Ranch Hand Supply FEL Valve Kit

[3RRL]

Some of you may have seen Loretta's thread here My New Jinma where she got a brand new 284 in January. She just loves that tractor and plans to do all her gardening and farming with it. It came with the ZL20 loader and valve. We noticed the stock valve does not have a "float" feature and the curl seems to cause strain on the engine even with nothing in the bucket. In operating the stock valve, it's a little difficult to feather. The stock valve also does not have a power beyond capability which makes it harder to add other valves to the system correctly, which we are planning to do.

Anyway, I've heard many others have recommend the Ranch Hand Supply replacement valve which is supposed to be a top quality valve with all the features we were looking for. I've done extensive valve additions to my Kama and know what a pain it is to get everything ordered correctly. So instead of buying my own replacement valve ... trying to figure out the right fittings and getting hoses made, I figure this should be a much easier way to do it. I'll be going to the property this weekend to install the kit. I'll report back on the difficulty of installation, but more importantly, how it functions.

You can go here to see pricing and what the Ranch Hand kit includes.
Jinma Replacement Valve Kits

Rob-

[3RRL]

It's a complete bolt on kit which includes everything ... all fittings, hoses that fit, all the right connectors, the valve itself and even the bracket for it. It's pretty reasonable when you consider this is supposed to be a direct swap out...something anybody who knows how to run a wrench can do. It' supposed to not be just for those "hydraulically inclined" types.

I called Ronald, the owner, who was very helpful in making sure we ordered the right one since there is the old style Jinma valve and the new style. He told us to take photos of our valve and the hose connections so he could send the right kit for our Jinma. He said to compare them to the ones on the website. Here are some comparison photos to determine whether you have the old or new valve and what kind of fittings you have.

From Ronald's website, this is the old style valve with the bullet shaped hose connections.



This is the new style valve with the large hose connections.



And below is Loretta's valve and hose connections.



From those photos, we determined Loretta's Jinma has the new style loader and hose connections.
We sent him the photos on Friday and received the kit on Monday!
We'll take it up this weekend to see how easy it goes on. Loretta says she's going to do the install herself!!!
Rob-

[quikduk]

Thats great! Pretty soon she is going to ask why you keep breaking "her" tractors and she might even start charging you labor!!! ;D ;D ;D

[linus69]

Good deal Rob, you saved yourself a lot of time and a boatload of grief going with Ronald & Tommy`s valve kit. After doing it the hard way myself I have to say you don`t save that much over the kit when all is said and done.

Paul

[GuglioLS]

Wow e-mailed the pics to Ronald from camp on Friday and received the valve kit on Monday! Now that is excellent customer service.

I look forward to seeing the install and reading the functionality analysis report.

That Chinese FEL valve looks good from the outside? sure beats the crude looking black box ones I've seen in the past. Having power beyond and float sure is the way to go. I wonder if someone could get the Factory to offer a better valve to start with? seems like offering a superior valve from the factory would be a value added upgrade option.

Larry

[3RRL]

linus69 said:

Good deal Rob, you saved yourself a lot of time and a boatload of grief going with Ronald & Tommy`s valve kit. After doing it the hard way myself I have to say you don`t save that much over the kit when all is said and done.

Paul

Hi Paul,
Yes you are right about that. In most of my previous installations on the Kama, by the time I bought all those Metric to American conversion fittings ... by the time I got then right that is, it cost a lot. I'll bet I have a whole drawer full of Metric, BSP and NPT fittings left over. Those babies are not cheap either.
If Ronald was not BSing me, this will definitely be the way to go. Especially with Loretta doing it herself. It will prove that his kit can be installed by anyone, regardless of technical background, mechanical inclination or gender.
Rob-

[3RRL]

gugliols said:

Wow e-mailed the pics to Ronald from camp on Friday and received the valve kit on Monday! Now that is excellent customer service.

I look forward to seeing the install and reading the functionality analysis report.

That Chinese FEL valve looks good from the outside? sure beats the crude looking black box ones I've seen in the past. Having power beyond and float sure is the way to go. I wonder if someone could get the Factory to offer a better valve to start with? seems like offering a superior valve from the factory would be a value added upgrade option.

