Getting a Full Scoop

I have a large mound of dirt I just dug up with the backhoe of my MF40. It's nice dirt, no clay, minimal rocks. Now I need to relocate it using the front end loader on my 202 Work Bull but I'm having a hard time getting a full scoop. What's the best way to attack a mound of dirt with a FEL, low speed, high speed, rock the bucket, raise the arms while raising the bucket? Sharpen the bucket edges? The 202 doesn't have a diff lock like my 40, at least I don't think it does, so it spins one rear tire when I hit the dirt pile hard.

TIA,

Paul

What I do with my 202 is angle the bucket so that the bottom edge is level to slightly downward then hit the pile in 2nd gear low with enough throttle so that it doesn't die out. With the wheels pushing and operating the hydraulics you will be using a fair bit of HP. The tires will spin a little (I don't have diff lock either). The height of the bucket depends on from where on the pile you want your material. With the wheels still pushing start pivoting the bucket upward until fully in the upward position. Once it gets there then lift the arms to put a little more in the bucket. Depending on the material and your timing on the controls you should have a full bucket.

With mine one thing that seems to help is that I installed control valves that have a "float" function. As the bucket starts to dig in to the pile I push the lift control all the way in so that it floats. That way as material falls out from under the bucket it automatically lowers and as I tilt the bucket I tend to get a really full bucket that way. If you have the factory controls you likely don't have float. I don't think there is any way to achieve the same results without the float feature.

I can try to make a video of it if this is not clear. I don't have a digital video camera but my digital still will take 30 second videos.

Thanks. It doesn't have float and I'm not keen to mess with it at this point. I've been using 1st and 2nd low too. I came across some old posts on the subject, recommended is a toothbar attachment for the bucket. Also ballast in the rear, which I have in the form of a drag box and water in the tires. Also going above the mound and dragging dirt outward, then scooping. I thought this dirt would be easy to move being I just dug and deposited it....

You would think it should be fairly easy to scoop it up being as how it was just dug. The last stuff I moved was gravel similar to what you describe which was dropped off by a dump truck. The only other difference is that I have a backhoe on the back which provides a lot of weight (around 1200lbs if I recall correctly) and that surely helps with traction. But if you have a weight box and ballasted rear tires that should be plenty.

Technique is always a little different depending how the material is, but if I wanted to fill the bucket I always drop to low gear going into the pile and after raising the bucket a foot or so, give it one quick downward dip and back up a second time.

There's only so much you can do with the older machines, I've never run a 202 but have run a Ford 3500 of the same generation.

Even with a 580 case 2WD hoe it's not always easy to fill it. It's fun to get on a track loader where it's almost effortless to fill the bucket with dirt spilling over the back.

I went this morning and got a few scoops of rotten cow manure for the garden. I took a little video of one of my scoops. I was trying to tie a few short videos together but I quickly got frustrated with it. I really need to get a digital video camera. Anyway, here is a link to the video
http://youtu.be/tiCSca2VyPk

Just cut and past the link and it should work.

You should never use float when pushing. Float is used for back blading in reverse with the bucket. In float position the lift cylinders on the loader aren't taking any of the pushing force because there is no hyd. pressure in them. Kind of like a free wheeling motor. You can end up driving the tractor up the lift cylinders and slamming them to the end causing damage to the cylinders, loader or tractor.

There is a big difference between digging with a backhoe and digging with a loader. A backhoe generall digs effortlessly because it has a lot more force applied to a much smaller bucket. Getting traction isn't a concern with a backhoe. If the material is clay, it can be very hard to get a full bucket with a loader. If it's loose topsoil it will be very easy to fill the bucket. You want to use a low gear and have the tires spin rather than a higher gear and having to keep feathering the clutch. Many clutches have been burn't out on loader tractors from using too high a gear. Generally you put the bucket flat on the ground and drive into the pile rolling the bucket back once you're into the pile. If the bucket isn't full, you can try lift the loader arms forcing more material into the bucket. You may have to back up a bit first to do this. If you still have problems, lift the bucket up to the top of the pile and roll the bucket down pulling material off the pile while you back up. You can lower the loader arms while backing up to pull more material. If you start to spin, just raise the arms a bit. Once you pull enough material back, load normally with the bucket flat on the ground. The pile will act a backstop to help push the now loose material into the bucket. Teeth on the bucket will help in harder materials. I've got several thousand hours in skid steers, track loaders and loader tractors. Some material can be a pain to get full bucket no matter what kind of machine you have. My backhoe on the other hand heaps the bucket no problem in anything but frozen ground.

(quoted from post at 11:40:50 05/08/11) You should never use float when pushing. Float is used for back blading in reverse with the bucket. In float position the lift cylinders on the loader aren't taking any of the pushing force because there is no hyd. pressure in them. Kind of like a free wheeling motor. You can end up driving the tractor up the lift cylinders and slamming them to the end causing damage to the cylinders, loader or tractor.

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I did not realize that, thank you for the advice. The last thing I need is to put MORE money into the tractor!

Well I have about 80% of my dirt pile moved, went quite a bit quicker by just using the advice given here. Nice work on the video, I can barely operate the tractor and loader at the same time, let alone hold a camera!

Glad to hear you got most of it moved. Once I learn something it's like my hands go into "auto pilot" and I can simply do it no matter what, even if it's years later. I'd love to take some videos when I'm running the backhoe but that's a two hand operation!
I moved about 6 yards of A gravel for a neighbor yesterday with the 202 and even without using my "float" (as that is a bad thing to do as we learned here) it went pretty smooth. Took about 20 minutes. Practice practice practice. I wasn't very good at it when I started either. I will have had the tractor 2 years this fall.