Foot controls on 912 hydro

[peterinbrooklyn 0]

Can somebody steer me in the direction of converting my 912 hydro to foot controls

[theniteowl 29]

I don't know if I have ever seen someone do foot controls on a Simplicity or Allis.

The one issue you have is that your brake/clutch is on the right leaving you without much option where to put the throttle pedal. 

I converted my Wheel Horse D-160 to a foot control because it has a front end loader with controls on the right which made it difficult to manage.

I found a foot pedal from another tractor used on eBay that had both toe and heel plates so you could move the pedal forward and backward.

I made my own mount to hold the assembly to the side of the tractor and used steel rod to connect to the original throttle control so it stayed in place but could be operated from the foot control as well.  This is a simplistic description of course as most of what I had to do would not apply to your tractor but yours should be easier due to the nature of the controls on your tractor.  You could possibly even setup a cable to rotate hydro controls as needed and you would just have to fiture out the diameter of the wheel and amount of throw in the pedal to get the full range of movement. 

It all starts with deciding where to put the foot control and finding or making the pedal.
 

[yukon 331]

i had one on a sunstar but the dealer done it.

[Kent 435]

Search the forums. At least one member added foot controls to an FDT that he had converted to hydro. Maybe @rokon2813 can help add insight. I think he actually had/brokered the sale of that tractor later.

[rokon2813 272]

I still have the tractor that Jim built.

In my opinion, his was a little dangerous, and I converted it to hand control for my own use.

I would not recommend his design. It was extremely jumpy, did not return to neutral on it's own, and as designed, would actually come disconnected at wide open, as well as being "unnatural" to operate with the left foot.

Beyond that, if you still want my input, I can tell you what he did....

[B-16_IC 1,029]

I've been contemplating a foot control 900 myself. Have a parts Regent here that is foot, looks easy enough to swap on. Yet to see though, this is a recent thought that needs to marinate.

[Mike_H 92]

I've been thinking about it too. ..percolating,  if you will.   My dad has a JD345 with foot control, and its so much nicer than the hand control.   I've learned how to use the hand control, but foot would be much better. 

Edited September 27, 2016 by Mike_H

[SmilinSam 4,031]

My dads 712 was once converted to foot control, though as indicated above was a bit dangerous as there was no return to neutral feature.

Whoever did it just put a toe/heel type pedal in place of the factory control lever where it comes through the frame. I didnt like it and removed it and went back to the hand control. The pedal was too high off the footplate and was not easy to switch from forward to reverse.

I hypothesize that it  could be made with a  better pedal, and to work better with a neutral return system using a charged piston like late 90's and newer Broadmoors and Landlords.

[theniteowl 29]

Return to neutral is a debated topic.  The original hand control does not return to neutral so should it operate differently if being operated by foot rather than hand?  It is certainly a safety factor but when being used to plow/cultivate long rows some do not want to have to keep their foot down against any spring return.

My Wheel Horse original setup remains where you put it until you step on the brake which pushes the control back to neutral.

If I were to do this conversion on a Simplicity or Allis I would move the clutch/brake to the left side and use the right for the throttle.  Use a solid shaft to the pedal on the left going all the way across and through the location for the right hand pedal.  Weld the lever from the clutch/brake to the solid shaft but in it's original location on the right so you do not have to redesign the clutch/brake linkage.  Mount a new pedal on the right that slips over the end of the shaft that extends out the right of the tractor and use a stop collar to hold it on the end.  Make your throttle connection directly from the new pedal to the existing hand control and you have an easy connection that does not interfere with hand control if you want to use it.

With a little more effort and design the foot control linkage could be put inside the tractor body.  The brake control could slip into a hole to receive and support it without protruding through the body and the right foot control have it's own solid mount that extends into the tractor to actuate the movement controls.  It's all about how much effort you want to put into it and what you have to work around in the existing design.  If you can cut and weld the parts you need then you can likely make it work for you.

There are pedals on eBay both left and right side setup for dual direction control so it's just a matter of picking one that suits the design you want to implement.

[B-16_IC 1,029]

Hmmm, more to think about. I wonder how the Regent accomplished return to neutral ? I was wanting to do the conversion on a hydraulic lift tractor to free up a hand while doing blade work , not a fan of foot control for mowing. But that's me.

[Chris727 2,015]

On ‎9‎/‎26‎/‎2016 at 8:52 PM, Mike_H said:

I've been thinking about it too. ..percolating,  if you will.   My dad has a JD345 with foot control, and its so much nicer than the hand control.   I've learned how to use the hand control, but foot would be much better. 

I'll second that. I've had two of those 345s and the twin touch pedals are awesome. Much better than the heel-toe setup on my Landlord DLX.