FEL Technique

[WVBill]

New-guy-with-tractor needs help...

I got a little "play" time with my B6100D this weekend. It has a 36" FEL.

My wife got some trees to plant so I used the box scraper to scrape off the sod where the trees were to go. I then had small piles (less than a bucket full each) of loose dirt and sod that I wanted to scoop up with the bucket and move over to the "junk dirt" pile.

For the life of me I could not get those piles into the bucket.

With this FEL, when the bucket is at ground level and the bottom of the bucket is level with the ground, the curl is all the way up.

I was hoping to float the bucket on the ground, drive it under the pile and then curl up while going forward to pick up the dirt but there was no up-curl available. Trying to raise the bucket while going forward just kind of spread the pile out. Maybe I wasn't driving forward fast enough (?).

Maybe my technique would have worked on bigger (heavier) piles that wouldn't have been pushed so easily but it was frustrating to have to get off and shovel the dirt into the tractor bucket to cart it away.

Thoughts, ideas, advice would be greatly appreciated.

Bill

 

[Bird]

I think you have a very common problem with not being able to scoop up small piles of loose stuff. The only solutions I know of are running under it faster (be careful) or using a rake or shovel. But I really don't understand the bucket not curling back enough to lift the front lip at least a few inches when the bucket is sitting on the ground. Maybe it was made that way, but I don't recall seeing one like that.

Bird

 

[Thomas]

Bill,
have you try coming into your piles of dirt bucket level to the ground gently.
Than when you think your bucket about half full start curling your bucket back while still moving forward.

Once the snow starts to fall in your area,/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif spend some time knowing your FEL and you be surprise how fast it comes to you.
Glad to hear you got some tractor hours on,/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gifand many more to follow.

Take care and stay /w3tcompact/icons/cool.gif

Thomas..NH

 

[WVBill]

Thanks, guys -

I measured last night and with the bucket flat on the ground the available up-curl is only enough to raise the front edge about 2 1/2 inches. That wasn't enough to make the dirt I was trying to move fall to the back of the bucket so I could go for another bite.

I probably just need bigger dirt (or snow) piles - yeah, that's it! Oh, and lots more practice too.

Bill

 

[gerard]

You don't need more practice, just as you said, you need a bigger pile. When the pile gets smaller it's normal for you just to "push it ahead" When I get down to a pile that small the only way to get it in is get off and shovel it in. (I suppose if you went really fast and dropped the bucket just right you could scoop under the pile but I would never do it. Catch an edge and you just bent your loader frame) But as Bird said you have to be able to curl back some, try getting off and looking from the front, maybe you are curled a little but it's not obvious from the seat??

 

[Bird]

Bill, I think that's about normal. The front edge of the bucket doesn't roll back real high off the ground when the back of it's on the ground.

Bird

 

[scruffy]

WVBill, just to get the hang of it, if you have that little bit left that you just CAN't pick up, then dig your bucket into the ground to create a grove, drag the 'stuff' back into your grouve, and recover the hole in the same method. Lets you developed the 'bucket skill', and never, never makes you use a shovel to shovel it into the bucket! )

 

[MChalkley]

Bill - None of the standard Kubota FEL's will roll back enough to shift material from the front to the back. You have to go to the ones with 4-bar linkage (L35, L4610, etc.) to get that much roll-back. Sometimes, if it's really important, you have to raise the bucket a few feet off the ground to get it to slide to the back.

Another thing to keep in mind when scraping stuff off the ground is that trying to use the float position pits the laws of physics against what you're trying to accomplish. The pushing force of the rear wheels tries to raise the front wheels and there's nothing to stop it from happening. If you lower the bucket to the ground, level it, and leave it out of float mode, the weight of the material in the bucket and the FEL itself tend to hold it down, increasing traction and keeping everything in line.

Hope this helps.

MarkC

 

[TomG]

Yes, floating the bucket works sometimes, but not very well or very often. A bucket level indicator helps to do what you say. Mine is just a rod that slides through a bracket.

Every time I take a gouge out of the ground while trying to get the last of a pile into the bucket I remind myself to mark the indicator. All I have to do is set the bucket on the ground, level it and wrap a piece of black tape around the rod. Haven't done it yet. Slow learner I guess.

 

[WVBill]

Thanks for the advice, Mark.

My wife bought more trees and plants this week so I'll be out with the Kubota this weekend scraping up more sod with the box blade and moving it away with the FEL.

...Hmmm... wish I could think of a way to dig the holes for planting small trees and bushes with the Kubota...