Only took me 72 hours to break my tractor!

[HawkinsHollow]

I dread even posting about this because I do not wish to draw negative attention to our beloved Bransons. However, after much research I do not think this is an epidemic, rather an isolated incident so I would rather turn these lemons into lemonade. I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

I was doing some work, not light work but not ridiculously strenuous work either and that happened. Scared the $h!t out of me! Those welds do not look stellar by any means, but I think I just got a bad egg as I have not seem much of the same on my searches. Here is where the lemonade comes in! This happened Monday, my warranty part is now at my dealership pending pickup. I would like to applaud my dealer North Georgia Equipment and Branson Co. in Rome, GA for resolving this issue in as quick of a manner as humanly possible. My tractor has seen 72 hours of solid work since it's purchase in April and it continues to impress me! Thanks Branson for standing behind your tractors!

 

[Jesser02Ex]

Is that on the bucket? How did that happen? We need more of the story and a wider photo showing perspective. That is crazy.

 

[LouNY]

Yep, nice looking weld bead with no penetration, happens to many times especially with MIGS,

 

[HawkinsHollow]

Is that on the bucket? How did that happen? We need more of the story and a wider photo showing perspective. That is crazy.

It is the quick attach plates on both sides where they meet the arms. 100% symmetrical. About 2 inches of the "weld" popped. I was digging in some gravel.


Lou - I think you are correct. Some welds look good until you stress them.

Dealer says Branson sent me an updated coupler. Whatever that means.

 

[k0ua]

Yep, nice looking weld bead with no penetration, happens to many times especially with MIGS,

Yep, the MIG strikes again. Never welded. Just a nice pretty bead layered over the surface. For those that don't weld, MIGS are notorious for not being run right. TOO COLD. They will make a pretty bead, just like a caulk gun and weld nothing. The thicker base metal piece was never penetrated and melted. The welder was doing crack that day and did not turn up his machine. With stick welding, yes it is much slower but you don't often have problems like this. Migs can make good welds, but they must be big enough to do the job and they must be set right. And the welder has to have some brains.

 

[ruffdog]

That is not much weld (bubble gum) for that high stress area that takes all the load.

 

[jeff9366]

I was doing some work, not light work but not ridiculously strenuous work.

Bad welds. Good for Branson and your dealer stepping up promptly.

How much COUNTERBALANCE did you have mounted on the Three Point Hitch?

 

[Warsign]

Wow, no burn in at all. Most likely a robotic mig weld. If it makes you feel any better, I have moved 60 ton of rock and about 20 ton of VERY wet dirt (mud) with mine and have had no issues.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

Glad they've taken care of you. Isolated incident I'm sure. I've had more load on my loader arms than it could lift off the ground, and dug deep enough into hard dirt mounds that the relief valve released without moving the loader, and my welds are fine.

You will be fine when your new parts get put on.

Keep working that Branson, it's what they're made for.

 

[K5lwq]

I went to look at the 20 and 25 series today and took note of the quick attach welds. Bothe series had the BL200 loader. What I noticed looking at about 5 different ones is the outside weld on that part was the whole length of the joint. The inside weld was only on the top part. The interesting thing was each one of them had a different length of bead on the inside. The shortest was about 2" long. One was about 8" long. The bead was rather small as if it was welded at to fast of travel speed.

If I do purchase one of these I might just redo the welds to insure a good joint. Really was the only thing I saw that was of lesser quality. Makes me wonder if Branson just outsources their quick attach and do not manufacture them. :confused3:

 

[ptsg]

I went to look at the 20 and 25 series today and took note of the quick attach welds. Bothe series had the BL200 loader. What I noticed looking at about 5 different ones is the outside weld on that part was the whole length of the joint. The inside weld was only on the top part. The interesting thing was each one of them had a different length of bead on the inside. The shortest was about 2" long. One was about 8" long. The bead was rather small as if it was welded at to fast of travel speed.

If I do purchase one of these I might just redo the welds to insure a good joint. Really was the only thing I saw that was of lesser quality. Makes me wonder if Branson just outsources their quick attach and do not manufacture them. :confused3:

Branson loaders used to be made by Ansung. Very recently they changed to another manufacturer, I believe GMT, a company owned by TYM. The first loader out there by GMT, is the new BL450 and BL450SL (Mechanical self leveling loader) for the 7845 tractor.

 

[k0ua]

If you are seeing varying welds, That makes me doubt the robot welder theory. I am leaning more to my welder on crack cocaine theory. Or welder with a 110 volt MIG that goes to 90 amps theory Either way the one shown in the original post was NOT welded. I can do almost that good with a caulk gun.

 

[K5lwq]

If you are seeing varying welds, That makes me doubt the robot welder theory. I am leaning more to my welder on crack cocaine theory. Or welder with a 110 volt MIG that goes to 90 amps theory Either way the one shown in the original post was NOT welded. I can do almost that good with a caulk gun.

