Bought a new snow bucket...

[lungdoc]

Lunk, I'm curious what the advantages are of the snow bucket over your stock bucket. Is there that much more capacity? Stock on your loader is 10.4 cu/ft, I think.

It's just the weight and abrasion of snow vs. gravel/dirt/rock. Same power can move a lot more snow, but the standard bucket is sized for summer work. Snow bucket or pusher/plow etc can be a lot lighter construction also and still get the job done. No way that tractor could move that bucket if it was filled with gravel. Similar with plows - a pickup truck can push a snow plow of a size that would require a serious dozer in dirt.

 

[Threepoint]

I think for visibility

Good idea. Haven't seen that before.

 

[Threepoint]

[snip]
Threepoint, I recently bought a 6 foot snow bucket from Lofland Fabrication. My bucket does not have as high a back as Lunk's, and mine has a 27 cu foot capacity. Lunk's bucket is probably around 30 cubic feet.

Picture of the one I just got.

View attachment 441703View attachment 441704

That is a big bucket!

 

[gladehound]

... Snow bucket or pusher/plow etc can be a lot lighter construction also and still get the job done...

I just want to comment that "light" construction vs "standard" or "heavy" construction is all relative. I don't know about your snow bucket. My snow bucket weighs ~500 which is roughly twice what my "standard" OEM bucket weighs. The snow bucket has a much thicker cutting edge (3/4" x 6") than the standard bucket (1/2" x 4"). It has more reinforcement. There is really no comparison in the construction. The snow bucket is built much stronger yet the manufacturer calls it "light" construction. This is because these are made to withstand 70hp skid steers and they are comparing them to the heavy duty digging buckets that type of equipment requires. My point is that nobody buying one of these for a CUT should consider them "light" in construction or in terms of how the bucket weight affects your lift capacity.

I'm really anxious to try mine in snow. I think it is going to work great and save met a lot of time but I won't know for sure until it snows - of course it is also great for moving all those things that wont fit in a standard bucket (gas grill, large trash cans, lots of firewood and anything else that is "light")

I will definitely be using mine for firewood. I try to fit as much firewood as possible in my stock bucket but it is a balancing act as you can see from the picture below.



For those considering one of these, just be aware of the extra bucket weight, the impact of the extra bucket length on your loader (especially the curl function), and that with a high volume bucket you can get a lot of weight in there fast.

 

[Lunk]

Lunk, I'm curious what the advantages are of the snow bucket over your stock bucket. Is there that much more capacity? Stock on your loader is 10.4 cu/ft, I think.

The new bucket is just 6" wider than stock, but has about 3 times the capacity. It works a lot like a pusher in that respect, with the added benefit of the attributes of a bucket. I also use it for clean-up of lighter materials around the homestead. You can fit a lot of crap in it for sure!

 

[Lunk]

Lunk, I'm curious what the advantages are of the snow bucket over your stock bucket. Is there that much more capacity? Stock on your loader is 10.4 cu/ft, I think.

The new bucket has about 3 times the capacity as stock. It acts much like a push-box in that respect, with the added benefit of being a bucket.

I also use it for collection of lighter material around the homestead.

 

[Lunk]

Nice bucket Lunk. I've never really liked the puny buckets that most CUTs have. And for snow removal they are pitiful. That bucket in the pictures looks like it will do the job and save tons of time. What is your lift capacity on that tractor and what does that bucket weigh?

Threepoint, I recently bought a 6 foot snow bucket from Lofland Fabrication. My bucket does not have as high a back as Lunk's, and mine has a 27 cu foot capacity. Lunk's bucket is probably around 30 cubic feet.

Picture of the one I just got.

View attachment 441703View attachment 441704

The weight is just over 600#. Lift capacity is around 2200# IIRC.

 

[Lunk]

I just want to comment that "light" construction vs "standard" or "heavy" construction is all relative. I don't know about your snow bucket. My snow bucket weighs ~500 which is roughly twice what my "standard" OEM bucket weighs. The snow bucket has a much thicker cutting edge (3/4" x 6") than the standard bucket (1/2" x 4"). It has more reinforcement. There is really no comparison in the construction. The snow bucket is built much stronger yet the manufacturer calls it "light" construction. This is because these are made to withstand 70hp skid steers and they are comparing them to the heavy duty digging buckets that type of equipment requires. My point is that nobody buying one of these for a CUT should consider them "light" in construction or in terms of how the bucket weight affects your lift capacity.

I'm really anxious to try mine in snow. I think it is going to work great and save met a lot of time but I won't know for sure until it snows - of course it is also great for moving all those things that wont fit in a standard bucket (gas grill, large trash cans, lots of firewood and anything else that is "light")

I will definitely be using mine for firewood. I try to fit as much firewood as possible in my stock bucket but it is a balancing act as you can see from the picture below.

View attachment 441720

For those considering one of these, just be aware of the extra bucket weight, the impact of the extra bucket length on your loader (especially the curl function), and that with a high volume bucket you can get a lot of weight in there fast.

What he said.

Sides and back are 3/16" steel. Wear strips on bottom and gussets on back of bucket are 1/2" steel.

Yes. Holes are for visibility, but from a skid-steer cab IMHO.

 

[varmint]

Interesting thread... but Gladehound, surely you don't really move a stack of firewood like that in the photo... I don't think I could get 20' before it was falling all over the place- even in L speed.

 

[gladehound]

I did drive with it. Only ~150 feet from my splitting area to the wood shed. Did not drop a single piece. I was going about 1.1 - 1.5 mph but it never felt like the pile would spill. I did this because my log splitter doesn't have an off switch so I keep stacking (if I can) until it runs out of gas. I rarely can get it all stacked in one bucket trip. The stack usually starts to get unstable and I then throwing the splits on the ground and make 2 trips. But a few times I've been able to just keep stacking it and it felt real solid so I just went with it. With the new bucket, I'll never have to throw split wood on the ground so I can eliminate all the bending over to pick it up again! :thumbsup: