Jump to content

Unofficial Home of Old Simplicity & Allis-Chalmers Garden Tractors

Turn western plow into an FEL?


rich_kildow

Recommended Posts

So I had a brainstorm while tripping over the 7'6" western plow I've had in my pole barn for a year now. I doubt its worth more than a few hundred at this point so what if, with some creative adjustments, I cut the plow blade down, built a bottom and sides on it, and reclaimed the cylinders to make a loader for my 7116? I have a few questions that need to be tackled first:

- The cylinders are 1.5x10",are those big enough for lift arms?

- Could the plow's pump be used to power the lift arms off a deep cycle battery that stays charged between uses? I can't find the specs and have no idea the pressure it generates. The bucket dump could then be done with a large electric actuator (I already have several) off the battery. These could be incorporated into counterweight and save having to mess with more hydraulics.

- If so, the cylinders run opposite each other to angle the plow. Reversing the hoses on one should make them run the same way, right?

- If not, in what direction do I start looking for a pump and have have others powered it?

If this is a pipe dream, anybody want a plow? Especially in trade on a large frame or attachments :D?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rich,

If you have the model# for the plow, I have a Western dealer just up the road from me, perhaps they might have some documents to help.

Cheers,

Wayne

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, first off, anything can be done if you have enough ambition :o

Most plows I've seen, have single acting cylinders, when one extends, it pushes the other in, so you would have no down pressure. That is depending on the valving. Since they are single hose, and always act together, the spool is probably a single spool valve that basically opens 2 ports at the same time, like pressure on one end and return on the other.

Running the cylinders together, you would have to have "power" at both ends of the spool at the same time going up and "return" at both ends going down.

If you moved a cylinder that short back far enough on the lift arms to get any height, it would be pretty fast moving I think, and also very little power with that much leverage at the bucket.

Most plows don't have a lot of power, consider trying to angle a plow when its against a bank, it usually won't.

Most plows don't "work". That is, you usually angle it before you push snow, and usually lift as your backing away, (unless you are stacking the banks), so basically, most of the time there is no "load" on the plow.

They don't hold much oil. When one cylinder is full, the other is empty, not sure if it holds enough to fill both at the same time.

Also, the excess oil is it's cooling system. You would have no or very little excess oil when filling both cylinders at the same time, and also probably not using your loader in cold weather so no cooling ability whatsoever.

Deep cycle battery?? Probably not enough to do much. Most trucks that plow a lot use a 2 battery system, because the plow will use up the main battery faster than the charging system can build it back up.

You may be able to get past the power problem, there must be a relief or pressure valve built in somewhere, but I don't know how you would get past the capacity problem in a self contained unit.

You might be able to pipe an oil tank of sorts through the fill hole, but it is small enough it would probably not feed the pump fast enough for more capacity.

Just my thoughts, and I'm still half asleep this morning. :D:D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll see what I can dig up but the paint is pretty rough and I haven't seen a sticker. It is a 7'6" conventional mount, cable joystick actuated model. If I knew the flow rate and pressure on the isamark iii pump unit, that would give me a starting point.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pipe dream it is, then. All sorts of stuff there I didn't think through. The few hundred bucks I can get for it will go farther towards an FEL build that chopping it up will, I'm sure.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...