How many buckets equal one yard

[Frank Sorbello]

I have a PT-422 with I believe is the regular dirt bucket. How many of these full buckets is equivalent to one yard?

Thanks
Frank

 

[ernemats]

The small bucket is listed as 5 cu. ft. and the larger light material bucket is listed as 10 cu. ft. There are 27 cu. ft. in a cubic yard so it would take 5.4 small buckets to make a cubic yard

 

[ruffdog]

A 5 gal bucket (pail) is .668 cuft and there are 40.4 of those buckets in a yard.

 

[4570Man]

That’s a tough question to answer since it’s not as simple as the dry volume.

 

[MossRoad]

As mentioned the small rock bucket from PT is 5 cubic feet and the large, light material bucket is 10 cubic feet.

There're 27 cubic feet in a cubic yard.

So a tad less than 3 light material buckets = 1 cubic yard. And a tad less than 6 of the small rock buckets.

 

[CADplans]

Has anyone actually done the math??
There are "level buckets" and "heaped buckets"

A heaped bucket is more common type of measure,, :thumbsup:
few people will jump off the machine,, and strike off the extra material with a 2X4 to get a level bucket,,, :confused2:

 

[cqaigy2]

Has anyone actually done the math??
There are "level buckets" and "heaped buckets"

A heaped bucket is more common type of measure,, :thumbsup:
few people will jump off the machine,, and strike off the extra material with a 2X4 to get a level bucket,,, :confused2:

I think they are moving dirt, but yes, if i were selling gold by the bucket, i'd be right there that 2x4. :laughing:

 

[Big Barn]

I think there are discrepancies between manufacturers of buckets... what I call SOB. Standard. of Buckets.

The stated capacity may be level OR heaped. Unless you have a square bottom bucket it is pretty difficult to measure volume to figure out. If it’s really important to you most likely the “easiest”
way would be to fill one manually with a known one cubic foot container.


On our turf farm we operate a soil mart in conjunction with turf grass sales and as such a good portion of soil sales involve half and one cubic yard orders loaded onto pickups and trailers.





We have one yard and specially build NARROWER half yard buckets (for import size and short box pickup trucks). We ALWAYS HEAP the bucket when loading customers.

 

[ruffdog]

Has anyone actually done the math??
There are "level buckets" and "heaped buckets"

A heaped bucket is more common type of measure,, :thumbsup:
few people will jump off the machine,, and strike off the extra material with a 2X4 to get a level bucket,,, :confused2:

Just as an example, my Bobcat 68" GP bucket has a ISO capacity of 11.6cuft heaped and 8.5cuft struck.

 

[Scrambler82]

What are you doing ?

How important is the information; does it matter if the amounts are off a little or do you need it to the last shovel full ?

Just asking, because this info trail is getting deep !

 

[Big Barn]

What are you doing ?

How important is the information; does it matter if the amounts are off a little or do you need it to the last shovel full ?

Just asking, because this info trail is getting deep !

Plus is the OP digging into undisturbed earth to remove a TIGHT cubic yard? The end product coming OUT of the bucket would be MORE than a cubic yard.

 

[Frank Sorbello]

I have been buying mulch. I have an 18' hydraulic tilt bed with makeshift sides. My first load was half of a big Cat articulated FEL bucket. The loader said I had 6 yards on it. Yesterday, different guy on the FEL, same CAT articulated tractor put a full bucket full of mulch on my trailer and said it was 5 yards. First load of mulch I had 39 of PT422 buckets full. The second load is on the trailer, won't know how many buckets until later in the week when I have time to unload it.

 

[Big Barn]

I would venture to say the FIRST loader operator had no idea how big his bucket was. Would have been a huge azz wheel loader to handle a 12 yard bucket.

If you haven’t unloaded the second load yet, rake it level in your trailer and then MEASURE it. Length x width x height (in feet) divided by 27 will give you the cubic yards.

 

[ruffdog]

A 18' x 7' trailer has 126 sqft area and if the mulch is 1' deep, it would be 4.67 yards.

