Jb grapples

[Giles]

Anyone any experience or comments on jb grapples for 1.5 ton.

@doobin etc

 

[Hg2702]

Go hydraulic Giles you can’t beat it for the extra cost , so glad I did

 

[Giles]

Go hydraulic Giles you can’t beat it for the extra cost , so glad I did

About to order one of aiden for my 3 and 5 ton in hydraulic but this is for mini and maybe micro when I get one, £500 vs £2000 not sure hot much use it’ll get on mini if 3 ton is available etc

 

[Storrsy]

About to order one of aiden for my 3 and 5 ton in hydraulic but this is for mini and maybe micro when I get one, £500 vs £2000 not sure hot much use it’ll get on mini if 3 ton is available etc

Having just gone from a fixed grapple like that to a proper hydraulic one- I wouldn’t want to go back- the pinch power and ability to articulate the load is night and day. I’d sooner have a hydraulic thumb if you want to save a bit of money- far more useful and is always on the machine when you need it- the RSL one is very good as narrow and doesn’t restricted any normal digging operations at all.

 

[Storrsy]

Here’s my tb216 picking up a fair rock with the new grab- absolutely now way I’d have got that off the ground with the old style fixed grab- think even in the 3 tonner it would have struggled as not enough pinch. It’s bigger than it looks in the photo. Between 400-500kg I’d say.

 

[V8Druid]

Here’s my tb216 picking up a fair rock with the new grab- absolutely now way I’d have got that off the ground with the old style fixed grab- think even in the 3 tonner it would have struggled as not enough pinch. It’s bigger than it looks in the photo. Between 400-500kg I’d say.

does it maintain its hold .... put a check valve into the Cranab and made a massive difference.... was losing stuff before that ... need a fair old constant pressure to hold a couple of tonnes in the tongs

 

[doobin]

If you're considering it for a micro then a grapple is the best option. Much less weight and just as importantly, less stack height. I have a hydraulic back brace on mine which makes it very versatile. Not quite as versatile as a hydraulic grab, but then I have a real one of those too, with a rotator

Although I can run my grab with rotator on the E19, I only tend to do so for scrub clearance. For wrestling heavy s**t about a hydraulic backstay on a grapple takes some beating. It lets you bring the centre of the load right back under the boom, and also load into higher vehicles than you could with a grab.

It's also much more solid carrying a heavy load, as it's braced (literally) against the boom. Can you imagine the pressure on @Storrsy 's tip links with the grab holding the rock like that and tracking??

 

[Storrsy]

does it maintain its hold .... put a check valve into the Cranab and made a massive difference.... was losing stuff before that ... need a fair old constant pressure to hold a couple of tonnes in the tongs

Pretty good to be fair- haven’t had anything slip out due to pressure relief.

 

[Giles]

If you're considering it for a micro then a grapple is the best option. Much less weight and just as importantly, less stack height. I have a hydraulic back brace on mine which makes it very versatile. Not quite as versatile as a hydraulic grab, but then I have a real one of those too, with a rotator

Although I can run my grab with rotator on the E19, I only tend to do so for scrub clearance. For wrestling heavy s**t about a hydraulic backstay on a grapple takes some beating. It lets you bring the centre of the load right back under the boom, and also load into higher vehicles than you could with a grab.

It's also much more solid carrying a heavy load, as it's braced (literally) against the boom. Can you imagine the pressure on @Storrsy 's tip links with the grab holding the rock like that and tracking??
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View attachment 27499

Did you add the ram yourself?

had a hydraulic thumb on 5 ton but took it off annoyed me on tight trenching and was adding 300kg on end etc

 

[doobin]

Yeah, you'll have to add the ram yourself. Attachment points both ends (grapple and boom) are pretty critical, be prepared to modify. But so worth it, even if it takes you a day in the workshop.

The other thing I added for the 1.9t is a pressure relief valve so that the ram can't overcome the bucket cyclinder. With the micro the stay cylinder is small enough that this isn't an issue (I have a ram for each machine)

 

[Storrsy]

Although I can run my grab with rotator on the E19, I only tend to do so for scrub clearance. For wrestling heavy s**t about a hydraulic backstay on a grapple takes some beating. It lets you bring the centre of the load right back under the boom, and also load into higher vehicles than you could with a grab.

