Snowplow hydraulics hook up

[DepositGuy]

Hi everyone, I previously had a Kioti with no auxiliary hydraulics. I used a Curtis snowplow which had swing cylinders but as I had no way to hook them up, I disconnected the cylinders and manually swung the blade. Fast forward to my acquiring a Kubota L5030 with auxiliary hydraulics. The previous owner ran 3/8 hoses to the front of the tractor and I've been fabricating a QA mount for the plow. Now I'm thinking about the hydraulic hook up and need to be educated.

So the original plow setup was two 3/8" lines run independantly to each cylinder. Each line ended with a male pioneer style connector. So I'm thinking, can I simply add female quick attach pioneer connectors to the aux lines (coming from the back of the tractor) and insert the male connectors coming from the cylinders?

My hydraulics knowledge ihas only been limited to replacing burst hoses on many machines but I've never really understood the mechanics of how the hydraulics work. Doesn't there need to be a return? Will what I described work? Additionally, when I select Aux 2 in the cab, will that supply "power" to my joystick to operate the the swing cylinders? I tried searching for an answer online but failed miserably. Hopefully someone can enlighten me. Thanks.

 

[mikester]

From your description I'm not clear about what you are trying to do or what your issues are.

You have 4 lines from the plow? 2 lines? I don't have a clue about what "aux 2" is hooked up to on your machine, you need to tell us.

Might be easier for you to get the dealer to set this up for you and to tell you how to work it.

 

[DepositGuy]

From your description I'm not clear about what you are trying to do or what your issues are.

You have 4 lines from the plow? 2 lines? I don't have a clue about what "aux 2" is hooked up to on your machine, you need to tell us.

Might be easier for you to get the dealer to set this up for you and to tell you how to work it.

There are only 2 lines coming from the plow. I have rear hydraulics on the tractor, there are 4 ports for aux lines. One is labled Aux1 and the other Aux2. In the cab, there is a switch to select either Aux1 or 2. Hope this clarifies.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

Sounds like he has single acting cylinders, very common setup.
Now assuming you have a joystick, you take the hose from the 'left' port of the joystick to the right cylinder and of course the 'right' hose goes to the left cylinder. simple,
Normally you'll have a male on one hose and a female on the other. 1st it makes it idiot proof as to how they connect ( lever left ALWAYS turns blade left...) AND when done for season, you connect the plow hoses together for storage to keep junk out.

course since I started typing Op has said 'rear remotes....', so is it 2 levers or a joystick?,if lever ,you'll just have to remember 'fwd' turns blade 'left', 'bak' turns it 'right'.

 

[DepositGuy]

Sounds like he has single acting cylinders, very common setup.
Now assuming you have a joystick, you take the hose from the 'left' port of the joystick to the right cylinder and of course the 'right' hose goes to the left cylinder. simple,
Normally you'll have a male on one hose and a female on the other. 1st it makes it idiot proof as to how they connect ( lever left ALWAYS turns blade left...) AND when done for season, you connect the plow hoses together for storage to keep junk out.

course since I started typing Op has said 'rear remotes....', so is it 2 levers or a joystick?,if lever ,you'll just have to remember 'fwd' turns blade 'left', 'bak' turns it 'right'.

Thanks Jay. Yes it is a simple setup and they are single action cylinders but being a hydraulic neophyte, I wasn't sure if it would work if I hooked it up as I described. I do have a joystick (loader control) but am not removing any of the hydraulic lines attached to it. My tractor has remote auxiliary capability. There are 4 ports in the back and the previous owner used 2 ports and ran two 3/8" lines all the way to the front. Interestingly, one line has a male connector and the other a female. I intended to remove both ends and attach two 3/8" female connectors to attach to the two male connectors coming from the swing cylinders. But will it work? This is my question/ concern.

 

[torch]

Use one pair of rear remotes and treat the pair of hoses from the plow as if they were a single double-acting cylinder. When you move the corresponding control one way, the spool valve will pressurize one cylinder and allow fluid from the other to return. IE: the extending cylinder will force the other to retract. When you move the control the other way, the flow will reverse.

You will have your second pair of remote hoses unused and available for something else.

