Backhoe Yes, yet another LW-7 question

[iwanta]

I'm wanting to get a hoe for my Kioti LK30, I've been going over all the hoe threads on the sight :confused2: most of the recommended "good value hoes" are not available here, which leaves me the choice of a Kioti 2376 or the LW-7, I realise most are now saying go Kioti [ especially loyal kioti owners :thumbsup:] but at $10 000 it,s nearly twice the price of the Chinese hoe and from what I have read here not without some annoyances of its own .
Most of the treads about the LW-7 [bearing in mind there are some 6 different companies making backhoes of different quality and all calling them LW series] are from a few years ago and I'm wondering [and hoping ] maybe they have improved some in this time as most threads did not say much good about them . Most hated the jerky controls, the limited 140 degree pivot and alot of seal failures, but are there any other issues, what makes them a hoe to avoid. The LW-7 I've been looking at has addressed a couple of these issues, the controls are nice and smooth, the swing angle is at least 170 degrees, as for seal leaks I have no idea, anybody bought 1 recently and if so how is it going, does anyone have anything good to say about the LW-7, would like to hear all comments good and bad about both the Kioti and LW-7 backhoes,

 

[sweettractors]

I wouldn't pay $10,000 for anybodys hoe to go on that tractor or half that for Chinese. I would look for a Italian made hoe for the 5-6K range. Ken Sweet

 

[traktorz]

We're also considering getting a backhoe for our tractor. Several Chinese, Korean & Italian brands exists and with different mounts for the buckets. In the Nordic countries a new standard bucket mount is established, where the smallest mount is called S30-150 (pin diameter 30mm, pin width 150mm and pin c-c 200mm). None of the TPH backhoes I've seen comes equipped with the Nordic S-mount, but can be adapted, in order to get access to a broad variety of optional buckets and hydraulic powered tools.

Other criterias we've been loking into are preference for a built in hydraulic oil reservoar since utilizing a PTO pump, and adding a return tank filter with a bypass valve built into the filter holder.

Last, but not least, our most concern is not with the operability of the backhoe itself, but with the fastening to the tractor at the TPH. Fortunately our tractor is equipped with a subframe for the FEL, which holds the tractor firmly together, but we'll look into further stabilizing the backhoe mount mount as well. Unfortunately, I've not seen any backhoe subframe for our Foton FT404 tractor, so that will need to be a custom design & build.

 

[Spudland_Dave]

I wouldn't pay $10,000 for anybodys hoe

Same here...actually, I wouldnt pay $50.00 for a Tractor mounted hoe of any brand or country of origin... 10k +/- puts you into a used Mini-Ex which will be better in about every respect. Or if you dont want to buy one, you can rent a Mini-Ex for quite a few weeks with that kind of money.

IMO the majors have priced themselves right out of the market.

 

[wedge40]

Dave, I have to agree with you wholeheartedly. but over the years companies like Woods etc have dropped their prices. But I'm with you, if I'm going to plop down 7-8K for a tractor BH, I'd just as soon go with 10-12K and get a used mini excavator. I've played with both and the mini beats the tractor hands down.

Wedge

 

[iwanta]

I wouldn't pay $10,000 for anybodys hoe to go on that tractor or half that for Chinese. I would look for a Italian made hoe for the 5-6K range. Ken Sweet

In America that is an option, in Australia the land of high prices the Italian made hoes I've seen start at $12 000 and go up, same with the second hand mini Excavator idea, $25 000 seems to be the starting point
"Australia the lucky country" , lucky to still have a single penny left if you buy anything to do with tractors nice country lousy prices