New M59 Owner

[TBarD]

The 59 will run an auger just fine! I recommend you take a look at the Belltec H-300. It will drill into solid rock (not kidding) and in my opinion is of better quality than the mcmillan (larger internal gears and gear surfaces). The price surprised me too! I've rented skid steer mounted mcmillan units in the past with high-flow and when mounted on the backhoe the M59 will out drill them. I suspect it's because you can get more down pressure on the auger.

It seems to me that the M59 can probably supply more down pressure, especially on the backhoe - it must be 5-6Klb at the back, and the hydraulics are sufficient to turn an auger, so it should be quite competitive with a skid steer rental (although of course the tractor plus auger plus bits add up to quite a bit so one would hope so!). I have spent a lot of time reading all the posts and reviews and it does appear that the Beltec units are top of the line, but the McMillen augers are pretty good as well - for personal use I suspect either would do. I have been favoring the Beltec for a fixed-speed auger, but the McMillen 3k2 auger is intriguing. It is a 2-speed, with either 2k or 3K torque, so it can either spin a smaller auger, or provide high torque at lower rpm to a big rock auger. Seems like a good combination, although I have seen no reviews of these units anywhere yet. The Beltec might be sufficient and more rock solid though; I will look at it again more carefully.

On my land up in CO there are rocks everywhere, and one can't drive a pole into the ground, or even stick a shovel in the ground. I have a ridge which is even worse (that is probably why it is a ridge), and this is where I want to put a wood shed and firewood processing setup. I suspect it is going to take a rock auger and considerable down pressure to set the poles for that wood shed. I am pretty sure the M59 with a hydraulic auger and a rock bit can do it though given enough time. The pole barn site and the meadow is not as bad, but is still rocky soil.

 

[ManAtArms]

I'm not familiar with the 2 speed mcmillen unit. It seems to spec out similar to the H-300 but with the added benefit of 2 speeds. Is the auger output shaft replaceable on those? Belltec has a less expensive model but it doesn't have a bolt-on output shaft, it's a one piece unit.

When drilling through rock you have to get the right balance of down pressure and low speed. It can take some time...it could take 20 minutes...but it will do it.

I know how you feel about rocks!! I live in rocky country here too, same thing, you cant even get a shovel in the ground. You can't pound posts here either, they just deflect too much or more likely stop dead and the heads mushroom or crack.

It seems to me that the M59 can probably supply more down pressure, especially on the backhoe - it must be 5-6Klb at the back, and the hydraulics are sufficient to turn an auger, so it should be quite competitive with a skid steer rental (although of course the tractor plus auger plus bits add up to quite a bit so one would hope so!). I have spent a lot of time reading all the posts and reviews and it does appear that the Beltec units are top of the line, but the McMillen augers are pretty good as well - for personal use I suspect either would do. I have been favoring the Beltec for a fixed-speed auger, but the McMillen 3k2 auger is intriguing. It is a 2-speed, with either 2k or 3K torque, so it can either spin a smaller auger, or provide high torque at lower rpm to a big rock auger. Seems like a good combination, although I have seen no reviews of these units anywhere yet. The Beltec might be sufficient and more rock solid though; I will look at it again more carefully.

On my land up in CO there are rocks everywhere, and one can't drive a pole into the ground, or even stick a shovel in the ground. I have a ridge which is even worse (that is probably why it is a ridge), and this is where I want to put a wood shed and firewood processing setup. I suspect it is going to take a rock auger and considerable down pressure to set the poles for that wood shed. I am pretty sure the M59 with a hydraulic auger and a rock bit can do it though given enough time. The pole barn site and the meadow is not as bad, but is still rocky soil.

 

[TBarD]

I'm not familiar with the 2 speed mcmillen unit. It seems to spec out similar to the H-300 but with the added benefit of 2 speeds. Is the auger output shaft replaceable on those? Belltec has a less expensive model but it doesn't have a bolt-on output shaft, it's a one piece unit.

From the parts manual it appears that the output shaft is replaceable, but you would have to remove the planetary gearbox (a bolt-on) to do so, then unbolt the output shaft. The whole gearbox including shaft is a bolt-on replacement as well.

The two-speed capability is evidently provided by the hydraulic motor itself. From the diagram I would guess that is a vane motor. For low speed / high torque applications all vanes are used; the flow is teed and valved externally and input at two ports on the motor. For high speed / low torque mode probably only half the vanes and one input port are used. Shifting under load is permitted since it is all done hydraulically. I doubt if reliability would be much different from a single speed unit since it is all done in the motor, i.e., no gear shift complexities.

At 15 GPM it delivers about 2K foot-pounds of torque at 59 RPM (high speed / low torque), or 3K foot-pounds at 37 RPM (low speed / high torque). So one can run at high RPM for loose soil or a small auger bit. In rocky ground or with a big 18-24inch bit low speed / high torque would be used. Not bad getting 3K foot-pounds into an 18" auger at 15-16 GPM! The max auger bit it is rated for is 36 inches.

They also have a 8K2 if you have 50 GPM, for the big guys I guess. I found that Pengo has a similar two-speed auger.

