Hydraulic lines from remote valve to grapple (fittings?)

[g8erh8er]

Hi All,

Please forgive my ignorance as I am new to the world of hydraulics and the various fittings involved. I will try to make this inquiry as simple as possible.

I'm installing a single spool remote valve on my MF 1532. I plan to run lines directly from the remote valve to a grapple to power the open/close function.

Below is a picture of the exact valve as a two spool. I've highlighted the connectors that come with the single spool. Jake's Engines lists these as "FITTING 3/8 PT X 3/8".



So, I'm assuming when I have my custom lines made I will need one of the ends to be a female 3/8" in order to screw onto these male 3/8" fittings that are in the valve, correct?

As for the other end of the hoses, when I view pics of the grapples, they have two lines, one has a quick disconnect and the other has what looks like the male end that would normally go into a quick disconnect (sorry no idea what that's called).

So, for the other end of my hydraulic lines, I will need one of them to have a quick disconnect (to mate with the male fitting of the grapple) and the other to have a male fitting (to mate with the quick disconnect on the grapple).

Does all this sound correct? With that said, does anyone know where to get a 90 deg 3/8" to 3/8" fitting shown in the pic for cheaper than what Massey wants for them ($30 a piece).

Thanks for all the help!

Edit: Is this the fitting I would need? Looks like I can go cheap with non-stainless. Not sure if the Massey units are stainless, but for the price I would assume so. Maybe better just to get theirs.

Discount Hydraulic Hose

 

[BukitCase]

Nope, this

SAE 37ｰ Flare (JIC) x O-Ring Boss (ORB) 90ｰ Elbow

is what's on your valve -

A lot of grapples are set up for skid steer mounts, which use ORFS quick disconnects - they look like this

ISO 16028 Flushface Hydraulic Quick Couplers

My grapple came with JIC 3/8", like the upper end of your valve fittings.

Hydraulic fittings are numbered in (1/16" increments - a #8 is half inch, a #6 is 3/8", and so on.

The other half of a QD is simply called the male.

These

ISO 5675 Agricultural Hydraulic Quick Couplers

are the type that MIGHT be on your tractor if you already have QD's -

If you wanna save some money, you can make your own hoses

Field-Attachable (Reusable) Hose Fittings > Discount Hydraulic Hose.com

But make SURE you buy the CORRECT HOSE for the fittings you get - I use the 100R2 hose/fittings, they work fine so far (about a year and a half)

IF you decide to "roll yer own", I can give you a few pointers on assembly that should help a bit... Steve

BTW, welcome to TBN just in case nobody's gotten to that yet :=)

 

[k0ua]

Welcome to TBN, if you want to read more about all sorts of hyd fittings.. download the book in this link. it is free.

How to Identify Fluid Ports and Connectors

 

[g8erh8er]

Thanks for the reply Steve.

So the bottom portion of the fitting that screws into the valve, since it's 3/8" according to Jake's site, is that #6 SAE?

Yes my FEL currently has the Ag quick disconnects on it, and when I get a grapple, I would request that type of QD.

My local Napa makes hoses, so I had planned on seeing what kind of price they'll charge.

 

[g8erh8er]

Welcome to TBN, if you want to read more about all sorts of hyd fittings.. download the book in this link. it is free.

Much appreciated James!

 

[g8erh8er]

A couple more questions:

Steve I know you suggested the field replaceable but if I'm having someone else make these for me, would either of the following be the correct fitting to use to connect to the male JIC fitting in the valve?

FJX-W | SAE 37° (JIC) Female Swivel > Hydraulic Hose Ends/Fittings
Hydraulic Hose Fittings | JIC 37° Female Swivel

Additionally, I'm assuming that the male/female QD couplers don't attach to the hose themselves, but are screwed onto another fitting that's crimped to the hose? And since the ag QD's use NPTF threads, I would need something like this to attach them to?

Hydraulic Hose Fittings | Male Pipe Rigid (NPTF)

 

[g8erh8er]

Hmmm - and now I realize I have no idea what size hoses are used on my tractor. I assumed they were 3/8" due to the fittings, but not sure.

I've got 8.5 gpm at the remotes.

 

[BukitCase]

Take the .pdf that James linked to (sorry, I forgot to do that) - you will find that each fitting type is listed not only by the "dash number" (6, 8, etc but also by ACTUAL size, threads, etc - it's actually more likely your valve could be a -8, with 90's that also reduce to -6.

I've worked with this stuff enough I could tell you by looking, but pics can be deceiving - you will probably need to MEASURE carefully and compare to the listed sizes in that fitting chart.

All your hose maker really needs to know is working pressure, fitting type and size, and hose diameter - I added that last because, for something like a grapple you don't need SPEED, as much as you'll need FLEXIBILITY of the hoses - so it's not uncommon to have 1/2" fittings on 3/8" hose.

Another thing to consider BEFORE having hoses made, is ROUTING. You should figure out how far your bucket curl moves and try to route your hoses for the grapple so they curl and un-curl, but NOT TWIST. Hydraulic hoses do NOT like to twist, it can cause them to kink, wear out prematurely, leak, and other fun stuff.

One thing that can help with figuring hoses out is to use a garden hose (a fairly stiff one IMO) and try to duplicate how things will move, how long the hose needs to be so it won't be stretched, how it will curl at the OTHER end of travel...

Also, with JIC's you will spend a LOT more if you end up with MALE fittings on the hoses - much cheaper to use male adapters and FEMALE hose fittings. Compare male vs. female in the link to reusable fittings, you'll be amazed.

QD's (especially the AG version) are mainly NPTF threads - once you figure out where they need to go and which direction they need to point, IMO the best way to go (not the easiest) is to make a plate or angle iron, drill holes in it for BULKHEAD fittings - you can get them in JIC - NPTF male, the QD's are female, so you get a rigid mount for the QD's to attach to.

Here's the ones I'm talking about

Male Pipe (NPTF) x SAE 37° Flare (JIC) Bulkhead

And here's one way to mount them



That plate looks kinda beefy because it's going on a 12,500 pound backhoe; those two circuits will redirect the bucket curl to either grapple and/or articulation for a hydraulic sickle bar. The actual hydraulic motor will get its own separate flow controlled circuit, run with hard tubing down the loader arms.

BTW, that pic was just a test fit, the old hoses shown will be replaced and will feed into those solenoid selector valves - no switch = bucket curl, switch A = grapple and switch B = arm articulation (all controlled with bucket curl valve)

I'll be out of town til tomorrow nite, but James has done a fair amount of this also, and JJ probably knows more about hydraulics than the manufacturers in some cases

Hopefully this will help get you started... Steve

 

[g8erh8er]

Thanks Steve. I'm just going to go with the expensive Massey connectors for the valve so I don't screw things up. If I went with stainless it would be close to the same price anyway.

I will only need JIC connectors for the hose ends that connect to the valve (two female connectors needed) and NPTF connectors for the ends that go to the the grapple (to connect to QDs).

Just need to figure out what size/length hose to use, and I should have things sorted. Thx!

PS - I would have liked to divert my curl circuit for the grapple function (so I don't have to use an extra lever for open/close), but I'm not sure it's even possible on my tractor, and the remote valve is a nice clean OEM install.

 

[J_J]

A divider valve works as simple as plugging the divider valve IN ports to the curl circuit work port, then connect the cyls for curl and grapple.

Then connect the 12v and switch.