FELs and digging

[DaBear3428]

Depends on the tractor and the soil. The manufactures data on the FEL will list digging depth, usually 5 to 10 inches which is how far below grade you can dig at any time, then you drive the tractor into the hole. It is important to push not ram and the weight of your tractor makes a big difference. the attached photos are all in undisturbed packed clay and in the 1st photo the pile in the background is 9 feet high for reference and if you look closely you can see the top of my tractor. Plan a ramp into the excavation so you can get in and out and plan on backing out of the hole a lot. lower the bucket with it level or just a little down angle start pushing and gradually bring the bucket angle up as the tractor stalls, weight in the tires or on the back help a lot, all of this is without a tooth bar, and for this on my tractor i do not need one but it would add extra protection against bending the lower lip of my bucket. the main thing is that this is not a excavator, push do not use momentum and you should be fine (well follow all the other safety rules). in the end it is a lot slower than any dedicated digging equipment but you can get it done.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

Put a disc on the rear, or subsoiler, rip the ground a little and dig it up. I put clay in chicken houses. That's the way I do it.

 

[DaBear3428]

A toothbar essentially puts the same force (the partial weight of your FEL and tractor, and any pushing force) onto a smaller area, fewer points. So more rock, dirt and sod busting PSI, but you can keep the same force on the loader arms and cylinders…or try to.
A spade bucket does the same thing.

that is true for the length of the teeth, but after the 3 to 5 inches you have the original bucket lip and the tooth bar so your force is more spread out making it harder to get a full bucket, but i will agree for the first few inches the tooth bar helps and it also helps to get a grip on some things like rocks and roots.

 

[bdhsfz6]

I recently dug out a bank to make a shooting range with my MX5800:

I used the LA1065 FEL bucket for most of the digging. I did need the hoe to break up some shale when I got down below 4'.

I took it slow and didn't over stress the FEL but it worked out fine.

As others have said, it really depends on the type of soil you're working in.

 

[DaBear3428]

A toothbar essentially puts the same force (the partial weight of your FEL and tractor, and any pushing force) onto a smaller area, fewer points. So more rock, dirt and sod busting PSI, but you can keep the same force on the loader arms and cylinders…or try to.
A spade bucket does the same thing.

that is true for the length of the teeth, but after the 3 to 5 inches you have the original bucket lip and the tooth bar so your force is more spread out making it harder to get a full bucket, but i will agree for the first few inches the tooth bar helps and it also

 

[big bubba]

Honestly they are not made to dig. scootr
yes to this, esp w/smaller compacts...

 

[Jims1025R]

Front end loader is designed to load, which suggests that the load is already loose. A back hoe is a hoe, which is a digging implement. If you can "load" loose earth away from where you don't want it to be, that's loading, go for it.

It is wise to approach digging with a front end loader with caution, as expectations should be low for that.

As for teeth on the bucket, that's not really the best indicator of the intended use regards digging. I have both toothed and cutting edge only buckets for my excavator, depending upon what I intend to dig. I don't have a toothed bucket for my front end loader, I'm not aware that one is available for it.

 

[DaBear3428]

Honestly they are not made to dig. scootr
yes to this, esp w/smaller compacts...

and then there is this from the manufacturer, if you are not suppose to dig with it why do the advertise a digging depth?
now can it dig in the type of soil that you have? that is a different question, But i would have a serious issue if the manufacturer refused a warranty clam because i was digging with my FEL.

 

[big bubba]

all good points. tooth bar does help to "shave" rather than excavate.

 

[3gunr]

I have toothbars on 3 tractors and they help greatly in loosening the soil so you can get a full bucket, I have a huge ditch that gets cut every yr from my lake overflow , luckily their is a large embankment that i can dig dirt out of to fillit in , This is clay soil but most of the yr it is easy to scoop full buckets to fill the ditch,