Hydraulic Tilt Coupler for Small Backhoe

[ddbackhoe]

Only one welding photo left, might as well put it up too. Getting ready to weld the upper cylinder mount. Lots of clamps and spacers to keep things aligned.

Looks really good. Where's the live action ?

 

[downsizingnow48]

For some reason I left out photos of the lower cylinder mount which was the most complicated part of the job. All the dimensions were critical either for clearance or tilt geometry reasons. I seldom use a milling machine but I did on this to make the mating surfaces completely flat. All the bolts are socket head alloy steel.

The last photo shows it in use. It is very easy to make a perfect grade in a confined space. I've ordered a check valve from Trausch to keep the bucket steady. I might also install flow restrictors to slow down the tilt movement. The valve can be feathered but it would be easier to use if slowed down.

 

[dfkrug]

Excellent work, DS!


At 43# you do lose lifting capacity, but that is not usually an issue with a hoe, as most of
the time it is used for digging, not lifting heavy objects. You must have a lot of drainage swales

alongside your roads to clean out.


My B21 convinced me that these small industrial tractors can also benefit from a 4-in-1 loader
bucket, even tho they are also heavy.

 

[Big Barn]

I've never had the opportunity to operate a machine with a tilt bucket. Once again, really nice work, Pat!

Maybe your next project could be a 4 in 1 (tooth) bucket for the mini ex. It would be nice to dig/clam/smooth with the same bucket. Too heavy to use with the tilt coupler though....

 

[downsizingnow48]

Thanks fellows! I admit to a bad case of 4 in 1 envy. I think of it every time I shovel in the remnants of a material pile.

 

[catexc]

That's a great set up. The progressive thumb and quick coupler are also impressive. Do you cut most of your shapes with a plasma cutter? Your shop must a well outfitted. Did you post your quick coupler build? I'd love to take a stab at building one for my b21! Hopefully I can graduate to the thumb and wrist build at some point!

 

[downsizingnow48]

Thanks for the note.

On tools. Probably the most used metal-working tool I have is a home-made vertical bandsaw, using a DeWalt portable bandsaw as the power head. After that, a 70 year old Duro drill press. I am not very good at welding or cutting, so I got a modern Miller 211 welder and a Hypertherm Powermax45 plasma cutter. They get me from awful to passable. I also have a 70 year old Craftsman lathe and equally old Benchmaster milling machine. I seldom use either, but from time to time they are indispensable.

On the quick coupler. I didn't need it until I installed the thumb, which shares a bucket pin. That made changing buckets a serious chore. I bought that one from Bxpanded rather than make it. Another member here, LD1, once commented that it really does not make sense to fabricate stuff that you can get for a decent price commercially. So after 2 years of planning to make it, I finally just bought it!

On the thumb, I did a writeup. If you google B21 Backhoe Thumb it will come up.

There are many folks on this forum with huge knowledge and skills and willing to help. So I would say, just start in on what you want to do, put it up here, and go for it!

 

[catexc]

I found found your thumb thread and it looks great! Was the the Bxpanded coupler a direct fit to the B21? Did you need to modify the thumb after you added the coupler so it would match up to the bucket teeth?

I like the way you tucked the aux. valve bank out of the way. I'd like to outfit my B21 in a similar fashion. Do you still have the purchase info for that valve?

 

[downsizingnow48]

The valve I used was a Prince stack valve from Surplus Center. Probably they still offer it. It works fine. But for another application I have since used a Bucher stack valve from Trausch Dynamics. The Bucher valve is more compact, and would be easier to fit in that restricted space.

I used to change buckets regularly. After adding the thumb, which shares a pin with the bucket, the changes became more difficult. So I started to think about making a quick coupler. Before I got around to it, I figured out that the Bxpanded quick coupler (advertised for the B76/77 backhoe) would also fit the B21. So I bought it instead of making it.

The Bxpanded coupler is a direct and good fit. It does indeed change the relationship between thumb and bucket, leaving a gap. Any quick coupler would, can't be avoided. At the time I decided to just live with it. But the reduced functionality is a nuisance. I decided just recently to make a new thumb, with a different shape to close the gap. It is on my list of winter projects.

 

[downsizingnow48]

Time to wrap up this thread. I finally got around to installing a check valve on the tilt coupler. It works perfect to keep the bucket tilted in the position where you set it. Instead of slopping around due to the the two operating cylinders being interconnected. The check valve operates on Cylinder 1 like any check valve. The lines coming from the control valve are Tee'd on the inlet side of the check valve. So that Cylinder 2 is operated directly, bypassing the check valve.

Photo 1. Valve installed. Hard to see, it is in between the cylinders and the guard plate.
Photo 2. Hookup diagram. If someone else wants to make a hyd tilt coupler this will save you some head scratching.