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$70.98 loader repair
Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2022 1:15 pm
by thebuildist
So I've never gotten my loader cylinders to stop bleeding down. I can drastically slow it down by jiggling the loader valve handle, so that's solidly where my suspicion lies.
Yes, I've been told how to test it, NO I haven't done it. Because I KNOW there's something fishy with the valve, so first fix that, then go from there.
The valve itself is mid-grade, surprisingly rich for my cheap blood. My very first valve was $50, and I cut a PB port into it and did my first trials with it. The ones where the line blew out and soaked me with oil.
I figured out that my design was the real problem, but I also decided to SPLURGE and pay $200 for a "better quality" spool valve. So I ordered one from Northern Tool. I should have known better. It's starting to seem like you either pay $700 for the name brand, or finesse and fix whatever is defective on the cheaper version you buy. Whether that's $50 cheap, or $200 cheap, same deal.
SO, I've learned my lesson, and bought a new valve, the cheapest I could find that fits my hoses. I'll no doubt have to "fix" it, but no more so than the high-dollar valve that's on there now.
The reason I didn't reinstall my $50 valve is because it came with all BSP thread ports, and I had to make/buy a bunch of adapters to hook up to it the first time. But since then I've completely reconfigured my piping scheme, and those adapters won't work for the hoses that are coming out of the spool valve now. So it's just about as cheap to buy a valve with the correct ports as it is to buy the adapters.
BESIDES which, I have bought a special valve, one with a special feature that I intend to harness very soon: A third spool.
So I now have in my grubby little hands an extra spool on my loader valve, a pair of 5' long hoses, and an extra cylinder with about 10" of ram travel.
Any guesses as to what I might be up to?
Bob
Re: $70.98 loader repair
Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2022 1:31 pm
by thebuildist
Don't grapple too hard with the answer.
Just brush aside any doubts you have about my sanity and ask yourself,
"What's the last accessory he needs to sqeeze the absolute most use out of his shiny new bucket and/or forks?"
Re: $70.98 loader repair
Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2022 2:27 pm
by Harry
thebuildist wrote: ↑Wed Sep 21, 2022 1:15 pm
So I've never gotten my loader cylinders to stop bleeding down. I can drastically slow it down by jiggling the loader valve handle, so that's solidly where my suspicion lies.
Yes, I've been told how to test it, NO I haven't done it. Because I KNOW there's something fishy with the valve, so first fix that, then go from there.
The valve itself is mid-grade, surprisingly rich for my cheap blood. My very first valve was $50, and I cut a PB port into it and did my first trials with it. The ones where the line blew out and soaked me with oil.
I figured out that my design was the real problem, but I also decided to SPLURGE and pay $200 for a "better quality" spool valve. So I ordered one from Northern Tool. I should have known better. It's starting to seem like you either pay $700 for the name brand, or finesse and fix whatever is defective on the cheaper version you buy. Whether that's $50 cheap, or $200 cheap, same deal.
SO, I've learned my lesson, and bought a new valve, the cheapest I could find that fits my hoses. I'll no doubt have to "fix" it, but no more so than the high-dollar valve that's on there now.
The reason I didn't reinstall my $50 valve is because it came with all BSP thread ports, and I had to make/buy a bunch of adapters to hook up to it the first time. But since then I've completely reconfigured my piping scheme, and those adapters won't work for the hoses that are coming out of the spool valve now. So it's just about as cheap to buy a valve with the correct ports as it is to buy the adapters.
BESIDES which, I have bought a special valve, one with a special feature that I intend to harness very soon: A third spool.
So I now have in my grubby little hands an extra spool on my loader valve, a pair of 5' long hoses, and an extra cylinder with about 10" of ram travel.
Any guesses as to what I might be up to?
Bob
Maybe Bob some of those parts could be used for your backhoe build!
Keep the Peace
Harry
Re: $70.98 loader repair
Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2022 2:29 pm
by Timj
Ohh, I don't know, could it maybe be for a log splitter, for all that firewood you do.
