third function
Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2022 5:00 pm
I've finished up the final install of the third function on my loader valve.
I bought a couple inexpensive 36" hoses off of Ebay. The seller didn't state the exact size, but I guessed that they were JIC6. They turned out to be JIC 8, so I bought a couple adapters off of Surplus Center to get the hoses hooked up to the valve itself.
Then I machined a couple of custom fittings, #8 JIC bulkhead X 3/8 NPT male. Then I mounted those bulkhead fittings in a bracket made from angle iron.
With that bracket bolted to the inner face of my righthand loader arm, and the hoses connected and the female QD's screwed on, the third function is installed and ready for use.
The grapple itself still needs reinforcement to be welded onto the tines. And it needs a coat of paint pretty badly, it's been out in the rain for two or three weeks so it's got a lot of surface rust. I'll have to wire brush that off pretty good before I can paint it.
And I have just ordered some waterproof rip stop fabric that I will sew into a sleeve to help manage the two 5 ft long gangly hoses that will run from this new QD bracket down to the grapple cylinder. When the bucket is curled all the way back I would only need a hose that's maybe 3 ft long. But when the bucket is curled all the way forward I need at least 4 and 1/2 or 5 ft. So I have 5 ft hoses. But I'm going to have to do a little finessing to get them to behave when the bucket is curled backward.
My original plan was just to use the 5-ft hoses straight from the loader valve down to the cylinder. And they would be okay for that if I didn't curl the bucket forward. But they're not long enough with the bucket curled forward thus we jumped over to needing the permanent bracket for the QDs.... And let's face it, that was the right way to do it the whole time.
But once those minor things are worked out the grapple will be complete.
I bought a couple inexpensive 36" hoses off of Ebay. The seller didn't state the exact size, but I guessed that they were JIC6. They turned out to be JIC 8, so I bought a couple adapters off of Surplus Center to get the hoses hooked up to the valve itself.
Then I machined a couple of custom fittings, #8 JIC bulkhead X 3/8 NPT male. Then I mounted those bulkhead fittings in a bracket made from angle iron.
With that bracket bolted to the inner face of my righthand loader arm, and the hoses connected and the female QD's screwed on, the third function is installed and ready for use.
The grapple itself still needs reinforcement to be welded onto the tines. And it needs a coat of paint pretty badly, it's been out in the rain for two or three weeks so it's got a lot of surface rust. I'll have to wire brush that off pretty good before I can paint it.
And I have just ordered some waterproof rip stop fabric that I will sew into a sleeve to help manage the two 5 ft long gangly hoses that will run from this new QD bracket down to the grapple cylinder. When the bucket is curled all the way back I would only need a hose that's maybe 3 ft long. But when the bucket is curled all the way forward I need at least 4 and 1/2 or 5 ft. So I have 5 ft hoses. But I'm going to have to do a little finessing to get them to behave when the bucket is curled backward.
My original plan was just to use the 5-ft hoses straight from the loader valve down to the cylinder. And they would be okay for that if I didn't curl the bucket forward. But they're not long enough with the bucket curled forward thus we jumped over to needing the permanent bracket for the QDs.... And let's face it, that was the right way to do it the whole time.
But once those minor things are worked out the grapple will be complete.