FEL teeth - yes or no?

[Fallon]

I'm happy with my Piranha tooth bar. Supports & protects the bucket edge from wear as well as doing tooth bar things. The "teeth" are flat on the bottom so back dragging is smooth if the bucket is level. I've actually found back dragging with teeth down quite useful as it cuts a bit more aggressively to flatten high spots.

It allegedly comes off easy as there are only 2 bolts on the side. The rest is the plate on the bottom & some gussets on the top making pocket that cradles the bucket lip. I've never felt the slightest desire to remove it though. I just dont see any downsides to having it on, other than weight or for somebody trying to sit on the edge of the bucket.

 

[sem389]

I purchased a removable tooth bar. It clamps onto the bucket and is easy to remove. It does a great job, far better than it does without the teeth. I purchased mine through Toothbar.net. They start around $239. Teeth are replaceable if broken. I have yet to break one.

 

[PhysAssist]

I'm happy with my Piranha tooth bar. Supports & protects the bucket edge from wear as well as doing tooth bar things. The "teeth" are flat on the bottom so back dragging is smooth if the bucket is level. I've actually found back dragging with teeth down quite useful as it cuts a bit more aggressively to flatten high spots.

It allegedly comes off easy as there are only 2 bolts on the side. The rest is the plate on the bottom & some gussets on the top making pocket that cradles the bucket lip. I've never felt the slightest desire to remove it though. I just dont see any downsides to having it on, other than weight or for somebody trying to sit on the edge of the bucket.

View attachment 549810

...or walking into the edge of the bucket with my shin- ouch!

 

[greggyy]

Speed Kills :alert:

That is why it is best to go for a new model with seat belts on your front end rammer.

 

[JRobyn]

Put one on my L4330 soon after we bought it. I don't remember who I bought it from, but it's the design with a full-coverage "wrap" of the OEM bucket lower lip, standard replaceable (peened on) industrial teeth. Bolts on with just one bolt on each side of the bucket. Came with about 3" square reinforcing plates for those mount bolts. I liked that it could easily be installed/removed. I have NEVER removed it after about 15 years now.

 

[FTG-05]

BXpanded Piranha toothbar. I bought one in 2014, put it on, and it's never been off.

Besides all the obviosu uses already mentioned here, I like using mine to cut through the bottom of my gravel road potholes just prior to my EA 8' grader blade smoothing the road over. With pot holes, it's not enough to just fill them in, they'll just reappear again as soon as someone rolls over it. You have to dig down tot he bottom of it and remove the compacted bottom. The BXpanded piranha tooth bar is excellent for this.

Good luck!

BXpanded Piranha Toothbar

 

[check]

BXpanded Piranha toothbar. I bought one in 2014, put it on, and it's never been off. Besides all the obviosu uses already mentioned here, I like using mine to cut through the bottom of my gravel road potholes just prior to my EA 8' grader blade smoothing the road over. With pot holes, it's not enough to just fill them in, they'll just reappear again as soon as someone rolls over it. You have to dig down tot he bottom of it and remove the compacted bottom. The BXpanded piranha tooth bar is excellent for this. Good luck! BXpanded Piranha Toothbar

X 2 in the Piranha Toothbar. It is a really big help when digging into piles of dirt that have rocks in them. And yes, it is good for digging down as well. I remove mine every Fall so I can put on the bxpanded.com Bucket Expander, which allows me to carry twice as much snow in my FEL. But now that Spring is here, off comes the bucket expander and back on goes the toothbar! Very easy switch. Just a couple of bolts.

 

[anavidi]

I read several raving posts about the Piranha tooth bar on the smaller tractors and decided to get one for myself to try out. Well the raves were right, my loader felt like it had more power, and those teeth really do grab brush and saplings and rip them out roots and all. I also noticed that the bucket would hold just a bit more material, which was also a plus.

 

[PILOON]

OK, my two cents.
Get good 6-7" spaced bolt on tooth bar.
\Great HD digger!

 

[bdhsfz6]

For the lazy man with the extra bucks to spend, get two SSQA buckets. One with welded teeth and the other with a replaceable cutting edge. Easy swap with no tools required.

