Resolving self leveling dislike

[Boss 302]

Thanks for the compliment, Airbiscuit.

 

[LD1]

What was the bore of the original cylinder?

3.14 sq inches x 2500psi is still almost 8000# of retract force....times 2 cylinders....

Then it becomes a geometry thing to figure that at bucket edge

OEM being 1-3/8 and going to 1-1/2 rod is not a huge amount.

 

[npalen]

What was the bore of the original cylinder?

3.14 sq inches x 2500psi is still almost 8000# of retract force....times 2 cylinders....

Then it becomes a geometry thing to figure that at bucket edge

OEM being 1-3/8 and going to 1-1/2 rod is not a huge amount.

Yes, I agree, and, as airbiscuit mentioned above, the bucket curl usually seems to have plenty of force due to its geometry. I do notice on larger industrial payloaders that the linkage is reversed which results in the base end of the bucket cylinder doing the curl. Not sure if that is because more curl force is needed or the self-leveling system just works out better design wise with the cylinder "pushing the curl".

 

[ovrszd]

All I know for sure is there's a LOT of geometry going on in the curl function of any FEL. A slight modification "here" might cause a dramatic change "there".

I'm curious to hear the result of the mods being made.

 

[Boss 302]

Me too Richard, I'm thinking positive. I was able to finish the fab on the cylinder mounting plates and tack weld them in place in order to connect everything up and see how the geometry works out. Hopefully Monday if all goes well, I can do an empty bucket dry run.

 

[jimglassford]

Yes, I agree, and, as airbiscuit mentioned above, the bucket curl usually seems to have plenty of force due to its geometry. I do notice on larger industrial payloaders that the linkage is reversed which results in the base end of the bucket cylinder doing the curl. Not sure if that is because more curl force is needed or the self-leveling system just works out better design wise with the cylinder "pushing the curl".

It is a cost issue when it comes to the push versus pull design. There are more heavy duty linkages to make the extend function curl the bucket. The FELs are designed as cheap as possible.

 

[Boss 302]

Update: Finished tweaking fabrication of cylinder mounting brackets, tack welded and performed an empty bucket dry run today and the results are what I was hoping to achieve. Pics attached of the before and after mods showing full curl and maximum rollback and the difference is like night and day. I am very pleased with the outcome and plan on welding everything up tomorrow.

 

[LouNY]

Enjoy her

 

[airbiscuit]

Why, that's perfect!

 

[npalen]

I notice that there is very little lever arm left as shown in the pic. (distance from the line of action to the bucket pivot point) Do you think that might be an issue?

A load at the end of the bale fork, for example, will put a much larger load on the cylinder when fully retracted as shown. My little Kubota B9200 with it's loader is like this and the bucket is fairly unstable in this scenario.

Just asking as now is the time to check this prior to "welding her up".