Show us your Arb Diggers please.

[carlos]

On 25/10/2023 at 08:18, Scotty2809 said:

some nice switchbacks there... 

May i ask where this is? My Mrs is a big rider, also loves dirt jumping and gets a hand in digging and building at the local spot. 

 

my dream job!!! nice work, they are starting to put a few trails like that in over here in ireland.

[aspenarb]

LG still out there doing its thing, raking out and burning rather a lot of Gorse atm

 

[doobin]

11 hours ago, aspenarb said:

LG still out there doing its thing, raking out and burning rather a lot of Gorse atm

 

How many hours are you up to on that? Any issues?

[billpierce]

Any advice please- 

Want some sort grab for my kx41-2 1.7t.

 

Option 1. Simple straight cheap grab, fixed, can't rotate - £260

 

Option 2. Cheap kellfri grab, rotates, hangs on a swing link bracket so all floppy. £1200

 

Option 3 the above but fixed I.e no swing link- requires some extra hydraulic plumbing (maybe rob the boom slew?) . Increases reach and brash grabbing ability?  1200 plus hydraulic messing on. 

 

I'm not experienced enough to know the major advantages/disadvantages. Would appreciate advice etc.

[monkeybusiness]

A fixed (ie non-swing) rotating grab gives massively more control and dexterity than any other type BUT is subjected to a great deal more forces than one that swings, so needs to be used with a degree of mechanical sympathy and built as strongly as possible. For the money suggested above I’d probably consider the Kelfri free swinger, as I’m not sure how well a cheap grab would stand up to being fixed onto a digger.

[woody paul]

It's the driver that makes the best out of a grab, my brother uses a thumb and bucket to feed chipper for me on larger clearance jobs. 

But I am getting round to fitting a swing grab for him off my small loader. Should make it a little easier time will tell if he puts it on or just uses what his got now. 

[carlos]

we put a free hanging grab on a small hire machine, whilst it was great i did find the fact you couldnt nudge anything a bit of a pain at times, which made me wonder if those fixed grabs that use the thumb style fixing may have been more versatile but those obviously need a bracket welding on the arm so not an option on a hire machine. 

[billpierce]

Thanks that's really helpful

[doobin]

On 25/11/2023 at 09:58, billpierce said:

Any advice please- 

Want some sort grab for my kx41-2 1.7t.

 

Option 1. Simple straight cheap grab, fixed, can't rotate - £260

 

Option 2. Cheap kellfri grab, rotates, hangs on a swing link bracket so all floppy. £1200

 

Option 3 the above but fixed I.e no swing link- requires some extra hydraulic plumbing (maybe rob the boom slew?) . Increases reach and brash grabbing ability?  1200 plus hydraulic messing on. 

 

I'm not experienced enough to know the major advantages/disadvantages. Would appreciate advice etc.

Option 1- you mean a grapple with a backstay? If you make this backstay hydraulic it becomes surprisingly versatile, allowing you reach right out or bring the weight back right under the boom. You can knock lengths into the right angle to pick them up- I did five years with one and became surprisingly adept at it. Very good at handling lumps of concrete etc. But a basic fixed backstay grapple was £400 ten years ago so not sure where you get that figure of £260 from?

 

Option 2- with a dangle mount rotator, you'll still have the problems of adding a second pair of aux lines that you allude to in option 3. OK for handling timber but limited on a 1.7t. Massively increases the stack height, you won't be able to swing very long lengths about. Momentum will rock a little digger about.

 

Option 3- you will need a 'fixed' rotator- that is to say, one that is axially rated for the load. This will cost you £1200 on its own so I'm not sure where you get the overall figure from? Most versatile, you can grub out things and reach out further with it, subject to the limits of a 1.7t machine. If running a fixed rotator then you need to spend on a decent grab too, Kelfri will just bend as soon as you show it a reasonable load. The stack height is a big issue here too, 1.7t machines just don't have the lift height as they are desined to dig deep as possible. I speeced short dipper on my Bobbcat E19 and it's still a right pain the in arse compared to the same thing on the E27.

 

Option 4, which might be best for you, is something like an Intermecato TG12. Picks up on the quick hitch, you can hold it out in front of you or back under the boom (but with lots more leverage acting on it than a grapple). You can mount it in either plane, tines top and bottom or either side. Easy to share between machines. Can be used to grub out and handle concrete.

 

I run all these types, I'll try to find some pics.

Edited November 26, 2023 by doobin

[aspenarb]

Just about any type of grab on a small excavator is useful.I once knocked up a hitch bracket for a small grab on a three ton machine, it grabbed off the breaker line and it swivelled but never had a rotator. You kind of adapt to whatever is in front of you.

 

Bob