Length of chain for bucket hooks

[JeremyBX2200]

Hi all,
I installed a couple of hooks on the bucket of my BX in the fall.

I recently purchased 25’ of bill chain and some hooks. What lengths do you recommend I make for use with my bucket hooks. I think 25’ would be too long. I was thinking maybe a 15’ one and a 10’ one.

Thanks

 

[jyoutz]

Hi all,
I installed a couple of hooks on the bucket of my BX in the fall.

I recently purchased 25’ of bill chain and some hooks. What lengths do you recommend I make for use with my bucket hooks. I think 25’ would be too long. I was thinking maybe a 15’ one and a 10’ one.

Thanks

My chains are all 25’. You just hook what you need for the job, but you have full length chains for tie downs for towing.

 

[JeremyBX2200]

Hooks on my BX for reference

 

[jyoutz]

View attachment 72705
Hooks on my BX for reference

The extra chain length just sits in the bucket. You can hook whatever length you need for lifting.

 

[19thSF]

Hi all,
I installed a couple of hooks on the bucket of my BX in the fall.

I recently purchased 25’ of bill chain and some hooks. What lengths do you recommend I make for use with my bucket hooks. I think 25’ would be too long. I was thinking maybe a 15’ one and a 10’ one.

Thanks

Hello Jeremy,

Good luck with the new hooks.

Not to tell you something you already know, but you have one cylinder, so the load must be evenly distributed to the extend possible. Overloading one side could ......................well you get it.

Have a good 2022

 

[JeremyBX2200]

Hello Jeremy,

Good luck with the new hooks.

Not to tell you something you already know, but you have one cylinder, so the load must be evenly distributed to the extend possible. Overloading one side could ......................well you get it.

Have a good 2022

Thanks. Definitely not wanting to twist my loader arms.

 

[Roadworthy]

I''m sure a 25 foot chain would work. What you're doing at the time dictates what's a reasonable length. I have a couple chains. I think they're about fifteen feet each. I generally only need one though and as suggested the excess can just lay in my bucket. Even at that length one is usually long enough to attach to both hooks on my bucket.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

length doesn't matter
either they're too short or too long, never juuuuuust right.
what I do KNOW is the longer they are the heavier they get throughout the day.

 

[JeremyBX2200]

length doesn't matter
either they're too short or too long, never juuuuuust right.
what I do KNOW is the longer they are the heavier they get throughout the day.

I do have this chain/hooks that I put together from scrap stuff I had laying around. It worked okay for some stuff, but a little short to wrap around items.

 

[Old_Paint]

Smaller chain, less weight, more length. You're only gonna pick up so much with that BX2200. Even with the hydraulics turned up, just because your FEL can take the strain, does NOT mean you should be putting that kind of strain on those turf tires. 1/4" chain will likely do most of what you want to do with that small machine. I use a 25-foot 5/16" chain with my LX2610, which is a lot larger/heavier than your BX2200, and that's more than sufficient for most of what I do with it, including pulling some rather large stumps on occasion. Another option is to add a third grab hook and d-ring aligned with the cylinder (centered). Then, you can use the chain you have at full length since you don't have to double it to avoid torsional stresses on your FEL. Consider swapping at least one of those hooks on the chain to grab hooks so that you can use the chain without cinching, i.e. a fixed loop size. I'd also consider open hooks like that with the safety latches. That keeps them from falling off which is not only inconvenient but can also be very dangerous to the tractor and you. Those are good hooks, but the safety latches make them better.

Keep your larger chain for tying down the tractor on your trailer. It's an inertia thing. A tractor going 60 MPH on a trailer has a lot more kinetic energy than one going 6 MPH on its own feet. You want the tractor to essentially become a part of the trailer, and not come to visit you in the cab of your truck. But for general pulling and lifting, a 5/16" chain will be plenty for anything your BX2200 is capable of.

 

[chim]

I have a 5 gallon bucket full of mostly 3/8" chains that have hooks on both ends. When tossing them in the bucket the two hooks are hooked on the rim of the bucket next to each other. Want a chain? Grab a pair of hooks and go.

In recent years I've added some 1/4" Grade 70 chains to the collection. A single GR70 WLL is rated at 1.5X the loader capacity. A few now have logging hooks on one end. Much nicer than regular slip hooks.

I've been running slotted angle for about 20 years on the different tractors and like the versatility. You can pick from the front or rear of the bucket. Extra chain can be dropped into empty slots to keep it out of the way.

