FEL Grapple from Scratch W/ Lots-O-Pics

[3RRL]

Reg, I didn't know that your loader valve has a power beyond on it.
Use that for sure to power the new solenoid valve instead of what I said (although it would still work). I said what I said because some loader valves (like my Chinese one) do not have the power beyond on them or the sleeve for it. It is ALWAYS better to power another valve downstream via a power beyond port.
Come on man, no more procrastinating, lol...:thumbsup:

Regarding the post hole digger, you might consider to add a couple of quick-disconnects to your dump/curl cylinder hoses so you could run your post hole digger with the loader valve?? Has anyone considered doing that before??

 

[Ductape]

Reg,
The solenoid valve you linked is closed center....... I believe this is the one you actually want.

Surplus Center - 12 VDC 10 GPM OC DA SOLENOID VALVE

 

[3RRL]

Reg,
The solenoid valve you linked is closed center....... I believe this is the one you actually want.

Surplus Center - 12 VDC 10 GPM OC DA SOLENOID VALVE

Ah, good catch !! Where did you find that info? That one looks like the one Larry and I used. Looks like it needs the sub plate and Hirschman connectors too?

 

[J_J]

The solenoid valve should be added after the FEL valve so the FEL relief could relieve excess pressure.

To divert hyd fluid, I believe I would use this selector/diverter valve , and it does not require a subplate.

http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?item=9-7852&catname=hydraulic

http://www.surpluscenter.com/Instruct/I9-7852.pdf

The curl circuit would feed this valve. You will have normal curl function with no 12v to the diverter.

Use a momentary push button to apply 12v to the diverter valve and the valve will shift the flow to grapple as long as you hold the button.

There is no reason to have float on grapple.

 

[Reg]

Thanks folks,
I am going the long hoses route after all.
1) The potential front hydraulic PHD.
2) A potential back hoe thumb.
(my word of the week ? "potential". Yeah, I've always liked it)

I know, I know,,, there will be TIMES when I want to run the hoses to the front AND to the B/H thumb.

BTW, I run outlets a bit differently to some folk, perhaps this is a minority configuration.

MOST people seem to have female pairs of outlets and equip their implements with male hose pairs.

I saw that as an OPPORTUNITY to switch things over when hooking up - could be good, could be bad, but as a creature of habit I like predictability.

My outlet pairs are one male and one female, my implement hoses are similarly one male and one female.
This PREVENTS me from hooking up and finding that last week's up/down has become this week's down/up.
Switching things around can be a safety issue.
I only need to get it "right" once, when I put the couplings onto the hoses.
This also allows me to connect implement hoses together when not in use and keep dirt, bugs & rain out.
Minor cost savings too, a male/female pair is priced slightly lower than a pair of males (-:
I will do my long hoses the same way, a male on one end a female on the other end, one hose will have the male end at the front of the tractor, the other will be the other way around.
I will connect them to each other when not in use, again to keep them clean.

 

[Reg]

PS to last message;
Another side benefit to connecting implement hoses together when the implement is not in use is that the cylinders are "free", e.g. on the Harley rake if I don't come in PERFECTLY straight to hook up I can swing the front frame of the rake around a bit because the hydraulic cylinder isn't "locked" against me doing that, each end of the cylinder is "open" - to the other end.
This needs a bit of attention, although things don't flop around uncontrollably (-:
I don't rely on cylinders to hold things safely away from me anyway.
{common sense, as usual, is recommended}