What's the difference between the bh760/bh860 backhoes?

madpuma13 · Mar 4, 2018

I'm about to purchase one of these for my 4720ch. Looking at the generic spec sheets doesn't show that they are that different.

One digs a little further down, another has a little more digging force.

But there doesn't really appear to be anything that makes the 860 stand out as being stronger/better than the 760.

Any help or experience would be appreciated!

Branson Bob · Mar 4, 2018

Apologies for what's probably a non-helpful answer but if one has more reach and the other more digging force I'm thinking the hydraulics are the same but the geometry is different.

All things being equal the longer the boom (or dipper), the less force it's able to create... like if you were trying to do curls with a pole extension in your hands, you lose leverage.

Stimw · Mar 6, 2018

Probably comes out to 76" verses 86" digging depth.

Branson Bob · Mar 6, 2018

Screen Shot 2018-03-06 at 5.07.40 PM.png

You've probably seen this but I figured I'd post it just in case. Have you asked the dealer yet?

madpuma13 · Mar 6, 2018

I've replied back to you three times and for some reason it's not making my post. Hopefully this one comes in....

Anyway, I said earlier that pretty much you made me realize what my problem was. I was just looking at the numbers on the spec sheet and just compassion then as if they were apples to apples without thinking about it further.

For instance it didn't make sense that the 860 had less bucket force than the 760(it's really pretty much the same).

But thinking about it further it makes sense that they must have used stiffer components in order to apply that same force one foot further away than the 760.

It does appear, as you mentioned, that they most likely use the same cylinders which further explains the similarities in the numbers and the difference in components is shown by the weight.

Sometimes you need someone to tell you your being stupid to make you stop and think about things.

Thanks a bunch. I have the 860 on order will be here in a week or two!

Branson Bob · Mar 7, 2018

madpuma13 said:
I've replied back to you three times and for some reason it's not making my post. Hopefully this one comes in....

Anyway, I said earlier that pretty much you made me realize what my problem was. I was just looking at the numbers on the spec sheet and just compassion then as if they were apples to apples without thinking about it further.

For instance it didn't make sense that the 860 had less bucket force than the 760(it's really pretty much the same).

But thinking about it further it makes sense that they must have used stiffer components in order to apply that same force one foot further away than the 760.

It does appear, as you mentioned, that they most likely use the same cylinders which further explains the similarities in the numbers and the difference in components is shown by the weight.

Sometimes you need someone to tell you your being stupid to make you stop and think about things.

Thanks a bunch. I have the 860 on order will be here in a week or two!

Awesome!

I have the 760 and it does what I need it to do. I LOVE operating the backhoe because there's so much skill involved and you get continuously better for many, many hours. I've probably got around 50 hours on mine and I'm still figuring out cool new movements with it. I like blending 3 functions at once. I can dig out a big oak stump in about one-third the time that it used to take.

I'm aiming to have zero thinking when operating, just like there's zero thinking when you pick up an apple off the counter.

Congratulations!

Aquamoose · Mar 9, 2018

I have the 760 and it’s fun to use. In the future, I plan to convert the mechanical thumb into a hydraulic thumb. Found a cylinder for it, just a matter of plumbing it.