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Post by Rich Waugh on Dec 4, 2008 22:50:10 GMT -5
Paul,
I see you put a Brand control valve on your FEL, something I've been thinking of doing on mine. I'd love to just pop for one of the kits from Ronald or Tommy, but no way can I afford to do that, so I'm looking into just getting the valve and adaptors. Pretty sure I can manage the brackets, plumbing and the like.
My thought is to order a Brand PLV22RFSTKLWB, which would be the monoblock valve with regen on spool 1 and float on spool 2. That would give me the options of quick dump and float on the arm for dirt work, if I understand this stuff correctly. (No damn guarantees on that!) I am planning on getting the 2-stick model, rather than the joystick, since I can't get used to the joystick. Too much of a Luddite, I guess. :-) I'm also planning to order it with the power beyond sleeve so I can later add a grapple cylinder from that. The jury is still out on how I'll control the grapple; I have some strange ideas floating around my head on that one. (Picture the split shifter control knob from an old Mack on one control stick, for one.)
What configuration do you have on your loader valve and how do you like it? Anything you would recommend, based upon your experiences with it? Am I dreaming to think I can do this on my own? All advice is gratefully received, even if not sensibly acted upon ...
Thanks,
Rich
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Post by linus69 on Dec 4, 2008 23:38:42 GMT -5
In all honesty Rich I didn`t save very much dollar wise "cobbling" together my valve mod. In hindsight I think Ronald and Tommys kit is the way to go, you`ll save a lot in the grief dept. They give you a quality Italian made joystick valve, personally I love a joystick, but the Jinma joystick is not very good. If you have only used the Jinma valve then you haven`t worked with a good joystick. My valve job came out looking like a bad high school science project, I only got thru it because of guys like Ken, Larry and Rob walked me through it, and even though I wasn`t using their kit. Ronald and Tommy took every one of my dopey question phone calls.They were like a couple of "Guardian Angels" to me, swell guys. Plus I had a "Hose-House" that took pity on me and helped out a lot letting me right into the fabrication shop to work with their mechanics. The configuration of my valve I don`t even remember, I bought the valve that Ken recomended and was on the phone with him when I hooked it up. I would actually have to reread my own posts to refresh my memory, like algebra it has left my head almost completely. It really sucks to get old.
Paul
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Post by Rich Waugh on Dec 5, 2008 10:16:50 GMT -5
Paul,
Thanks for the reply! I'm pretty solidly committed to having the two-stick valve instead of a joystick. Dunno if it's my age or what, but I just don't like a joystick. Didn't like the one Iused on a JCB hoe, didn't like the one on the Bobcat, didn't like the one on the vide game my ex-wife's kid had, etc. I'm right at home with two sticks, (or even three or four) from my times running a Case 580 hoe, and they just seem like second nature to me. I guess I'm too old to change...like you say, it sucks sometimes. :-)
Since I'm not in a screaming hurry, I'll order the valve and then gradually begin the rest of it like making the bracket, ( a snap for a blacksmith with welding/machine shop equipment), hose retainers, etc. When I have it ready to mount just the way I want I'll start working on putting together the necessary hoses for it.
Since I don't need to use the loader on anything like a daily basis, I may take the hard lines off the loader arm and TIG weld new standard fittings on them. That would only take a few hours and would probably save that much or more time later on with maintenance/repairs and would make getting new hoses pretty straightforward. First go see what the local hose place has to offer and then adjust accordingly, probably. Like most, I prefer not to have a batch of adapters in the lines, to minimize leaks and problems, and it isn't difficult for me to modify the existing hard lines, so that seems like a good way to go.
