M59 Discussion Thread

[Charlesaf3]

funny. Thanks for sharing that.

Security wise, I've thought of putting a few hidden toggle switches in line with the Operator Presence control switches. God knows they drive me nuts when they are having problems, I'm pretty sure a thief would have equal issues diagnosing them. Nice thing is that hotwiring around them is a major pain the way they are set up - probably a good thing, as it keeps me from the temptation to disable useful safety devices...

 

[ManAtArms]

Following in the footsteps of Charles, I decided to purchase an hydraulic auger for use on the backhoe of the M59. I opted for the Belltec H-300 (Hydraulic Augers for high flow applications -- Belltec Industries, Inc.) which I picked up on Friday, complete with 9-inch RAD Rock auger (BELLTEC Industries :: Bullet Tooth Rock Auger) with replaceable carbide cutting teeth.

My rationale for selecting Belltec was the heavy duty construction, high torque, reasonable price, and the ability to drill through solid rock, which exists in great abundance around here.

I decided to run it off of the hydraulic thumb circuit, which should supply 16.1gpm at around 2500psi. I previously added high-flow Faster flat faced couplers to the thumb lines so I could easily connect attachments.

To mount the auger drive to the bucket pin, I had to have a custom adapter fabricated.

Heres the bucket hanger:

I cant weld, so I had to rely on my buddy Ed to fab it. We used 3/4-inch stock all around, sheared the stock to size, drilled holes for the bucket pin and auger pins (conveniently the same size) and welded it all together:

Heres the unprimed hanger:

And the hanger being painted Kubota Orange:

Here it is mounted up:

The Belltec is rated to run between 15-30 GPM. To confirm that the thumb circuit was supplying its rated 16 GPM, I painted a dot on the auger head and ran it for 1 minute, counting 54 turns. This is slightly better than I expected the thumb circuit to supply. I was expecting 47rpm. Belltecs specs for this unit state 3.1rpm per gpm, so 54rpm is more consistent with 17gpm. Needless to say its fine for my use.

Ill report back later this week with an update on its ability to drill through solid rock.

-Mark

 

[Charlesaf3]

wow, cool! That is one beast of an auger. I look forward to hearing about the rock - mine most certainly does not.

Jacketing the hoses is a good idea btw... learned that the hard way. Have you dug any holes? Back of the hoe is a great place for an auger.

 

[rScotty]

rScotty,

I think the procedure to get her started again will be the same one as changing the fuel filter. Just open the bleed vent thumb screw and let her run with for 30 seconds or so then close the vent and you should be good to go. Check in the manual under the procedure for changing the fuel filter.
Let us know how it goes.
-Mark

And that's just what happened. After all my worries, it turned out to be a complete non-event.

What actually happened is that I looked into my owner's manual (page 93) and they said what you said: No tools required, just use fingers to open up the air vent valve on top of the fuel injection pump. BTW, that valve is located a couple of inches above the oil fill cap.
Cranked it for maybe ten seconds and it coughed once and started right up. Let it run for a bit then went around and closed the valve. It runs perfectly again and took maybe one minute start to finish.
Thank you, and thanks to Kubota.
rScotty

 

[Chuck K.]

HI-Beams?? does anyone's Hi-beams work on their M59?? I did some work the other evening and tried mine and no difference between Hi-beam an low-beam

 

[ManAtArms]

Hmmm. I'll go check.

HI-Beams?? does anyone's Hi-beams work on their M59?? I did some work the other evening and tried mine and no difference between Hi-beam an low-beam

 

[ManAtArms]

Nope, no difference here either.

Hmmm. I'll go check.

 

[Chuck K.]

Nope, no difference here either.

Thanks, and that is one awesome post hole digger you got there..

 

[rScotty]

The Belltec is rated to run between 15-30 GPM. To confirm that the thumb circuit was supplying its rated 16 GPM, I painted a dot on the auger head and ran it for 1 minute, counting 54 turns. This is slightly better than I expected the thumb circuit to supply. I was expecting 47rpm. Belltecs specs for this unit state 3.1rpm per gpm, so 54rpm is more consistent with 17gpm. Needless to say its fine for my use.

Ill report back later this week with an update on its ability to drill through solid rock.
-Mark

OK, I can't wait any longer!!....That picture shows an auger bit which is entirely too clean. So how does it work? Isn't rock a bit much for it? Shucks, I'd be satisfied if it drilled through hardpan dirt. We had some 10" holes drilled for pole barn posts, and the last foot was into bedrock. It was sure hard on a great big fancy drill rig truck. Can an M59 handle that much torque?

Oh, and I see from your signature that you have rear remotes, but are powering the drill from the thumb circuit? Why? For the pressure relief valves?

On the hi beam lights that Chuck asked about, that got me curious and I took a look at mine. The switch stalk on the steering post looks like a typical high/low beam type but the switch position makes no difference and then I saw that the front lights themselves only have two wires to them. And since they are mounted on plastic then one wire has got to be a ground. So mine couldn't work dual filament hi/low bulbs even if it did have them.
rScotty

 

[ManAtArms]

Hang in the rScrotty! Here we go:

Vid of drilling into some NJ dirt:


Now for the tough stuff. About 1.5 feet in I hit some rock. Granite:


Here's the proof. I drilled about 1 foot into this stuff in 10 minutes. Not bad.

Overall, very happy. I know, I know...the hole I drilled in the first vid isn't level. It's not easy off the backhoe..anyway, I'll get the hang of it.

The carbide teeth on the auger are incredible. They still look brand new. Except for the paint.

-Mark

OK, I can't wait any longer!!....That picture shows an auger bit which is entirely too clean. So how does it work? Isn't rock a bit much for it? Shucks, I'd be satisfied if it drilled through hardpan dirt. We had some 10" holes drilled for pole barn posts, and the last foot was into bedrock. It was sure hard on a great big fancy drill rig truck. Can an M59 handle that much torque?

Oh, and I see from your signature that you have rear remotes, but are powering the drill from the thumb circuit? Why? For the pressure relief valves?

On the hi beam lights that Chuck asked about, that got me curious and I took a look at mine. The switch stalk on the steering post looks like a typical high/low beam type but the switch position makes no difference and then I saw that the front lights themselves only have two wires to them. And since they are mounted on plastic then one wire has got to be a ground. So mine couldn't work dual filament hi/low bulbs even if it did have them.
rScotty