HOMEMADE ATTACHMENT IDEAS

[grsr3]

I have an almost one year old 25 HP diesel Kama, and love this new tool. I am starting to reclaim my five acres and find I could get more things done if I had some attachments that I am not sure even exist. I need to bury some pipes and wires. I could use a device that would attach to the bucket that would allow me to plow shallow trenches. I picture this as a sharp vee-shaped wedge that would widen to about four or six inches and would have curved and channeled sides that would push the dirt upward and out to the sides of the trench top. This gadget would be fastened to the bottom of the bucket and be dragged backward. It would be tilted slightly downward so it would stay in the ground and the bottom of the bucket would keep it from going too far down. It could also be mounted on a sliding bar that would allow you to adjust the depth of the tench. Another thing I could use is a kind of bucket extender. My small loader (Koyker 160) bucket fills up quickly when I go around picking up small debris like branches, leaves, grass clippings, etc. If I could add bottom and side pieces (maybe 1/8 inch plate steel) I could double or triple the size of the bucket. Something that would rake up large piles of grass clippings would be another good gadget. They would all require some holes to be drilled in the bucket but that should be no problem. Anyone ever see anything like these, or have tried to build them.
Thanks, George

 

[Erik_in_Hoyt]

a lot of guys have used a subsoiler to bury pipe and wire - they attach a curved piece of conduit to the back of the sub soiler and feed flexible tubing or bury cable through it. less wear and tear on the loader that way and you get to use your 3 point for depth control. If you want a wider trench, you can also use a middle buster (lister plow by any other name) which has a blade that turns dirt up on both sides of the furrow.
see this link for a photo of the one TSC sells:
Tractor Supply Company - MIDDLE BUSTER

they also sell a sub-soiler and I've heard of (but not yet found) a combination of the 2 with swappable blades which I may have to break down and build on my own.

as to the bucket extension - I'd weld something up out of 1/8" plate but not weld it to the bucket - use bolts or clamps so you can remove it to do real material moving where it would be too easy to overload hour loader hydraulics.

Landscape rake might be overkill for your small debris, or it might be just what you need.

good luck!

Erik

 

[MadDogDriver]

Both the Middle Buster and Sub-Soiler sold by TSC are KingKutter products.

The 14" furrower, part #177005 and the sub-soiler point, part #177006 are depicted on pages 5 & 6 in KingKutter the parts manual, http://www.kingkutter.com/downloads/manPARTS.pdf. Unfortunately, I don't have one, but it sure looks like those blades could be used on the same frame. They connect with the same 7/16 x 4 bolts, part #503002.

 

[shop_rat45]

Both the Middle Buster and Sub-Soiler sold by TSC are KingKutter products.

The 14" furrower, part #177005 and the sub-soiler point, part #177006 are depicted on pages 5 & 6 in KingKutter the parts manual, http://www.kingkutter.com/downloads/manPARTS.pdf. Unfortunately, I don't have one, but it sure looks like those blades could be used on the same frame. They connect with the same 7/16 x 4 bolts, part #503002.

How does this sub-soiler work? If it is what I think it is, it will work PERFECT form me! I have to bury 4-0 wire for a distance of over 300ft. I figured I'd have to rent a trencher, but if this will work, that would be great!! How deep can it go? IIRC, code dictates either 18" or 24" for direct bury cable.

This thread may have saved the day for me!!

Thanks!

 

[MadDogDriver]

How does this sub-soiler work? If it is what I think it is, it will work PERFECT form me! I have to bury 4-0 wire for a distance of over 300ft. I figured I'd have to rent a trencher, but if this will work, that would be great!! How deep can it go? IIRC, code dictates either 18" or 24" for direct bury cable.

This thread may have saved the day for me!!

Thanks!

It attaches to your 3pt hitch. I believe the max depth is 14" for this one, a little shallow for your code requirements. There are probably other sub-soilers that may go deeper. It won't do a very good job if you have a lot of rocks in your soil. Most trenchers vibrate to help dislodge rocks in the path.

This is an interesting concept of using a 2" receiver, Hitch-N-Ditch, but could easily be adapted for any tractor. Pretty light weight, but the concept is solid and goes along with the sub-soiler discussions. Again, not suitable for rocky land.

 

[kwolfe]

Look into your code and see what the specs are if you have the cable in conduit. I ran 140' for a lamp post this past Spring. Because I ran it through conduit, I only have to burry the line approx 6" by code. I actually put it in about 10" to make me feel better.

 

[Erik_in_Hoyt]

I've seen some described as going 18" deep -- but if you have access to a welder - it looks like it'd be pretty easy to use the KK parts diagram as a pattern to make one as deep as you want it to go.
do a search on the projects forum - there have been several discussions on using a sub soiler to bury cable - and some of them have drawings of their setups.

good luck!

 

[grsr3]

Thanks to all for their contributions.

Geo.

 

[cityfarma]

Although the question is how to bury the cable, I would like to point out that it not just putting cable in the ground. Others have also suggested that the depth depends on your local code as well. The thing that has not been mentioned is that the cable should be specifically rated for underground use. Any cable designed to be buried (in or out of conduit) should have a moisture proof sheath. Even if the cable is in conduit, moisture accumulates due to heating and cooling of the air in the conduit. Any power cable may also need to be de rated in current capacity.

As an aside, I once worked for a company that made irrigation controllers. They normally switch 24ac to the solenoids. Due to a design fault, one version had a very small dc leakage. The underground cables that had lasted years with pure ac, had to be replaced at great expense.

Cityfarma

 

[dfkrug]

I have the same need for more FEL bkt capacity, but I don't
want the bkt to weigh 400 or 500 lb. I built a bigger bkt out of
1/16" galv steel and braced it with angle iron.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/93060-one-cubic-yard-loader-bucket.html

 

[gizmo]

Here is a wire plow that I fabricated which attaches to my boom pole. The log is a counter weight to drive the plow down since the three-point does not have down force.

I ran over three hundred feet of wire with this to an irrigation pump.