Grapple Grapple Hydraulic Hoses

[Greyfields]

I got a bolt-on grapple for my front loader and brought her home today. I hooked up the hoses to my rear mounted 3rd valve and started playing. I raised the bucket really high to come down over the top of some wood and the hoses pulled and bent the rear valve to the side. They're obviously too short. :\

But, if I get newer longer hoses, what happens to all the slack when I'm operating closer to the ground?

 

[IslandTractor]

Ouch! Well, there is no question you need longer hoses. Do you have a single long hose that goes all the way from the hyraulic cylinder on the grapple to your rear remote? It is better to have a short section from the grapple cylinder to the torque tube on your loader and then a separate piece from the loader to the hydraulic connector. The second set of hoses, from the torque tube to the rear valve will only need to be slightly slack as the movement of the grapple does not affect that section at all. The hose from the grapple to the torque tube is what needs significant slack when you dump and close the grapple. The slack is all concentrated between the bucket and the torque tube and I have not found it necessary to secure it. If I did I would put some zip ties on the hose and then loosely attach a bungey cord to keep it away from danger. Ideally you would just measure the maximum length needed when you are at full dump with the grapple closed and get a hose that long for the front section. It will be quite slack when fully curled with grapple open but I've not had any problem with that on my set up.

 

[dtd24]

I use a piece of scrap wire, or a old garden hose to determine length of hydraulic hoses. Have you thought about adding a diverter valve off one of the FEL lines? I did just that, here is a link

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/customization/94277-grapple-design.html

 

[SkunkWerX]

Ouch! Well, there is no question you need longer hoses. Do you have a single long hose that goes all the way from the hyraulic cylinder on the grapple to your rear remote? It is better to have a short section from the grapple cylinder to the torque tube on your loader and then a separate piece from the loader to the hydraulic connector. The second set of hoses, from the torque tube to the rear valve will only need to be slightly slack as the movement of the grapple does not affect that section at all. The hose from the grapple to the torque tube is what needs significant slack when you dump and close the grapple. The slack is all concentrated between the bucket and the torque tube and I have not found it necessary to secure it. If I did I would put some zip ties on the hose and then loosely attach a bungey cord to keep it away from danger. Ideally you would just measure the maximum length needed when you are at full dump with the grapple closed and get a hose that long for the front section. It will be quite slack when fully curled with grapple open but I've not had any problem with that on my set up.

I agree with the Bungee cord idea. I use one on my grapple hoses to keep them away from pinch points such as the curl cylinders and hinge points of the bucket, but, allow it to be slack, so that the hoses can move freely when bucket is raised/dumped. The hinge pin, where the FEL attaches to the tractor also needs a little slack, but most is near the bucket, itself.