I thought I snapped a picture but guess I did not. It was a steady light rain while I was looking. If the welder wanted to travel that fast they defiantly needed more amps and faster wire speed! Your crack theory might be spot on! 73...

 

[k0ua]

I thought I snapped a picture but guess I did not. It was a steady light rain while I was looking. If the welder wanted to travel that fast they defiantly needed more amps and faster wire speed! Your crack theory might be spot on! 73...

Either that or Friday afternoon at 4:50 theory. Or maybe Monday morning with a case of "bust head" theory

 

[k0ua]

If anyone cares one side of my old Kubota L3400 bucket cutting edge was never welded properly from the factory either. The other side was fine.

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/welding/249487-oh-no-my-bucket-broken.html?highlight=bucket

 

[TractorGuy]

If you are seeing varying welds, That makes me doubt the robot welder theory. I am leaning more to my welder on crack cocaine theory. Or welder with a 110 volt MIG that goes to 90 amps theory Either way the one shown in the original post was NOT welded. I can do almost that good with a caulk gun.

ANY welder can do a bad job if not used properly. Heat and penetration occurs in the direction you point the stick OR gun. On a 90 degree joint with equal thickness metal you have to at least hold the stick or gun at 45 degrees to penetrate both pieces. Even better if you clock the stick or gun between 30 degrees and 60 degrees as you weld.

I have a Lincoln SP 100 I purchased in 1993 and have never seen a need for anything else. I DID have to add a 25 amp dedicated outlet to run it at full amperage.

I have built and overloaded utility trailers with my 100 amp mig and NEVER broken a weld. My current utility trailer I built the same year I bought the welder using 3" channel. A few years back I loaded a couple of huge stumps on it and accidentally put down pressure on the bed with an excavator. It bent the tongue and didn't break a single weld. I was able to put jack stands under it and put down force on the tongue and get it back straight then I added some gussets.

I even welded a thumb on my backhoe with it that hasn't failed in 3 years of HEAVY USE. The edges were curved so I didn't have to bevel the piece but I made 4 passes and clocked my gun back and forth as I welded. The curl force on my backhoe bucket is 10931 lbs.

 

[k0ua]

ANY welder can do a bad job if not used properly. Heat and penetration occurs in the direction you point the stick OR gun. On a 90 degree joint with equal thickness metal you have to at least hold the stick or gun at 45 degrees to penetrate both pieces. Even better if you clock the stick or gun between 30 degrees and 60 degrees as you weld.

I have a Lincoln SP 100 I purchased in 1993 and have never seen a need for anything else. I DID have to add a 25 amp dedicated outlet to run it at full amperage.

I have built and overloaded utility trailers with my 100 amp mig and NEVER broken a weld. My current utility trailer I built the same year I bought the welder using 3" channel. A few years back I loaded a couple of huge stumps on it and accidentally put down pressure on the bed with an excavator. It bent the tongue and didn't break a single weld. I was able to put jack stands under it and put down force on the tongue and get it back straight then I added some gussets.

I even welded a thumb on my backhoe with it that hasn't failed in 3 years of HEAVY USE. The edges were curved so I didn't have to bevel the piece but I made 4 passes and clocked my gun back and forth as I welded. The curl force on my backhoe bucket is 10931 lbs.

Which also makes me doubt the robot welder theory, as the robot would be programmed to use the proscribed current and wire speed and travel speed and would point the nozzle at the thicker of the parent metals to put more heat in the thick parent metal and less in the thinner one. Unless the "robot" went on a bender over the weekend and came in with a big headache. But I am doubting that...

 

[bullbreaker]

If anyone cares one side of my old Kubota L3400 bucket cutting edge was never welded properly from the factory either. The other side was fine.

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/welding/249487-oh-no-my-bucket-broken.html?highlight=bucket

Thanks for posting that thread/experience from the past . I hadnt seen or read it .

 

[k0ua]

Thanks for posting that thread/experience from the past . I hadnt seen or read it .

Thanks, I hoped it would help and give some prospective that anything can have bad welds or at least welds not as strong as they should be. On my old bucket, perhaps someone welded the right side and it looked good and lasted fine and the left side never did have a good weld in my opinion. Better than that SSQA adaptor the OP posted, but not really correct either. I wish I could find a posting by someone else several years ago of a toothbar that the teeth were falling off of, and the base metal had not a single sign of a pull out of the weld, it was as slick as a baby's bottom. Not even the hint of penetration. Of course this is all pretty thick metal and the MIG weld was not even close to being hot enough to melt the base metals. It was just laid on like a caulking gun. And of course the owner lost several of the teeth because he couldn't find them in the dirt. One hit with a hammer would have knocked any of those teeth off.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

Well got my replacement part for my defective FEL coupler... WRONG PART!!

I was excited because it was so much nicer looking than the old broken one. WAY better welds and design.

Branson is going to ship the CORRECT part directly to my house:cool2: