Cylinder weight scale

[shui5612]

Anyone make or figure out how to hook up a psi gauge and correlate it to the weight inside the bucket ? The systems I see for sale use this principle but are really expensive and I was looking to get something going to figure out the weight of some things I load into my trailers and how much weight I am lifting with my jib to be on the safe side and figure out how much weight I am really loading or lifting.

The way I imagine it is that I would need 2 gauges, one for the curl and one for the lifting cylinder and then lift it up and have a dry weight/pressure. Then take multiple measurements, say at every 200 lbs and have a small chart with a table figured out.
Anyone ever do a similar system or figure something out like that?

 

[CalG]

Anyone make or figure out how to hook up a psi gauge and correlate it to the weight inside the bucket ? The systems I see for sale use this principle but are really expensive and I was looking to get something going to figure out the weight of some things I load into my trailers and how much weight I am lifting with my jib to be on the safe side and figure out how much weight I am really loading or lifting.

The way I imagine it is that I would need 2 gauges, one for the curl and one for the lifting cylinder and then lift it up and have a dry weight/pressure. Then take multiple measurements, say at every 200 lbs and have a small chart with a table figured out.
Anyone ever do a similar system or figure something out like that?

A simple Tee in the lift circuit fitted with a gauge will tell you everything. Curl is not material unless it changes the distance from the load to the cylinder of support.

There in lies the rub. How do you control just where the load is centered? "Give me a lever long enough , And I shall move the earth!"

It's a fools mission or a guess. How about a hoist scale?

 

[shui5612]

Didn't think of a hoist scale. Ill look into them.

The T off the lift cylinder seems like a better and more permanent solution.

I wonder how much off the gauge will be when you curl or uncurl the jib.

Seeing how its 10ft long you could lift almost vertically or horizontally.

Yes you could lift more with it in the vehicle position but assuming the loader manages to lift the object, won't the pressure in the cylinders remain relatively the same ? I.e. if I'm lifting something that 2000lbs will it read say 2200 or will it be way off at 4350lbs?

I found some "cheap" electronic gauges that go up to 5000 psi.

Will I need to run a big hose for the gauge or will a small one suffice?

Alternatively maybe there is a gauge and a readout that is disconnected that I could find for relatively cheap.

 

[CalG]

Playing around with a teed in gauge and a known weight will help with your "calibration."

For my needs, I have a Chatillion crane scale.

 

[boggen]

you can use smaller hoses to the gauge/s but the issue will be to "bleed out" any air. air will throw off any readings.

another issue. any time you are working the cylinders (bucket or arms), readings will be off. only when the levers are in neutral position will you get some what of an accurate reading.

other things that might throw numbers off. if you raise FEL and bucket all the way up into the air, and let them set with tractor running does the bucket uncurl of arms lower? and also what happens when you do same thing with tractor off and everything up in the air? if stuff begins lowering, you have some issues with cylinders and/or valves and having stuff leak down. the more weight you have lifted, the more chance a leak down test might show something.

major thing that will through off your numbers, is the curl/uncurl of bucket itself. by nature of how buckets curl/uncurl they move weight either closer or further away from from FEL arms at the lip of the bucket. this can change what you might read on the arm gauge.

 

[RPW]

I did a standalone setup with just a hydraulic cylinder hooks and guage. There is a matatical formula to figure psi to lbs. I set mine up with two gauges. One to read upto 100lbs. And another guage to read upto 5000lbs. I use quick attach couplers to make the change.

 

[scdeerslayer]

For consistent readings you'll probably need to weigh at a similar height with the bucket curled at the same position.

 

[Xfaxman]

A crane scale is what I have, got it on eBay for about $300.

Also hang it from the shop crane.

 

[dfkrug]

A crane scale is what I have, got it on eBay for about $300.

That's a very nice setup. I looked for a year or 2 on eBay, and did not want to pay that much.
So I bought a small hyd cyl with about 2" OD, and 3/4" rod. Total length, about 6 inches. I
filled it with fluid and calibrated it with a gauge. Works great. It does not matter if there is
a bit of air inside the cyl.

When lifting something to be measured, I suspend it from my loader bucket or shop ceiling hoist.

As for a Tee fitting and a gauge on a tractor's lift cyl, the only way that could give meaningful weights
is if the loader was exactly at one height, the bkt curled exactly at one position, and the additional
load to be measured was exactly centered about the same point. Geometry otherwise will mess
up any calibration.

 

[CCWKen]

It wouldn't matter what position the curl cylinders were in if you tap the primary feed to the lift cylinders before the split and after the control. Once you lift the empty bucket and stop, you have a base feedback pressure of the weight of the lift arms and bucket. That point become Zero. Whatever weight you add to the bucket will increase the feedback pressure. A little math will tell you how much weight was added to the bucket and you can then scale the gauge from the zero (inert weight). You need to know the size of the lift cylinders so you can calculate the force against the pistons. You'll have the PSI. All you need to do is calculate the force applied to the cylinders. The difference between that and your zero becomes the weight in the bucket.