FEL teeth - yes or no?

4570Man · Apr 17, 2018

The toothed bucket on the CTL is a lot better for a smooth backdrag than my tractor with a tooth bar was. The CTL bucket still has a smooth bottom where the tractor tooth bar stuck down.

Bird · Apr 17, 2018

I, too, think the bolt on toothbar is the way to go so you can remove it if you wish. However, when I put one on my front end loader, I never took it off.

RalphVa · Apr 17, 2018

TomIre said:
What are the pros and cons of teeth on an FEL? I'm guessing there are situations/tasks where teeth are an advantage and times where they are not? What should I consider?

Guess you're talking about a toothbar. My first tractor was ordered with a tooth bar. I really only ever used the tooth bar once, to loosen up some soil where I put in a new rain garden. Most of the time, I used the FEL with the tooth bar off, because of the extra length out front to account for. That was on the JD 4010, which would be like a 2019E today. Now have a 2025R, it digs essentially as well as the 4010 did with the tooth bar. Best FEL I've had, certainly MILES better than the snooty one on the 1025R.

Ralph

newbury · Apr 17, 2018

After reading all these replies I'm changing my mind.
Because it's such a bother to unbolt two bolts to remove my Pirahna, and even with QA it takes a minute or so to switch buckets I'm going to tell the wife I need to buy another tractor without a toothbar. That should save me 5 or 10 minutes a year.

buckeyefarmer · Apr 17, 2018

newbury said:
After reading all these replies I'm changing my mind.
Because it's such a bother to unbolt two bolts to remove my Pirahna, and even with QA it takes a minute or so to switch buckets I'm going to tell the wife I need to buy another tractor without a toothbar. That should save me 5 or 10 minutes a year.

Why didnt I think of that...

airbiscuit · Apr 17, 2018

newbury said:
After reading all these replies I'm changing my mind.
Because it's such a bother to unbolt two bolts to remove my Pirahna, and even with QA it takes a minute or so to switch buckets I'm going to tell the wife I need to buy another tractor without a toothbar. That should save me 5 or 10 minutes a year.

Brilliant :drink:

Atchuuu · Apr 17, 2018

Okay. So now I'm convinced I need a toothbar. So which one?

bdog · Apr 17, 2018

newbury said:
After reading all these replies I'm changing my mind.
Because it's such a bother to unbolt two bolts to remove my Pirahna, and even with QA it takes a minute or so to switch buckets I'm going to tell the wife I need to buy another tractor without a toothbar. That should save me 5 or 10 minutes a year.

I like your way of thinking but it really boils down to how you use your machine. Like I said mine has a hydraulic QA. I can change attachments very quickly. There have been days I have switched back and forth between the tooth and non tooth bucket a half dozen times. That much bolting and unbolting would get old. Also with a 7' wide bucket the toothbar isn't as easy to throw around as it is for the guys with the smaller buckets. Another pain I had with my piranha is mud/dirt gets caked on to the bucket lip and you have to chip it off to get the tooth bar to fit if that happens.

If you are a very infrequent user sure bolting and unbolting is no big deal. For me personally I would have to do it twenty times some weeks. No thanks.

bdog · Apr 18, 2018

Atchuuu said:
Okay. So now I'm convinced I need a toothbar. So which one?

I have owned a piranha and now have a regular weld on tooth bucket. The piranha works pretty darn good. We don't have the problem here but I bet one would work great for cutting through vines and underbrush. The teeth on it are wide and sharp. The piranha definitely helps with digging but is not quite as good as regular teeth I don't think but the piranha offers a lot of advantages for other purposes over regular teeth. Depends on what you intend to do the most of.

airbiscuit · Apr 18, 2018

If you have a ssqa loader, then you might look for a reasonably priced tooth bucket (good luck with that).

I don't have a preferred recommendation for a bolt on tooth bar, but here are a few options (others can suggest additional ones)