Pat's Easy Change Real World Test& 1 question

[patrick_g]

And there you have it straight from the horses mouth. Those of us handicapped by Kubota ownership are the main members of the OOPS GROUP.

Hi Pat, welcome aboard.

The pins sticking out on my brush hog to attach to the lower arms of the 3PH are slanted rearward. This helps to get the thing hitched without the EasyChange. With the EasyChange the slant does not help and in fact is making it larder to get hitched up. Still, it is easier to hitch, even with the slanted pins, using the EasyChange. I may rework the pins, taking all or most of the rearward rake out to accommodate the EasyChange.

Hmmmm Pat G and Pat G No confusion here!

Pat

 

[PATG]

pat g,

I also am a member of that OOPS club. (L4310) But I have a hydrualic top link that I fashioned, so I don't have the top link problem. But several family members (a large family) have manual top links and don't seem to have a problem. We run the board on tractors. Kubota, John Deere, Case, Ford. You name it someone has one. You don't belong in the Greenwell bunch unless you own a tractor. Those pictures on our website are all ours.

Interesting about the pin. Can you send a picture? I might have some suggestions.

Yea, the name is kinda close. That's why I started signing the way I do. Somebody said I was trying to hide who I was. Nope, come to Meade County, Kentucky and most people can tell you where I live and give you directions. LOL.

Pat of Pat's Easy Change

 

[milkman]

I didn't have a problem with my top link being too short, but if I would have had to get a longer top link, it wouldn't have ocurred to me to blamed Pat for the problem, I'd have just bought the top link that I needed to make it work. If I'd had a marginal PTO shaft and after I installed the PEC, would I expect Pat to buy me a longer PTO shaft because now my PTO shaft is too short??

 

[patrick_g]

I didn't have a problem with my top link being too short, but if I would have had to get a longer top link, it wouldn't have ocurred to me to blamed Pat for the problem, I'd have just bought the top link that I needed to make it work. If I'd had a marginal PTO shaft and after I installed the PEC, would I expect Pat to buy me a longer PTO shaft because now my PTO shaft is too short??

Absolutely not! You should not expect a free PTO shaft or a free extender for the top. You might however appreciate a warning that your PTO shaft may not be long enough or that you might need an extender for the top.

I didn't expect or ask for an extender. I built my own and after that received a call from a very nice lady ar Greenwell MFG who wanted to send me one for free and to prepay the shipping. She sent it and I am using it. It is better than my hasty fix. I appreciate the customer service attitude even more when they proactively volunteer to help out rather than just acceding to a customer request.

If only computer software and hardware companies could study the Greenwell model of customer service!!!!!!!!!1

Pat

 

[jsborn]

If only computer software and hardware companies could study the Greenwell model of customer service!!!!!!!!!1

Pat

You mean you didn't have to call India and be put on hold for 2hours to find out that you need another thousand dollar update ????

Pat of Pats better look out the consumer service groups will be calling him and threatening to sue him for actually giving Excellent customer service.

I too have a Pats unit and had a very good experience with the people at Pat's. Keep it up and expand your line of equipment so I can buy more neet stuff.

 

[crbr]

I didn't expect or ask for an extender.

Pat

They offered up to me after reading here, then a few PMs. I received the extender, no charge. Unfortunately, it didn't fit. Fabricated with too wide of a spacing to fit inside of the OEM top link.

Back to the grinder, literally.

They are indeed a friendly bunch, but I have yet to see first round satisfaction ( 1st round = order, open, install, works without additinal needs) although they have been worthy of effort for resolution.

 

[jwstewar]

I received my PEC change for Christmas in 2005. Couldn't wait to install it. Went to the garage a couple of days after Christmas and put it on. It has worked flawlessly. I have not needed a longer top link or PTO shaft for any of my implements. I also purchased the spreader bar. I don't use it all of the time, but I do use it occasionally - seems especially for the tiller. I've only found one implement that doesn't work with it and that is my dirt scoop facing rearwards. It does work facing forward though so that is what I did. Since I only use it to haul my spot sprayer around it wasn't a big deal. PEC sure did make my implements a lot easier to hook up on my tractor with non-extendable links. I also have some of my implements on dollies, the two of them make it a breeze. Now to get room so I can put the tiller on a dolly as well. Might have to build me an implement shed.

 

[patrick_g]

Jim, I too have built dollies for some of my implements. The brush hog and box blade got the first two. It was my way of making implement change easier. Had I installed the PEC before I built dollies I might have not been so motivated.