It's also much more solid carrying a heavy load, as it's braced (literally) against the boom. Can you imagine the pressure on @Storrsy 's tip links with the grab holding the rock like that and tracking??
View attachment 27498
View attachment 27499

Yeah I think the fixed grabs will hold up to abuse better for sure- the articulation and associated leverage applied by the hydraulic grab probably does stress the machine in ways it’s not designed to take, like my rock picture. But then using a bucket to lever out stumps and rocks would exceed those stresses I’d have thought.
The hydraulic ram on yours is quite a neat addition, but then by the time you’ve bought the grab, ram,hoses and a day mucking around in the workshop modifying it your probably not far off the price of a hydraulic grab which personally I find superior- even if perhaps it won’t last as long, time will tell i guess. I’ve already managed to wear the hardox plates down pretty rapidly but that’s 4 weeks constant use handling granite boulders and using the plates to scrape out the footings for the wall I’m doing- off bedrock.

 

[Storrsy]

Did you add the ram yourself?

had a hydraulic thumb on 5 ton but took it off annoyed me on tight trenching and was adding 300kg on end etc

300kg for the thumb? The RSL one I have on my five tonner (made of Hardox) is 80kg. And no wider than the dipper plus folds neatly back against the dipper- I’ve not had to remove since it was fitted 6 months ago and use it with the post rammer on too etc.

 

[Giles]

300kg for the thumb? The RSL one I have on my five tonner (made of Hardox) is 80kg. And no wider than the dipper plus folds neatly back against the dipper- I’ve not had to remove since it was fitted 6 months ago and use it with the post rammer on too etc.

Might not be 300 but was wide one 450 ish geith make with big ram. Bloody heavy

 

[hiluxman]

Here’s my tb216 picking up a fair rock with the new grab- absolutely now way I’d have got that off the ground with the old style fixed grab- think even in the 3 tonner it would have struggled as not enough pinch. It’s bigger than it looks in the photo. Between 400-500kg I’d say.

That sticker for the swl has got to be the most pointless sticker going

 

[Smiffy]

I wouldn't say those fixed grapples are that strong when up against idiots. Everyone I know of has atleast one bent tine so they do need some care
It usually a log ring that seems to do it

 

[doobin]

I wouldn't say those fixed grapples are that strong when up against idiots. Everyone I know of has atleast one bent tine so they do need some care
It usually a log ring that seems to do it

Oddly enough I’ve bent the tigergrip multiple times but never the grapple.

 

[Storrsy]

I wouldn't say those fixed grapples are that strong when up against idiots. Everyone I know of has atleast one bent tine so they do need some care
It usually a log ring that seems to do it

That surprises me, the old one I had for my 3 tonner was ridiculously over engineered. It was so strong I used to give it hell confidently knowing it would stay in shape, perhaps some designs with longer tines aren’t so good?

 

[Smiffy]

That surprises me, the old one I had for my 3 tonner was ridiculously over engineered. It was so strong I used to give it hell confidently knowing it would stay in shape, perhaps some designs with longer tines aren’t so good?

Possibly a combination of things
Cheap grapples
Poor operators
Long tines

I don't know if some companies start to use smaller section when they use hardox tines as the think it will be stronger

It might be that all the ones I know of are entirely on tree work
No demo or rocks it's all handling rings and sticks which tbh is not the ideal application.

I just know you can bend them if you don't think about what your doing. Maybe people expect them to be stronger and therefore treat them worse

 

[Storrsy]

Oddly enough I’ve bent the tigergrip multiple times but never the grapple.

How did you do that out of interest? I had the plates added to mine which strengthens it a lot but suppose that might hinder some operations.

 

[GazCro]

Possibly a combination of things
Cheap grapples
Poor operators
Long tines

I don't know if some companies start to use smaller section when they use hardox tines as the think it will be stronger

It might be that all the ones I know of are entirely on tree work
No demo or rocks it's all handling rings and sticks which tbh is not the ideal application.

I just know you can bend them if you don't think about what your doing. Maybe people expect them to be stronger and therefore treat them worse

One thing to note with hardox is that there are different grades I do wonder if some of these companies who have kinda jumped on the bandwagon of using are just using the cheaper grades. As you say it's not something you use to necessarily save weight but to add strength for a given weight.