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Sometimes a manual is better than a hydro!


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I was dozing last night some weed and light dirt areas; I found that sometimes a manual lift is better than a hydrolift. I was running a standard shift 10hp SimpleTractor, 42" dozer blade, chains and no weights. The machine can fly in 3rd gear and jumps to full speed in less than 3', thus I was really able to do some jammin. Now the key difference I found using a manual lift was that I could aim where I wanted the impact of the blade with the weight of the tractor. Further, not having the spring release blade made me able to "really jam on it". Anyone else find they want to keep an older manual system around for that special job? I will!
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The manual lift is much more precise than the hydraulic lift. With the hydraulic lift, you tend to "over-correct" and have to adjust it again. I think this is most apparent and troublesome when using a snow or dozer blade.... That said, I still prefer hydraulic lift for most things I do, especially when using a snowblower and tiller. The "best of both" would be to have hydraulic lift, with the rare optional right lift lever....
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My 712H has the electric lift. When I have the snowplow on it,I wish it had a manual lift.Sometimes you run out of hands trying to raise the lift with the switch,steer,and pull the hydro lever at the same time.
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My neighbor who's done me a few favors needed one the other day. His house was just recently built and his septic drain field had not been graded down where the lines run across it. He saw me using my B110 with armstrong lift and asked if I could grade down the high spots. I went to work with the B110 and about 15 or 20 minutes later had it all pretty well worked down. The manual lift is much more precise as Kent stated. And the spring trip blade worked like a dream. My neighbor has an International 606 and was afraid if he used it he'd damage the pipes as heavy as it is. I think he was impressed with my little machine. I then loaned him my tandem disc to pull behind his craftsman to finish it off. That B110 has been the best machine for grading. Especially with the shorter wheel base than the RBT's and variable FDTs.
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I think the manual lift is much better for moving dirt. In my experience the depth of cut of the blade is critical. You can go from picking up a good blade full of dirt and pushing it, to stalling the tractor and making the wheels spin with only a slight movement of the blade. Hydrolift does not give this fine control and there is no "feel" feedback at all. For most other operations, I like the hydrolift better.
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Thanks. I still like hearing the whine of my HB112 as it lifts the tractor off the ground with the hydrolift and solid dozer blade bar; though I was impressed and found the older manual SimpleTractor had some tricks up her sleeve. The HB112 is another unstopable machine, though I think the smaller wheel base of the 10hp machine made a difference in the trees I was manuvering.
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