New Blue Diamond Stump Bucket...

[beemerphile]

I decided that I had deliberated long enough and was ready to select one. I liked the Blue Diamond for its length, leverage, strength, teeth, and narrow wedge profile. Now to make some big holes in the yard where stumps (and unwanted trees) used to be...

 

[kebo]

Nice addition, should do the job.... but I have to say that thing looks evil wicked!! You could do some serious damage on other things besides stumps with that tool!

 

[Arc weld]

"You could do some serious damage on other things besides stumps with that tool!"

Yes, like your bucket cylinders. If tilting in the ground to dig up stumps, let the hydraulics do the work. If the bucket cylinders are extended and you drive forward with too much pressure on the bucket cylinders they could bend or worse, break. The same way they do when rookies in skid steers tilt the bucket down, lift the front wheels a foot off the ground and drive full speed ahead trying to dig up hard packed ice and snow. That stump bucket would add an awful lot of leverage to bend the cylinders.

 

[kneedeep]

That thing looks WICK-ED! :lightningbolt:

Test it out slowly to avoid cylinder damage and enjoy! :thumbsup:

 

[beemerphile]

Yes, I intend to be cautious with it. It seems that it would be useful with this item if you could float the bucket curl circuit.

 

[DT86]

Nice! Any visibility problems using it on a tractor?

I really like the Blue Diamond attachments my dealer has had. I have had their double hay spear for a couple years, so far so good.

 

[beemerphile]

Nice! Any visibility problems using it on a tractor?

I can't say as I haven't used it yet, but visibility is obviously going to be worse than with a CTL which the device was designed for. I expect that as with pallet forks one would have to develop a topside visual reference for the angle of attack (unless they were outfitted with cameras like our Mr. Waxman). With pallet forks you are generally only looking for level which a simple rod indicator can accomplish. Maybe it is possible to determine a best angle of attack and reset the rod indicator for that angle.

 

[Underdog57]

Looks nice, please keep us informed on how it works. I have been looking at that same one but I am not sure my 41 hp can handle it.

 

[RDrancher]

Yes, I intend to be cautious with it. It seems that it would be useful with this item if you could float the bucket curl circuit.

You'll have to school me on why you'd want float for this. I'm always willing to learn something new.

 

[beemerphile]

I have been looking at that same one but I am not sure my 41 hp can handle it.

I think it is more on the loader specs than the machine horsepower. As Arc Weld noted "let the hydraulics to the work". I think that is key to being successful with this attachment. Your R4041 loader has good lift and break-out. Bury the nose of it, lower and curl or raise and dump the bucket to pry the dirt and roots up. There is a bend in the bucket that acts as a fulcrum to lever against. The "Scary" long bucket is the leverage. I think it is like the difference between using a short handle and a long handle shovel. It takes less force at the end of a long shovel to break out. You are levering against the back of the shovel blade. I don't know if my logic is correct or not, but I thought about this long and hard before buying this bucket. Markham had a shorter bucket that looked like it would be less strain on the loader. I didn't like that it had a wider wedge shape and that it had no top teeth. Also, my "shovel logic" convinced me that the longer bucket would take less loader force to break it out of the dirt than it would with a shorter bucket. The key difference being that if you did abuse it by overusing the momentum of a moving tractor, that the longer bucket could do significantly more harm.

This is all theoretical as yet because I have broken neither ground nor tractor with it. If everything lines up right, I'll dig up a practice stump or two this afternoon. Lord knows I have plenty of potential victims to pick from.