BH77 - has anyone considered converting mechanical thumb to hydraulic?

[briandantz]

Quite the hose array you have there! i will take a picture of the right console next to the seat to show you how much real estate the L3200 has. I wish i could say i planned it that way, but i really didn't realize how much bigger the L frame was until i sat on a friends B 2xxx series. Boy they are tight! The L is tight in the garage. you have to fold the ROPS to bring it through the door.

The more i think about it, i want my valve to have detent on one of the spools to run the BH. (one set of the remotes stays locked ON to power the BH). Still 2 spool, Still joystick. 10 GPM valve

Joystick left and right will 1)"tilt" the 3 PT when i have the box blade on 2)Detent for power beyond for the hoe (eliminate the "backhoe jumper" and plug it into the remotes.

Joystick forward and reverse will 1)roll "top" the box blade 2) tee to the front for plow angle and grapple

So i end up with dual remotes in the back and single remotes in the front for the price of one Prince loader valve and some hose.

 

[CDN Farm Boy]

I'm not sure if you can get one half of a joystick to have a a detent or not, I've never looked into it.

As far as T for the one circuit, it will only work if the runs dead end otherwise the fluid will take the path of least resistance. For the lines running to the front to work, the other side of the T will have to go nowhere. Same thing for the rear side to work, the front will have to have nothing connected.

 

[CDN Farm Boy]

Yup, things are tight on a B2xxx. I'm glad I changed my mind to the B3300. It's a 60" wide machine rather than 48"

 

[briandantz]

You have to order it that way, it may end up being sectional instead of monoblock.

Yes, you can't run front and rear concurrently. the back remotes have to be unplugged for the fronts to work, and vise versa.

Duh, better idea... just make the front lines 18" longer and put QD's on them. plug the into which ever rear remotes make you happiest. Holy crap that's a good idea!

 

[briandantz]

i almost ended up with a B3300, but they couldn't put a standard quick attach on the loader. That was a show stopper. The downside of the L3200 was no option for a mid PTO, so no front snow blower for me..... we get LOTS of snow. You have to get the Grand L for that, which adds a cab that interferes with the backhoe. and so on and so on. Gotta love Kubota.

 

[Tompet]

Small hijack of thread...but in addition to modifying the thumb, has anyone made or is aware of a quick coupler for the BH77? It would be nice to do quick swap of a ripper or different size bucket.

 

[CDN Farm Boy]

It's on my list of things to build ;-) In reality, these buckets aren't that heavy, I'm not sure the loss of bucket curl force from pushing the bucket away from the pivot would be worth it.

 

[briandantz]

i am amid design. won't have anything to show for a few months and it won't be cheap, but nothing this good ever is. CAD work was easy enough, Material is about 350 bucks. laser cutting is expensive and a day to weld up. unfortunately, i am not getting to it right away.

 

[briandantz]

CDN,
Correct you are, you lose a fair amount when the radius increases when you add the coupler in. It kills your curl force. Same as when I got the quick attach on my loader. reduces boom and bucket lift force.

The BH77 is not a powerhouse to start with. but switching buckets (especially with the thumb on the same pivot pin) is a pain in the butt.

 

[Tompet]

CDN,
Correct you are, you lose a fair amount when the radius increases when you add the coupler in. It kills your curl force. Same as when I got the quick attach on my loader. reduces boom and bucket lift force.

The BH77 is not a powerhouse to start with. but switching buckets (especially with the thumb on the same pivot pin) is a pain in the butt.

That sounds like a strike against the idea. So a coupler must be an extension of existing dipper to bucket geometry and not a replacement?
In any event, I admire your ability to fab up the coupler. I am working with someone to modify a pair of Kioti "bigfoot" stabilizer feet for the BH 77. Hope to have that in a week or so and that it will give a little more solid ground grip for the BH.

Btw, did you see this q/a for a BX?

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/customization/299934-new-kubota-bx25-d-mod.html