Have you ever thought about making a grapple?
I think you'd find lots of uses for one.
Re: $70.98 loader repair
Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2022 3:31 pm
by Eugen
thebuildist wrote: ↑Wed Sep 21, 2022 1:31 pm
Don't grapple too hard with the answer.
Just brush aside any doubts you have about my sanity and ask yourself,
"What's the last accessory he needs to sqeeze the absolute most use out of his shiny new bucket and/or forks?"
yeah, inquiring minds want to know, I got a few cylinders and a valve and hoses which I bought because they were cheap, maybe I'll get inspired by what you end up doing.
How about a big 3 pth boom/crane, using a hydraulic cylinder to lift things? Your bucket functions as counter weight.
Re: $70.98 loader repair
Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2022 3:36 pm
by Eugen
Re: $70.98 loader repair
Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2022 4:01 pm
by thebuildist
Timj wrote: ↑Wed Sep 21, 2022 2:29 pm
Ohh, I don't know, could it maybe be for a log splitter, for all that firewood you do.
Have you ever thought about making a grapple?
I think you'd find lots of uses for one.
Ding ding ding! We have a winner! If only we had a cigar..
Yes! I intend to build a grapple. Something that's relatively removable. Perhaps a couple pins to install or remove it.
The question now becomes, should I build it on my bucket, which I can point straight down and I would be able to use the grapple like a closing hand to pick things up...
Or should I build it for my forks? Because the forks are fairly long it makes it difficult to really grasp things as if it were a closing hand. But very easy to wrap around something like a log to pick it up for transport.
So I have to decide bucket or forks. Or come up with some fancy design that I could easily attach to either one. But that sounds tricky.
Bob
Re: $70.98 loader repair
Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2022 4:08 pm
by thebuildist
I also need to pour some concrete. So I've thought of picking up a hydraulic motor and installing an auger flight in the crook of my bucket to make the bucket a concrete mixer.
But I only need to pour this one slab. That sure seems like a lot of expense and work just to only use it once. So I'll probably just rent a concrete mixer and get it over with.
And... I've thought about trying to build a three-point based stump grinder. I have the wheel. The bearings are inexpensive. I can manufacture the carbide tipped cutter inserts. But I don't see any way around the approx. $140 hydraulic motor. That's not all the money in the world. But it's enough that if I spend the money, I'm pretty much committed to seeing it through till I have a working product to justify my expense. And I prefer things to be lower cost, merely because the pressure is off of whether or not it ultimately works out or not. It seems like things actually work better when the pressure is off than when there's this sense that "I must finish this thing."
But for whatever I end up doing, I now have effectively a low-ish flow PTO valve. Not too shabby for $70.
Bob
Re: $70.98 loader repair
Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2022 4:12 pm
by thebuildist
Eugen wrote: ↑Wed Sep 21, 2022 3:31 pm
thebuildist wrote: ↑Wed Sep 21, 2022 1:31 pm
Don't grapple too hard with the answer.
Just brush aside any doubts you have about my sanity and ask yourself,
"What's the last accessory he needs to sqeeze the absolute most use out of his shiny new bucket and/or forks?"
yeah, inquiring minds want to know, I got a few cylinders and a valve and hoses which I bought because they were cheap, maybe I'll get inspired by what you end up doing.
How about a big 3 pth boom/crane, using a hydraulic cylinder to lift things? Your bucket functions as counter weight.
One quick and easy accessory I need to whip up is a sling adapter to slide onto the forks. You put the forks together in the center and slide this adapter in place and it has a big hook and/or a d-ring so that you can attach a strap or chain to your forks and then lift thing up in the air.
It seems like that fulfills the same purpose that a three-point boom would, right?
Re: $70.98 loader repair
Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2022 4:35 pm
by Eugen
When I lift things with the loader there are two things that I wish I had more of and don't: 1) distance to the tractor, because the item you lift up on a chain hooked to the loader bucket will swing and bang into the tractor hood, and 2) height. Perhaps all I need is just a boom attached to the loader bucket.