I'm pretty new to hydraulics, but I've been building pneumatic stuff for my blacksmith shop for years. Hydraulics aren't much different from pneumatics, just different hoses and fittings and much higher pressures. The plumbing/valving concepts seem to be mostly the same though, based on what information I can find. So I guess I might as well not be too timid and just jump into this and give it a try. If I can build a 100# pneumatic power hammer that reciprocates at 240 blows a minute, I should be able to handle a loader that moves a tenth of that speed, I think. Hope I'm not being a Pollyanna...(grin)
Having you guys on this forum with all your experience and knowledge gives me a lot more confidence in the outcome of any project. Among you all here, you seem to have encountered almost every possible situation and done every conceivable mod, and done all of them well, too. With sulkch a valuable resource available, how can I go wrong? Yeah okay, I can probably find a way, but at least it won't be for lack of good advice.
Thanks again,
Rich
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3RRL
Administrator
Huge Kama
Posts: 2,027
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Post by 3RRL on Dec 5, 2008 12:33:45 GMT -5
Ho Rich, (Christmas time greeting ) I've done it both ways, plumbed from scratch a lot. But I can tell you the last one I did putting Ronald's valve kit on Loretta's 284 was like a dream come true. It was so easy that she did most of it herself. Everything fit perfectly and went together right off the bat! Done. Yes, you can certainly save by buying components, and I'm certain you can do it, but on the other hand, having his kit go together that easily was worth it for us that time. I said to myself, "Hmmm, so that's how stuff should go together and work first time?" Hahaha. I'm pretty solidly committed to having the two-stick valve instead of a joystick. Dunno if it's my age or what, but I just don't like a joystick. Didn't like the one Iused on a JCB hoe, didn't like the one on the Bobcat, didn't like the one on the vide game my ex-wife's kid had, etc. I'm right at home with two sticks, (or even three or four) from my times running a Case 580 hoe, and they just seem like second nature to me. I guess I'm too old to change...like you say, it sucks sometimes. :-) Thanks again, Rich Well Rich, there you go! lol ... It looks to me you've developed a phobia which stems from the "Ex-Wife Syndrome" as your history paragraph reveals going back in time. It's something all of us suffer from time to time and is re-occurring. However, there is therapy available for it. Some day you'll enjoy the joystick if you take that first step. ;D Rob-
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Post by Rich Waugh on Dec 5, 2008 20:52:57 GMT -5
Geez Rob, I thought I took that first step when I spent all day using the joystick. No joy, though. :-) Two sticks it is - hey, it will make the tractor look like a classic, right?
I would wholeheartedly agree that the sensible way to do things would be to suck it up and get the kit from Ronald or Tommy. Why re- invent the wheel and all that, right? Well, I happen to thoroughly enjoy re-inventing wheels and other stuff. Gives me an excuse for owning "every tool known to man", according to my wife. Not true, of course. I don't own a shaper or a surface grinder, yet. And I just today discovered that the motor on my lathe seems to have gone on strike, so that one doesn't count either. Take that, wife! (grin)
If I actually get around to getting this done, I'll post a pic or three so youse guys can tell me what I shoulda done different. :-)
Rich
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Post by linus69 on Apr 23, 2009 7:23:43 GMT -5
Well here is one piece of timber that the grapple could not handle, it is close to a 3ft diameter maple tree. I had to chain it up and mostly drag it along the ground to get it moved. Paul
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GuglioLS
Administrator
Jinma354 LE
Posts: 1,276
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Post by GuglioLS on Apr 23, 2009 20:11:45 GMT -5
WOW Paul that's huge, a couple of logs that size would last me all winter. How did you come about acquiring that gem? I imagine you must have a decent size chain saw to whittle that monster down to size.
Larry
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Post by linus69 on Apr 23, 2009 21:53:54 GMT -5
Hey Larry, that is one of the nine trees I paid to have knocked down last fall by the cat excavator that was working over at my neighbors place. That was the biggest one he took down for me, he had pointed that one out as one that should go. I wasn`t gonna argue, he was on a roll and that one could have wiped the entire 2 story deck off the back of the house if it ever came down the wrong way. I have been using a Stihl 18in and a Stihl 20in to cut it up.
Paul
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