Sweeper magnet

[DeeDubya]

I'm doing some clean-up on a new property and rigged up this 6' sweeper magnet on the 3-pt. It works great as adjusting for ground clearance is easy and precise. It picks up pretty much everything on the surface but will not pull much out of the dirt. I'm after nails, screws and other tire hazards. A quick chain harrow job loosens it enough for another pass.

 

[sailorman]

Looks real good !!

 

[Dr_Zinj]

That's just a big bar magnet. If you want something with real pull, you need a towed electromagnet either running off your PTO, or more common, with a separate engine driving a generator for the magnet. Check with a DOD Reclamation office near you (if any) and see if they have any magnetic runway sweepers being disposed of. Some of those have enough to pull the darn sensor wires right out of the pavement at stop lights.

 

[DeeDubya]

That's just a big bar magnet. If you want something with real pull, you need a towed electromagnet either running off your PTO, or more common, with a separate engine driving a generator for the magnet. Check with a DOD Reclamation office near you (if any) and see if they have any magnetic runway sweepers being disposed of. Some of those have enough to pull the darn sensor wires right out of the pavement at stop lights.

Yep, I know what it is. And, I'm aware of the towable electromagnets. I could never justify spending what they cost since I don't clean runways!

 

[flyerdan]

If you can scrounge up some old air conditioning pumps off cars, they have a nice electromagnet to draw the clutch in. About four of them would make a nice magnet bar, can't remember how many amps they pull, but it shouldn't be more than a tractor electrical system can handle, if wired correctly.
I'm going to make one for the forklift when I find enough cores.

 

[Midniteoyl]

Looks good Dubya.. cheap and effective..

 

[Sysop]

Awesome idea! Beats me out walking thousands of feet back and forth with a much smaller version on a handle any day...

It does give me some thoughts though. I think a FEL mount might likely work better. The way it is you either need to go backwards or drive over the nails and other tire hazards you're looking to prevent. Doing it on the FEL allows you to drag your harrow at the same time as well, this makes your first pass while preparing for the second pass all at once. I think I would create a mount at the back of the FEL bucket near the bottom pivot pins or the lower QA locks so you can use it with the bucket turned up, and still be able to turn the blade edge down to perform other small tasks along the way (pushing a stone or something out of the way).

If you can't tell, I plan to "borrow" your idea with some minor alterations

Thanks for sharing! Hopefully you like and can use the ideas you put in my head...

 

[Midniteoyl]

Awesome idea! Beats me out walking thousands of feet back and forth with a much smaller version on a handle any day...

It does give me some thoughts though. I think a FEL mount might likely work better. The way it is you either need to go backwards or drive over the nails and other tire hazards you're looking to prevent. Doing it on the FEL allows you to drag your harrow at the same time as well, this makes your first pass while preparing for the second pass all at once. I think I would create a mount at the back of the FEL bucket near the bottom pivot pins or the lower QA locks so you can use it with the bucket turned up, and still be able to turn the blade edge down to perform other small tasks along the way (pushing a stone or something out of the way).

If you can't tell, I plan to "borrow" your idea with some minor alterations

Thanks for sharing! Hopefully you like and can use the ideas you put in my head...

Hehe.. And I plan to steal yours

 

[DeeDubya]

Awesome idea! Beats me out walking thousands of feet back and forth with a much smaller version on a handle any day...

It does give me some thoughts though. I think a FEL mount might likely work better. The way it is you either need to go backwards or drive over the nails and other tire hazards you're looking to prevent. Doing it on the FEL allows you to drag your harrow at the same time as well, this makes your first pass while preparing for the second pass all at once. I think I would create a mount at the back of the FEL bucket near the bottom pivot pins or the lower QA locks so you can use it with the bucket turned up, and still be able to turn the blade edge down to perform other small tasks along the way (pushing a stone or something out of the way).

If you can't tell, I plan to "borrow" your idea with some minor alterations

Thanks for sharing! Hopefully you like and can use the ideas you put in my head...

This might save you some time. I tried mounting it on the FEL first. The red brackets on top of the magnet are made for forks. You just slip it on and tighten the eye bolts down to hold it in place. It moves up and down too much and skips over stuff. To work well it needs to glide 1-3" above the ground, so the 3-pt on back is a much more stable mount. I also added the gauge wheels on the ends to keep it from hitting the ground and scraping off what was stuck to it.