Tractor Sizing Tractor with FEL to lift 550-750lb round bales

[freedomlives]

translate.google.com will help you with the japanese. It may not get the translation exactly right but should give the general idea of what the FEL capacity is.

Well, its the other way around I needed. And I didn't think to try, but now, searching for "iseki tractor data 35" -> "isekiトラクターデータ35" found some results, one key one showing the name plate of the same type of tractor, that it is actually a TS35F and made by Tong Yang Moolsan in South Korea for Iseki. http://archive.is/pmj56

 

[freedomlives]

The guy emailed me some photos of the tractors on the way from Japan. Yanmar AF33 and AF35 as well as a Hinomoto NX320 that all have cabs. My wife is convinced that cabs will be safer than roll bars if something happens, and given that we have kids and they are going to want to ride in the tractor (obviously on flat ground, without carrying stuff on the FEL) having a cab with shut doors seems a lot safer too. They'll put some Polish FEL on to them.

Like everything else gray market, specs on these are hard to come by, though I saw a forum post here that the Yanmar AF series was made in the mid-late 90s. I can't find out anything on the Hinomoto. But I feel like the cab would be a good idea after all. As well, during our muddy season, if I want to just leave the tractor parked up the hill in our fields rather than dealing with the steep, slippery path down the hill, it won't leave everything wet.

 

[Eric Salop]

Your wife sounds like she has been doing her homework on rollover statistics if she is encouraging you to go for a cabbed tractor.
Well, either that, or she doesn't like your cold hands in winter

For slopping ground look carefully at how wide the tires can be spaced, it really helps with stability and can vary quite a bit a between seemingly similar sized tractors. A larger frame tractor will generally feel safer on slopes and when you are stacking 750lb bales. Not suggesting you need to go as big as the Zetors, but it is something to bear in mind as you look around different tractors.

One thing I would check is how easy it is to get spare parts. Kubota's and Iseki's may be more common than some other brands where you now live.

"After market" loaders can be every bit as good as the manufacturer's own version - often even better. If you are going for a new loader, have a look at MX - they are a French loader specialist with manufacturing and distribution outlets throughout Europe. MX - Front loaders, Front linkages and Implements - Specialist for agricultural handling

 

[4570Man]

Cabs on tractors don’t provide any additional protection in rollovers ( unless maybe you weren’t wearing a seatbelt and then it might help you from ending up under the tractor)

 

[freedomlives]

Hmm... it is a good point about aftermarket. The seller I went to see had sent me photos of some of the tractors on the importer's lot in Poland, and googling through Polish websites, I found the one of the importer, and also the specifications of the loader they attach to the imported tractors. It is kind of weak-- 350kg (~750lbs) to full height, which is only 2m (~6.5'). There are some FELs made by a company WOL-MET in Poland with 700kg capacity (~1500lbs) for the same price. I can't find prices for MX, but I see they are also present in Poland.

When I look at tractordata.com for specs on loader attachments-- these aren't available for the grey market tractors, but if for instance the Kubota L2501 takes an LA525 which can lift 2.4m more than 500kg, and weighs less with less HP than the Yanmars and Isekis I'm considering (and the Kubotas I was looking at as well), then I think I shouldn't get a FEL that only does 350kg!

 

[freedomlives]

Actually, looking at the Polish Wol-Met Tur 3 loader, it looks like there are different positions to set up the loader and change its geometry, maybe to e.g. increase height at cost of lifting capacity? Which if that is why, seems like a neat idea-- one position for stacking hay bales 3 high, another for scooping up gravel and soil.


The main advantage I see of the cab-- not so much for me when there's a risk the tractor will roll over, I can wear a seat belt, but for when I'm on flat ground not lifting things and inevitably my kids will want to ride to prevent them from falling off. Otherwise-- well, it isn't so hot here except a couple of weeks in August that I would need air conditioning, and while the "Silent Cab" with stereo inside could be nice, I've got some ear buds that do a good job blocking out sound-- I listen to economics and theological lectures while mowing with the two wheel tractor without a problem using them.

Still two weeks until the ship comes in with the new tractors.

 

[jeff9366]

Yes. As FEL lift height increases, weight capacity decreases.

With max loads on my 1,700 pound lift capacity FEL, usually green Oak tree trunk sections, sometimes I can lift the load only 3", just enough to transport.

 

[freedomlives]

And now, looking on Polish classifieds, I found an Iseki 29HP with cab and original FEL that is actually much closer to me than the tractors I drove across Slovakia to see last week, and only 7400€. Given what you warned about before, that the cylinders on a used FEL can be worn out, but looking at prices of new hydraulic cylinders, I'm thinking that taking a gamble with an older FEL is perhaps worth it, when the price is 2500€ less and it will be able to lift much higher, so actually manage to stack bales 3 high instead of 2 high.

The Yanmar AF series looks really cool though, with the modern looking cab, assisted shifting, air-conditioning, etc. But ultimately, I'm getting a tool to move hay bales and dirt and gravel, not to take my wife on dates in.

I also saw the really not so nice looking Iseki last week in Presov with original FEL, and its lift was about a meter higher than these new FELs that these importers seem to slap on to every tractor from 15-40HP.

 

[freedomlives]

And the wife called, managed somehow the communication between Slovak speaker and Polish speaker, and found out it was sold. But there do seem to be these japanese tractors with cabs and original front end loaders popping up on the market, so maybe I'll get lucky.

The aftermarket loader, whose specifications I actually know, is another option. But I'm a bit wary, because I'm not sure how the attaching of the loader goes. Maybe I should just assume I can figure it out? There's not a problem getting metal, even cheap, from the neighbor with the scrapyard, and I think a good deal of neighbor's are mechanically handy, and my father-in-law can weld better than I, so I guess making whatever sort of brackets are needed to get the FEL on whatever tractor is an option too.

I'm just certain now that I'm not going to settle for these under-powered FEL's that can't reach high enough.

 

[freedomlives]

And now, no more guestimating how much the bales need to be lifted. Just a bit of time in FreeCAD, and I have the answer -- assuming 1.5m diameter bales, which the bottom bales must squash a bit under the weight of the next row of bales as well -- 2.6 m, or really a bit more, since the bale spike needs something to jab in to.