As I posted on the 'What Did You . . .' thread, I road tripped Thursday to purchase a LandHonor tree puller for Katy. Having gotten burned on a couple of Brush Grubbers, I was a little hesitant but then decided to go for it.
(this is not mine, but identical)
I got it to the farm Friday and thought I could at least rig the hydraulics up and see what it was capable of. But, instead, I got a hydraulic plumbing lesson.
I have SSQA on the loader and a 3rd function valve. I have temporarily run hoses so I can use the grapple. The grapple came with both flat face (3/8" body) and Pioneer Ag (1/2" body) couplers; I chose the Pioneer since I was under the impression that Kubota favored Pioneer on L's and smaller.
The tree puller came with 1/2" body flat face couplers. I thought I could adapt it to Pioneer, but when I started measuring things, I found out otherwise.
Everything I've dealt with on my tractor was NPT, ORB or JIC, which all have some Imperial link. But this tree puller is basically metric. The cylinder has BSPP ports, the hoses have 24° DIN2353 fittings, and the couplers have BSPP ends. None of my local suppliers can deal with it, so I resolved to direct order. In the end, I've decided to change over to 1/2" flat face. I've seen on OTT that people like them, they seem to be easier to operate, and they seem to be the skid steer standard.
The tree puller will stay as is. I've ordered couplers to convert the grapple and loader to flat face. I also ordered the hoses I needed to complete the permanent 3rd function installation. I've been making brackets to mount the couplers and hard lines.
One other thing on the tree puller - notice in the picture that the hoses come outside the cylinder. This looked vulnerable to me, so I flipped the cylinder over to put the hoses inside the triangle. I don't think there will be interference, but I'll double check when it's functional. I'd like to replace those hair pin clips and drill the pins for lubrication.
When everything's functioning, I'll try to remember to post an actual review.
(this is not mine, but identical)
I got it to the farm Friday and thought I could at least rig the hydraulics up and see what it was capable of. But, instead, I got a hydraulic plumbing lesson.
I have SSQA on the loader and a 3rd function valve. I have temporarily run hoses so I can use the grapple. The grapple came with both flat face (3/8" body) and Pioneer Ag (1/2" body) couplers; I chose the Pioneer since I was under the impression that Kubota favored Pioneer on L's and smaller.
The tree puller came with 1/2" body flat face couplers. I thought I could adapt it to Pioneer, but when I started measuring things, I found out otherwise.
Everything I've dealt with on my tractor was NPT, ORB or JIC, which all have some Imperial link. But this tree puller is basically metric. The cylinder has BSPP ports, the hoses have 24° DIN2353 fittings, and the couplers have BSPP ends. None of my local suppliers can deal with it, so I resolved to direct order. In the end, I've decided to change over to 1/2" flat face. I've seen on OTT that people like them, they seem to be easier to operate, and they seem to be the skid steer standard.
The tree puller will stay as is. I've ordered couplers to convert the grapple and loader to flat face. I also ordered the hoses I needed to complete the permanent 3rd function installation. I've been making brackets to mount the couplers and hard lines.
One other thing on the tree puller - notice in the picture that the hoses come outside the cylinder. This looked vulnerable to me, so I flipped the cylinder over to put the hoses inside the triangle. I don't think there will be interference, but I'll double check when it's functional. I'd like to replace those hair pin clips and drill the pins for lubrication.
When everything's functioning, I'll try to remember to post an actual review.