Land Pride SGC1060 Welds Ripping!!

[vickark]

I just got a SGC1060, got the 3rd function valve isntalled today and got it home. I need to add 2 short hydraulic lines and Im ready to go.

As far as welds, I havent looked it over good yet. MIG welds are stronger than TIG though. In MIG, the wire gets penetration. In TIG, thats more a surface weld and a filler rod is used to filled gaps or holes.

MIG welds are strong, it has a lot to do with prep and the person welding.
I've seen many MIG welds that look great but would pull apart easily.also porosity seems to be more likely than other weld methods.
To each his own on welding methods. In our shop, MIG was not allowed on any x ray quality weld. Only ARC and TIG methods were used.
I hope your grapple is as useful as ours is. It saves a lot of labor.
Have a great day.

 

[Stitchit1]

So, why wouldn't they use TIG I wonder? Slower to get the job done?

 

[ShaunRH]

MIG or TIG has nothing to do with penetration or quality of weld. Both are different methods/techniques for welding. Standard stick welding would work bonzos for this application as well.

Lack of penetration (regardless of the method of welding) is too low of amperage vs. wire feed rate in MIG welding, lack of amperage and too fast of a travel speed in TIG. They should either use heavier wire or up the amperage and feed rate for MIG, or more juice and slow down for TIG.

My view is utter lack of a weld across the bottom, that allows the side welds to be ripped up like zippers, so that's engineering failure. Compounded by the lack of fusion in the welds (cold welds), that's operator error on the welders behalf.

If I owned one of those units I'd be flap sanding off that bottom paint and taking a good heavy stick of 6011 or 7018 to that beast then repaint.

I'm sure that LandPride's factory MIG is strong enough to weld those joints properly but I'm not so sure a 110V home MIG would be able to do it. TIG could do it simply because you can blast it with amps and hover longer for deeper penetration and just risk the distortion on the thick metal. However, I'd just stick it to it. Fast, easy and effective.

 

[Stitchit1]

Thanks Shaun

 

[Stitchit1]

Ok, an update, of sorts: I received a call today,... the grapple is done!!!! They added welds to the top, and the bottom of the brackets. The tech said the original welds did not penetrate near enough, which we all kind of figured... So, now, just to get it to my place, and get back in the woods and get to work. I will update you all as soon as I am able to see how it works.

 

[Underwhere]

I have yet to read this entire thread (will do so now) but I'm having the same problem.

Damn.

In here are pics:
http://www.orangetractortalks.com/forums/showthread.php?p=113090#post113090

 

[Stitchit1]

Well, I "finally" had the opportunity to get the grapple in the woods. I haven't really put it to any real test yet, as it has been raining here today, and I make it a point to not do much in the way of "working" the tractor when it's wet, due to mud, sliding, etc.

Anyways, I'm hoping the guys that posted messages before will be able to comment again on the welds that were done by the dealer this time? I will let you all know when I use the grapple in the woods the way I want to.

Here are a few pictures of the repair, painted all the grapple, which was nice of them to do....

 

[Stitchit1]

By the way, Im not sure if you can tell from the pictures I took today, due to the fact it was so cloudy, .... but, the dealership welded the top and bottom as well... To me, it looks like the welds have much better penetration, as they aren't as "pretty" either.

 

[Stitchit1]

Update- if you can believe it, I haven't had a chance to work the grapple. Too wet. I'm hoping to this week as I'm off work. I will let you all know!

 

[ShaunRH]

By the way, Im not sure if you can tell from the pictures I took today, due to the fact it was so cloudy, .... but, the dealership welded the top and bottom as well... To me, it looks like the welds have much better penetration, as they aren't as "pretty" either.

"Pretty" or "Ugly" aren't an indicator of weld quality. Generally, people like the 'stack of dimes' look but it really doesn't affect the quality of the weld. TIG is easy to do that look, MIG and Stick are a bit harder.

Best weld, looks wise, is one with no undercut at the edges of the weld (it vanishes into the metal without a clean 'line') and the top is about equal with the edges on a fillet style weld. It should have a consistent step or banded look to it and be fairly straight. MIG guns can deliver strong welds that look like they almost have no pattern to them at all, just a raised, continuous blob of metal that comes up cleanly from the source material.

This is going to sound weird, but the best welds are the ones that work and don't fatigue over time. So using a welded tool is the best test of all.

