Ordered my Bush Hog M246 FEL

[Mosey]

Michigan rock in Indiana. The white spruce tree also came from Michigan.

 

[Mosey]

I went back to the scales and weighed the pickup empty. The rock weighs 870 lbs! Much more than I thought. I got my manual and bucket level indicator. They just forgot to bring them. I detached the loader and it's as easy as advertised. I didn't have time for pictures because I needed to get the grass mowed, it was starting to look like a hayfield. I'll get some pictures of the FEL detached when I get a chance.

 

[Spencer]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I went back to the scales and weighed the pickup empty. The rock weighs 870 lbs! Much more than I thought. I got my manual and bucket level indicator. They just forgot to bring them. I detached the loader and it's as easy as advertised. I didn't have time for pictures because I needed to get the grass mowed, it was starting to look like a hayfield. I'll get some pictures of the FEL detached when I get a chance.)</font>

Mosey, I know it is a stupid question but did you have the same amount of fuel, people, etc. both times you weighed?

 

[Mosey]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Mosey, I know it is a stupid question but did you have the same amount of fuel, people, etc. both times you weighed?)</font>

Spencer - I'm an engineer, so I made sure to account for everything! I didn't drive the truck much, since it had the rock in it, so I only used 2.5 gal of gas and assumed about 9 lbs per gallon (I weighed a gallon of apple juice in a plastic container and guessed that gasoline would be close to the same weight), so I added 22 lbs to the empty weight. I was in the truck both times when they weighed it. I know 870 lbs seems like a lot for that size rock, but it's true! When I get a chance, I'm going to get a full bucket of wet dirt without any ballast and see if it also brings the rear wheels up when I try to lift it. I will be careful!

 

[Spencer]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( </font><font color="blueclass=small">( Mosey, I know it is a stupid question but did you have the same amount of fuel, people, etc. both times you weighed?)</font>

Spencer - I'm an engineer, so I made sure to account for everything! )</font>

Mosey, I was just surprised that it weighed that much. It's hard to tell these things from photos. Your rock looked similar in size to a rock I have here. I transpanted it today for the wife into a new flower garden I made for here. I picked it up at the end of my 48" forks. I estimate the center of the rock being over 36" away from the pivot point where my 7308 is rated at 880 pounds. So with my rock being at least 36" further out from the pivot point, my 415 pound forks mounted on the loader, and my Kasco Uni-Hitch also on the loader I just figured that my rock couldn't weigh over 400 to 500 pounds. Take a look at my rock in the attachment and tell me what you think.

 

[Mosey]

Spencer - I really don't understand it either. Did you have any ballast on the back of your tractor? Can 2 men roll your rock over? My brother and I could not roll my rock over. When we loaded it we used his Satoh tractor to drag it because he couldn't pick it up with a rear bucket (he has a homemade rear bucket similar to a rear scoop, but 5' wide). We were able to lift one side of it enough to get a nylon rope under it to lift it. We put the snatch block for the winch on a big tree branch and picked it up with a 8000lb winch.

 

[JohnMiller3]

<font color="blue">...we used his Satoh tractor to drag it ... </font>

What model Satoh does he have? A number of the smaller Satoh's have very weak 3-pt. and only lift a few hundred pounds working normally...

<font color="blue">… I'm an engineer…</font>

Danny, I'm curious… What kind of engineer are you…?

 

[Mosey]

JohnMiller3 -

What model Satoh does he have? If I remember right, it's a 650G. The problem was not the power of the 3pt, it was the lack of weight. It has an aluminum engine and it's 2WD, so there's not much weight up front. It can lift a King Kutter 5' tiller and a Bush Hog 6' finish mower with no problem, and those weigh over 650 lbs.

What kind of engineer are you? Digital Electronics (did some VLSI for a while), Software (UNIX, C), and now doing Systems and even some web design at Cummins (see www.mininggateway.com).

 

[Mosey]

Here are some more pictures. First, FEL detached.

 

[Mosey]

Tractor with FEL detached. The part that stays on the tractor weighs over 400 lbs.