Help me pick best grapple for my tractor!

[gladehound]

I'm thinking of getting a grapple for my Kioti DS4510HS and could use some input. Am I going the right direction here? What do I need to consider? Below are the machine details, my intended uses, and one grapple that has caught my eye so far:

Machine: Kioti DS4510HS

• Engine HP: 45
• Loader lift at ground level: 3,727 at loader pins w/66" stock bucket (~250 pounds)
• Loader lift at full height: 2,761 pounds at loader pins w/ 66" stock bucket (~250 pounds)
• Lightest operating weight with nothing on SSQA or 3pt: ~5,700 pounds
• Heaviest operating weight with big 3pt ballast and nothing on SSQA: ~8,000 pounds

Uses:

• Picking logs out of messy piles
• Holding logs for cutting
• moving rocks and logs
• digging out roots
• Demolishing old 8'x16' shed with collapsed roof and loading dumpster (this is one time deal so could borrow small excavator if that makes more sense)
• Loading pallets, brush, junk wood into fire pit

Wants:

• Something narrow that I can run on the front or back of the tractor. When transporting logs for distance I'd like to load both ends. forks in front, grapple in back so I can drop the grapple right over a log with the 3pt, clamp and pick up. It then becomes my ballast to load the forks in front.
• Something indestructible for my tractor
• Something heavy duty but not unnecessarily heavy
• I like the designs with no connection between the tines

The closest I've seen to what I think I want is the Faver 314-SCX. I don't know how heavy this is. I've inquired with Faver with no response (but could have been blocked from my Email so not a ding on them). It has 1" tines, the build looks plenty strong but because it's only 31" wide I'm hopping it's under 500 pounds. I've looked at the EA grapples and not really what I'm looking for due to the connection between tines and rounded tine ends. Faver has one with 2 tines on the bottom but that makes the bottom smaller than the lid which to me seems it wouldn't work great but never used one so don't know. I definitely want something narrow to precisely pick out rocks & logs and rip out big roots, moving brush is not something I do much of so I don't see going wide.

Faver 314-SCX details from Home

• Raking width 31"
• # of Tines 4
• Grapple opening 42"
• Rake tine width 1"
• Cyl bore x stroke 3"x8"
• cyl rod diameter 1.5"
• Material: AR400

 

[Gordon Gould]

You have some unique requirements or desires. It will be interesting to see what grapple solutions people come up with. All I can offer is if you need to pick logs out of a jumble it better be narrow. Even then it may not be easy depending on what you mean by jumble.

gg

 

[HCJtractor]

I have extensive use of a grapple on my 70 horse Kubota. I use it for everything...cleaning up chainsaw debris, uprooting trees up to 6 or 8” and carrying then to brush pile, Removing fallen trees, holding logs for chainsawing, loading logs onto a portable sawmill, clearing brush like privet hedge, digging up trees for replanting, even digging water run off trenches on roadbeds. I’ve also even “plowed” areas for remote food plots. My opinion is That I would destroy the one you showed. I would bend those tines immediately. Mine has connections between the tines, and welded gussets on the tine tips, and I’ve bent those even with that extra support. But it still works fine, even if a few tines are bent a little. Those long narrow times would bend further. I also like more curve in the bottom tips so you can drive forward scooping rather than having a tine dig in, stopping the tractor.

I agree narrow is better. Say 48” width. It digs better and still has more than enough “grab”to pick up huge piles of debris. Digging and uprooting are tasks I do a lot. The one you show would no way dig as well as mine.
As far as using it on the rear, I see no need for that. The perfect complement for a front grapple is a rear rake or box blade or even a rear blade. Often in cleaning up debris ( from chainsawing or uprooting) what I miss with the grapple I get with my rear implement and can drag it along. Plus it helps level out any holes created by the grapple. Grappling requires a lot of back and forth movement, constant changing the angle or tilt of the tines with the curl, and up and down loader movement. You’re constantly tweaking the grapple tips...too steep and it digs in and stops you, too shallow and it slides over what you’re grabbing. You just don’t have that control or visibility on the rear. As far as forks, I don’t have them or need them. Maybe moving pallets or building materials would require them, but for my use, the grapple will grab anything I want to engage.

Also you have to protect your front grill/radiator area. When grappling, it’s easy to damage your tractor front. Learned that lesson the hard way.

My grapple stays on my tractor. I haven’t used my bucket in years. I use the grapple for so many thing, such as picking up my rotary cutter and placing it on a trailer, moving equipment around, a man lift for high chainsaw work ( yeah don’t tell OSHA) , tearing out beaver dams, etc.

 

[TractorNH]

The Farver grapple you posted a pic of might not be as easy to use for precise grappling since the lid tines don't meet the bottom tines. I looked at several different styles and bought an EA grapple and can attest that having the lid tines land on the bottom tines makes it easier to pick up smaller objects. The EA grapple is also made out of higher quality steel and weighs less than many others.