 

[Stitchit1]

Update: "Finally" going to be getting the tractor into the woods. It's froze now, so I'm hoping to make good progress. However, I won't be "working" the grapple nearly as hard, as I'm only going to be picking up logs...

But, & this may seem like a stupid question,..... When it's below freezing temps, is there a reason to be more "cautious" and not use the grapple as hard? I.E.: The welds failing due to the fact it's zero to ten degrees, etc... I would think not due to the fact that snow plows on trucks are welded, and I don't see any heat blankets on them, lol. But, just thought I'd ask

Thanks Gang!

 

[djm1204]

Interesting information, I just pulled the plug and ordered a Land Pride grapple for my L4600. I will keep an eye on the welds !

Please keep us advised what you do to correct your situation

Thanks

Dan

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

But, & this may seem like a stupid question,..... When it's below freezing temps, is there a reason to be more "cautious" and not use the grapple as hard? I.E.: The welds failing due to the fact it's zero to ten degrees, etc... I would think not due to the fact that snow plows on trucks are welded, and I don't see any heat blankets on them, lol. But, just thought I'd ask

Thanks Gang!

It would have to get a heck of a lot colder to worry about it, -40F or colder to even start to worry about cold brittle stress in the slightest.

 

[Billdog350]

Stitchit, for your question about cold impacting your grapple. Wolfman is right about the metal being brittle but what people need to consider are your hydraulics in cold weather! When your fluid is cold, the pressure relief detents don't work as well because the fluid is thicker. As a result, your machine can build up higher pressure than usual during normal operating use. I have found that my log splitter actually bent my I beam in 0-10 deg weather! I also sheared the welds and the anvil came completely off my log splitter in 0 deg weather....but in the summertime the stupid thing will barely split a 24" oak log before the pressure relief kicks in.

Enjoy your grapple and use it to do what you need to do. If you break the welds again you can go after woods and your dealer to fix it properly. If it holds up, then you know its good to go!

 

[Stitchit1]

Thanks BillDog! So, after using the tractor for a bit, does the fluid warm up enough to bring the detent to fairly normal operation?

 

[Billdog350]

Depends on the temperatures. Depends on if you're running UDT2 or regular UDT fluid. The synthetic UDT2 and SUDT fluids work better in colt temperatures. Also, if you're at 0 deg, it will take a LONG time to warm up all hydraulic cylinders, your tractor transmission, the coolers, etc. Idling does almost nothing to warm up hydraulics in cold temps, you could idle for 30 mins and barely get heat into them.

Storing your machine indoors is the only way to have things work properly in sold weather, otherwise just understand you're goin to have MORE power than usual and things might bend and break more easily.

We were digging frozen ground with my dad's Kubota L48 in 0 deg weather and we ripped the teeth right off the OEM Kubota backhoe bucket. The machine had awesome power though!

 

[Stitchit1]

Thanks again Billdog!

 

[Honeycuttd]

Land Pride implements are guaranteed - call your dealer and have them get a hold of their land pride rep. They should send you a new one. In the mean time, keep using your grapple but keep an eye on it to make sure you dont end up hurting your FEL or yourself.

 

[ss85monte]

Wow, Very Concerning I just bought the SGC1060 with my L2501. It gets installed next week.

 

[SDT]

Re: Update: Sept 12; Land Pride SGC1060 Welds Ripping!!

I have just purchased this grapple along with my tractor.. I have 34 hours on the tractor. Of it, about 31 hours with the grapple being used. Im clearing a road thru my property, moving trees, logs, stumps, (not many stumps, but about 4 decent sized ones thus far is all), and rocks/boulders, (some of these being huge,.... On average, the boulders are probably about 3 1/2' to 4' in diameter.... I'd say about 75 of them thus far.

Today I was using the grapple, which is working just fine. But, I noticed the welds look to be ripping/tearing @ the point where the quick attach attaches... I don't have many experiences with welding, except in high school, but it "seems" to me like the welds may not have been deep enough?

Can anyone tell me what the best advice would be to do? Should I contact the dealer? This, understandably, would mean delaying any work I can get done. Or, should I just contact a weld shop and have them repair it? Im not sure if it can be repaired or not, but I sure hope so.

Thanks to you all for your help and advice in advance!

Take it back and have it replaced.

SDT