question regarding loader control valve on my g3033

[bruceatlam]

Sure, the "bucket flop" issue happens as you dump the bucket. At maybe 2/3 of full cylinder stroke to dump the bucket, it will "free fall". At that point it isn't being pushed by the hydraulics. It will just sit at maybe 80% of full dump and rock back and forth a bit. After a few seconds the hydraulics will catch up and then force it to full dump. That's my version anyway --------

 

[boomer632]

On mine it seems like I get to about 90% then stops. A few seconds late it will move again and hit the bucket stops. Seems to happen more when the oil is cold. More pronounced as the hydraulic oil warms up. May try the flow valve too.

 

[bruceatlam]

In my situation it gets worse and more annoying the faster that you try to work while at the same time trying to be precise. I just spent a couple of days cleaning brush and weeds from a homeowners lot and then loading the cleared brush into a 40 foot roll off for disposal. As I loaded the roll off, I would also compact with the loader as I loaded. I was trying to work quickly and precisely ---- the bucket flopping around didn't help. The longer I worked the more frustrated I became and the worse the problem seemed. Sooooo, I installed my flow control yesterday. The slow dump speed may frustrate me more than the flop ---- but, I don't think so. I can control the start of the dump; I can't really control the flopping. We'll see -------------

 

[George2615]

Just got it setup. Definitely an improvement with no noticeable flop. Here is a picture. I didn't realize that the flow valve is free flow in the curl position so there is no impact on curl speed.... Bonus!

View attachment 456064

MOJoe11,
Thanks for the info on this. I installed mine today, adjusted the flow, locked the set screw and it seems to have eliminated the bucket flop.

 

[BradTx]

Any way to describe what valve flow setting you used? I have the valve and will install it this week. The bucket flop gets much worse when I have the root grapple on since it weighs a bit more than the standard bucket.

 

[George2615]

Any way to describe what valve flow setting you used? I have the valve and will install it this week. The bucket flop gets much worse when I have the root grapple on since it weighs a bit more than the standard bucket.

Where it is located I cannot see the numbers on the dial. I just curled and dumped the bucket turning the knob in a half turn each time until the flop went away. After testing a few times I locked the set screw down to prevent unwanted adjustment.

 

[bruceatlam]

My valve is closed such that the "black" band is fully visible and the "0" is sitting on the tip of the flow directional arrow on the side of the valve.

 

[BradTx]

Installed the flow control valve this weekend. It has eliminated the problem. I am still moving the setting around to find the spot where the bucket doesn't loose too much dump speed yet doesn't flop. Plus it changes with the different weight of the attachments in the front. Thanks to those who shared this fix.

 

[elbowroom]

I too modified the bucket circuit with the flow control valve modification. However, I mounted it on the loader arm so it is more accessible when switching from the light bucket to heavy grapple. You will end up with a slightly slower bucket dump to control the flop.

Here are the pix:



Thanks for all the great info and contributions to this thread!

I am still trying to understand the regenerative circuits and if there are other work-arounds to fix this.

 

[MOJoe11]

Glad to hear this is helping others. Mine is still working great. In fact, I have added another flow valve to the lift cylinder circuit. I wasn't happy with how fast the bucket would drop when fully loaded with a small movement of the control stick. After time I figured the loader would crack because human nature is to let go of the controls causing some serious shock to the system when not paying attention.