The best solution in your case might be to have multiple grapples instead of just one

 

[sd455dan]

I'm thinking of getting a grapple for my Kioti DS4510HS and could use some input. Am I going the right direction here? What do I need to consider? Below are the machine details, my intended uses, and one grapple that has caught my eye so far:

Machine: Kioti DS4510HS

• Engine HP: 45
• Loader lift at ground level: 3,727 at loader pins w/66" stock bucket (~250 pounds)
• Loader lift at full height: 2,761 pounds at loader pins w/ 66" stock bucket (~250 pounds)
• Lightest operating weight with nothing on SSQA or 3pt: ~5,700 pounds
• Heaviest operating weight with big 3pt ballast and nothing on SSQA: ~8,000 pounds

Uses:

• Picking logs out of messy piles
• Holding logs for cutting
• moving rocks and logs
• digging out roots
• Demolishing old 8'x16' shed with collapsed roof and loading dumpster (this is one time deal so could borrow small excavator if that makes more sense)
• Loading pallets, brush, junk wood into fire pit

Wants:

• Something narrow that I can run on the front or back of the tractor. When transporting logs for distance I'd like to load both ends. forks in front, grapple in back so I can drop the grapple right over a log with the 3pt, clamp and pick up. It then becomes my ballast to load the forks in front.
• Something indestructible for my tractor
• Something heavy duty but not unnecessarily heavy
• I like the designs with no connection between the tines

The closest I've seen to what I think I want is the Faver 314-SCX. I don't know how heavy this is. I've inquired with Faver with no response (but could have been blocked from my Email so not a ding on them). It has 1" tines, the build looks plenty strong but because it's only 31" wide I'm hopping it's under 500 pounds. I've looked at the EA grapples and not really what I'm looking for due to the connection between tines and rounded tine ends. Faver has one with 2 tines on the bottom but that makes the bottom smaller than the lid which to me seems it wouldn't work great but never used one so don't know. I definitely want something narrow to precisely pick out rocks & logs and rip out big roots, moving brush is not something I do much of so I don't see going wide.

Faver 314-SCX details from Home

• Raking width 31"
• # of Tines 4
• Grapple opening 42"
• Rake tine width 1"
• Cyl bore x stroke 3"x8"
• cyl rod diameter 1.5"
• Material: AR400

View attachment 574398

Maybe a super narrow construction grapple with replaceable tines. like mine only narrower

although the FAVER looks pretty well targeted to me. and being speced for Skidsteers must be built pretty tough

Thought I read a thread sometime back where a reader did purchase A Faver like the one you reference
Hopefully someone that owns one will post.

i use mine a lot like what you are doing but also have to use it for large hay bales,

Tines are 1 3/8 round and can be replaced or removed individually although in years of use have only bent 1- I tried to straighten it in a press but it must not be any kind of mild steel because it snapped.


i am in the minority with you as far as not liking tied tines at the front of the grapple Open tines work well for barn stall cleaning or digging in slash piles where there are large sticks logs dirt and debris.

no idea on using a grapple on the 3 point??

 

[gladehound]

"The best solution in your case might be to have multiple grapples instead of just one"

Ha! Don't think I can justify more than one!

"The EA grapple is also made out of higher quality steel"

The Faver is made of AR400. What's the EA made of? I thought it was also AR400?

"My opinion is That I would destroy the one you showed. I would bend those tines immediately. Mine has connections between the tines, and welded gussets on the tine tips, and I’ve bent those even with that extra support."

Thanks for this input. Faver claims that due to using 1" Ultra high tensile steel (140,000 psi) that the tines require no bracing. I could see the bent tines in your pictures. Do you know what type of steel you have and the thickness of the tines? That would be very informative.

"As far as using it on the rear, I see no need for that. "

I'm driving the tractor on the road to nearby wood lots and loading both ends to capacity and driving back on the road with the wood.

"I also like more curve in the bottom tips so you can drive forward scooping rather than having a tine dig in, stopping the tractor."

Agree - would rather have more curve.

 

[gladehound]

Adding a picture to explain how I'm using the 3pt to transport logs. This particular load came from a wood lot 2 miles down the road. 2 miles is the furthest I go. All other wood lots that I use are within 1/2 mile by road. I'm positioning logs by hand. I'd like to carry them sideways to keep them longer because I sometimes use them for projects rather than firewood. For a far away wood long I could cut to 8.5 ft. For the closest one I sometimes cut to 14 foot because I only have 50 ft of road to go down so I can block the whole thing for that short distance. The primary purpose of the grapple is for use on the loader. It would just be a plus if I could use it on the rear to minimize manual positioning of heavy logs or even use it to skid without getting off the tractor. Ideally, I'd have a big 360 rotating grapple off the rear with a boom. But that's just too pricy. Again, the rear is not the primary use. Maybe just wishful thinking.

 

[gladehound]

i am in the minority with you as far as not liking tied tines at the front of the grapple Open tines work well for barn stall cleaning or digging in slash piles where there are large sticks logs dirt and debris.

Yes, although I've never used a grapple. It just seems to me that you could only penetrate things a few inches with a brace across the front. I want to impale stuff!!

 

[sd455dan]

Yes, although I've never used a grapple. It just seems to me that you could only penetrate things a few inches with a brace across the front. I want to impale stuff!!

Yeah me to.
1 of the 1st pics i took after installing my grapple.
a single stab into a slash dirt pile.

stump and log picking and carrying to.

a large opening grapple helps to
the grapple is opened to about 45 inches of it's 49 total grabbing the stump

I really like the Faver design
and being spec-ed for a skid steer says a lot about the tine strength.

 

[GSVette]

My XR4155HC is about the same size as yours- I went with a Titan 72” dual lid grapple-many if my uses are similar to the ones you plan.

I have pulled logs out of a pile- less width might have been an advantage there but when holding a large log for cutting or moving the wider, dual lid seemed to be advantageous. For brush pile moving and use as a land clearing root rake, I like the added width.

Weight was a bit of a disadvantage, iirc it is around 650#. So a commensurate reduction in lift.

Price was the greatest advantage-got the grapple, 48” pallet forks and free shipping for around $1800 (there was a sale which Titan does pretty often). Quality for price seems fine.