3-Point Hitch hydraulic top link

[Whitbread]

Whatever floats your boat...but a box blade is NOT an attachment where a hydraulic top link in float is commonly applicable...

Common no, but neither is a 20 degree sand hill for a driveway. If I had a flat driveway in Nebraska, I'm sure I wouldn't use a floating top link with a BB. All I know is I've tried it both ways, and I've found letting the top link float gives me a better finishing result on my specific job with my specific equipment. Your needs, equipment, and techniques are probably different but I don't call them absurd. We're all here to share knowledge of different circumstance and ways we've found to make jobs easier.

 

[firebird93]

my father used a chain as a top link when bush hogging to allow the cutter to float over rough terrain. it worked well.

 

[/pine]

Common no, but neither is a 20 degree sand hill for a driveway. If I had a flat driveway in Nebraska, I'm sure I wouldn't use a floating top link with a BB. All I know is I've tried it both ways, and I've found letting the top link float gives me a better finishing result on my specific job with my specific equipment. Your needs, equipment, and techniques are probably different but I don't call them absurd. We're all here to share knowledge of different circumstance and ways we've found to make jobs easier.

you're missing the point entirely...you stated (before editing) that "...The two most common tools you would use float on are box blade or land plane/scraper... which is absurd.

 

[jmc]

The hydraulic valve/labor is probably the bigger expense.

If they still make it, there's a bastard setup called a Hydraulink that requires no EXTERNAL plumbing. It's a toplink cylinder with a manual release valve within reach of the operator. The valve controls fluid flow between the two sides of the piston. IIRC, to shorten the cylinder, open the valve, drop the implement to the ground and close the valve. To lengthen the cylinder, lift the implement and crack the valve until the cylinder is positioned. You couldn't use this as a lifting aid though.

HydrauLink Category 1 Cylinder - For 45 HP Tractors or Less, Model# HL-11 - YouTube

 

[shooterdon]

You can definitely use a loader curl circuit to control the top link. But you would either need to always be changing over hoses, or add a diverted valve. But it is a cheap starting point. Do it that way will get you in the hydraulic top link game and you can then decide if you want to add a diverted valve or a dedicated circuit. If you do decide to add a dedicated circuit add two, cheap to do at the time and you never know what the future holds. .

Kev,
Thanks for the reply. At least I now know it is not a really dumb idea! I may wind up trying out the FEL curl circuit as I normally do not use the FEL when using something that benefits from having a hydraulic top link. Adding a diverter valve seems like a good next step. BTW, I asked my dealer to quote a price for installing the proper set up on my JD855 and he said parts are no longer available from JD and he was not interested in doing it without the JD parts...so I will need to do it myself or take the tractor to someone who will work on it. I get the feeling the dealer is more interested in selling me a new machine than making what I have work.

 

[kevinwak]

Kev,
Thanks for the reply. At least I now know it is not a really dumb idea! I may wind up trying out the FEL curl circuit as I normally do not use the FEL when using something that benefits from having a hydraulic top link. Adding a diverter valve seems like a good next step. BTW, I asked my dealer to quote a price for installing the proper set up on my JD855 and he said parts are no longer available from JD and he was not interested in doing it without the JD parts...so I will need to do it myself or take the tractor to someone who will work on it. I get the feeling the dealer is more interested in selling me a new machine than making what I have work.

Not familiar with the 855, but I installed my own 3rd and 4th valve at the rear for hydraulic side and top link. I followed instructions I found on a thread here. Not sure how similar the 855 is to a 2520.
Also check out fit right hydraulics. I bought my top link and side link from him. He is on this site as mountainviewranch. Awesome customer service. I know at times he also made valve kits, not sure if he still does. I believe his name was Brian.

Fitrighthydraulics.com

Also ignore the kids above debating the benefits of float vs no float on a box blade. People have debated and hi jacked threads over that for years.

 

[Whitbread]

you're missing the point entirely...you stated (before editing) that "...The two most common tools you would use float on are box blade or land plane/scraper... which is absurd.

Yes, I edited my post to clarify that floating a top link on a BB works for ME and not as a general blanket statement because my situation is unique. Why would floating a top link on a plane be absurd though? The whole point of land plane to to lay flat on the ground let its design do the work. So if you want a plane to lay flat on the ground regardless of tractor angle due to terrain variances, why would you not float the top if it was an option? If your top link is rigid and you crest a rise with the tractor, the rear of the plane is going to come off the ground. If the link is floating, it will lengthen and allow the back on the plane to stay in contact with the ground. If there's something I don't know there, please explain.

