Filling in my basement. Using 10cu bucket, mini h

[stray]

I don’t know what is considered light material but the 422 seems to handle a full load of dirt in the light material bucket. The box blade does a very good job as well. It is really handy being able to tweak the tilt at will and with ease. I Will have some pics of that later.

 

[Clarke]

I know I have lifted a 10 cu. ft. very full bucket of 2a many times. I'm sure this over stresses a 422 or 425..

sg

 

[425trailer]

The 10cu bucket does work fine as an all around tool on the 425, however do be prepared for some rather interesting ( and possibly dangerous) situations when moving wet clay or fine gravel. I wish I'd have some pictures to illustrate this, but a camera is not the first thing to enter the mind while wishing that the bucket would drop alot faster thean it does. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

 

[stray]

Yes I can recall one time when putting a full load of dirt into a ditch the tractor got rather tipsy. For a moment I thought it might flip head first over into the ditch. Now I start empting while the bucket will hit the side of the trench to be filled. A very good point you made. Thanks for bring it out.

 

[MossRoad]

These are powerful little beasts. It depends on the density of the material as to how full you can fill the large bucket. For example, I can fill the large bucket with crushed limestone and have few problems tipping. However, fill it with moon dust, which is granulated limestone(same stuff, just crushed much finer) and I can hardly lift it and keep the rear on the ground.

Also, we have fine black muck soil on our property. I can lift that stuff dry all day, but if it is wet, I can forget about it. It is like a sponge and soaks up a lot of water, which weighs quite a bit.

Here's a good experiment... fill your 10 cubic foot bucket to the brim with water. Water weighs about 62 pounds per qubic foot. So, you should have a little over 600 pounds in there. See if you can lift it... if you can, only lift it about 4 inches off the ground. Then turn your tractor steering wheel all the way to the right or left. Experience the PT pucker yet? /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

 

[FOURTEEN]

"" I wish I'd have some pictures to illustrate this ""


Are you referring to the infamous 'PT Pucker' that looks something like this??

If the answer is "yes", check out:

"PRO: Power Trac Stability (PT Pucker)" at PT-425 PROS & cons??

It is like driving on the first snowy road of the season! When the rearend of the car slids a little, your heart jumps in your chest! By March you drive down slick roads with the rearend swaying like a tree in the wind, and don't give it a second thought!!
The first time PT Pucker strikes it really gets your attention, but after a few times, it just becomes the nature of the beast, and more annoying than threatening!!!!

/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[stray]

Here is another angle as I keep the bucket low.

 

[BobRip]

I added a bumper made of a 2 X 6 board about 5 feet long. I drilled a hole in it for the hitch bolt and reinforced the hole with a metal plate when was then bolted to the board. I then put two 55 lb Kobotoa tractor weights on the board. This had made a world of difference. It is now very difficult to lift the rear tires off the ground and the 422 has more traction on the rear wheels when lifting a bucket. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Clarke]

Interesting, what are the pro's and cons of adding weight to the back of a PT. Does PT have any thing to say about it pro or con. I am considering adding weight also put using a different concept...

sg

 

[MossRoad]

The pros are you can now lift more weight.

The cons are you can now damage the tractor more easily and push it way beyond what it is rated for.

We've had this discussion before. Some folks say, it is your machine, so modify it to suit your needs. Others will say you should have bought a larger machine in the first place.

I say, be careful no matter what you do, but don't be disappointed if you crack the tractor in half, buckle the lift assembly, bend your attachments beyond recognition or get injured when something just plain snaps. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

If we beef up the machine by adding weights under the guise of making it more stable when lifting the rated 800 pounds, we eventually become use to the new capabilities of the machine and ignore that cut off point. So we try to lift 1000, or 1200. And that worked, so we throw some more weight on the back and go for 1500. Then the thing breaks, the load comes crashing down and property damage(or worse) happens.

I've done plenty to push my tools farther than they were designed to do. Most of the time it works out OK. Sometimes I've paid through the nose to fix the problem that I caused. And sometimes I have been injured(remember my post about dropping the mower deck on my toes?). Just be careful and use common sense.

[Up on my soap box now!]Get the proper tool for the job, rather than pushing it past the design limits or be prepared to be a test pilot.[And down off my soap box!]

 

[stray]

Well said Moss. No where did you tell any one not to do or even that they shouldn't. You just made some very sound points. Common Sense is good. Common sense plus Knowledge is better.

 

[FOURTEEN]

It's the weakest link thing! When you go beyond the normal load, something will suffer! When the rearend starts to lift off the ground, that is a clear sign that you are nearing the limit. If you add rear weight, then something else, sooner or later, will fail. The easiest and safest method is to make more trips! Is it really that hard to make nine 800# trips rather than eight 900# trips??!!

When I take a full bucket of crushed stone, with no added rear weight, my PT-425 is near its limit. It is light in the rear, but still fully maneuverable. Even so, a quick stop can raise the rear! So usually to make it easier on me and the PT, I transport a 90% full bucket and make a few extra trips. So what!!

I have the ability to lift a log this size, but don't, except to show off, because it's too big to maneuver!! So I cut one of these in half, or in thirds, then transport it, well within the PT's OEM lifting capacity!!

/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[pairodime]

I have almost 100 hours on my PT425. Almost all of it pushing the tractor to the limits while moving dirt around with the 4n1 bucket. I have overloaded so many times I am almost comfortable with having PT pucker. My PT has impressed the snot out of me. However, the PT has shown some signs of wear-- the welds cracked on the bottom pivot mounts on the lift plate and the lift plate itself shows some stress cracks and is no longer perfectly straight. No big deal and Terry offered to fix, but it was easier to just take it to a guy I know and have it welded right back up rather than wait for it to go through the mail.

I'd hate to think what I would have damaged if I'd added an extra 100lbs to the rear of the tractor to increase my lift capability.

 

[Clarke]

The little bit of weight I am considering on the back hitch would not be there to make a 1430 out of a 425 just to make the machine a little more stable within its envelope.. Trust me I can overload this machine and have done it many times. I have 110 hrs at this point so far haven't damaged anything. I keep 8 PSI in the front tires and can almost tell the load on the machine by looking at the tires..

sg

 

[MossRoad]

Yep. I watch my tires, too. When they squish to just the right distortion I know I'm pushing my luck. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[BobRip]

Good point. However, beyond the tractor limit the hydraulics will not lift since a relief valve opens. As long as you don't adjust this limit, I believe it will be OK.

 

[MossRoad]

I've yet to have my FEL not lift. The reliefs have never opened. The rear has always come off the ground. The only way to test the reliefs would be to start hanging weights on the rear until the reliefs let loose or the unit breaks. The problem with these little beasts is the hydraulic system is too powerful for the size of the tractor. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[tracdoc]

MR,

That's what I like about these "beasts" as you call them! An oppportunity for a guy who has always been impressd with the power and precision of hydraulic equipment to play (err.., I mean work) with a piece firsthand. Gotta love it...