Toothed bucket vs bolt on tooth bar?

[S854]

I am amazed to learn that people put teeth on their tractor buckets. I have never seen them on a farm tractor, we work the ground with an implement on the back of the tractor then scoop it up with a smooth bucket. We have special buckets for manure or stones.

I did exactly that last summer as I had quite a few branches/stumps to dispose of… fortunately I had some help…

Our “soil” is predominantly shale with just enough dirt mixed in to call it soil…

Used the rippers on the BB to dig, however, when the “scoop” part came along the bucket edge would catch on enough solid stuff it made me nervous as to what it was doing to the FEL…

I got the job done then seriously began thinking I needed some teeth… 95% of the tractor work I do on our property is maintenance… the majority of that work doesn’t involve digging anywhere as deep as last summer’s trench…

 

[FERLING]

I have the bolt on toothed edge from EA. I have never used a toothed bucket. I love my toothed edge, It cuts into soil very well. I can back drag to a smooth surface. It does have some weight to it, I wouldn't want to take off, put on often. But, I see no need to take it off. The only reason would be to have a smooth back drag, but when it's on, I can get a smooth back drag. I would buy another one in an instant if I changed tractors...

I have the bolt on also but I had a neighbor weld it on. It doubles the buckets lip thickness and I will never wear it out. It also increase bucket lip thickness so digging is no problem. Back dragging smooths and teeth also work at digging rocks and roots out. Removing concrete slabs, rocks or moving logs works great by using a tooth to break loose from ground or raising a log to wrap cable around. Works great for pushing small trees by just placing between two teeth and pushing. No worry about tree sliding off to the side.

 

[Fallon]

I have a Piranha tooth edge. It makes it easier to dig. The bottom is flat for back dragging. Don't know why you'd need to remove it for making a smooth surface.

Same, like mine. Never remove it.

 

[sunandsand]

I have the Piranha tooth bar on my B2601 Kubota. So far, I have had no reason to unbolt it. It digs, can smooth (going backwards), and utterly destroys brush and small saplings. Doesn't affect the operation of the bucket (scoop/carry/dump) at all.

I will second the advice about making sure the teeth are on the ground when you are done. Those teeth are hard, strong and sharp, and if you walk into them, your next stop is the Emergency Room. It will hurt, too.

Best Regards,
Mike/Florida

 

[S854]

Seems most of you guys with the Piranha tout its ability to grub roots, sever saplings and deal with brush and trees...some giving kudos to its digging in hard dirt.

OTOH, the few tooth bucket responses tend to lean towards it's potential in rocky soil...

Am I reading between the lines accurately?

 

[Mtsoxfan]

Pirhana bar will dig rocky soil as well. Without ever owning a toothed bucket, my pirhana bar does the same job and more.

 

[sunandsand]

I think everybody's needs are a bit different. Some of us have sandy soil, some have rocky soil, some have brush and saplings, some don't. Some of us dig, some of us grade.

For *MY* needs - sandy soil, brush and saplings, grading - the tooth bar does fine. YMMV.

Best Regards,
Mike/Florida

 

[Riverside Rudy]

I'm in the bolt on group. It's a life saver with the grapple, digging hole and digging up small trees but I do take it off in the winter. I can't tell you how many of my neighbors have my toothmark signature
on their driveways. Believe me, it doesn't take much...

 

[ajmuller]

My concern would be that using any metal edge on concrete will eventually damage the top surface of the concrete? The guys who plow snow apparently use some kind of plastic on their snow plow edges.

I took a piece of composite decking, recessed holes for carriage bolts on the underside and have plates that fit on the top of the tooth bar with the nuts.


I even beveled the edge. This allows me to use it for snow and scraping on the driveway without damage to the drive. I have been using that same piece of decking for years and it has held up amazingly well. Takes a few minutes to install. Most winters I just install it and leave it on for the season.

 

[ning]

Two words: Ratchet Rake. Have a look before you buy anything else.
I have a L2501 with a Ratchet Rake that is about 6” narrower than the bucket.
It is a beast and very easy on and off with the ratchet straps. I use it for leveling my gravel road and for back dragging/clearing weeds and brush. (There is none better). I even rake my back field with it. The metal is 1/2” with two sets of teeth at 90 degrees to each other (Forward and down).
Install is 3-4 minutes and with good planning (It was removed on level ground) these is NO lifting.
I’m 72 and the thing is very easy to put on and take off.
Wish I had known about this and a grapple 25 years ago.
Looks like the 60” bar is $420 shipped lower 48.

I got a ratchet rake for my bucket early on, and before I used it I also got a piranha tooth bar as my dirt/clay here is very tough to dig in - even just what was a loose pile of dirt in the fall will have cemented by late spring and the PTB helps make short work of the minor digging jobs I ask of it which the plain bucket wasn't having any of. Real digging I have a backhoe for, but the PTB was a requirement for everything else here.

With the PTB I've found that the ratchet rake is almost superfluous. The RR works better, but not better enough in my blackberries & poison oak to bother setting it up, so I just stick with the PTB but the vast majority of work. My RR looks brand new... I should probably sell it.