EverythingMoneyAttachments. All the money up front?

[ctfjr]

I just received an email that my tiller shipped, 3 weeks after order and only missed estimated ship date by 1 day. They don't make it and had it scheduled coming in and not spoken for (Sicma).

Now just waiting on grapple. Probably another 3-4 weeks.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

glad I'm not the only one questioning the hydraulic hose routing. must be low pressure(<2500 PSI) ? certainly not up to the 10K stds I dealt with in the steel mill.

 

[mcmxi]

glad I'm not the only one questioning the hydraulic hose routing. must be low pressure(<2500 PSI) ? certainly not up to the 10K stds I dealt with in the steel mill.

I started to address the hose routing issue this morning. It's a simple case of replacing the sharp corner with a chamfer which is something that EA could easily do at the factory if they don't want to use fittings better suited to the application. I'm a little picky so might close up the exposed seam with a weld when the chamfer is done. There wasn't a weld there before but it would be cleaner to run a bead in there and grind flat. Regardless, the chamfer eliminates the issue of the sharp corner digging into the hose.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

That looks a lot better, and safer too ! Maybe add a 'ring' or 'collar' of heavy rubber( bigger hyd hose, garden hose ,??) around the hose at the '420 bar' mark as added protection against wear. I don't know if that hose moves but ANY rubbing, over time, could cause a failure. 420 bar should mean about 2000 PSI in that hose.
Also a bit of paint to fill the void will prevent rust from happening,not a big deal but 'while you're there......'

 

[mcmxi]

For all of you EA haters these next few photos should make you happy. I modified the left side of the grapple this morning to remove the sharp corner that the hoses were pressing up against. The hose on the right side was indented but not cut whereas the hose on the left side is both indented and cut. This is a brand new grapple that's still on the trailer! Yep, this is utter bullshit for a grapple that cost north of $2k and I'll be emailing the company today or tomorrow to demand replacement hoses.

You can see how sharp the inside corners of the c-channel are so I deburred the three edges on both ends in addition to adding chamfers. I'm going to pick up some nylon jacket material from Kubuta tomorrow to cover all of the hoses on the grapple. That stuff reduces friction and allows the hoses to slip easily. In addition, the jacket is thin so won't further reduce the radii of the hoses right before the fitting on the cylinder. I'd prefer a larger radius there to reduce stress so adding some thick insulation wouldn't be good.

I sprayed some primer this morning and will go over that with some gloss black later today. It's mind boggling that EA hasn't corrected this issue given that it's easy to do. I want to point out that I haven't removed any welds and haven't compromised the structural integrity of the grapple.

Frankly, EA needs to redesign the hose routing and follow best practices but their response to a recent email makes me think that they're way too proud of their stuff.

 

[Elliott in GA]

No hate here - but mind-boggling not to redesign the hose routing. I am sure you will sort it out. I hope EA provides real customer service. Good luck.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

So, you are saying that you will be a Homestead Implements customer - with their free shipping and 0% financing for 3, 6 or 12 months.

SOUR GRAPES.....

 

[B737]

I will likely regret this choice, but I canceled my EA grapple order. You guys will move up a number... I used my grapple last week and it changed my mind to remain in my abusive relationship, with artillian. I'll expand in my other thread.

 

[GeoHorn]

EA doesn’t have time in their Six month Lead-time to fix sharp corners and fillet-weld vacancies….. get over it…. send them your money and be happy.

 

[mcmxi]

I sent an email with photos to EA this morning pointing out the problem and requested a set of new replacement hoses. At the very least, if either hose fails in the area near the indentation or cut I'll have it on record that the hose was compromised before it got here.

 

[MidwestGuy]

Following what EA says,
Mine showed up crooked, I sent a few pics to EA, they said to pound sand it's part of the welding process.
I took a tape and spent 20 minutes measuring it up, it's offset and doesn't close correctly.
So much for their legendary quality.
See pic, look across and you can see the gap, BTW pic is from when I put it on the tractor on day 1

 

[mcmxi]

Following what EA says,
Mine showed up crooked, I sent a few pics to EA, they said to pound sand it's part of the welding process.
I took a tape and spent 20 minutes measuring it up, it's offset and doesn't close correctly.
So much for their legendary quality.
See pic, look across and you can see the gap, BTW pic is from when I put it on the tractor on day 1
View attachment 62711

That's a 50" right? The misalignment is plain to see. I haven't even got to the point of taking mine off the pallet but I did just go outside and measure between the tines front to back as well as diagonally and it seems to be very square sitting on the pallet. I get 22" between the outer tines and 63" diagonally as it sits in my previous photos. Out of interest, does the lid open and close smoothly or does it bind at all? I wonder if the use of the Hardox c-channel in place of DOM tubing has caused some issues with movement while welding.

