hoping someone on the forum can offer direct experience narrowing a bucket.

 

[tessiers]

I have 2 buckets, an 18" digging bucket with teeth and a 30" grading bucket which has a straight cutting edge similar to the loader bucket. To me they are 2 different animals and not similar enough to be interchangable. If aything I would make a smooth cutting edge as long as you like that would slip over the teeth making the cutting edge 1 piece and have the bucket extentions slide over both sides of the digging bucket. We used to have a snow bucket for the front of an old backhoe with a similar set up. The loader bucket was 7' wide and we built 2 18" bucket extentions with a 10' smooth cutting edge making a beautiful snow set up, that was before these new fangled box snow pushers showed us how its done. Just my 2 cents but I agree too many moving parts on a digging bucket could be problematic, lets face it if it was easy someone would have already done it.

 

[dfkrug]

I had a 9" bkt, and I don't think I have ever seen narrower. I got
rid of it since materials would easily get stuck in it, even if you
drilled an anti-suction hole in the bottom. My 12" bkt does all my
work, since I can dig pretty fast, and it is too much hassle to change
to my 18-incher for the rare times that the bigger one makes sense.
I guess if you have sandy & dry soils, a bkt narrower than 12' could be useful,
but I guess to have to try one to know for sure.

Adjustable-width bkt? Interesting idea, but it would take only a
few bolt removal/installs to exceed the effort of changing the whole
bkt. I guess, it you only have one bkt....

 

[Groo]

digging through roots with a little backhoe is not a fun time.

 

[GE222]

I would think that with a bucket that is as narrow as 7" would have to be a completely different design than a 12" bucket, for the simple reason that getting the dirt back out would be a real challenge. That being said, the narrow 7" bucket would either have to be all back with virtually no sides to hold dirt in, or have a cutting edge with or without teeth, strong sides, and an open back.

I have a mini excavator that has a standard 18" bucket, as well as a 9" narrow bucket and a 24" for ditching or lighter material. The 9" digs great, on the first bucketful, , but getting material out is always interesting, so much so that it almost never gets used. It is easier to dig the wider trench, deal with the extra material, than to mess with a temperamental skinny bucket.

I recently purchased a used 12" bucket, but it hasn't been modified to fit my machine as of yet. It will soon become my narrow bucket!

 

[Sodo]

Thanks for all the experienced points-of-view. Not sure how they apply to a BX24 though, which is maxed out with a 12". The task at hand that drives this thread is to "trench with only 6.2 gpm". At the moment just trying to gather (or create) the equipment to get going in the next week or so. I don't know how fast this job's gonna go, but "some parts" of it will be great with the little BX. I suspect I will have to tunnel under a lot of the roots (by hand).

I do have a 6.5HP digging-chain type trencher too. I hear you on the "banana bucket". For a small tractor it seems like an open back bucket just to cut with, with a hydraulic backdoor, to then scoop out the dirt (or push out a plug) would be a useful device for a (sub)compact tractor. Of course none of this stuff is likely to turn up a week!

Still interested in hearing from someone who has experience "trenching" with 6.2 gpm. Looks like these type of "members" surface once every five years or so, maybe I'll be that guy for 2012-2017! :laughing:

 

[dfkrug]

The 9" digs great, on the first bucketful, , but getting material out is always interesting, so much so that it almost never gets used. It is easier to dig the wider trench, deal with the extra material, than to mess with a temperamental skinny bucket.

Exactly my point. Some folks have to see for themselves.

There is a gizmo that I have seen pix of that looks like a fixed
plate, which serves to forcefully empty the bkt every time you retract
the bkt cylinder. It is tied to the end of the dipper and fits just inside
the trenching bkt.

BTW, I find 12" to be a good sized trench. Not too wide and not too narrow.

 

[KWentling]

The task at hand is to trench 700 feet thru the forest, ASAP, before the ground gets too hard! I have to make the decision whether to order a new (narrow) bucket, or plan to modify, so hoping someone on the forum can offer direct experience narrowing a bucket.

I think you're going to find the BX too small if you're digging through many roots. I have dug out a few trees and roots are tough. I bought my BX with the 12" bucket and after spring when it dries up here and the clay turns to rock (well, it seems like it), I could not dig more than about 18" deep. I built the 9" (which is as narrow as the bucket linkage) and that gives me just enough to get through that hardpan. It's also a great width for utilities.

As far as narrowing your bucket, just cut the sides off, cut 1 1/2" (or whatever you want) off of each side, and weld the sides back on. You'll have to reposition the teeth on the bucket lip also.

Kim

 

[rambler]

This is one of those brute force deals, if you need to trench through the woods, start trenvching, stop thinking.

You won't get nothing accomplished by thinking for a week.

Start digging with a 12 inch bucket. 700 feet isn't that far.

I got a 3pt backhoe on the back of my Ford 5200 ag tractor. It's a 2 foot bucket, it goes 8 foot deep, and the tractor has a 5 gallon pump on it.

I get trenches made. Can do 700 feet in a long day, here in MN we need to be 5-6 feet deep so there is a pile of dirt. The roots will slow you down some, but don't think aboyut this for a week; just get out the mucsle and be digging with what you got.

I'd never want a skinny bucket for general trenching, dirt wouldn't come out. Would take me longer to trench with a 10 inch bucket than with the 2 foot bucket; have a hard time getting mud to knock out of the 2 foot bucket as it is.

I'd not want an 'adjustable' bucket, we beat the snot out of the bucket, it's a brute force item, 1/4 inch bolts would be a joke, that bucket needs to transfer extreme forces from the back center root to the front teeth corners, and bolts would not get that done.

You get points for creative thinking, good questioon and inovative thinking. But - it's a no-go in the real world for several reasons. Now, if you were doing something special for a living, and working in dry or sand ground, etc. - then a special bucket might be good.

Doesn't sound like that's the case tho.

Just start digging.

--->Paul

 

[alchemysa]

Yesterday, at a mates place, dug a 35 ft trench about 2 feet deep for an electrical cable from the meter box to the house. Tractor is a B1550, only about 15hp and 5 or 6 gpm. ( the backhoe has its own pto pump). Took about 3.5 hours and was often through some very tough limestone that occasionally had to be broken up it with a big crowbar as the little backhoe just couldn't dent it. Yes thats a long time but it would have taken a week with a spade. But technique is everything and mine had to continually change as different strength materials were encountered.

Buckets take an almighty pounding. I can't imagine an adjustable one lasting too long.

Anyway, the point I wanted to make is that (barring some clogging) 9" is a pretty handy size because its wide enough to stand in and clean up the bottom of the trench, or dig under things like concrete strips, with a long handled spade. Any narrower would be difficult.

 

[KWentling]

This is one of those brute force deals, if you need to trench through the woods, start trenvching, stop thinking.

We're talking a little-bity backhoe here. It doesn't have brute force. I too would try the 12" first, but think that is going to be too wide but I don't know his dirt. If he has much for larger roots to deal with, I think he'll be looking for a bigger hoe. And 700' is going to take him days, maybe a week with that hoe. I'd probably try it with the BX but be expecting to need to rent something to do the job.

Kim