 

[Oldoak]

I think they are moving dirt, but yes, if i were selling gold by the bucket, i'd be right there that 2x4. :laughing:

I don't think any CUT could lift a bucket full of gold. But I sure wouldn't mind trying.

 

[4570Man]

I don’t think any piece of equipment designed for moving dirt or rocks could lift its bucket full of gold. Gold weighs 1200 pounds per cubic foot and solid rock weighs 150 pounds per cubic foot. Loose rock or dirt weighs less.

 

[Big Barn]

I don't think any CUT could lift a bucket full of gold. But I sure wouldn't mind trying.

I agree. But no point in being greedy. I’d be quite happy with whatever it could lift!

 

[fried1765]

A 5 gal bucket (pail) is .668 cuft and there are 40.4 of those buckets in a yard.

The OP is talking about the size of his PT-422 machine bucket, rather than a 5 gal. pail.

 

[MossRoad]

We're talking about the volume of the empty bucket, not whether the material in the bucket is fluffy, dense, etc...

 

[Big Barn]

The OP is talking about the size of his PT-422 machine bucket, rather than a 5 gal. pail.

Then he would need to see how many 5 gallon buckets it takes to fill his bucket. This is most likely the most foolproof way of determining bucket volume. Rather time consuming though.

It would be best to use a light weight medium to make the job easier.

 

[Big Barn]

We're talking about the volume of the empty bucket, not whether the material in the bucket is fluffy, dense, etc...

Yes, I realize that. Just pointing out the fact that if he DUG a tight cubic yard, the product dumped if measured would be greater than a cubic yard. Just something to keep in mind depending which method he uses to determine the actual volume of his bucket.

 

[Big Barn]

I will give an example for clarification (I hope). I once had an excavating business (I sold out to my two partners).

Our 300 Class excavator had a 42” wide digging bucket with a capacity of 1.5 cubic yards. Six scoops ( 9 TIGHT yards) would FILL a 12-14 cubic yard dump truck.

 

[MossRoad]

Yes, I understand the concept of fluffy material, and loosening up packed material and trying to get it back into the same sized space that it came from.

However, the OP is talking about mulch. It's generally fluffy when the guy scoops it up at the mulch yard, fluffy when he dumps it on your trailer, and fluffy when you take it off and spread it. If the guy at the yard has a 1 yard bucket, he's probably giving you more than 1 yard of mulch if he heaps it. Yesterday, I purchased 2 yards of mulch. They guy in the bobcat shook the bucket to make it level before dumping it onto my trailer. No heaping, just one level yard from a 1 yard bucket.

PowerTrac lists the cubic foot capacity of the buckets they sell.

 

[Oldoak]

We're talking about the volume of the empty bucket, not whether the material in the bucket is fluffy, dense, etc...

Finally! Someone with scientific logic. A measurement in volume is the same whether it be dirt, sand, water, concrete, air, etc.

As the material density changes, the amount and weight of material that can fit into the same measured volume also changes.

 

[ruffdog]

Then he would need to see how many 5 gallon buckets it takes to fill his bucket. This is most likely the most foolproof way of determining bucket volume. Rather time consuming though.

It would be best to use a light weight medium to make the job easier.

Yes! That was my point! If the OP wanted to know how many cubic feet of mulch would fit in his bucket, he could fill it using the 5gal pails. The variables in this equation would be the compaction of the mulch in the pails/bucket and if the bucket is level or heaping. Using water as the medium would be more exact.

 

[Scrambler82]

I have a PT-422 with I believe is the regular dirt bucket. How many of these full buckets is equivalent to one yard?

Thanks
Frank

The small bucket is listed as 5 cu. ft. and the larger light material bucket is listed as 10 cu. ft. There are 27 cu. ft. in a cubic yard so it would take 5.4 small buckets to make a cubic yard

Since you are measuring, what appears to me to be a Close Proximate Measure, I would think what "Ermemats" offered for a solution above will be close enough.

As others have stated, I think the Operator of the Front End Loader didn't know what he was doing, so dig in and get a rough idea of how much was loaded. Off of the trailer, you could be a little more precise if you hand loaded your Bucket.

