260 backhoe on a 1026r 16" bucket

15506 Views 18 Replies 11 Participants Last post by Adamski, Sep 28, 2013

rcjohns

Discussion Starter · Feb 9, 2012

Has anyone out there used a 16" bucket on this hoe and if so what were the results.

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jimed1

· #2 · Feb 9, 2012

+1

Thinking of getting the hoe and can't decide which bucket to get. For some of the trenching I want to do the 9" would be fine, but I also have stumps to dig (nothing real big) and wondering how the 16" would do, or if I should just get a 12" and use it for everything. If I need to dig a big hole or a footer for a foundation it will just take longer and give me more seat time!

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rcjohns

Discussion Starter · #3 · Feb 9, 2012

The 8 " came with mine and it is great for trenching and digging at roots and stone. I plan to do fish pond and the 16" sounds good but the question is will the machine be able to handle the added width in stoney soil conditions. Sure would like a first hand summation of the larger bucket. I also need thumb for picking out the unruly rocks. EMC and Bro-tek are the only ones I have looked at EMC dose not have a bolt on just a weld on prefer not to weld on the frame at this point in its life. Got any other manufacturer of a thumb out there.

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RRMCCABE

· #4 · Feb 9, 2012

If the machine would handle the bucket I would go for the 16". I hate narrow buckets when dealing with sticky soil. I would rather scrape out half bucket at a time that try to fight sticking !

rcjohns

Discussion Starter · #5 · Feb 10, 2012

The question though is will it handle the size?

RRMCCABE

· #6 · Feb 10, 2012

I am sure it will. In some soil conditions at least !

Wonder if the dealer would sell one and let you try both buckets?

Tomfive

· #7 · Feb 10, 2012

I have a 12" bucket on my 260 BH, and can only give you the benefit of a couple of hours digging a stump growing through an old low field stone wall. My BH had no trouble going through the stones up to about 8 - 10" diameter. For the few stones larger than my bucket, I had to take a few tries to balance them to get them out of the hole (I don't have a thumb yet). I generally have a clay based soil loaded with various sized stones, but I haven't dug in my heavy clay yet. I don't think I'll have any problem, just have to get a tooth around any stones I find.

Depending on how packed your soil is, how many rocks and stones, will determine how well the 16" bucket will work. I considered the larger bucket when I bought my BH, but went for the 12" because I am planning on pulling a bunch of stumps on my property. I figured I'd be able to get a little bit deeper through the tangled roots with the smaller bucket. The 8" may have been better for that, but then too small for general digging. I had trouble ripping through roots larger than 3", but I don't think that would be a function of bucket size. Even by getting 1 tooth under the root, I still couldn't rip through. There's probably going to be a ripper tooth in my future for stump work.

As for power from the 1026R, I dig by curling the bucket most of the time. Partly because I was digging in a lot of stones, and digging by pulling on the dipper wasn't as efficient at the bucket would just "float" over the stones. Another reason is you have the most digging power by curling the bucket, and also, I wanted to dig down, and not trench. Roots were my problem, not the stones. The best way I found to dig was to loosen by curling and then pulling to fill the bucket.

Sorry I can't give you any info on the 16", but if your soil is reasonably loose, you shouldn't have any problem with the larger bucket.

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rcjohns

Discussion Starter · #8 · Feb 11, 2012

Thanks all for the input well I think I will spring for one and I have the 8 inch to fall back on.
Ordered a bro-tec thumb, ripper and trencher today, I'm getting close to having all the goodies to start my fish pond project. My wife thinks I'm crazy but whats new. Also ordered the omni mfg suitcase bar trailer hitch for the rear it holds 8 JD weight that I got the weights from Home Depot cheaper than the JD store and free shipping to my door can't beat the price at 46 bucks per unit. The postman will love me.

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Tomfive

· #9 · Feb 11, 2012

Let us know how the 16" bucket works out. Also interested in the BroTek attachments. Good Luck!

rcjohns

Discussion Starter · #10 · Feb 12, 2012

will do

rockshaft

· #11 · Mar 13, 2012

rcjohns said:
Thanks all for the input well I think I will spring for one and I have the 8 inch to fall back on.
Ordered a bro-tec thumb, ripper and trencher today, I'm getting close to having all the goodies to start my fish pond project. My wife thinks I'm crazy but whats new. Also ordered the omni mfg suitcase bar trailer hitch for the rear it holds 8 JD weight that I got the weights from Home Depot cheaper than the JD store and free shipping to my door can't beat the price at 46 bucks per unit. The postman will love me.

About what did you pay for the ripper? I emailed those guys a couple weeks ago and never heard anything. If they are priced right I may buy one- seems real slick. If they are too pricey I may try fabbing something.
I did get a quote for a really nice backhoe ripper from Michigan Iron & Equipment, but at ~600$- its a little too rich for me.

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rockshaft

· #12 · Mar 13, 2012

Tomfive said:
I have a 12" bucket on my 260 BH, and can only give you the benefit of a couple of hours digging a stump growing through an old low field stone wall. My BH had no trouble going through the stones up to about 8 - 10" diameter. For the few stones larger than my bucket, I had to take a few tries to balance them to get them out of the hole (I don't have a thumb yet). I generally have a clay based soil loaded with various sized stones, but I haven't dug in my heavy clay yet. I don't think I'll have any problem, just have to get a tooth around any stones I find.