Larry

Yeah Larry, good service for sure!
I saw photos of those old valves on Ronald's site.
But you're right, the new valve looks really good. I will end up using it in Loretta's hydraulic system anyway, since I don't want to throw it away. More than likely to control her hydraulic side links, when she decides to put them on.
Scott and I spoke at length about having better valves and he says that they do have one, but are at a premium. So I don't know if the Chinese will ever do that or not? Plus, neither of us know whether it has power beyond, float and regen capability like Ronald's replacement valve anyway?

If things go right, this kit should be installed by the time we get back next week. We've got some of our kids coming up for a visit and a few other things to do yet.
Rob-

[3RRL]

quikduk said:

Thats great! Pretty soon she is going to ask why you keep breaking "her" tractors and she might even start charging you labor!!! ;D ;D ;D

Hahaha!
Ken, where are you when I need you man?
Rob-

[GuglioLS]

Rob,

I just took a closer look at Loretta's OEM FEL valve. It appears to have power beyond output port capabilities after all. See that plug near the "T" output hose? That's where a power beyond adapter would be installed.

Larry

[3RRL]

gugliols said:

Rob,

I just took a closer look at Loretta's OEM FEL valve. It appears to have power beyond output port capabilities after all. See that plug near the "T" output hose? That's where a power beyond adapter would be installed.

Larry

I took that plug out thinking the same thing Larry, but it is an optional return to tank outlet.
I removed the plug and checked it out, then compared the port to a new valve I have which has a power beyond port in it. There is no other cavity or flow channel in that port like their is in a power beyond port. It only connects to the other return to tank or outlet. A power beyond port has an additional flow channel in it to let fluid through the inside of a sleeve to feed other valves down the line. The sleeve has an "O" ring around it to separate the outlet channel from the high pressure channel inside the port. That one didn't have any of that...it's just a plug.
I wish it was, though!
Rob-

[quikduk]

I have noticed that a lot of spool or loader valves have an optional OUT port, even the USA spec ones. My SV valve has two options for the OUT port, one on top and one on the side. My new FEL valve only has one OUT port because it has a dedicated PB port.

YMMV

;D

[3RRL]

What new valve?
Are we ever gonna see it on the tractor? hahaha ;D
Come on Ken, try to get that valve on this weekend. Loretta is going to do hers, so you can see how to do it and how it turns out.

[quikduk]

Hahaha funny guy! We have Tae Kwon Do awards this weekend so that shoots that idea. I am going to get the grapple hard lines made though and design the mounting location for the FEL valve.

[3RRL]

Easter weekend was a lot for fun for us with very nice weather.
Loretta got the opportunity to install Ronald's FEL valve while I watched and snapped some pictures of her working. For a quick overview, the valve was a snap to install for her. Ronald's instruction were perfect.

She started by reading the instruction ... something I would never have thought of. ;D Then she got after it at about a quarter till two. Here's some of the pictures I snapped when she got started.



She started removing the existing hoses and valve as suggested in the instructions. I don't know ... I didn't read them. The hoses came of quickly and easily.
I asked her if she needed help but she told me to shut up and just take pictures.



After she got the old valve off, she started to assemble the new valve with the components in the kit. She got the valve with the power beyond sleeve to power other valves down the line properly. She had that part done by a little after two, so less than twenty minutes so far.

[3RRL]

We took a little break because there was some added plumbing required for the extra return to sump line from the new valve since it has the power beyond sleeve in it. The other thing is she decided to paint the new bracket which came with the kit. She wanted it yellow like her Honey Bee. So we didn't count that towards the regular installation, which is basically a swap out from old to new.

Here she is the next day starting the installation of the new valve.
First thing was to bolt the new bracket to the tractor. It fit perfectly to the existing mounting holes. Notice that Ronald has turned the new bracket so the valve mounts on the inside of it, facing the tractor instead of to the outside like the old valve bracket.
Then she bolted on the new valve.



One thing I was impressed with was the new bracket and where it placed the joystick and hoses. You can see how nicely the hoses lay on Ronald's valve. They are protected from the outside with his replacement bracket too.