 

[John_Mc]

Absurd or not by your opinion, I have lots of elevation changes and 3 drainage cuts across my driveway. It winds uphill and is somewhere around a 20-22ｰ angle which necessitates the drainage cuts/ditches. With a fixed top link set for finishing, I found I hand to constantly have my hand on the 3pt lever and keep an eye on the blade and adjust as needed. With the floating link, dropping the 3pt lever all the way down and letting the top link float lets the blade better follow my terrain changes with far less digging in hard at the bottom of my drainage cuts. I'm not talking about heavy grading or moving dirt, just gentle finish smoothing when I don't want it to dig in. My soil is also 80% sand which doesn't help things, so what works for me in my unique situation may not work for you in yours.

You are not by any chance thinking that a hydraulic top link provides down-pressure on the 3 Pt hitch, are you? It does not. It functions exactly like a manually adjustable toplink, except that you don't screw the thing in or out to adjust the length, you move a lever controlling the hydraulic flow. MY 3PH still floats up and down when my hydraulic top link is installed.

I can't imagine why I would want the toplink itself to float. Implements that need that feature (like my brush hog) build it in to their linkage (or some just use a chain instead of the toplink). For a toplink to float in and out when using a boxblade, for example, woud make the boxblade nearly unusable.

 

[Whitbread]

You are not by any chance thinking that a hydraulic top link provides down-pressure on the 3 Pt hitch, are you? It does not. It functions exactly like a manually adjustable toplink, except that you don't screw the thing in or out to adjust the length, you move a lever controlling the hydraulic flow. MY 3PH still floats up and down when my hydraulic top link is installed.

I can't imagine why I would want the toplink itself to float. Implements that need that feature (like my brush hog) build it in to their linkage (or some just use a chain instead of the toplink). For a toplink to float in and out when using a boxblade, for example, woud make the boxblade nearly unusable.

I'm well aware the 3 point system does not provide down pressure regardless of top link type. That's why you want ground implements to be heavy.

As I've attempted to explain, apparently I have a very odd situation (as I'm finding out now) . My driveway is steep, long, and mostly sand. I have drainage cuts/dips/ditches across my driveway to minimize the drive washing out every freaking rainstorm. I don't like them, but all other methods failed and these have proven to work extremely well.

When the tractor crests the downhill lip of the drainage cut and drops in (traveling uphill), with a fixed top link the box blade ends up scalping the lip fairly heavily unless I slow to a crawl and fiddle with the 3ph lever carefully to lift/drop to follow the contour. For the finishing passes only, if I put my top link in float, when the tractor goes into the drainage cut, the box blade can angle up easily to match the ground contour instead of suddenly plowing hard into it. As the blade crests the lip, the ground angle changes and the front can now drop back down to meet the ground. The result is I don't scalp the crap out of the area and I don't have to touch any levers. So again, this is a trick I've found that works for me in my (evidently) odd situation when doing final finishing passes only. It certainly isn't part of the 10 commandments of tractor operation so don't take it as such. It was simply something I tried because I have a float detent and found it had a positive effect in a certain situation with a BB. All the rest of the time I'm not using the top link in float with the BB.

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

Yes, I edited my post to clarify that floating a top link on a BB works for ME and not as a general blanket statement because my situation is unique. Why would floating a top link on a plane be absurd though? The whole point of land plane to to lay flat on the ground let its design do the work. So if you want a plane to lay flat on the ground regardless of tractor angle due to terrain variances, why would you not float the top if it was an option? If your top link is rigid and you crest a rise with the tractor, the rear of the plane is going to come off the ground. If the link is floating, it will lengthen and allow the back on the plane to stay in contact with the ground. If there's something I don't know there, please explain.

Yes. If your driveway has even slight changes in slope, the BB digs in too much in some places, lifts too much in others. Impossible to get a smooth result without constant adjustments. Simply put, a fixed implement will duplicate any unevenness; even driving over an extra-large piece of gravel will create a ridge. Seems like a floating toplink would help at least a little. For final smoothing, you'd probably still need a completely free-floating implement like a chain harrow or some kind of handmade thing to drag. I saw a thread where one member achieved a beautifully smooth gravel area by dragging a bunch of cinder blocks with a chain through them.

Seems like most folks have driveways with a consistent slope, or else they have some trick I'm not aware of.