LS backhoe questions. please post pics of subframe mount.

[hutchman]

Interesting that the BH doesn't come with the 3pt stuff... I'm sure the ones I've seen for sale have had it... that means my lower cost alternative just got even lower cost.

It looks like you could hook it up to 3pt. hitch directly ( or should i say traditionaly) but the extra 3pt. mount thing that usually comes on it adds a margin of safety to the tractor so the down sides (breaking castings) are minimised as much as possible.

 

[dfkrug]

It looks like you could hook it up to 3pt. hitch directly ( or should i say traditionaly) but the extra 3pt. mount thing that usually comes on it adds a margin of safety to the tractor so the down sides (breaking castings) are minimised as much as possible.

The extra parts you get with these hoes for mounting on the 3PH consist of a stronger toplink and 2 braces
between the toplink and the lower arms. The latter parts keep the whole hoe from rising independently of the
tractor when you put the outriggers down. Or dig in a way that puts upward force on the hoe.

It is unsafe to operate a hoe on the 3PH without the braces, as the operator can get squished
between the hoe and the tractor when upward force is applied.

I have a bunch of extras from all the Prairie Dogs that I bought in years past.

 

[1stDeuce]

Hutchman, did you get the backhoe local or order from out of state? Looking to pick one up soon...

 

[hutchman]

Hutchman, did you get the backhoe local or order from out of state? Looking to pick one up soon...

I was talking to two excellent out of state dealers and was about to pull the trigger when I just happened to send Ansung a question via email and they came back and answered my question plus told me there was a local dealer near me. I didn't think the local dealer could do a better price but they actually beat the deals of the out of state guys plus I felt obligated to buy "sort of local" and them having the best price was just icing on the cake.

 

[hutchman]

Got the mechanical thumb installed on backhoe and I like it! Real useful. Used it to clear a log jam (from their skidder) in a low spot the loggers left debris that backed up water into my road. Real musty smelling wood ... hopefully it will drain better now that I have a path cleared through it.

 

[hutchman]

Just an update. So far the backhoe subframe mount I made is holding up well. I have well over 10hrs of solid digging time on it.

I had a low spot that would back up with water due to the skidder trail pic in the previous post ... it would get worse than this:



... some will remember that's the same spot my dump truck got stuck and had to be pulled out by a track loader!

Got the log jam cleared and dug an outlet ditch for a culvert that eventually just runs out on top of the ground at a lower grade:



On the 18" culvert, I hand shovelled loose dirt and tamped it in layers 1/2 way up the pipe and then back filled it (until I broke my curl function on FEL ).

Oh, that's a fiberglass handled Harbor Freight shovel that doesn't suck in the last pic. All of my old inherited shovels were short so I picked up the long handled one spur of the moment while getting tow chains during the red tag sale.

 

[dfkrug]

Is that gonna be enough cover for a plastic culvert, HUTCH?

 

[hutchman]

Is that gonna be enough cover for a plastic culvert, HUTCH?

It's hard to tell from pic but it's about 6" on one side and almost a foot on the other (the slope of the pipe isn't that great though ... it's only like 10% or something ... so the outlet is about 4" lower from inlet - it's a smooth pipe on the inside). When I'm finished building up that area (when loader gets fixed) I'll have more than 1ft. on top and everything I've been told and read says 1ft. of fill on top will handle pretty much anything. I tend to over do stuff so I'll have more than what I was told on it.

Going to armour the inlet side bottom and sides with riprap and the outlet bottom with riprap too. This is totally overkill as water isn't normally in this area unless it really rains good. I built it to handle worse case like a hurricane that dumps 5-7" in an hour (hey, it's happened here before). I don't want to get cut off if/when something like that happens.

Oh, forgot to mention, just turned over 600hrs on the tractor (think I'm about up to 610 actually).

 

[hutchman]

I also got a new toy (two in fact) to keep my backhoe (and other things) humming along ... a battery powered Lincoln grease gun:

PowerLuber -- Lincoln Industrial

I have the HF air gun and I've been using the 3% molly from Tractor Supply for my dump truck and some other things.

For the tractor, I sprang for the 5% molly from Amsoil (Moly Heavy-Duty EP Grease Comparison Test [AMSOIL] - YouTube) instead of the CAT I had been using and I got the Lincoln air gun for that and it works sweet! It works so sweet that I decided to also get the 12V battery version. The air purge valve on the HF air gun is about useless for these thick molly grease tubes I've been using but the Lincoln air gun came with a tag wired to the gun that holds the secret that isn't found in the users manual. You totally unscrew the purge valve until the last thread or two, hold the grease cylinder upright and lightly tap the charge handle on a hard surface until grease starts to come out of the threads on the purge valve. Then tighten it up and it's good to go.

With the HF air gun and the 3% molly, I would unscrew the entire tube cylinder until the last thread or so but that would often result in going too far and now you are trying to screw the thing back together with the powerful spring working against you and the grease getting on your hands and preventing you from getting a good enough grip which would lead to moments of "getting in the flesh" if you know what I mean.

The last outing with the HF air gun left me resigned to the fact that next time I use it I will simply put on one of the HF tyvek type paper suits next time I do the dump truck ... but the Lincoln guns aren't as messing to use. But now that I know the super secret method of purging thanks to that Lincoln tag, I'm betting the same technique used on the HF gun will make it work just as well. Here's the secret:

 

[dfkrug]

When I'm finished building up that area (when loader gets fixed) I'll have more
than 1ft. on top and everything I've been told and read says 1ft. of fill on top will handle pretty much
anything.

I have never worked with plastic culvert myself; only steel and concrete. They all required a minimum of
12" cover. I figured plastic would require more cover, esp for larger pipes and heavy traffic.

I also have a Lincoln grease gun....I love it. Bleeding is much easier, too. I put the grease in directly; no
cartridge.