I have a 21x48ft shed open on the low side (near 8 ft clearance) on the side of the building that is my garage and shop. It has concrete floor and I can muscle the dollies around fairly easily even with over a thousand pounds onboard.

Unfortunately, the shed is too small for my tractor with implements installed (in most cases.) The shed was not my design, it was an accessory to the open span steel truss building I used for shop and garage and it was as big as they offered.

It as actually a good news bad news story. Since the tractor/implement shed is too small I will have to build a pole barn and I will build it to hold a larger tractor (just in case), my trailer, all implements, stickered and drying wood, etc. This will let me put doors on the 12ft bay (1 of 4) of the tractor shed that is in line with the roll up garage door in the side of my shop. I will wall in the other 3 each 48 ft bays and the ex tractor shed will be a workshop annex on the side of my workshop.

This is a cautionary tale. If you build a tractor shed, be sure to build it large enough for all intended and potential uses. I thought I did but the reality was I was a neophyte and inexperienced newbie with no clue as to just how much hassle was involved in changing implements. This lead to leaving a useful implement on the tractor. The box blade or brush hog one or the other are usually hooked up and I virtually NEVER remove the FEL although it is not so tough. This means the tractor doesn't fit in 21 feet. If I had started out with something like the PEC unit I may have just got in the habit of removing implements to get the tractor well under the roof (we are subject to large hail and my cab has lots of expensive glass.)

Even with the tremendous advantage of the PEC I don't like to change implements just to shorten the tractor and have to fuss with the brush hog's PTO shaft. I guess I may be lazy. Anyway, try to think of all possible realistic uses for your new tractor shed and build somethng even bigger!


Patrick ( a different Pat G from the Pat G who does the PEC)

 

[jsborn]

This is a cautionary tale. If you build a tractor shed, be sure to build it large enough for all intended and potential uses.

Patrick

This is the impossible dream . Build a shed large enough to house all your needs ??? I am becoming an expert a putting 10 lbs of sugar in a 5 lb sack in my shop and when I built it I knew it was way too big for my needs.

now back to the thread I have the PEC and a Kubota tractor which seems to be the on with the most problems and I had no problem with my RC PTO or any of my other implements.
I wish I had purchased the PEC before I tried the speedco unit I would have saved a good deal of money.

 

[patrick_g]

This is the impossible dream . Build a shed large enough to house all your needs ??? I am becoming an expert a putting 10 lbs of sugar in a 5 lb sack in my shop and when I built it I knew it was way too big for my needs.

I thought I was in Fat City when I gave myself the humongous generous 24x36 ft shop with 10 ft ceilings. I should have gone for more sqft and 12 ft ceilings. With dust collection, A/C and lights you don't get all the ceiling clearance you thought you'd have. As it turns out the tractor shed on the side of the building when converted to an annex to my shop adds 116% floor space, upping me from about 864sqft to about 1872 sqft some of which will be storage and some will not be available as I need to keep a clear path to get a vehicle into the "original" shop to work on it in a conditioned space. Who knows how it will end up but my preconceived notion is to use the new space as storage and metal working area. I have conflicts between welding sparks and sawdust and chips as well as welding fumes and A/C (although the AC is separate from the house I don't want to circulate the tainted air) The space available for wood working and electronics will grow by virtue of moving oiut the welding and metal working equipment. Hopefully this will handle my needs.

I looked at the SPEECO and the brand X from HF and the ones at the ag shops like Atwoods but I didn't see how they could accommodate varying width pins on implements. It would be nice if all the MFGs adhered tightly to a standard but they haven't and likely aren't going to do so. The PEC will hook up to just about anything your lower arms would hook up with. The difference being that the PEC "hooks" don't swivel like the gizmos in the lower arms. Some implements have the pins swept back at an angle and this makes problems for the PEC. Once hooked up to my HD brush hog (handles up to 80 HP) I had no problem but it was considerably more difficult to get hooked up. Not that much easier than without the PEC. The good news is that it isn't rocket science to unweld the pins and reweld them either straight out or with less rearward rake. The pins were just attached with nuts but I couldn't keep them tight, even with lock nuts and lock washers so I welded them. The rearward rake makes it easier to hook up than if the pins were straight when not using the PEC so maybe I will compromise. The PEC does engage the pins as they are with rake so I just need to straighten them a little to make the PEC hook up get lots easier. IF the PEC was articulated and had the range of motion the ball fittings have it would probably cost more and not be as rugged and not be an improvement for the majority of users and the majority of implements.

Pat