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Attachment Swap...FEL to Sweepster


Talntedmrgreen

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I had a few minutes this afternoon to make this swap, and figured I would snap a few pics as I went. When looking for these attachments, I never really found much on the intricacies of how they hitch up, etc. It's just a quick walk through, showing the dismounting of the OEM loader form the subframe, and mounting of the Sweepster.

I use my joist mounted electic hoist for most everything, and it's a real blessing for the loader. Makes it a snap.

Pull in the shop, and I use an old v-belt for wrapping around and hoisting

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Pop the pump belt off

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The loader attaches with only 4 bolts

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It also mounts on this axle bolt/bushing...just kinda slides on and sits. Once the bolts are free, just pick up a bit with the hoist and gently ease it forward off the axlew bushing.

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Taking care to clear the lights, generator, and nelson can

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Moving it forward and free of the machine

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Now that things are freed up, time to mount up the Sweepster. It mounts like any other PTO-powered front mount attachment, but it a bit more of a handful. The hoist would have been perfect here, but a jack worked well.

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Ran into a peedbump...my loader axle bushing won't clear the broom hitch, so I had to reinstall the original. Very easy with a cordless impact and slight lift from a floorjack.

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Mounted up!

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dOddOd Josh; I presume the broom head swivels both ways? And now that the flathood is to be a dedicated sweeper I'll come get the loader out of your way:D:D...Dave

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Josh, that looks cool on there but sure looks huge. Well I guess since Dave is going to pick up the loader since thats now the sweeper tractor. I guess I'll only have one choice left but to come pick up the trencher LOL.... Sorry man had to throw that in there I just couldnt stop myself.

How soon till we get to see the trencher hooked up

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Yeah, the unit is pretty good sized, but works great, so far. I need to get engagement and lift levers setup for it to work as it should but I did a 20' test run with it running, and it peels that packed down ice/snow crud right off the drive in no time.

The swap was pretty easy, and I don't use the loader much in the snow. The dozer and blower are far more efficient than scooping. I think the broom will do a nice job on the small snow's too.

Dave, no, the unit is fixed at that angle. Most of the early brooms were. I had a Deere broom with hydro angle, but it was worth more on the auction block than in my project pile. ;)

It will be a while on that trencher. I want to go through it and make sure everything is properly functioning (new hoses, etc) before toting it around. I'd love to have it at least functioning on a machine by summer. Not much is getting done around here these days, though.sm02

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quote:Originally posted by osenga

Josh, that looks cool on there but sure looks huge.


id="quote">
id="quote">I've never seen a sweepster that looked like it really belonged on a specific tractor. But they make hitches for all makes.Looks good, Josh.I would like to see a clip of it in action fer sure!!dOddOd
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sweeper looks good . why did you pull the loader ? you must have had another spare tractor around to run the sweeper . or do you have other plans for the loader ?.

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I'm short on spare machines. I have the WB700 or Squire, but they haven't really been chirstened as a part of the winter crew, and the Squire has been my trailer mover. I've only been using the loader for the attachments shifting, and now that I've wrapped up selling/trading/buying for the foreseeable future, everything is put away in their winter spots. The loader son't see snow duties...the broom will be more useful. I got a 2110 and 3212H out on loan, otherwise I would have a dedicated machine for the sweeper. It would look awful good on a nice B-12 ;)

quote:Originally posted by ngale65

Well i think you and Greg get the award for best tutorial on doing anything to your tractor. Very nice :)


id="quote">
id="quote">Thanks Nathan...I like reading through the nitty gritty details of how the tractors and attachments work, and try to share that when I get something new. I'll post on the broom when I get something to sweep. Rain comin today...can't sweep that.
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That's great Josh. We need some pics/movies of that sweepster working since it's so rare. One of those would be really cool for the light snows on concrete.

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Will do! We got a surprise 2" of wet stuff yesterday, which was nice and crusty on the drive by 8pm when I got to it. It was my first test run of the Sweepster, and WOW...it's a ball. I will definitely get some video of this thing. I think you could walk the driveway in your socks when I was done. It went faster than a dozer, and much 'cleaner' than using a blower. It doesn't kick up the snow dust too bad either, even with the 40mph winds we had. The most 'fun' I have on my tractors has been with the loaders, and when running the Weedcutter. I'm tempted to say that the broom is going to bump the Weedcutter to #3 on that list. I can see 4 season's use out of it too, which helps overcome the fact that it's the bulkiest attachment of the bunch.

It's very easy to remove and install, and the hydrolift handles it with ease. The gear ratio's in it are setup so that the tractor turns it with minimal power. Even with the broom engaged and while turning hydro transmission and hydrolift pumps, the tractor starts easily (haven't gotten an engagement rod on the broom yet so it's on all the time). I can remove snow on concrete, blacktop and turf, and there's no scratching, digging up sod, etc. I can't wait to see how much snow it takes to bog it down. Obviously there is a limit to snow depth that it can move, as the snow kinda stays out in front of you like with a dozer. It does kick it up in the air a few feet though too, so it doesn't really pile it along the drive, but doesn't throw it 20-30 feet like the blower either. It eats up the hardpack on my drive like a wire wheel does old paint.

It would be great if it could change angles, but that didn't seem real necessary last nite when doing the drive. I open it up down the center, and move snow to the edges like with an angled dozer. Since it gets the surface so clean, I finally found a scenario where I could use chain-less AG's on my driveway in the winter. Traction was a non-issue because it cleans so well. I cannot get up my drive without chains. I've tried, and it sucks having to tow a perfectly fine running machine back up the driveway.

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I will check after work...I don't think it hit 30 here today sot hings shoudl be frozen up out in the shop yet. The brushes are fairly stiff...the bristles support the weight of the entire attachment if set on them when detached. I would think that even if they did freeze together when put away, they would break free of one another immediately upon use again. There was no clogging, etc noticed last nite. I ran it through some roadside slop down by the mailbox and POOF....gone.

If we had decent ice, I'd take this baby out for our annual Winterfest ice drags. The guys fart around all day with an ATV/blade, but the ice multch left from the sleds at the start line is tough to clean away. On a good year, there will be dozens of trucks and trailers out there, and I couldn't even guess how many racers. It's a pretty popular spot for ice bikes too.

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quote:Originally posted by Talntedmrgreen

The guys fart around all day with an ATV/blade, but the ice multch left from the sleds at the start line is tough to clean away.


id="quote">
id="quote">You need a Zamboni machine.
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No snow in the brushes. Im thinking it all clears wheile the brush is spinning...like being on the spin dry cycle. =]

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I would put legs on the out side to support the unit when not in use.Will stop it from getting flat spots on the broom. We have a Kabota with a broom on and it works good with a little snow but over 2 inches the snow comes back over the top and lands in back of it. I have a old broom and have been thinking about making one for the powermax. It would be nice to be able to turn it.Bob

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I thought about that as well. It's elevated when on the machine, but I figured I'd just flip it over and store it upside down when in storage. I don't want to modify the unit. I'm guessing the rust on the hood is due to someone doing this very same thing...I'll just have to make sure it dries out well before I flip it and leave it sit.

I did guess that the broom would bounce and hop a bit, but there's none of that, and I surely don't want a flat spot on the brushes to start that up.

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