 

[JeremyBX2200]

Smaller chain, less weight, more length. You're only gonna pick up so much with that BX2200. Even with the hydraulics turned up, just because your FEL can take the strain, does NOT mean you should be putting that kind of strain on those turf tires. 1/4" chain will likely do most of what you want to do with that small machine. I use a 25-foot 5/16" chain with my LX2610, which is a lot larger/heavier than your BX2200, and that's more than sufficient for most of what I do with it, including pulling some rather large stumps on occasion. Another option is to add a third grab hook and d-ring aligned with the cylinder (centered). Then, you can use the chain you have at full length since you don't have to double it to avoid torsional stresses on your FEL. Consider swapping at least one of those hooks on the chain to grab hooks so that you can use the chain without cinching, i.e. a fixed loop size. I'd also consider open hooks like that with the safety latches. That keeps them from falling off which is not only inconvenient but can also be very dangerous to the tractor and you. Those are good hooks, but the safety latches make them better.

Keep your larger chain for tying down the tractor on your trailer. It's an inertia thing. A tractor going 60 MPH on a trailer has a lot more kinetic energy than one going 6 MPH on its own feet. You want the tractor to essentially become a part of the trailer, and not come to visit you in the cab of your truck. But for general pulling and lifting, a 5/16" chain will be plenty for anything your BX2200 is capable of.

These are the hooks I got with my 5/16 chain. I also have a set of AG tires/rims for it in the garage I still need to put on. Figure those will be better for moving snow in the winter.

 

[rc51stierhoff]

I am not really sure what you are doing with the loader / chains but for just lifting, I think straps are my preference for the loader when it is something my forks can’t hold properly…I keep two sizes, a pair 3 ft long each and a pair 6ft long each. That seems to be the right combo for lifting up for both my tractors. Neither really can lift anything very high so there is no need for something longer. If I am using a chain it is more for pulling a log…and in that case I want the log as close to the tractor as possible and I am only really using the log to pull out to where I can get closer or to simply attach to 3 pt and then lift / pull with 3PT. Generally with a log chain keep it close to the machine. I think depends on how/what you are comfortable with.

 

[JeremyBX2200]

I am not really sure what you are doing with the loader / chains but for just lifting, I think straps are my preference for the loader when it is something my forks can’t hold properly…I keep two sizes, a pair 3 ft long each and a pair 6ft long each. That seems to be the right combo for lifting up for both my tractors. Neither really can lift anything very high so there is no need for something longer. If I am using a chain it is more for pulling a log…and in that case I want the log as close to the tractor as possible and I am only really using the log to pull out to where I can get closer or to simply attach to 3 pt and then lift / pull with 3PT. Generally with a log chain keep it close to the machine. I think depends on how/what you are comfortable with.

It is for lifting. Also for securing larger/awkward items in the bucket so I can curl it etc without them falling out.

 

[D2Cat]

The picture of the log in the bucket is an example of how many farmers get crushed and/or killed moving big round bales of hay. If that loader gets very high and then the bucket gets rolled back to keep it in there, then the tractor gets off balanced or a low spot, and the thing comes rolling down on the steering wheel. A counter weight would also be beneficial for safety.

 

[JeremyBX2200]

The picture of the log in the bucket is an example of how many farmers get crushed and/or killed moving big round bales of hay. If that loader gets very high and then the bucket gets rolled back to keep it in there, then the tractor gets off balanced or a low spot, and the thing comes rolling down on the steering wheel. A counter weight would also be beneficial for safety.

Yep. One of the reasons I want chains to secure it and also allow be to carry it much lower

On that specific log, it was extremely rotted so very light.......although it still would have been very unpleasant if it rolled back on me.

 

[Henro]

The picture of the log in the bucket is an example of how many farmers get crushed and/or killed moving big round bales of hay. If that loader gets very high and then the bucket gets rolled back to keep it in there, then the tractor gets off balanced or a low spot, and the thing comes rolling down on the steering wheel. A counter weight would also be beneficial for safety.

AND if you don't think it could happen to you...think again.

Some years ago I was using my loader with some kind of contraption I made to hold bundles of shingles, that I was lifting up on a first floor roof over my back porch deck, which at the time was just dirt under the roof.

Well, I was jerky with the loader, and a 90 pound bundle of shingles bounced up, fell back, slid down my loader arms, and it could have been bad.

Fortunately, I had made a guard that covered the hood on my B2910, and further had made a protector that kind of mimics a canopy, that has two upright supports on the front. So the bundle slid down the loader arms, hit the hood guard, and was stopped by the front upright supports of the head guard.

You can actually see what I am talking about, as far as tractor modifications, in the photo that shows to the left of the post.

Without my additions, there would have been expensive damage to the tractor dash assembly, and hood, and maybe the steering wheel hardware as well. Not counting me perhaps!

Point being, take D2Cat's warning seriously. "It will never happen to me" actually does happen to people.

Edit: Jeremy, I see you were typing the same time I was. And that you realize the dangers. One thing good about chains is they hold the item in the bucket, so you do not have to carry the bucket so high to keep the item from falling out.

When you get to where you are going, you can lower the bucket and curl it to loosen tension on the chains for removal.