Go Bottomhydraulic thumb on L-35
 | dmq400
Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 8 vermont 
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2007-04-19 141373
Can someone tell me where to find further info on the hydrualics when it comes to installing a hydraulic thumb on this B900 hoe? Tractor is new to me and has aux lines running up boom(am told it was for factory hyd hammer??) and some sort of foot powered valve which seems incomplete. Tractor came out of a rental yard. Thanks for the help!
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Add Photohydraulic thumb on L-35
 | Art White
Join Date: Jan 2000 Posts: 6898 Waterville New York 
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2007-04-19 141375
The thumb from the smaller excavators will fit right on. The hydraulics you have on the boom will be more then enough to work it as we've had experience with augers on the hoe with some success. ....
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Add Photohydraulic thumb on L-35
| dmq400
Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 8 vermont
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2007-04-19 141384
Thanks Art. Know anything about the valve I will need to operate it? and if the exisiting is plumbed correctly or not? It looks like it came that way from Kubota...as the paint is all matching on the lines which run up the boom. ....
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Add Photohydraulic thumb on L-35
 | Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999 Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2007-04-20 141390
If you have a foot operated pedal for the auxillary line, it may be a one-way only flow setup.
Things like breakers don't need flow in both directions, and some of them can actually be harmed by trying to put fluid to them the wrong way around.
You say the actuator pedal "seems incomplete"? What exactly doesn't seem right with it? Bear in mind, no circuit will operate correctly with the lines blocked by the quick disconnect fittings.
If it's possible you need to find out from the place you bought it from how it is plumbed. Rental yards are notorious for 'customizing' things so you rent their attachement instead of using your own. Even if you bought your machine at auction, if you go back to the prior owner most will happily give you any information they have as to the history of the machine, no rental house wants to be known for not maintaining their equipment well. Most will brag about it.
The simplest way to do it will likely be to bypass the existing setup and use an electrically-activated circuit splitter. You put a switch on one of the joysticks, and when you push or pull the knob on the switch it diverts the fluid flow from say the curl circuit to the thumb.
If you are not familiar with operating a thumb-equipped machine, you should be very cautious, doing something like curling the bucket in, while simultaneously pulling the thumb in may create way too much clamping pressure and result in something getting bent if not broken!!
Best of luck. ....
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Add Photohydraulic thumb on L-35
| dmq400
Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 8 vermont
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2007-04-24 141499
Thanks for the further info! Yes, of course, the pedal is not working cause' the lines are not attached, thanks for that. Doesn't it make sense to just get the right valve rather then re-rig it to run electronically?? How do I recognize if the existing is a one-way flow type or two-way, which I assume I need? Don't want to bug my local Kubota dealer...as I am not buying HIS thumb for this. Probably should check with the manufacturer I am planning to use. Any New England/East coast reccomendations for thumb manufacturers? Seems like a LOT of them out there. ....
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Add Photohydraulic thumb on L-35
 | earthwrks
Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 3853 Home Office in Flat Rock, Michigan
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2007-04-24 141500
Go ahead and bug the dealer---in the long run and as good customer relations they should want to tell you wwhat valve you have. Talk to the service manager. They know that eventually you may be back to buy an expensive attachment.
As far as a thumb, have you considered just using a manual thumb? I have one on my backhoe and is simple to stow away under the dipper stick. I bought mine form a guy on e-Bay in Canada for about $270 delivered. It came as a kit that I welded together. Nice kit. Well made. And with hydraulic thumbs they're nice to activate down/up but can be a pain to manuever around items that could nick or break the piston rod. Manual ones you don't have to worry about that. ....
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Add Photohydraulic thumb on L-35
| Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999 Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2007-04-25 141518
First of all, Jeff is right, a manual thumb will do just fine, and in some instances better than a hydraulic one.
They are also lighter, which on a small machine is an imortant consideration.
The guy Jeff is talking about is a buddhe sells a LOT of them, they are a good well-proven unit, and very reasonably priced to boot. I'm NOT just saying that because I know him either, as a customer of his and a licenced engineer, I know the good stuff from the bad.
You do, if you are going to use a hydraulic thumb though, need a 2 way flow valve setup. The simplest method to tell, is the pedal itself. If it merely pushes down, and there is no rocker action to it, like a hydrostatic drive unit has for forward / reverse, it is a one way flow setup.
It's not always the easiest to change the sytem over, it's also NOT the cheapest to change the original valve either. Most OEM PB (Power Beyond) kits are pretty spendy. The one way kit is rather a strange setup compared to a 2 way, the return line for instance is always open, and you merely get flow or not when you actuate them, often they are not even a proportional valve, just on and off, no fade in or out. I think you will find the simplest way to do it, if that is the setup you have, will be to just add another valve downstream of what you have, a normal two way valve, and use the pressure and return lines from your existing valve to feed into it, then use new lines from it to the new 2 way cylinder.
Best of luck. ....
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Add Photohydraulic thumb on L-35
| belgiant
Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 6 Noxon,Mt
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2007-05-11 142011
Would like info on the manual thumb, the guys name and contact info. Sounds like a good way to go. Just bought a L35 used and liking it. ....
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Add Photohydraulic thumb on L-35
| dmq400
Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 8 vermont
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2007-05-11 142017
I have to believe that a 8"x 28" hyd. thumb is not going to be THAT much heavier then a manual one. Plus I can not see any advantage to a manual thumb vs. hyd. (except price)
I do a lot of rock wall building and have to believe I'm going to have a lot more finesse with a hyd. rather then not. So if anyone has used both please convince me, and save me LOTS of $$$ as well...and I would appreciate it. ....
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Add Photohydraulic thumb on L-35
| earthwrks
Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 3853 Home Office in Flat Rock, Michigan
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2007-05-11 142022
belgiant: I don't have the guy's name but you might still find his kit on eBay. Search for thumb in Business and Industrial then narrow the search to "welding" or "build it yourself". The guy is from Canada.
dmg400: I have built low retaining walls with big rocks (300-800 lb. range) with my thumb and mid size backhoe. The problem with manual thumbs is you have to be relatively dead-on with regard to the positioning of the hoe---both in height and distance from the target point. Pretty much the same thing with using it to pick up debris. I know a guy who has a hydraulic thumb--it's sweet--in a matter of about a two seconds he can go from full out to full in. And he can adjust anywhere in between which is critical when placing rocks. You'll find you have to drop the rock and adjust in/out the thumb until you get a good relationship to the rock and the backhoe bucket. The manual one you have only two open (or out) positions and one closed (or in) position. So if you don't have those three realtionships right then you'll be doing alot of manual manipulations of the rocks.
I have used forks on my bobcat to place the same size and bigger rocks with good success. At one time I had a design to build a rotating three-tong grapple (think one of the arcade games with a small crane that picks up a toy) that would attach to the bobcat. If you're handy with a welder and hydraulics, you could likely make a nice one under a grand. There are companies that make something like I'm describing but are very pricey. You could also look into logging or timbering equipment suppliers for ideas. Look for "self loaders". ....
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