Light Material vs Rock and Dirt Bucket

[dturnmire]

What is the main difference between the material and rock buckets? The light material bucket for the PT-180 is 7 cu.ft. while the rock bucket is only 4 cu. ft. They aren't very big and I was wondering if the material bucket would do anything the rock bucket would do.

Aside from the size is the material bucket made of lighter material and more likely to be damaged? Would anyone know if teeth are available for the larger bucket?

 

[MossRoad]

On my PT425 the small bucket is 5 cubic feet and the large bucket is 10. The steel on each seems to be the same, but you have to consider the distance between the sides is a few inches narrower, and it is not as deep as the big bucket, nor as tall. For that matter, the little bucket fits inside the big bucket completely. The longer the span, the weaker, or maybe I should say, the more likely you can bend it. I'd really have to measure the buckets to see if there is an actual thickness difference.

 

[pairodime]

Has anyone bent a LMB from overloading?? Is the most likely problem just having the PT go into "pucker"? Thanks

 

[Trojan6]

I've got both for my 180. The light material bucket is nice simply because it is larger. Therefore, I use it mostly as a wheelbarrow for hauling large amounts of things around. I don't think they will put the teeth on it. The rock bucket, on the other hand, is probably my favorite implement. I've got teeth on it, and it is amazing what you can do with it (uprooting small trees, moving dirt, plowing in reverse). I like the teeth for hauling odd shaped things around (pickets, fence posts, etc...), because they provide a lip to hold it in place better than the forks do. I think the size of both is relative to lift capacity of the machine and has nothing to do with the manufacturing of them. They are identical in their construction, only one is bigger than the other (obviously). I think that the "pucker-factor" is what drives the size of them. Hope this helps.

Stefan

 

[tracdoc]

Like many PT'ers, I too am trying to economize on my purchases of attachments. I was planning on geting the light materials bucket when I pick up my 425 in a couple of weeks. I chose that mainly for size in carrying mulch, sod, etc. I was considering purchase of an after-market tooth bar such as:
Attachments International, Inc.
or
Markham Welding custom toothbars

Would this be a reasonable option, or should I be getting the rock bucket with teeth? Does anyone have an idea of the cost of an aftermarket toothbar, and ease of installation? I only would consider this with a bolt-on install, as a welded fit would defeat my multi-tasking goal for the LM bucket
Thanks for your help.

 

[Bob999]

Tooth bars typically cost around $60 per foot ($300 for a 60" bucket)and weigh around 12+ lbs per foot (60-70 lbs for a 60" bucket). The tooth bars I have seen are bolt on and are considerably more rugged then the PT teeth because they put a heavy reinforcement on the blade edge and have hardened replaceable teeth.

 

[dbetts]

I asked Scott that question when I bought my 425 in Sept. He said they are made of the same thickness steel just like Moss Road said. I bought the 5 cu ft rock bucket with teeth and noticed just yesterday some bowing of the lip. I also have some trouble on hills hauling a bucket full of gravel. If i were just hauling mulch this wouldn't be as much of a problem. I guess my point is if you are going to be rooting around in hard packed clay and rock you'd be better off with the rock bucket. If you're mostly hauling stuff then the bigger bucket should be fine.

 

[tracdoc]

Well, after spending the entire day in beautiful Tazewell yesterday playing, er... workng with the variuos attachments for the 425, I finally opted to get NEITHER the rock (small) nor the light materials (large) buckets.

As Scott confirmed, they are indeed made of the same material stock. He was of the opinion that the LM bucket had the potential to bend sooner than the rock bucket ("a long stick bends easier than a short one"), but felt that the PT pucker would kick-in to "warn" the user of overload.

My decision involved jettisoning three other implements that were on my list, (at least for now) so I could purchase the 4-in-1 bucket. That implement is awesome! It can do virtually all the tasks of the grapple bucket and so much more, like grading, smoothing, controlled release of contents, and dumping over the side rail of my pickup truck with ease and safety, since I don't have to raise the bucket as high as the limit I would need using the fixed buckets. Size wise, the 4-in-1 is almost exactly midway between the RB and LM buckets, measuring ~45" across
I purchased the bucket in its native form, i.e., without teeth. After discussing with Scott, I plan to install an after-market toothbar. In an earlier post on this thread, I listed 2 manufacturers for these (I'm sure there are a lot more). Attachments International quoted an estimate of $510 (! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif) for a 45-48" toothbar. Markham Welding quoted a price of $175.00 for an equivalent hardened unit with replaceable teeth (pin removable). I haven't called AI to find out why their product seems so pricey. As Bob999 explained to me, the bars add a strip of heavy steel along the entire edge. That takes the brunt of the wear and tear, saving the bucket edge itself.

The toothbar is fastened with just 2 bolts at the sides of the bucket, so the operator can quickly remove all teeth +bar at once to use the bucket for smoothing/grading. In contrast, the OEM teeth require drilling one hole for each tooth along the bucket edge itself. Those teeth are individually replaceable too, by unbolting and then installing new tooth.

Thank you all for your helpful input.

 

[MossRoad]

Sounds like a good, logical thought process... you did good! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[tlb]

How is the opening of the "mouth" controlled for the 4N1 bucket?