 

[Tractorable]

Does the piranha tooth bar from BXExpanded fit loader buckets from other manufacturers besides Kubota?

 

[fried1765]

Does the piranha tooth bar from BXExpanded fit loader buckets from other manufacturers besides Kubota?

BXEpanded builds their Piranha their tooth bars to order,......to fit your specific bucket.

 

[wassup8687]

Does the piranha tooth bar from BXExpanded fit loader buckets from other manufacturers besides Kubota?

You just have to tell them how wide you want the bar and they'll make it. They show how to measure your bucket on their website.

 

[bdog]

Kind of an apples to oranges comparison but I had to dig a hole with my mini ex last night to bury my dog

I had my bucket on there with no teeth as I had been going some grading with it. I tried digging for about 5 minutes and couldn't get more than 6" in the ground. I went and swapped out for my tooth bucket and went to the exact same spot and it dug in like butter. This was with a 24" bucket with 4 regular style teeth.

 

[airbiscuit]

Sorry about your dog. They truly are man's best friend.

 

[PILOON]

A decent quality bolt on toothbar will actually re enforce your FEL cutting edge as the teeth are usually welded onto (approximately) a 3/8 or 1/2" flat bar that is about 3" wide.
Then for penetration they generally space the teeth about 6-10" apart.
That is about as close as can be to excavator style configuration.

The piranha style consists of much closer spaced blunter shaped (but sharp) teeth that would deflect on much smaller and closer stones.

I'd suggest Piranha would be superior for removing overgrowth than a spaced tooth bar while the spaced tooth bar better for real time digging.
Piranha would also be better for 'rakeing' type operations with the 'teeth' being closer but would also drag more topsoil than a spaced one would.
By design the Piranha would cut small roots as you'd scoop away overgrowth.

Both have their advantages and disadvantages.

Add to the equation that the 'bolt on' has replaceable teeth.

INMO for serious digging in virgin stone imbedded soil the spaced toothbar will excel while the Piranha would excel in previously prepared soil situations that have little or no stones.

Just look at the teeth on an excavator and you will understand, or a tracked FEL.
For sand and crushed they use nothing but to dig the use well spaced teeth!

 

[Oldoak]

A decent quality bolt on toothbar will actually re enforce your FEL cutting edge as the teeth are usually welded onto (approximately) a 3/8 or 1/2" flat bar that is about 3" wide.
Then for penetration they generally space the teeth about 6-10" apart.
That is about as close as can be to excavator style configuration.

The piranha style consists of much closer spaced blunter shaped (but sharp) teeth that would deflect on much smaller and closer stones.

I'd suggest Piranha would be superior for removing overgrowth than a spaced tooth bar while the spaced tooth bar better for real time digging.
Piranha would also be better for 'rakeing' type operations with the 'teeth' being closer but would also drag more topsoil than a spaced one would.
By design the Piranha would cut small roots as you'd scoop away overgrowth.

Both have their advantages and disadvantages.

Add to the equation that the 'bolt on' has replaceable teeth.

INMO for serious digging in virgin stone imbedded soil the spaced toothbar will excel while the Piranha would excel in previously prepared soil situations that have little or no stones.

Just look at the teeth on an excavator and you will understand, or a tracked FEL.
For sand and crushed they use nothing but to dig the use well spaced teeth!

My thoughts exactly.

However you took the time to explain it quite well and I might add, without being argumentative about it. :thumbsup:

I have a very good tooth bar which does an excellent job at digging, but sometimes I wish I had both for the different situations as you described.

 

[biodegraded]

I put a Piranha bar on my Massey three years ago. For what I do, it is worth every penny. I've never taken it off. It improved digging in my clay-loam immensely. It really shines at brush removal, blackberries in the attached photos.

 

[Atchuuu]

Purchased the Pirahna brand tooth bar and installed it today.

I debated not getting a tooth bar because of the price. After reviewing comments on TBN I decided to give it a try. Amazing! Really works well. I cleared a couple dozen small trees that were growing at the base of large pine trees. On the smaller pines I was able to rock the tree back and forth a bit, push it some then use the tooth bar to pull it right out of the ground. Half the time I was able to move it to the the burn pile without getting off the tractor.

Worth every penny!