They should ship you a new and square lid to be sure. I didn't hear back from EA today.

 

[DDCD]

Following what EA says,
Mine showed up crooked, I sent a few pics to EA, they said to pound sand it's part of the welding process.
I took a tape and spent 20 minutes measuring it up, it's offset and doesn't close correctly.
So much for their legendary quality.
See pic, look across and you can see the gap, BTW pic is from when I put it on the tractor on day 1
View attachment 62711

I would send it back and either get my money back, or ask for a new one from the front of the line.

 

[mcmxi]

I would send it back and either get my money back, or ask for a new one from the front of the line.

Yep, that grapple is not acceptable at the prices they're charging. It wouldn't be acceptable at half the price. Shipping you a new lid would be the best solution since you could keep the current lid and shipping for EA would be a lot less.

 

[MidwestGuy]

That's a 50" right? The misalignment is plain to see. I haven't even got to the point of taking mine off the pallet but I did just go outside and measure between the tines front to back as well as diagonally and it seems to be very square sitting on the pallet. I get 22" between the outer tines and 63" diagonally as it sits in my previous photos. Out of interest, does the lid open and close smoothly or does it bind at all? I wonder if the use of the Hardox c-channel in place of DOM tubing has caused some issues with movement while welding.

They should ship you a new and square lid to be sure. I didn't hear back from EA today.

It closes Ok and doesn't bind up, it's the wicked 55, if you stand in front of the tractor, the lid is off by quite a bit, if you measure with the lid closed, the top tine and bottom tine has a greater gap from the left side vs. the right side. I also sent them a pic of some dimensions that were off on the top lid when closed.

DDCD, Yeah I thought of it, I'll use it until my OCD can't take it anymore, then throw it in the scrap dumpster at work.

 

[mcmxi]

It closes Ok and doesn't bind up, it's the wicked 55, if you stand in front of the tractor, the lid is off by quite a bit, if you measure with the lid closed, the top tine and bottom tine has a greater gap from the left side vs. the right side. I also sent them a pic of some dimensions that were off on the top lid when closed.

DDCD, Yeah I thought of it, I'll use it until my OCD can't take it anymore, then throw it in the scrap dumpster at work.

And that would be near impossible to fix. I hope they make it right for you.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

re: near impossible to fix

but ...
fixable
you just need to figure out HOW it's warped (not held in jig until cool...),then fab up a way to 'tweak' the piece back to where it should be. It could be a simple 1hr job for a millwright with proper tools or a week long ordeal for the 'shadetree mechanic' or impossible to some 'twothumber'.

what's interesing is the 1st post at EA's site for this grapple is a guy complaining about the same 'twist'. leas me to believe the piece wasn't welded in the correct sequence and then left secured in the welding jig until it returns to room temperature.

 

[Goz63]

That thing would be on the next truck and getting either a replacement or refund. At over $2K that is ridiculous!

 

[mcmxi]

re: near impossible to fix

but ...
fixable
you just need to figure out HOW it's warped (not held in jig until cool...),then fab up a way to 'tweak' the piece back to where it should be. It could be a simple 1hr job for a millwright with proper tools or a week long ordeal for the 'shadetree mechanic' or impossible to some 'twothumber'.

Do you think EA would try to fix that lid if the grapple were returned to them? I doubt it'd be worth their time and effort. If you've seen an EA grapple up close and seen the number of full welds, not stitch welds like many use, along with the thickness and toughness of the Hardox steel, you'd see that it would be a challenge to get the lid back to where it should be. Maybe EA would throw into their 300 ton press or whatever it is they have and try to make it look half decent, but like I said, I doubt it would be worth their time.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

No , EA wouldn't try to fix it, just toss into the scrap steel bin as 'time is money'. Sadly, it just another 'disposible society' product. What they SHOULD do though is use it as a reference to see how and why so many of them are defective,then take the necessary steps to properly build the part'.
Odds are buyers will KEEP the defective part, heck after waiting 10-12-17 weeks for it, I'm sure the feeling is 'I gotta USE it NOW......can't wait another 1-18 weeks for a replacement'. Given the price of it though, I'd hope buyers would ask for a replacement, return for full return or... a partial return and keep the defective part( say $500 ).