Bulkhead for Grapple Hydraulics

[lincolnvt]

Hey guys:
Well it has been several months of work and learning but I have officially completed my hydraulic set up in preparation for my grapple (No Chris I haven't purchased it yet... ) Special thanks to Kenny as always for his help and support. Also, thanks to Michael Ames for fabricating the connection b/w my joystick and the Otto handle switch.

This morning I took my 2520 up to the neighbors shop and we fabricated the bulkhead. I had sketched it out on a simple drafting program I own. We used 1/4 in steel stock and it is two inches high. The two holes for the bulkhead fitting were drilled after making a caliper measurement on the actual fittings. It was a tight fit b/c we only had about 2 1/2 inches of width to work with. I buffed the paint off the hydraulic line cover on the tractor in preparation for welding. The two sides of the bulkhead are welded on the sides of the cover not the top so we could have the full 2 1/2 inches for the fittings. Once the welding was completed the corners were rounded and buffed, everything was primed and painted JD Green. In preparation for putting the cover back on I was my buddy was looking at the hard lines and noticed some significant wear a the corners on the two ends. Evidently the cover is rubbing the hard lines and wearing through - that would be bad. So, I cut some nylon protective hose cover and wrapped the hard line before putting the cover back in place. You guys may want to check this out on your tractors. It would obviously take a long time to wear through but I was surprised by the damage already done (120hrs in). Once the cover with the painted bulkhead was back in place it was time to tighten fittings. I had already connected the bulkhead fitting to the NPT of the hose end. Put that through the steel plate and locked it down with the nut. Then, we connected the 1/4 Pioneer QC to the O ring end of the fitting and connected that assembly to the JIC end of the bulkhead fitting. Pushed the button on the joystick to change over the diverter and gave it pressure - everything held perfectly. I know this is long winded I am just excited how things worked out and wanted to give as much info as possible to help others. Any questions just let me know.

Cheers, Brad

 

[Farmerford]

Very professional job. Looks like it came from the factory.

 

[lincolnvt]

Charles,
Thanks for the kind words. I had fun working on this project - now just need the grapple and I will be all set.

Brad

 

[bjcsc]

Looks nice. Are you going to run 90's on the ends of your grapple lines or slack?

 

[lincolnvt]

I am going to run 90's - even looking at those crazy expensive swivel 90's to protect my hoses.

 

[bjcsc]

Hmmm..what would swivel? The hose side of the fitting?

 

[lincolnvt]

I was looking at these fittings - Hydraulic Swivel Joints
What do you think? Thanks for your interest in the project.

Brad

 

[Wayne County Hose]

I was looking at these fittings - Hydraulic Swivel Joints
What do you think? Thanks for your interest in the project.

Brad

That is exactly what you want, a live swivel. Some people use the swivel crimp fittings that go on ahose, but their swivel is meant for installation only and always end up leaking.

That is some nice fabricating, looks factory.

 

[bjcsc]

So you're looking at the 9S series (single plane) and plan on putting the swivel on the hose side of the fitting vs. the QC side, correct?

 

[lincolnvt]

Yes I think so - what do you and Andy think? Thanks also Andy for you comments that means a lot coming from somebody who does this sort of thing for a living.

Thanks, Brad

 

[lincolnvt]

The front of the tractor is at the top in this pic - the hoses from the grapple will come in perpendicular to the bulkhead female QC so I need the swivel on the male QC end so it can rotate in that plane correct?

Brad

 

[jmc]

Brad,

Nice job. Most of us mount the grapple first, cobble up some "temporary" hydraulic connection and will probably never get around to doing it right.

I hope with that tight spacing you can still get a good grip on the second hose when connections are stubborn.

John

 

[bjcsc]

The front of the tractor is at the top in this pic - the hoses from the grapple will come in perpendicular to the bulkhead female QC so I need the swivel on the male QC end so it can rotate in that plane correct?

Brad

Not in my experience. The male QC is free to rotate (and does) within the female QC. The swivel on the hose side would be very effective as without it, or with a swivel on the QC side only, you would have to have the male QC in a specific position (to avoid fighting the hose)...

 

[CurlyDave]

I hope with that tight spacing you can still get a good grip on the second hose when connections are stubborn.

My experience with the factory setup on my JD 110 is that making these connections is always a tussle for me & I have a lot more room than that.

Of course if you put a grapple on and never remove it this will not be a problem.

I exchange a 4-n-1 bucket with a Rock Bucket all the time & both require a connection to the hydraulics.

On the tractor side of the hydraulic circuit, I can bleed the internal pressure down to nothing by manipulating the joystick with the engine off.

The real problem comes on the implement side where the shut off valves in the connectors allow significant build up of hydraulic pressure in the implement even when it is detached. If the temperature increased while the implement is not attached depressing the check valve can be a real struggle.

Not to bad with the ball-type check valves which can be struck against a cloth-covered steel surface to relieve pressure, but I have the skid-steer type flat check valves, which are very difficult to relieve.

 

[lincolnvt]

Thanks BJSC - I am a little slow sometimes but think I have it now. Will post when she is all hooked up.

Brad

 

[Wayne County Hose]

The front of the tractor is at the top in this pic - the hoses from the grapple will come in perpendicular to the bulkhead female QC so I need the swivel on the male QC end so it can rotate in that plane correct?

Brad

Correct.

bjcsc brought up a good point about the male qd rotating inside the female end. However, when there is pressure in the line, the male end tries to pull out of the female end and it would not turn, the live swivel would turn. Basically, whichever has the least amount of resistance will turn. For the degree of angle that you need here, you might not even need a swivel. How many degrees of flex are we really talking here? I don't know, I'm asking. There are many new hoses out there made to flex and hold up very well. As far as Weatherhead goes, I carry the H245 Hi-flex. It's what I make all 2 wire hoses out of regardless of needing flex or not. I would hook up your attachment and see if you even require a swivel. If you make the hose a few inches longer than it needs to be, this will also help. The male qd can have some rotation inside the female, it won't kill it, unless you were working it 8 hours a day everyday.

I would consider staggering the females. Maybe install a short extender in the rearward female, make it come out further.

 

[lincolnvt]

Andy - thanks for clearing that up. Good suggestion about extending the rear QC to give myself some room to work. I think I will wait until I get the grapple to invest in the live swivel - get a look at how it functions first and see if extra hose is the ticket. Really appreciate everybody's help on this - it has been a fun project.

Brad

 

[Redbug]

CurlyDave,

Quote from CurlyDave...
"The real problem comes on the implement side where the shut off valves in the connectors allow significant build up of hydraulic pressure in the implement even when it is detached. If the temperature increased while the implement is not attached depressing the check valve can be a real struggle."

I had the same problems, too. Now, I just connect the male and female connectors on the implement to each other when not in use. Then, if the temperature increases, all stays equal in the lines. The ends stay cleaner, too (if you are not using those rubber hose end connectors).

 

[Wayne County Hose]

You guys could install connect under pressure q.d.'s. They are made to connect and disconnect under pressure.

 

[Redbug]

Hi Brad,

That really does look like a professional job. Mine does not have a bulkhead on the loader arms. I keep the connectors from flopping around with reusable tie wraps. Good idea about the 90 degree connectors.

Wayne County Hose...A question or two, (if you don't mind)...I did not know under pressure QD's existed. How do they work? Are they more expensive than normal connectors? That means you could change out attachments without turning the tractor off and equalizing the pressure...Hmmm.