Also, In my area, we load and pay by weight, weigh the vehicle coming in the yard, get a ticket and then weigh going out and pay... just hope you didn't buy anything else to add weight to the vehicle, LoL !

Shouldn't be a big deal to measure up the load but your bucket level full or heaped full, your call, do the math, and you should be close enough for an amount.

Luck with the Weight !

Ltr

 

[johara1]

I will give an example for clarification (I hope). I once had an excavating business (I sold out to my two partners).

Our 300 Class excavator had a 42 wide digging bucket with a capacity of 1.5 cubic yards. Six scoops ( 9 TIGHT yards) would FILL a 12-14 cubic yard dump truck.

It is called bank dirt in its natural state.if the guy on the cat loader can read the bucket has a plate on it with the information, including the yards struck and heaped.... Big loaders aren't 12 yds they are over20yds..... 3 series excavators take in a lot of territory up to 385's .... jim

 

[Big Barn]

It is called bank dirt in its natural state.if the guy on the cat loader can read the bucket has a plate on it with the information, including the yards struck and heaped.... Big loaders aren't 12 yds they are over20yds..... 3 series excavators take in a lot of territory up to 385's .... jim

Thanks for the clarification.

 

[oosik]

My FEL Op Manual lists capacity when the bucket is "struck" and when it's heaped.

And for those who give a dam - - one cubic yard of goose down is the EXACT SAME VOLUME as one cubic yard of lead. The difference being - weight & density.

 

[snymat68]

There's a logical, simple way to determine the loader bucket volume...

1. Fill the bucket to the brim with water.
2. Drill a drain hole in the bottom of the bucket.
3. Carefully, without spilling a drop, collect all the water in graduated cylinders to precisely measure the volume. (This may take several thousand graduated cylinders. Purchase ahead of time.)
4. Do the math. (Water weighs 8.345 lb/gal.)
5. Weld the drain hole shut.
6. Repeat the process, but make sure the water is heaped this time.

Easy!

 

[CADplans]

There's a logical, simple way to determine the loader bucket volume...

1. Fill the bucket to the brim with water.
,,,,,,,,,,,,
Easy!

Create the bucket side in almost any CAD software,,
most CAD systems will tell you the area of a shape.
Then, multiply the area by the length,,
that gives you the volume,,

NO water will be wasted,,, :cool2:


:laughing:


:thumbsup:

or,,,

Measure all the dimensions or sides of the area.
(Or, you could trace the end of the bucket on a piece of paper)
Draw the area on graph paper using the measurements you obtained. Make sure your drawing is to scale. ...
Divide the drawing into shapes. ...
Figure the area of each shape. ...
Add the areas of all the individual shapes to find the total square footage.

Then multiply by the width. :confused2:

 

[snymat68]

Create the bucket side in almost any CAD software,,
most CAD systems will tell you the area of a shape.
Then, multiply the area by the length,,
that gives you the volume,,

NO water will be wasted,,, :cool2:


:laughing:




or,,,

Measure all the dimensions or sides of the area.
(Or, you could trace the end of the bucket on a piece of paper)
Draw the area on graph paper using the measurements you obtained. Make sure your drawing is to scale. ...
Divide the drawing into shapes. ...
Figure the area of each shape. ...
Add the areas of all the individual shapes to find the total square footage.

Then multiply by the width. :confused2:

I'm a draftsman. I run CAD every day. Just 3D model the bucket and individual mulch pieces, set up the constraints and environment, and run an analysis! Lol

 

[CADplans]

Or, you could cover the end with Post-It notes,, and then count them to get the area,,,
like this,,,

Counting unit squares to find area formula (video) |
Khan Academy

 

[cqaigy2]

My FEL Op Manual lists capacity when the bucket is "struck" and when it's heaped.

And for those who give a dam - - one cubic yard of goose down is the EXACT SAME VOLUME as one cubic yard of lead. The difference being - weight & density.

If you dumped both, in a vacuum, which would hit the ground first?

 

[CADplans]

If you dumped both, in a vacuum, which would hit the ground first?

Neither,, they would both be in the vacuum,,,

 

[snymat68]

Neither,, they would both be in the vacuum,,,

That sucks.