Loader how to measure a fel capacity

[ncnurseryman]

Anyone know how to measure a heaping load on a front end loader. The nursery is starting to offer mulch and the tractor is a jd970. The bucket has had some extra steel welded on so I can't just look it up. I need to know how much of a cubic yard it will hold to determine pricing per scoop. Any ideas? Thanks.

 

[RoyJackson]

Determine the area of one end of the bucket, then multiply that by the width of the bucket. That will give you the volume. Then it shouldn't be too hard to convert to cubic yardage.
It's going to take some geometry skills to calculate the area of the end of the bucket though.

 

[mikehaugen]

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/owning-operating/254953-bucket-capacity.html

check this out

 

[ncnurseryman]

Thanks Roy, but me and geometry never got along. I took some measurements and determined that the bucket is 541/2 inches wide, 22 inches deep (from bottom of bucket up to the side edge) and height of 30 inches (cutting edge to top lip). Not sure it that's the correct measurements to take though. I think the calculation for getting cubic yards for spreading mulch is length times width times .25 (for three inches deep) then divided by 27. But this doesn't seem to work for the bucket.

 

[ncnurseryman]

Okay, so I took 54 inches length divided by 12 to get 4.5. Figured that what I said was height was the width so 30 divided by 12 is 2.5. Took the depth of 24 divided by 12 to get 2. So 4.5 x 2.5 x 2 equals 22.5. Divide 22.5 by 27 equals .83 so seems like the bucket will hold a bit over 3/4 cubic yards if my math is correct.

 

[sdkubota]

I would guess a heaped bucket is around 60% more than the struck bucket capacity. Example, I have a Kubota LA463 loader with a rated bucket capacity of 8 cubic feet as I recall. Talke 1.6 times 8 = 12.8 cubic feet divided by 27 = 0.47 cubic yards.

 

[sdkubota]

Okay, so I took 54 inches length divided by 12 to get 4.5. Figured that what I said was height was the width so 30 divided by 12 is 2.5. Took the depth of 24 divided by 12 to get 2. So 4.5 x 2.5 x 2 equals 22.5. Divide 22.5 by 27 equals .83 so seems like the bucket will hold a bit over 3/4 cubic yards if my math is correct.

It will depend on the geometry of the bucket...ie: triangular or rectangular, etc.

 

[ncnurseryman]

Triangular. I think I am going to build a one cubic yard box, fill a heaping load and then transfer it to the box to see what I get.

 

[sdkubota]

Triangular. I think I am going to build a one cubic yard box, fill a heaping load and then transfer it to the box to see what I get.

Explain the overall bucket width in feet and inches. Then describe with as much detail a cross section of the end of the bucket like depth, height, and if the top also has a small width or it comes to a point in inches. You do that and I will tell you what it holds.

 

[Carl_NH]

Just get a wheel barrow (most are 6 CF) and unload your bucket into that.

 

[Depmandog]

Explain the overall bucket width in feet and inches. Then describe with as much detail a cross section of the end of the bucket like depth, height, and if the top also has a small width or it comes to a point in inches. You do that and I will tell you what it holds.

Better yet, draw a diagram of the side of the bucket, and write down the measurements of every edge. Scan and post it here. We know your width.

If you don't have a scanner,take a picture then post the measurements here starting at the top and going clockwise around the end of the bucket.

Either way, having a visual reference with accurate measurements will give us the info needed to provide you with an exact calculation.

 

[ncnurseryman]

The bucket width is 4' 6 1/2" left to right. The depth 22 inches. The height (from cutting edge to top is 30 inches. The cross section has six different angles with a total measurement of 85 inches all around if that helps any. I also attached two pics. Thanks for your help.

 

[Depmandog]

The bucket width is 4' 6 1/2" left to right. The depth 22 inches. The height (from cutting edge to top is 30 inches. The cross section has six different angles with a total measurement of 85 inches all around if that helps any. I also attached two pics. Thanks for your help.

I threw the picture on an estimating program I have. Based on what I have to go on, a struck bucket is 2/3 cubic yard (.66) (18 cubic feet)

A heaping bucket (again - this is a guess), but based on my program - 22.5 CF or .83 cubic yards.

Hope this helps.

 

[joshuabardwell]

Fill it with water, one 5-gallon bucket at a time. Convert gallons to cubic yards. Yeah, it'll take a while, but then you'll know.

Alternatively: measure the flow rate of your garden hose by timing how long it takes to fill a 5 gallon bucket. Take several measurements to ensure you're accurate. If you are on a well, run the hose for a few minutes before measuring, to make sure you've exhausted the pressure in your reservoir and are running 100% off your pump. (Usually, I can see/feel a small drop in pressure when this happens.) Then time how long it takes to fill your bucket and multiply by the flow rate.

 

[J_J]

13 and 1/2 bags of 2cu ft mulch = 1 yard.

3/4 yd = 20.25 cu ft

1/2 yd = 13.5 cu ft

 

[ncnurseryman]

Depmandog, somehow or another with my assbackwards math I got .83 as well so I'll just call it 3/4 of a yard. I liked the idea of dumping into the wheelbarrow also. Thanks to everyone for your help on this.

 

[MikeInEburg]

Use water - see how many gallons the bucket holds then convert to cubic feet. A gallon is .1333 cubic feet. Estimate "heaping" from there.

 

[MikeInEburg]

Duplicate. Drat.

 

[madmax12]

If u could be certain a bag of mulch from the store was accurate, you could empty bags into the bucket to determine the cubic feet. That would be apples to apples, as it were.

An unedited/uninterupted video of said test, could be shown to any customers who question your claim of bucket volume.

You could even post it on YouTube as an advertisement and cool proof.

 

[Artisan]

Fill a 5 gallon bucket with water TIME it exactly.

You will end up w/ 5 gallons in "X" amount of time.


Now w/ the exact same hose flow and with your FEL
bucket LEVEL so you can hold as much water as possible,
fill the FEL bucket and time it.

Now just do the math, Online Conversions, Unit Conversions is awesome.