Depending on how packed your soil is, how many rocks and stones, will determine how well the 16" bucket will work. I considered the larger bucket when I bought my BH, but went for the 12" because I am planning on pulling a bunch of stumps on my property. I figured I'd be able to get a little bit deeper through the tangled roots with the smaller bucket. The 8" may have been better for that, but then too small for general digging. I had trouble ripping through roots larger than 3", but I don't think that would be a function of bucket size. Even by getting 1 tooth under the root, I still couldn't rip through. There's probably going to be a ripper tooth in my future for stump work.

As for power from the 1026R, I dig by curling the bucket most of the time. Partly because I was digging in a lot of stones, and digging by pulling on the dipper wasn't as efficient at the bucket would just "float" over the stones. Another reason is you have the most digging power by curling the bucket, and also, I wanted to dig down, and not trench. Roots were my problem, not the stones. The best way I found to dig was to loosen by curling and then pulling to fill the bucket.

Sorry I can't give you any info on the 16", but if your soil is reasonably loose, you shouldn't have any problem with the larger bucket.

I have a fair amount of time on a JD48 backhoe- and I have had no issues with my technique (as far as I can tell!). That said, I was recently reading some Tractorbynet posts on proper technique and they imply digging by using the curl feature is a sure way to eventually break your backhoe. Everybody has an opinion- and most know the saying about opinions... I wonder if anyone can chime in about whether this really is a bad practice or not? Maybe a new thread is in order.

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jbeall

· #13 · Sep 20, 2013

rcjohns said:
Thanks all for the input well I think I will spring for one and I have the 8 inch to fall back on.
Ordered a bro-tec thumb, ripper and trencher today, I'm getting close to having all the goodies to start my fish pond project. My wife thinks I'm crazy but whats new. Also ordered the omni mfg suitcase bar trailer hitch for the rear it holds 8 JD weight that I got the weights from Home Depot cheaper than the JD store and free shipping to my door can't beat the price at 46 bucks per unit. The postman will love me.

So, it's been quite a while since this post, and I'm wondering if you could come back and give us your feedback on the bucket size(s) you got, thumb, ripper, and trencher.

I've got a 260 backhoe I picked up from an equipment dealer--it did not have a bucket. So I need to decide on what to put on the end of it. I've been leaning towards a 12" bucket since it seems the most multipurpose. But I'm very interested in hearing from someone (like yourself) that's tried the larger 16" bucket. My initially thinking was that 16" would be too much for the 260 backhoe in anything but the loosest, lightest materials.

-Josh

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etcallhome

· #14 · Sep 21, 2013

Over the last mo or so I've put 50-60 hrs digging in some water lines and a hole for a 500# or gal in ground lp tank. Several times digging the 5'wx13'lx5'd hole I wished I had a 16" bucket. Just thinking the 16 would help to cut the amount of time needed to dig that size hole. Wondered myself if the 260bh would handle a 16" it handles a 12" very nice. Like others have said depending on the type soil the 16" maybe to much . Of course the 12" might be to much in that same soil.
Digging with the 8 or 9" bucket in wet conditions I'm afraid the bucket would always be full of mud and wouldn't dump out clean. Even using the 12" it will clog up at times to the point of needing to get off the tractor and cleaning out the mess. Maybe the 16 wouldn't clog up as quick as the other 2 sizes.
If you decide to buy the 16 let us know !

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HunterWare

· #15 · Sep 21, 2013 (Edited)

I got the 12" bucket on mine. That was recommended by the dealer who said that customers hadn't been happy with the 16" in Virginia clay. I do find that sometimes I have to reposition or take a smaller bite if I'm being too aggressive. Finesse rules here, you can't just "fill the bucket" (unfortunately). I have seen others chime in (maybe on TBN?) that they had the 16" and were happy, but I believe they all had easier soils than my clay with big rocks. Sandy in Florida, 10ft of topsoil in Indiana... Those kinds of lucky people. *grin* I would not size up though, for what it's worth.

Regarding proper digging, the book "Operating techniques for the tractor loader backhoe" is really good and I can't recommend it highly enough. Using curl is fine, and gives the most mechanical advantage (highest force at the teeth). It won't break the hoe before dragging the unit, but keep in mind that you can't drag the unit far with the outriggers down without bending them. I don't think, however, you can say the curl breaks outriggers (like some do) because there are 10 other ways to drag the back around while digging that could also over stress the outriggers. So curl away... but if the rear shifting starts to torque the outriggers either nudge the rear back or lift/reset the outrigger.

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blnvette

· #16 · Sep 26, 2013

This is my 1026r with a 16" bucket digging 20" deep french drains on my driveway hill last year, they work great.

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HydroHarold

· #17 · Sep 26, 2013

Really nice digging job there! Looks like your soil isn't too "boney", I think digging in my hardpan/clay/ROCKS it might put plenty of twist leverage on the dipperstick and bucket. But if the equipment has rocky conditions built into it there shouldn't be a problem in any soil conditions.

Now pay yourself what you'd have paid an operator w/machine for that job and head to the JD dealer for more attachments!:laugh:

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etcallhome

· #18 · Sep 26, 2013

Very nice digging !!

Adamski

· #19 · Sep 28, 2013

I want a back-howe with a 16" bucket!

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