Attempt at cutting small ditch with FEL

[navspecwar]

Well with no BH I used my FEL W/Pirrana Toothbar. I will finish it up in morning...that was about an hours worth of "trying" lol.

 

[cerlawson]

So we see that you saved a bunch over a back-hoe cost and you could even use a rear blade to smooth things up, running parallel to the ditch.

 

[GWD]

Digging with a FEL is a bit dicey. The darn frame can be sprung and/or bent quite easily. Just take care and be gentle.

That is why it is a "front end LOADER" rather than a "front end DIGGER". But sometimes one has to make do with the equipment on hand.

 

[cerlawson]

GWD: I differ about the use of the loader as a digger. My opinion is that if (Orange) it can't take that sort of use, then maybe one should look to Blue or Green. If that fear was in every tractor user, I wonder what one will do when he wants to raise the grade for building a garage (digging and compacting some 190 cubic yards of stiff glacial til), or covering raw soil banks with topsoil, dug from nearby, etc. as my Blue ones have done. So far my little BX has had its share of digging for landscaping the perimeter of my latest house and obviously has shown no worse for that. The term front end loader seems good enuff, but to say front end digger could have been used when coming up with a name. Likewise, many a contractor now calls his back-hoe his "excavator". Hey, with hooks welded on the bucket, then it is a "crane". In winter is is a snowplow. I hooked a chain saw on a long pole to the bucket and it is a "tree trimmer". So, let's change the FEL term to "front end do-all" and then no one can argue about the name or how to use it. My first father-in-law was an excellent fussy doctor, but he insisted on changing his own oil, etc. and fixing his own flats. Trouble was he got p-off'd of me when I didn't put the nuts back on the same very same studs they came off from and I even dropped the tire changing irons on the ground (might dent them). For cutting a piece of wire with wire cutters, you didn't dare to go completely through, since the two cutting edges will dull themselves. His final step was wiggle the wire back and forth to finish the cut. I guess there has to be those in this world, even tractor owners. For me, a tractor is to be used, not babied. The Orange ones we read about here seem to fit that use well.

 

[D2Cat]

navspewar, was it raining before you started digging, while you were digging or after you dug? Looks like a tad muddy to be working dirt, but then you didn't leave deep ruts and the water is in the ditch. What else could you ask for?

Now about what piece of equipment to use.....? I've done the same kind of ditch work with a tractor "loader". I've picked up 1500# bales of hay with a steel spear sticking out 40" from the front of the "loader". I've picked up (loaded) many heavy ackward pieces of iron and equipment. I've used the loader to change tires, to drive post in the ground, stretch fence..all using good judgement not trying to destroy a piece of equipment. That's what I bought it for.

 

[navspecwar]

It rained couple days ago then 2 ninety degree days with wind. It was a slight natural ditch anyway so the center was still wet.....I stopped because the further I got the more wet it became....I was really impressed with the tractors performance and the toothbar worked really well.
I am no expert just a man that enjoys working his tractor......I maybe should have went about it differently or waited to let it dry out more, not sure, but I know I had fun

 

[D2Cat]

When you roll your bucket like that to cut a ditch in muddy soil you usually end up with pretty good ruts from your front tires. Doesn't look bad at all for a rain a couple of days ago.

I have a trencher and dig frost footings. Rule of thumb is, if you get a handful of dirt and make a ball, drop the dirt, if it doesn't brake up when it hits the ground it's too wet to dig! But if you're doing a ditch you just have to dig enough to let water run no matter what the condition.

 

[gpreuss]

I've dug a heck of a lot of 700-800 lb rocks out of the ground with my L3200 + FEL. Many of them, I had to use nylon strap to keep them in the bucket to pick them up. Never a problem, and the bucket cutting edge still looks straight. I did the same with my L185 before it, but on a bit smaller scale; 400-500 lb rocks.
My general rule is, never dig in anything but 1st gear. I never get going fast enough to spring or crumple the bucket or loader arms. Just go slow, and you are not apt to do damage.
Good looking job so far!

 

[09Ram]

A middle buster for your 3 point would have made that job a 5 minute deal...

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/countylinereg;-sub-compact-middle-buster-and-sub-soiler-combo

 

[ShaunRH]

A middle buster for your 3 point would have made that job a 5 minute deal...

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/countylinereg;-sub-compact-middle-buster-and-sub-soiler-combo

So would a dedicated trencher...or a single moldboard plow, but in all of those cases you still need to remove the excavated soil so using the loader still makes sense.

I would've used my box scraper to do the trench and I have about 1100' of trench to do with my scraper so I'm not looking forward to it... ugh.

 

[skeets]

Yeah Shaun, but if you take all the dirt you move out of there and run it though a high banker you might end up with enough to buy a new tractor