Dirt Scraper (Dirt Pan) / Towed Vs. Dirt Scoop / 3-Pt. - WHICH ROUTE ????

[DJ54]

A definite yes vote on the scraper. Although my old Overland isn't near what these newer one's with hydraulics are, it is the berries..!!

Let it be known, that cutting topsoil is much tougher than subsoil. It's much easier to keep an even cut in clay type materials. Front ballast is a must, whether it be a loader, or weights, with that type of hitch. Once you get "hooked in", traction should increase because of the down pressure being applied. My Overland is a 60" cut, but if it hooks into something pretty solid, or a rock, it will pull the front wheels of my Massey 180 off the ground.

In the perfect world, it would be sweet to have another tractor to put the box scraper on, and use the scarifiers to pre-rip what you are cutting. I have a subsoiler for my Super C Farmall, and I do my ripping with it. Makes loading so much easier.

The frost bits on that cutting edge should make it cut easier, it's a shame they don't offer a tooth bar cutting edge.

Also, a scraper can grade off your fill, and if it is a fill that needs compacted, you can load the scraper, and wheel roll the fill, if done in shallow lifts.

 

[jeff9366]

I have a 30" dirt scoop but found when I fill that and the FEL bucket and transport it over any bumps I lose some of it and it makes a mess on roads.

I wondered about combination of FEL bucket + dirt scoop when I started this thread. Thanks.

 

[jeff9366]

Here is a link to an old thread, but had some first hand experience and several other brands to look at. I didn't read it all yet and I started on page 6 if it, but it had a lot of cool info in the posts on that page:
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/50169-best-dirt-moving-attachment-found.html

Whew, ten pages of Dirt Scraper posts.

Link raises a new question: Is the three point hitch on B3300SU sufficiently robust to withstand long term strain of pulling Hoelscher DB-4?

Probably not. I replaced Kubota 3.7 pound turnbuckle check chains with aftermarket Stabilworks' 14.4 pound pin-adjustable, rigid stabilizers primarily to ease loading of implements but also to increase support for the lift arms. The relatively light B3300SU 3-Pt.hitch may be the deciding negative, not B3300SU power, not weight, not traction; all unfortunately marginal.

Kubota tractor stabilizers Kubota [url]www.stabilworks.com - YouTube[/url]

Thank you, Jnasystems.

 

[Renze]

That Hoelscher thing is only 1 m3... horsepower requirement of 45-50hp is probably true for a compact tractor, but the weight of the tractor decides if it will fill the pan or not... The CAT1 3pt trunnion will be torn off with a 50hp farm tractor...
Large pans are filled by a 10 ton large MFWD and hold 17 yards (12.4m3) so with an experienced operator, one should be able to fill 1.24m3 per tonne of tractor weight. If i ever have time, i'd be interested in building a 4m3 pan

Miskin Construction Scraper 2of5 - YouTube

 

[Gary Fowler]

Even with the pull type pan work is going to be slow @.9 cubic yard and the scoop is about like a wheel barrow in capacity. With either one, dumping a load then looking at the result will make you wonder if you brought any dirt. The pull type will for sure allow for more even pickup and distribution of the load, so if you have enough work to justify the cost, go for the pan. With 200 acres you could be hauling more than 1/2 mile from end to end so you need as much capacity as you can pull. In sandy soil, it should not be hard to load as you set it to only cut an 1 or 2 OR as much as your tractor will pull. They will cut without scarifying the soil if you have the power to pull them. Really the only one I have used was a 5 yd sized one behind a 120 HP tractor with dual rears and 1100# for front weights and water filled front tires. I could drop it down to cut 6" or more of hard clay and the front end would come up and just float when loading it. That one attached to the center drawbar so no way would it turn flip the tractor at a point of about 3 feet off the ground, they tractor would loose traction and it would come back down. Very fun job for my father and me. We started with chisel plow to loosen up the soil but found that it wasnt needed so he swapped the plow for a back blade and his job was to circle the dike and spread and pack the dirt as I picked it up and dumped it. Even with 5 yards, it didnt look like much when dumped

 

[Renze]

Link raises a new question: Is the three point hitch on B3300SU sufficiently robust to withstand long term strain of pulling Hoelscher DB-4?

Absolutely no problem, because it only pulls on them. Even when digging in reverse with a 3pt bucket i didnt buckle the lower link arms, i just buckled one once while i was backing up with a 6m3 manure tank while pumping water from a canal while standing on a farmroad bridge: When i backed up, the tractor rear wheel went into a pothole and the entire 12 ton combination stopped instantly when the lower link arm hit the edge of the concrete deck.
CUTs are built lighter than farm tractors, but there is absolutely no problem when PULLING on them. Lateral forces arent that big on the lower link arms because the trunnion allows for articulation.

 

[DJ54]

If anyone is looking for a 2.5 yd scraper, this one was just posted on Craigslist. Located in SW Ohio.

Eversman dirt scraper pan

 

[jeff9366]

The specs for the DB4 also indicate a max HP of 35 and the 50 was the max HP for the 72" pan.

Jnasystems: You are correct.

Hoelscher recommends 25-35 hp for DB-4, 35-50 hp for DB-5 and 45-50 hp for DB-6 / 72".

NEXT question is: Brake HP, PTO HP or DRAFT HP ?

Hoelscher's web site could be more definitive.

 

[Gary Fowler]

If anyone is looking for a 2.5 yd scraper, this one was just posted on Craigslist. Located in SW Ohio.

Eversman dirt scraper pan

That looks like a good buy and might even be pulled with a 40HP with light scraping action in sand. Problems with dirt pans is they need to move pretty fast to load the dirt and shove it back to the back. The big Euclid pan scrapers usually have a set of paddled turning to move the dirt to the rear so they can move slowly and cut deeply and still load the pan.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

If anyone is looking for a 2.5 yd scraper, this one was just posted on Craigslist. Located in SW Ohio.

Eversman dirt scraper pan

Folks I have looked at this size used Pans. I can tell you even with low needs if it was not 6 hours away and with only an Escalade to tow with I would borrow the money and get that one. We are talking more like $10K new and this one does not look like it has been abused by the photos. Saw one that must have had a big tractor pulling it when it caught something solid with the cutter so a critical eye is KEY. Took the twins (son/daughter ages 14) with me and make a game of which one could find the most things wrong with it and WHY.

I am glad the owner did not have a gun on him because I think he would have shot me or himself.

Points to check I found was the hydraulics and condition of the hoses. As noted bends/welds/etc. It really needs to be hitched so you can put it through it full range of motion too to check for free range of motion and slop in wear points. While NEW paint looks nice it is also a red flag in general but maybe not in this case. This is an awesome time of the year to buy. It can not be used this time of the year in OH and it is tax time so earth moving equipment often can be liquidated especially if the earth moving task on the farm is completed.