 

[indianaEPH]

Well, I think I'm due to finally post a picture of my M59.

Here it is looking a bit out of place in the tall grass. I've been digging out stumps and digging some drainage.

This weekend I will remove the BH and install the 3 pt hitch so I can do some bush hogging.

 

[rScotty]

Well, I think I'm due to finally post a picture of my M59.

Here it is looking a bit out of place in the tall grass. I've been digging out stumps and digging some drainage.

This weekend I will remove the BH and install the 3 pt hitch so I can do some bush hogging.

It sure looks nice in all that green grass. Always nice to see pictures of another machine. There are so few M59s out there that we need to hang together. Every day I'm glad my wife talked me into getting it.

Let us know how the 3pt hitch exchange goes. I've never unmounted the BH from mine. There was some talk of that in the "M59 Discussion Thread". All I remember was that it was easier to do the second time, and not hard the first... Be interesting to hear how yours goes. Does the 3pt raise and lower smoothly?

Grass has already come up in our mountains too. In Colorado this has been "the winter that didn't happen". One of the warmest and least moisture on record. Of course it isn't over yet. We normally have at least one decent snowstorm in May.

Those hydraulic augers sure do look nifty. I've got an old PTO-driven auger that I use on the JD. It's a Cat II 3pt brute, and will do a reasonable job on rocks as well. But the darn thing is a terrible amount of work to mount up. Probably ought to sell it with all the augers as I haven't used it in a decade.

Now that Bradco QA Rock Bucket is another story..... It gets a lot of use sorting rocks from dirt and for carrying brush. In addition to sifting the good soil out of a pile of rubble, it turns out that a pile of cleaned rock has its own uses and is a handy thing to have as well. BTW, the rock bucket came from the Bobcat Rental. The rental place is a chain store and they sell their gear on a depreciated use schedule. Now there's an advantage of the M59 - the availability of good used Bobcat implements I mean - that I didn't fully appreciated when we bought it.
rScotty

 

[indianaEPH]

Well, removing the BH took about an hour. The next time it will take 10 min. The instructions said to raise the wheels slightly using the boom.....then remove the pins. WHen you do this it binds the pins completely. It should read. raise the rear wheels slightly , then slowly lower the wheels until the pin is unloaded/loose.....then the push right out with 1 finger:thumbsup:

Started to mow the grass but I did not have much light. I should be able to finish it tomorrow. Mowing was a breeze with the M59 hydro.

I have to say that the M59 3pt linkage is not all that great. The issue is with the check chain turn buckle. It is difficult to use. I really wanted my next tractor to have extendable lower arms but I will compromise on the point. The M59 is a beast and should serve my needs well.

 

[jdonovan]

The instructions said to raise the wheels slightly using the boom.....then remove the pins. WHen you do this it binds the pins completely. It should read. raise the rear wheels slightly , then slowly lower the wheels until the pin is unloaded/loose.....then the push right out with 1 finger

Hmmm when I pull the hoe of mine, it worked just as written.... Tho I have noticed level ground makes a big difference. Also a light coat of WD40 on the pins makes it easier to insert/remove the pins.

Started to mow the grass but I did not have much light. I should be able to finish it tomorrow. Mowing was a breeze with the M59 hydro.

What size mower, and how did it handle it? I'm thinking about a mower for keeping up the property trails, and a bit of brush clearing and am curious what folks have been successful using.

I really wanted my next tractor to have extendable lower arms but I will compromise on the point. The M59 is a beast and should serve my needs well

I got a quickhitch for my 3-pt. I can get the linkage setup snug and level with minimum load on the hitch, all the attachments are setup with QH bushings so swapping things out is very easy.

 

[indianaEPH]

I'm using a woods BB72. I bought it for the my previous tractor. The M59 can handle a much bigger unit. I wish I had a 8ft dual blade mower. The woods will do for now. Mowing today was a breeze. The tractor was very maneuverable. THe only issue I noticed was the ROPS being higher and thus I was hitting branches that I normally clear. IT looks like I will need to do some more triming. I also notice greatly enhanced stability which is really nice on the hills.

 

[jdonovan]

I'm giving serious consideration to a 88" Flail mower. As I'll be working in the woods/wood edge and I can't take the loader off, I'd like to control overall length of the machine.

The other consideration is the neighbor keeps/breeds horses that are valued in fractions of a million dollars, so I __REALLY__ don't want to inadvertently throw something at one. I'm sure they wont hang out too close when I mow... but I've seen some major rocks/sticks get thrown very far when hit and I don't want to buy a horse.

 

[indianaEPH]

I'm giving serious consideration to a 88" Flail mower. As I'll be working in the woods/wood edge and I can't take the loader off, I'd like to control overall length of the machine.

The other consideration is the neighbor keeps/breeds horses that are valued in fractions of a million dollars, so I __REALLY__ don't want to inadvertently throw something at one. I'm sure they wont hang out too close when I mow... but I've seen some major rocks/sticks get thrown very far when hit and I don't want to buy a horse.

A Flail would be very nice. THe offset would be great for getting under brush and trees.