Newbie intro and questions re: FEL, dirt scoop

nallen · Mar 28, 2006

Hello. I've been lurking on this site for about a year, and decided it was finally time to go legit and register. I have approximately two acres to maintain, and in the 7 years I've owned the place I'd worn out two inexpensive lawn tractors. I started looking at compact utility tractors because of their improved durability as well as the variety of 3 point implements availible for them. After several months of pondering the problem (using this site and others) I bought a Nortrac (Jinma) 204 and I haven't looked back. Last summer I bought a 5' finish mower and used the machine as a lawnmower. Over the winter I plowed what little snow we received with it, and now I'm interested in purchasing some additional implements. My wife and I built a new house 18 months ago and the builder did the rough grade. Now I want to do some landscaping, level some low spots, and clean up some debris piles left from the original home that was on the property. I'd like to buy a FEL but Northern's price ($3k) scares me. I've searched the forum for FEL info and it seems like there are a variety of manufacturers and models. I noticed another post (can't find it now) from someone who said he paid $1500 for a custom built unit. If anyone has any leads for a manufacturer or retailer within a reasonable drive from Ohio I'd appreciate it. Along those same lines, I've been looking at the 3pt dirt scoop sold by TSC and others. I realize that this would not be a substitute for an FEL, but at 1/10th the price it is appealing. Has anyone used one of these? It looks as though you can't really excavate at all with one of these, however for moving piles of fill around it might be useful. Any input is appreciated.

psj12 · Mar 28, 2006

It appears Koyker, a respected US loader manufacturer is located in Clevland. i don't know if they sell to individuals but it wouldn,t hurt to ask. www.koyker.com. If they don't sell to individuals there are several respected dealers on this forum who do, like affordable and bluechip.

nallen · Mar 28, 2006

I've looked at Koyoker but haven't been able to find a local dealer. (Their company HQ is in SD I think). A friend who is somewhat knowledgable in these things suggested that a smaller manufacturer might be less expensive. My impression is that Koyoker makes a more high-end product. That's fine, but for the light-duty, occasional use I intend I could probably get by with a simpler implement. And I tend to be cheap.

Inspector507 · Mar 28, 2006

Koyker has never been in Cleveland, they're in South Dakota.
There are quite a few Koyker dealers in Ohio/Indiana.

Koyker is a great loader and you'd be happy with it.

GuglioLS · Mar 28, 2006

( (.................................................... I've been looking at the 3pt dirt scoop ................................. Has anyone used one of these? .................................... Any input is appreciated.) )

I have and used (past tence) a dirt scoop. After you get the hang of it, these do work fairly well. You can dig with them if you get the angle just right. If you have, or could install a hydraulic top link, the dirt scoop would be much easier to operate. I remember having to constantly adjust the top link length to get the angle needed for the job at hand. Once I got a FEL, the dirt scoop is now just part of my collection. Northerns price of 3K is way to high for what you would get. For maybe a few hundred more you could get a super high quality Koyker FEL and be done with it. You will have to get the Koyker from a dealer, as they do not sell direct.

corey · Mar 28, 2006

Nallen,

The 3 Pt. scoop is a useful and relatively inexpensive attachment.

Over the past two decades my scoop has moved well over 60 ton of limestone driveway gravel, countless loads of firewood and offers a fine assist for clean up work with loose rocks and debris.

The scoop is not designed to cut into undisturbed and compacted stone, shale and clay. However, it does handle light, rock free top soil with ease.

Read a post some time ago that referred to the 3 pt. scoop as a FEL for the poor man.

Just my opinion, the 3 pt. scoop is not a FEL substitute.

corey

RonMar · Mar 29, 2006

I posted about the $1500 FEL. I purchased it with my 284 from Coldwater tractors in Hoquiam WA. He ships tractors and loaders all over the country so he could probably work something out with your location. He makes them to fit many different tractors but makes quite a few specifically for the Jinma's he imports and sells.

Here is a link to their website which has a picture of a 204 with one of their FELs at the bottom of the home page. If you click the 3 jinma tractor sizes listed near the top of the page you will see some closer pics of the FEL on different Jinma's

http://www.coldwatertractors.com/

It is a basic FEL made with off the shelf components and a prince 5200 series valve, so if you blow a cylinder or hose or need a spool valve part, you can get the parts cheap from Northern Hydraulics or most any local hydraulics supply.

I am very happy with mine and feel it is well worth the $1500 I paid for it. The only thing I would change about it is the loader valve dosn't have float which is very nice for using the FEL bucket for gradeing/smoothing. I am about to upgrade to a 3 spool valve anyway to control a grappel I am adding to the fork bucket I built for the FEL so I will get float then. I would guess he could probably add a spool valve with float if you asked for it. Since he is familliar with the Jinma's, a loader from him for a Jinma would come with Chinese quick connects that would match up correctly with the ones on your tractor(mine did). Coldwater tractor came highly reccomended from others on this forum and I have nothing but good to say about my purchase and the customer service I received from them.

psj12 · Mar 29, 2006

Your absolutely right about Koyker's location. I saw their street address is N. Cleaveland and didn' read the address further.

Soundguy · Mar 29, 2006

( It looks as though you can't really excavate at all with one of these, however for moving piles of fill around it might be useful. Any input is appreciated. )

Actually.. you kind of have that backwards. A FEL is way better at moving stockiled fill around, and a rear scoop is way better at digging, even digging native ground. You will find that a FEL is not a great digger. Most rear scoops can be setup as pull or push. Push is pretty decent about scooping piled up earth, and pull is pretty good about digging and scraping.

When my house was built, I moved many many yards of dirt with a little yanmar 1700.. probably just a tad smaller than your jinma... I used a tsc 30" rear scop and some front weights. Worked out good. You might want a box blade and angle blade if you don't have them.

Soundguy

JohnS · Mar 29, 2006

I'd recommend a 4' or 5' box blade for the leveling you are trying to do. Get the type with the adjustable rippers, just incase the soil has become hard packed.

As mentioned, a FEL is not a great digging tool, even with bucket teeth. Also digging puts some extra stress on the front end of the tractor.

Northern use to use Great Bend FELs (good fels). I forget who they are using, last I saw them, but they were quality built FELs. 3K, if it includes installation, is about what you will pay for Koyker.

You should be able to get the chinese FEL for around 2K, but you install. I haven't checked Koyker pricing in some time, but was around 2.5K, you install. This was for a 160. A 140 might be a better match for your tractor, and will help prevent overloading the front end, more than the larger 160.