Bradco 509 on a L3710

   / Bradco 509 on a L3710 #11  
Hey, wait a minute. Tractor's aren't about racing. Now where were we? Oh yes, Bradco. My 4610 dream has now been upgraded to include a 611 hoe rather than a 511. That was easy.
 
   / Bradco 509 on a L3710 #12  
Radman - Wow! I thought I had the record for "biggest backhoe for the tractor" combination with my Bradco 609 on an L4310HST. I'm glad there's someone else out there willing to push the limits!

When I installed mine (initially, put it on an L3710GST), Bradco didn't recommend it because of the lower hydraulic flow than they recommend, but I found it worked just fine. A little slower sometimes I'm sure, as you said, but plenty fast enough.

MarkC
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   / Bradco 509 on a L3710 #13  
Mchalkley- Your 609 is very similar. I looked at the specs once and the digging forces are the same, so I assume the cylinders are identical. I think the 609 has a 9' reach, and the 611 an 11' reach. Most of my digging is in the 3-4' depths so far. Do you ever feel you wish you had more digging force/power? Sometimes in hard clay, digging can seem slow.
 
   / Bradco 509 on a L3710 #14  
Radman - Well, I can't get hardly anything done with it since I sold it. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif But when I still had it, I never really found digging force to be lacking, except when digging up really big stumps, but that's tough on any backhoe. If the 609 and the 611 have the same cylinders, then the 609 would have a little higher digging force (dipper, not bucket) because of the leverage factor, though, so that may be part of it.

MarkC
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   / Bradco 509 on a L3710 #15  
I just happen to have the 609 and 611 specs on hand.

609 bucket and dipper forces are 5908lb and 3232lb respectively

611 bucket and dipper forces are 6167lb and 4160lb respectively

The brochure doesn't mention the cylinder diameters so I can't tell if the difference is cylinder size, length of lever arms, or both.
 
   / Bradco 509 on a L3710 #16  
Hayden - According to those specs, the 611 must have larger cylinders. That would make it even slower, of course.

MarkC
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   / Bradco 509 on a L3710 #17  
I think cylinder bores on 609 and 611 are the same - but 611 dipper arm is different - longer pin-center distance above pivot, so more force at other end. also the bucket linkage has similar longer links - Bradco has figured on more stroke volume available on bigger tractors, so everything is scaled up? Big hoes work ok on smaller tractors, just a bit slower without a bigger pump. My 2 cents - cheerful refund if bogus.
 
   / Bradco 509 on a L3710 #18  
Hmm, could be. I don't know for sure, either. I guess it makes a little more sense from a parts and repair standpoint to change the linkage and leave the cylinders the same, because they're the maintenance item. You're probably right. Can I have my 2 cents back? /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

MarkC
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   / Bradco 509 on a L3710 #19  
rbargeron: Come to think of it you are right. The pin-center is longer/higher on the 611. I didn't realize the dipper forces were that different. The bucket forces are however quite similar. I would guess the dipper movement speed is probably slower on the 611 than on the 609 due to the different geometry. I bet the cylinders are similar in size. I have noticed that the hoe can drag the tractor when using the dipper in hard ground unless I also increase the weight on the outriggers by simultaneously applying weight by using the boom or bucket to create more down pressure. (ie. curl the bucket or lift up on the boom) My tractor doesn't have ballast in the rear tires which would also help considerably. Putting the loader bucket on the ground and raising the front end slightly also seems to help stabilize the tractor.
 
   / Bradco 509 on a L3710 #20  
Some time back, I waded through some old and new Bradco brochures to get a picture of their product offerings in backhoes. Below are quotes from TBN posts I made then:

" Bradco's older model numbers were 6,7, 8, 9 etc. followed by LD, MD or HD (light medium or heavy duty)

The Bradco 9HD and 11HD were developed for the Kubota L3 chassis tractors (L3750 & L4150) and continued to be promoted with the L4350, L4850 and L5450 through about 1996. The HD's were in addition to their LD and MD models, the lineup ranging from 6LD up to 13MD

Bradco's model numbering has switched to a 3-digit system where the 400 500 or 600 indicates light, medium or heavy duty (roughly 2" 2 1/2" or 3" cylinder bores) and the last 2 digits indicate 8' 9' or 11' nominal backhoe size. A 509 and a 609 have similar size (reach) but the 609 has bigger cylinders, higher digging forces, and stronger components.

From what I've seen, Bradco makes very well-designed and executed backhoes. They have specialized in backoes for years. And they have really done their homework in marrying their hoes to Kubota tractors. Their subframes don't waste an inch of space anywhere, their hoes attach and detach easily, and their subframes have good ground clearance.

If you look closely at Kubota's brochures in the early '90's, their commercial-duty units (prior to L35's) were shown and supplied with Bradco backhoes. And one Kubota-badged backhoe, the L5412, was in fact a Bradco 11HD with the extend-a-hoe option. "
 

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