Finally installed my Electronic-Hydraulic diverter & Stump-Grinder

[TSO]

I've been waiting for it to warm up enough to be able to spend some time in the barn putting this together. Finally got to it yesterday. Took a little longer than expected. Had to make a custom mounting bracket to mount the diverter block in a good spot that was out of the way but still easily accessible. Clearly, the "MF Gray" enamel paint (that took FOREVER to dry, and still wasn't dry during installation) doesn't match the rest of the gray back there, but it's close enough I suppose.

Ran into a couple minor issues, the biggest one was "oh $h!t" moment regarding some wires I cut. I needed to cut the main wire group so I could get the actuator switch wiring under the remote-lever location; the switch, and the other harnesses for the solenoids were too fat to fit thru the slot in the plastic, so I cut the wires (hidden inside a protective wrap). My assumption was that the wires would be different colors, so it would be easy to reconnect them. Well, to my surprise, after I had cut them and opened up the wires, I found they were ALL BLACK ! After a few moments of panic and a few choice words ... I was able to get the wires routed and matched back up. So after finding a suitable spot in the fuse box for power, and a decent ground, I routed the rest of the wires and reconnected everything... While I would rather have had 2 factory rear remote sets (only had one, might add the other some day) it's nice to have the button control without moving my hand to another lever. Not sure it's $500 nice (as opposed to just having the 2nd rear set), but then again, the factory 2nd set would have been around $1200.

Mounted the Stump Grinder (Worksaver SG-26) and tested the hydraulics ... all working fine! I didn't spin the grinder yet - I didn't wrap everything up til about 0130 hrs this morning, plus I still need some gearbox oil for the grinder, need to make sure the slip-clutch is adjusted ... and need to wait for the ground to firm up a bit and everything to finish thawing. But, at least the hard part is over :thumbsup:

I'll keep the post updated with a review once I use it.

 

[Green Power]

Looks good, when do you think you will be trying out that stump grinder?

 

[TSO]

Used the stump grinder today! Very impressed with it. Took out 5 stumps so far, ranging from 12" to about 18" (at the tops ... plus 50% width at the ground). A small 12" one only took about 5 minutes total. A larger 18" took about 22 mins. Does a real good job once you learn how to use it.

What I'm NOT impressed with is the Electric/Hydraulic diverter valve. I like the operation of it, it works very well. The problem I'm having is with the build quality, or actually, the assembly quality, of the fittings. So far I've wasted 3 gallons of hydraulic fluid as the fittings systematically fail. It's almost like the pipe-thread compound they used was crap, or they didn't use enough, or something like that. One springs a leak and shoots fluid everywhere so I take it apart and re-set it, put it back together, and a different one starts leaking. Really irritates me, now I have to go back out there and I'm just going to take all the rest apart and re-set them. I'll be contacting the dealer to have him reimburse me for all the hydraulic fluid I've had to buy just to refill.

Anyways, here's a few photos:

 

[Green Power]

Is the stump grinder still working well? How many stumps have you ground?

 

[J_J]

Try this on your fittings.

Loctite® Hydraulic & Pneumatic Thread Sealant

They say it works on all type fittings.

Well suited for any size NPT, O-ring boss (ORB) or JIC fittings, even large fittings, gaps or threads

Loctiteï½® 5452 for hyd.

http://www.henkelna.com/us/content_data/141299_LT5557_5452SSF448695.pdf

 

[TSO]

Going good so far ... up to around 23 stumps I think. I'm only doing a couple at a time, when time allows. Trying to get all my other equipment prepped for spring as well, so I haven't had much time for stumps. Overall I'm very happy with it. I'd still like to try it on softer wood to see how much quicker I could grind, but I'm still satisfied with how it handles the hard wood.

------

as a correction to my earlier post, I must say that it wasn't the diverter valve connections that were leaking ... it was the hose fitting connections that came with the grinder that were failing. All fixed now!

How's the LS?

 

[PHPaul]

+1 on the Loctite. NOT inexpensive, but darned effective and worth the money. I fixed a raft of annoying little weeping leaks and still have about half a tube left.

 

[terryknight]

that looks very useful. and like a of of fun

 

[Green Power]

Glad to hear you got the issue you had figured out.

Have not had time to use the LS anymore. Hopefully we will have it to the farm by June 1st and it will be used when im not working on making 2 of our 3 combines field-ready.

 

[Green Power]

Hows the stump grinder going? How many stumps have you ground now?