 

[trial and error]

Looks like everyone else already answered the question, but I will chime in anyway. Yes those are single acting cylinders on the swing for the plow, most snow plows I have seen including mine have single acting cylinders so one hose for each cylinder when one is "pushed out" the other is allowed to retract and vise versa. So you should only need to connect your hoses to one set of the aux hydraulics.

 

[Trimley]

Connect to the front end loader ports is also an option.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

When you keep both male and female connectors on lines it's IMPOSSIBLE to select 'left' and go 'right',unless you tag each line, both ends you'll get them mixed up...and as I said at end of season, connecting the hoses together,keeps 'stuff' out of them.

 

[TheOldHokie]

Hi everyone, I previously had a Kioti with no auxiliary hydraulics. I used a Curtis snowplow which had swing cylinders but as I had no way to hook them up, I disconnected the cylinders and manually swung the blade. Fast forward to my acquiring a Kubota L5030 with auxiliary hydraulics. The previous owner ran 3/8 hoses to the front of the tractor and I've been fabricating a QA mount for the plow. Now I'm thinking about the hydraulic hook up and need to be educated.

So the original plow setup was two 3/8" lines run independantly to each cylinder. Each line ended with a male pioneer style connector. So I'm thinking, can I simply add female quick attach pioneer connectors to the aux lines (coming from the back of the tractor) and insert the male connectors coming from the cylinders?

My hydraulics knowledge ihas only been limited to replacing burst hoses on many machines but I've never really understood the mechanics of how the hydraulics work. Doesn't there need to be a return? Will what I described work? Additionally, when I select Aux 2 in the cab, will that supply "power" to my joystick to operate the the swing cylinders? I tried searching for an answer online but failed miserably. Hopefully someone can enlighten me. Thanks.

There are different styles of couplers so check what style and size male tips you have on the plow before buying the female halves.

If you are going to use the rear outlets I would replace the hoses on the plow with longer ones that will reach the rear outlets. The difference in cost of two longer hoses vs two shorter hoses and two sets of couplers is going to be close to nil.

Dan

 

[DustyRusty]

Stop trying to reinvent the wheel. What you have presently is a traditional snow plow hook-up that works with a snow plow control valve, which is totally unlike what your present tractor has. The easy solution is to buy a proper tractor hydraulic cylinder with 2 ports and use longer hoses to connect to your rear remote. If it were my tractor, I would add a 3rd function to the front of the tractor and use that to control the right/left movement of the plow.
Now, if you really want to get exotic, have 2 sets of snow plow mounts welded to the inside of your bucket, and hook your plow to the bucket. That way, you can raise the plow to almost any height that your bucket will go to. You will also need a lift chain from the center of the snow plow frame to the top of your bucket that will allow your plow to float as you push the snow and keep the bucket from contacting the ground. Here is a good video that will give you the idea.....

And here is another suggestion using a skid steer type of connection..

 

[TheOldHokie]

Stop trying to reinvent the wheel. What you have presently is a traditional snow plow hook-up that works with a snow plow control valve, which is totally unlike what your present tractor has. The easy solution is to buy a proper tractor hydraulic cylinder with 2 ports and use longer hoses to connect to your rear remote.

Snow plows with two opposed SA cylinders are designed to work with a standard DA control valve. Thats exactly what his remotes are. Plug it in and go.

Dan

 

[notforhire]

I don't know if it's proper, but here is a Curtis, with single acting pistons as supplied from the factory.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

proper,
all(5-6) my Beaver brand plows had SA cylinders.
Cheaper to make, cheaper to buy, 2 small ones with same hoses better than one bigger DA cylinder with 2 different hoses

 

[TheOldHokie]

Here is the standard plumbing for a plow with two single acting cylinders. The cross over relief allows the plow to breakaway and pivot when (not if) you hit a solid object like a curb while plowing. That protects the tractor, plow, and operator from impact damage. The relief is typically mounted on the plow frame and connected to the cylinders with two short hoses.

Dan

 

[GreensvilleJay]

re: when (not if) you hit a solid object like a curb while plowing.

reminds me of the guy I saw in a new Chevy 3/4T plowing a minimall lot one winter,FAST. back and forth, FAST, maybe even FASTER then THUNK and SPIN and silence....except for thevery,very long stream of '4 letter words'. Once he got the blade off, we got one end in the box, used my CJ-5 / beaver blade to push his 3 day old Western all the way in.

I miss the good old days...