How much weight is in that bucket?

[roger_scotty]

Without having measured the actual weight, my impression is that most tractors will lift about the same amount in the loader as the 3pt.

As far as a full-length frame goes, I prefer them. But certainly a reasonable alternative to a full frame would be to not abuse the loader like I do do through rocks and roots. I commonly jam the loader teeth into a disintegrating granite rock face, gun the engine, and work the hydraulics until the frame creaks because that is the only way to dig into a hillside out here. But I never "charge" into a pile at any speed higher than low/low. So far, no problems.

My belief is that any loader mounting can is not hurt by any amount of weight that the loader can lift as long as the lift is kept low, the bolts are kept tight, and the speeds are low too. If weight were the only aspect of loader use then I would never worry about the type of loader frame. It is when I'm using the corner of the loader to pry a rock out of the hillside or to pull a stump that the loader really stresses the tractor and makes me glad that I've got a full length frame. I wouldn't do this kind of work with a tractor without that extra support. But you may have a situation where you don't do that kind of work anyway.

I wouldn't base my tractor decision on the loader support system. It would make more sense to just use whatever you get within reasonable limits. Sure, it is known that loaders can break tractors. It happens, but it is a real rare event and I'm not sure we ever hear the entire story.

 

[Youare]

The weight of material in a full bucket depends on the material you are trying to lift. There was a post a coulpe of months back where some one aked how much a cubic yard of something weighed.

There were several different types of material that you would commonly lift with a FEL and the approx. weight per cubic foot.
I don't have the book here at home or I would repeat them.

Water content will make a big difference in how much gravel and the like will weigh. I think most compact tractors will lift a full bucket of material. Without a counterweight on the back a full bucket may make the rear tires really light on the ground, without 4WD you will not move.

I know that trying to lift things that do not fit in the bucket is going to be your heaviest loads. Digging in the ground as someone has already said with the corner of the bucket probably puts the most damaging loads in the FEL. There is a lot of twisting that goes on when only one side is loaded.

I have a Ford 8N with a loader that will lift over 1,000 pounds, which is too much. One day when moving a stump I just dug out the front end dropped, I broke a front spindle.

My Kubota FEL is rated for around 800 pounds. I watch the squatness of the front tires when lifting heavy loads. I figure two trips are better than one that stresses the tractor front end and it's frame work.

Randy

 

[MossRoad]

What weighs more, a pound of lead or a pound of feathers? /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[yanman]

It seams to me that the FEL designer/maker would consider the materials used to build the FEL and size the scoop not to exceed the capacity of the Material used. As an Engineer myself, I would anticipate the densest material that would be put in the scoop, and size the scoops cubic foot capacity and cylinder size accordingly. This being said, I guess the real question becomes how many PSI can your specific tractor offer.

 

[RobS]

I had an interesting experience yesterday moving concrete waste. One piece was too long to fit in the bucket, but I thought I'd give it a shot anyway. I knew it was at, or above my loaders limits. I chained to it and my loader wouldn't pick it up. Started backing with it and the geometry caused my rear tires to go up in the air /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif Once I got my head back on, I did a bit of playing and ended up picking the concrete up by virtue of the terrain I was on. I was proud, but nervous. At that point I realized the loader will support more than it will lift /w3tcompact/icons/clever.gif When I looked down and saw my front tires almost flat, I wisely put the whole thing down and drug it from my drawbar. An interesting little experiment none-the-less /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[hosejockey2002]

My FEL will physically lift much more weight than my tractor will safely handle, IMHO. If the bucket were sized for the heaviest material moved, say wet pea gravel or something like that, it would take much longer for me to move light materials like bark or chips. My machine can't really handle a completely full bucket of gravel, but at the same time I want the bucket big enough to handle a high volume of the lighter materials. So if I'm moving something heavy, I have to use common sense and take smaller bites.

 

[roger_scotty]

Most tractors offer approx the same PSI. Lifting power is regulated more by cylinder diameter.

 

[Soundguy]

trentay, I'm so used to using my tractor now, that sometimes at work, my right hand will naturally fall down and rest on the valve that you use to rais and lower the office style chairs. Sometimes absentmindedly, I will find myself trying to pull back on it to go 'higher',.... untill I relize im not on my tractor...

Chris

"This place is great, I am getting mechanical experience and seat time based on all your experiences before I even buy my tractor!!!"