ROPS Mounted Auxiliary Valve

downsizingnow48 · Feb 6, 2016

Not much room on a B21 for extra valves. I tucked a two spool valve on the left side between fender and seat. It is equally accessible from the seat facing forward or backward. But there is no room on the right side. So I mounted this one on a bracket that attaches to the ROPS. It can be adjusted up and down and the valve slides back and forth to get the best location. Fully forward is good when the seat faces forward. It can slide back to be accessible when the seat is facing rear.

downsizingnow48 · Feb 6, 2016

Duplicate

porky69 · Feb 7, 2016

I like the concept:thumbsup:. Have considered something similar (but not adjustable) if/when I ever put some extra remotes on my Massey 2400.

I may be wrong but...I wonder how much back and forth adjustment are you going to be able to get with the hoses in place? A short hydraulic hose (like you are going to have from the valve block to the couplers)like that doesn't have much flex. You may have to put an extra long hoses on with large loops if you want the full range of adjustability.

Also you may want to put an armrest of some sorts over top the hoses being as hydraulics have a tendency to get hot.

Jim Timber · Feb 7, 2016

I'd switch to cable actuators and mount the valve behind the seat.

downsizingnow48 · Feb 7, 2016

I think you are right on both points. I will order the hoses a bit long and use elbows on the bulkhead fittings. That will give the hoses an upward curve that will make sliding easier. Have already planned a guard to protect valve fittings from tree branches and also make an armrest. I will also make a cover for the disconnects so they can't be whacked by thick branches. Thanks for the note.

downsizingnow48 · Feb 7, 2016

Jim Timber said:
I'd switch to cable actuators and mount the valve behind the seat.

Jim thanks. I looked into cable actuators a bit. I really thought that might be the answer too. The problem is I wanted to position the valve so it can be used with the seat forward (tractor operation) and with the seat backward (backhoe operation). The behind the seat location that a lot of folks use would not work with the seat facing backward. I thought about using cable actuators and putting the valve on the front ROPS brace too. But then would have had a mess of hoses and cables to organize. Also at least the Bucher cable actuators would have added a lot to the cost. The valves have float which is pretty stiff and I couldn't convince myself that less costly generic cables would be up to the task. All that said it could be that cable actuation might have been a slicker solution.

Jim Timber · Feb 8, 2016

Ah, I didn't take the backward part as turning the seat around. I use my aux valves on the fender when my upper body is turned backwards. So naturally I kinda thought that was what you were talking about.

If you mounted the valve next to your manifold, you could run levers front to rear and have two sets of handles so you could use them in the aft position.

npalen · Feb 8, 2016

Put a hinge in the middle of the long square tube and pivot 90 degrees up for rear facing operation? Again, the stiffness of the hoses would probably be an issue.
I'm confused as to when you will be using these valves when facing the rear. I'm assuming the backhoe has its own set of controls.

Nice looking fab work by the way.

TSO · Feb 8, 2016

LOL looks like something out of a Mad Max movie! I like it. But what on earth are you going to be running with all those hydraulics on a B21?

PHPaul · Feb 8, 2016

TSO said:
LOL looks like something out of a Mad Max movie! I like it. But what on earth are you going to be running with all those hydraulics on a B21?

Got my curiosity piqued too. Nice work so far!

downsizingnow48 · Feb 8, 2016

So what is it for, that is a fair question. I bought the B21 new in 2004 and went 10 years without removing the backhoe. Just used backhoe and loader. But now I need to do maintenance and landscaping. For our property and the close neighbors who are very happy to have a tractor located just down the lane.

Two of the three valves will be for top and tilt. I am planning to convert my box blade to hydraulic scarifiers, the third is for that.

With respect to the existing two spool valve on the left side, one is dedicated to the hydraulic thumb with a 1200 psi relief, the other goes forward for the hydraulic SSQA (installed) and the grapple (being built).

It is a lot of hydraulics but everything has a purpose, increasing the functionality of the B21.

I agree the mount is a bit of a mad max sort of thing, I wanted to make something less "in your face" but just couldn't come up with a better plan. My brother in law has a B series Kubota with dealer installed top and tilt that uses a similar valve mount design, that is what gave me the idea. I am hoping that decent workmanship will compensate to some degree for kind of an ugly design concept!

npalen · Feb 8, 2016

I mounted the female QD's directly to the valve to eliminate the extra hoses. I have 3/8" QD's and it's even a little tight for them. I'm guessing it would be impossible with 1/2" QD's? That probably wouldn't meet the need of repositionable valve handles either.

Jim Timber · Feb 8, 2016

npalen said:
I mounted the female QD's directly to the valve to eliminate the extra hoses. I have 3/8" QD's and it's even a little tight for them. I'm guessing it would be impossible with 1/2" QD's? That probably wouldn't meet the need of repositionable valve handles either.

I need to make a manifold for mine before the summer. I also need to plumb this valve into the hydraulic system instead of running it off the rear SCV. I had to use the 45 because I couldn't get that QC coupling to move when the other two hoses were installed. :mur:

So I'm going to put a L bracket behind the valve and move the QD's to face the rear with 90 degree hoses in the middle.

With the SCV tied up, I don't have my top link when I have the stump grinder attached and that's a bit of a problem for controlling the max depth of grinding.

downsizingnow48 · Feb 9, 2016

npalen said:
I mounted the female QD's directly to the valve to eliminate the extra hoses. I have 3/8" QD's and it's even a little tight for them. I'm guessing it would be impossible with 1/2" QD's? That probably wouldn't meet the need of repositionable valve handles either.

That would be ideal but the port spacing on this valve is too compact. I am using 3/8" even so I would have to have the QDs sticking out at all angles like a porcupine.

npalen · Feb 9, 2016

The industry could possibly use a fitting with built-in offset (1/2"?) for these situations. The valve manufacturers are probably not concerned with spacing the ports to allow for direct QD plumbing.

Jim Timber · Feb 9, 2016

npalen said:
The industry could possibly use a fitting with built-in offset (1/2"?) for these situations. The valve manufacturers are probably not concerned with spacing the ports to allow for direct QD plumbing.

If the center hole is only 3/8", how do you get the middle of the fitting opened?

npalen · Feb 9, 2016

I don't understand what you're saying.

Jim Timber · Feb 9, 2016

You want a 1/2" jog in the middle of the fitting while the bore of the fitting is only 3/8". You can't drill it at a diagonal because you'll hit the area were the threads for the fittings go. How do you make a 3/8" hole from one side to the other with a 1/2" offset?

You'd have to cast the fitting, and fittings are forged.

npalen · Feb 10, 2016

The fitting would be cross-drilled and plugged.

Jim Timber · Feb 10, 2016

Which would make it need to be thick enough to have another NPT thread in it, which makes building a Z out of two fittings more practical and sets you back 8 bucks.

I would've done an offset Z for mine had they had Female NPT 90 to ORB into the valve. They only carried swivel NPT 90's which are way too long. So I went with the 45 figuring I was going to replace it all eventually anyway.