No float FEL

[Henro]

<font color="blue"> If you put the loader into float it will come down very quickly.

be careful ou there
</font>

I have trained myself to slam the control stick into float if I sense danger when using the loader.

An example would be when I was moving a lot of dirt last summer [ about 300 tons]. Some was being dumped around the base of a pine tree. I don't know the type tree, but it is one of those with about six branches sticking out of the trunk, for every foot of tree height...The lower branches on this tree were cut off, but as I filled around it the ground was making the remaining branches lower...

So anyway, I dumped and raise my bucket and a tooth of the toothbar grabbed a branch, right next to the trunk, and the tractor rear lifts and starts to tilt to the side.

"WHOA!!!" said my mouth and "slam" said my hand, pushing the lever into the float position before I knew I was doing it.

Surprised me and also set the rear of the tractor back down before I could feel relieved.

This was not the same feeling as digging in square to a pile and feeling the rear lift! It was sudden, unexpected and scary.

I echo Higgy's words...be careful out there. A free falling bucket could be a hazard or a life saver, depending on the circumstances...

 

[higgy]

Henro, you make a good point.

It is knowing how your machine will react to any control input that is the key. Tractors do things that we do not expect as they are powerful and have no suspension to speak of so any environmetal input i.e. stump, hole etc. will have an effect. The first thing that I have a new operator do is go and play with ALL of the aspects of control and make them second nature. Then they expect control input to give x result. This can as you point out have different outcomes depending on what the tractor is doing. One time it may be something to be aware of, another time it could save your bacon.

Thanks for pointing that out.

Dane

 

[chim]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I sure enough have float!........ Not sure where I'll use it )</font>

It is real handy for scooping stones, mulch, sand or other materials. With the bucket floating, you can approach the material while adjusting the angle of the bucket to slightly scrape the surface, then curl and lift as the bucket cuts into the pile.

The other appication shouldn't be of much use to you in FL - snow removal. If we get 6" or less snowfall, the rear blade is usually the ticket for bulk removal. When it comes to cleaning up at the end, the FEL is real handy. It is also very useful to clean areas that got driven over and packed down before I had a chance to scrape. Even a fairly heavy rear blade won't cut like the FEL. Seldom need down pressure. I added a wear edge made of steel I found lying around to my FEL. I also have a bucket extension for working with mulch, and the two use the same holes in the factory edge.................chim

 

[rims421]

Be mindful that if you change the elevation around an established tree very much it is very possible that you will cause that tree to slowly decline and eventually die. The general rule of thumb is to not have any soil against the trunk higher than it was before you started. I have even experianced tree's being killed by adding soil ontop of the root system without changing the grade against the trunk.