What can you do with a Pond Scoop?

[DonWorrell]

I bought one at an auction yesterday. Only paid $55.00 for it. It looks nearly new. I don't even know what one would cost new.

Now what kind of jobs can you do with one? Could you clean ditches with one? I don't have a FEL and I have a small mound of dirt I need to move. The scoop I bought can be hooked to so you drag it or push it. It is 3PH.

Any advise please let me know. I might of be what my dad called a "leaverite", which means leave it right where you found it, it is useless. I really don't know. Did I pay too much?

Thanks for you advice in advance.

Don

 

[Pooh_Bear]

I use mine A LOT. Paid $66 for it off Ebay. Mine is 24wx24Lx12h
I have moved a LOT of dirt with it. Takes 7 scoops to make a cubic yard.
It probably stays on my tractor more than any other implement.
Works better forward than backward. But I have used it a lot backward.
Be carefull what you back into. 3pt hitches are made to pull, not push.
Getting a reversible scoop for $55 is a really great deal.

Pooh Bear

 

[MJPetersen]

I wanted a scoop badly enough to make one. There is not one to buy here. I put alot more than $55 worth of metal in it, not to mention the time.
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/98421-dirt-scoop-3-pt-first.html?highlight=dirt+scoop
I move a lot of dirt and building debris with it because like you I lack a FEL. It works great and I tend to use it more pushing than pulling, I have limited maneuvering room. I have beefed up the arms though.

Mike in Warsaw

 

[oldhippy]

I have a pond scoop for my tractor and have moved several truck loads of dirt. It is pretty handy for hauling tools and just about anything that will that will fit in it. I had mine facing back so that I could drive it in piles of dirt for moving dirt around yard. I would dump dirt then turn around and drop bucket and run back over pile to spread it somewhat. I have since installed a FEL and don't use it as much as I did. Pond scoops sure are handy tools for the price. big dan

 

[Kenster]

I assume this is the same thing as what a lot of people call a "Dirt Scoop?" If so, you got a great deal. TSC sells them new for $317.00. I'm not sure how they'd work in a pond. I wouldn't want to drive my 8n anywhere near a wet pond and you have to get real close with these little scoops.
I bought mine at a farm auction last week. Got to try it out scooping up gravel from our washed out driveway after all the rain we've had here in Texas. I think the scoop will be very versitile. I can also use it as a carry all.

 

[wolc123]

A pond scoop is a handy tool and has many uses. If you add stabilizer bars to the lower links and have a low enough reverse gear, they work well facing backward to move hard packed dirt piles. Skip the stabilizer bars and you will bend your lower links. They work very well for moving crushed stone or loose soil (stabilizer bars not always necessary here). Only hold about as much as a wheelbarrel but it is much nicer to load and move with tractor vs manually. They work well for moving small trees, trench around the sides with shovel, back scoop under, chain trunk to frame, lift and move. On a two wheel drive tractor a pond scoop may in some cases be more effective than a front loader because traction is gained not lost like with the front loader when the scoop is loaded. Facing forward they can be used to dig ponds, I have done it, but due to small capacity, you need a lot of time. You will find many more uses with the scoop facing backwards.

 

[BTDT]

Welcome to TBN Don, sounds like you got a good deal on that implement. Any pics, I'm just curious to know if what you bought is the same as a dirt scoop?

 

[JoeinTX]

If you are short a front-end loader, you'll find uses for that scoop you probably haven't thought of.

$55? Take it and run.

We have a Ford rear bucket, 1/3 yd model, and it has done everything from build roads to clean out tanks (ponds for the non-educated for 25 years on the back of NAAs and 8ns. Most often we use it in reverse, but, using it forward facing and it almost acts like a miniature scraper when trying to move dirt.

 

[Tom_H]

For those who asked, pond scoops and dirt scoops are the same thing. You don't scoop stuff out of an existing pond. At one time, when lots of people had farm tractors with no FEL, they were popular for excavating new ponds. I have one that I rarely use as the FEL is more efficient. I will probably use it to excavate for a new sidewalk because the FEL bucket is too wide.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Way back when, my dad actually dug a pond with one. It took a while, but with a pond scoop and a Ferguson F-40, he dug a 2 acre pond on his place. I've heard 'em called pond scoops, slip scrapes, and a number of other names. They're handy for digging swales and shallow ditches. I used one for years to pick gravel out of a creek bed to build a driveway at my old place. If you decide $55 was too much, send it my way. They're handy even if you have a front loader.