Dirt Moving Is a FEL truely built to "dig" or

[two_bit_score]

Agreed, not ideal, but I don't have access to a backhoe or excavator, so we do some digging with ours. If it is more thn a few buckets, we run rippers or something then use the bucket to skim it up.

You mean there really is a reason even bigger dozers have those ripper things on back?

 

[Ken45101]

A long time ago, the Kubota salesman told me "they are loaders, not excavators".

Back before I had other equipment, I used either the teeth on a box blade, or a 3pt scoop for digging. Once loose, the dirt could be loaded into the front end loader.

A smooth bucket is about worthless for digging, at least in the soil here. Even on a 65hp skid steer, smooth buckets do a poor job.

Try too hard and you can twist the loader frame.

 

[creekbend]

I agree with the others. I have a toothbar on my FEL. This helps me to pick up debris and rocks.

 

[oosik]

I have a toothbar on my FEL - it helps get things up that are right on the surface. I "dig" with it after the ground has been loosened with my five tooth scarifier. Even with the ground torn up digging is slow and careful. A lot of times I will dig with the backblade.

 

[SDT]

While helping a friend move alot of dirt last weekend it became obvious to me me that a FEL was designed more as a material handler and not a digging tool. He rented a smooth bucket b24 and due to the smooth bucket and tractor size he was unable to be very effective at "digging", my little girl has teeth on her bucket but i seldom use her for just out right digging. When i am in the situation where i need to dig i use the BH to break up the material and then the bucket to move it. I can dig with the FEL but seeing the pressure and twisting forces that are applied i perfer to use the BH.
When you drive by a construction site you seldom if ever see a piece of equipment digging except a dozer or a track hoe, the wheel loaders with buckets shaped like most tractors are just doing "material handling". On TBN there are so many threads posted about trying to get a scut, or cut to dig better when in fact i dont think these were ever truely designed to be effective "diggers" in anything but loose material.

Bingo!

Farm tractor with FELs are not skid steers. They are not designed for excavation.

SDT

 

[LD1]

I agree that it isnt the best tool for digging. But if you take out digging ( and dont forget all the "do not push with" threads), you can take out about 90% of what I have done with mine.

I have dug out stumps from 12" ash trees. Leveled a hillside for my pole barn. Dug trenches 18" deep for some 4" tile, dug a hole to bury the neighbors dog, dug a hole to bury some things, and dug a 4' deep hole about 10' x 15' for my goldfish pond.

All of this before the BH, and alot of it before the teeth. It takes longer, sure. But can be done if you know what you are doing.


This was without the teeth. 3.5-4' deep in the middle.


An early shot of the pole barn construction. All a sloping hill. All the uphill was cut away and used to fill the lower side. This was before the teeth too.


Here is more of the barn excavating, just to show how deep I was digging into the hillside

 

[LD1]

I agree that it isnt the best tool for digging. But if you take out digging ( and dont forget all the "do not push with" threads), you can take out about 90% of what I have done with mine.

I have dug out stumps from 12" ash trees. Leveled a hillside for my pole barn. Dug trenches 18" deep for some 4" tile, dug a hole to bury the neighbors dog, dug a hole to bury some things, and dug a 4' deep hole about 10' x 15' for my goldfish pond.

All of this before the BH, and alot of it before the teeth. It takes longer, sure. But can be done if you know what you are doing.


This was without the teeth. 3.5-4' deep in the middle.
View attachment 335042

An early shot of the pole barn construction. All a sloping hill. All the uphill was cut away and used to fill the lower side. This was before the teeth too.
View attachment 335047

Here is more of the barn excavating, just to show how deep I was digging into the hillside
View attachment 335048

 

[compact]

Compared to a hand shovel, they dig wonderfully. For small jobs they can make do, for larger jobs it's hard on the machine and very slow, esp. below grade on hard soil / uneven ground.

 

[k0ua]

I agree that it isnt the best tool for digging. But if you take out digging ( and dont forget all the "do not push with" threads), you can take out about 90% of what I have done with mine.

I have dug out stumps from 12" ash trees. Leveled a hillside for my pole barn. Dug trenches 18" deep for some 4" tile, dug a hole to bury the neighbors dog, dug a hole to bury some things, and dug a 4' deep hole about 10' x 15' for my goldfish pond.

All of this before the BH, and alot of it before the teeth. It takes longer, sure. But can be done if you know what you are doing.


This was without the teeth. 3.5-4' deep in the middle.
View attachment 335042

An early shot of the pole barn construction. All a sloping hill. All the uphill was cut away and used to fill the lower side. This was before the teeth too.
View attachment 335047

Here is more of the barn excavating, just to show how deep I was digging into the hillside
View attachment 335048

yeah, but you have dirt:laughing: You are not going to do all that in Branson, Mo... I used to be able to dig too when I lived in Willard.. There are some places on earth, you can dig a hole with a FEL big enough to bury the tractor in an hour or two. And some places where you couldn't do it in a century:laughing:

 

[tlm720]

I have excavated countless yards of soil with my 4120. I used to own a 1010 Deere crawler loader and the 4120 will loosen hard ground almost nearly as well and move dirt faster in the long run because it is so much more manuverable and travels faster. I have dug out tree stumps I could barely move once they were loose. The crawler loader had WAY more hydraulic power in terms of lift and roll back so it takes a different technique with the CUT that took me awhile to get used to. If given a choice of the two I would pick the CUT unless I had a big load to move in a straight line over a short distance. Note the 1010 Deere and 4120 Deere have the same horsepower so it is a good comparison.