DIY, subcompact tractor creates a drainage swale in Tractor Time with Tim’s front yard. Tim uses the laser level system on the John Deere 1025R where there is barely any slope to get water moving.
Pull type box blade:
Laser System:
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35 Comments
Like that blade. I know what you mean about the wheels lifting. Almost needs a little PLC work on the controls to finesse the lift and tilt. But you're right for the price point it's good.
I do drainage work in my business. I use the excavator and a laser to establish the ditch bottom and then I use the tractor to taper the sides and remove the spoils. I like that blade laser setup there though! It's nice.
seed clover….😂
And there is another reason to use metric. No need to convert from inches to feet to yards to miles. lol
As an engineer, I want all the technical data. 🙂
Curious if once you set your laser receivers to "grade" on the grade rods of the box blade, could you then install stops above them, basically setting the highest point the receivers could go as final grade, based on the laser location. Then be able to use spacers to equally lower the receivers on each grade rod. Effectively "raising" the laser and lessening the amount you would be trying to cut initially to get to grade. This would likely lessen the amount of time that the rear wheels would raise off the ground and cause the delays in lowering the wheels and raising the box up, without having to put limit switches or other travel limits in. Then once you have graded the highest spots off that needed the most cutting, you could either raise the receivers up by an equal amount on each side (using a spacer between the upper stop and the receiver) or raise them all the way back up to the stops to be able to cut "final" grade.
Hopefully that makes sense, you may be already doing something to this effect in the electronics, but it didn't seem like it. I very much like this whole idea though that you are working on. So an details you would like to talk about and show would be interesting to this subscriber (I enjoy all your videos by the way) And yes, if one of your kitties graces us with its presence, that is a great bonus. Have a good one!!
No rain here, either. But we got 3" of snow Sat. night.
Way better than marketing video….
How much was complete cost of the blade and leveling system?
A flat site is indeed a vexing challenge; I have a flatter site too. “Best Practice” is to have a 2% minimum slope for positive drainage. Basically trying to grade only 5” drop in 100’ is tough with such a blunt instrument as a tractor. The laser grading blade would help but trying to finesse less than 1/16” per foot is inherently crazy…
I’ve connected in with a Permaculture Guild and they are suggesting some alternative and thoughtful considerations. Another way to think about this is to consider absorption and utilizing storm water in lieu of to trying to move water away as efficiently as possible. Absorption strategies would include planting trees to slow and absorb excess storm water. An Alder tree can absorb up to 500 gallons a day for instance. There might be other plants that can thrive in wetter areas. Consider what nature would do on its own. Nature has trees like willows and alders growing in lower and wetter zones. Then the water is “managed”.
A strategy I’m considering is digging out a retention pond to collect storm water surges which would then slowly meter out the storm water back into the water table as the soil can handle it. Then the conversation shifts into how a pond can be utilized as a useful contributor to growing foods that like wetter conditions and wildlife habitat. If is pond has water year round, then raising fish becomes possible. When the concept becomes to capture and use storm water beneficially on-site then there are new possibilities to explore.
it would stop a lot of erosion if you just put in drain pipe
Pretty sweet.
can you put limit blocks on the down function so the wheels don't go up all the way? probably just a minor issue
Love the detail and seeing how much you learned and passing that wisdom on to everyone. GREAT Job Tim
Tim Tim using “10ths of foot”😂 that’s why the rest of the world use the metric system 😂😂😂 love your vids
Tim ….Dirt Perfect could have helped you knock this out in a day or two…
Thats pretty neat!! Good job Mr. Tim
I am with you on the tenths of a foot over inches. Growing up as a baby engineer in school, the first step was always converting something to metric/base 10 units. Made sure the grade rod I bought for projects was in tenths as well. Love how thougt out your projects are and how thoughtful your commentary is. Definitely speaks to this engineer’s heart and mind
Just a thought tim, would it help achieve your tilt angles regardless of cutting depth if you made the wheels independent? That way they could have much more travel for lateral adjustment. Or possibly a transverse mounted walking beam type mount for the wheels?
Great video!
Great video!
Nice outfit and great vid explaining it! Go green, love my deere's!
Now bring on the rain.
Very interested in this system. Details are greatly appreciated! Doing nice work there Mr. Tim. 👍
That was Funny. 10th. and 100th of an inch. Tim You could have simply have switched over to metric which already works in 10s.
Great work, always interesting to see the U.S. hanging on to Imperial measures when they threw the British out hundreds of years ago.
Great video.
Thanks.
The first thought is it needs a flow control valve to reduce the speed of lift lower. The other thing I can't help but wonder is if the blade would work better if the laser readers were mounted to the wheels instead of the blade. By doing that if it needs to cut more it will only lift the wheels to the laser grade and not above it.
All you need is a real operator an a basic landscape box if it’s a real tractor it will grade itself with just a operator setting lecers
Tim, will you use a roller to compact that following the grading, or just grass seed it? Also, what brand of rototiller were you using?
I'm looking at an overview shot @7:10. Maybe I missed the explanation but, just wondering why you have to route the water that way? Can't it be directed down the road ditch? Thanks.
I like that round neck Shirt. Must be comfortable
Why not have a wheel into the trench and instead of manually controlling tilt – just move the reciever and have the laser drive that wheel 2" or what not less than the other. Just a thought.
Hi Tim, I don’t quite know the depth of adjustability for your raising the wheels too high issue, but I believe a threshold in the electronics or hydraulics for the min and max height would solve the issue. Keep up great work!
what do you think of the older b series Kubota tractors i bought a b1750 with loader and really like it seems to be a very beefy tractor
I love the detail you put into these videos bud. I've learned alot from you and my wife and I will be putting these lessons to use when we buy our own place 😎
Could Cylinder stops be placed on the lift cylinders so that they are only able to lift an inch or two off the ground? Also, how does the system know when cylinder travel is maxxed out? Does it constantly demand hydraulic flow when it wants more 'height/depth' than the cylinder travel can acheive or does it have some sort of contact switch? I ask because on Deere equipment i've worked on they have a contact switch that sorta resembles one of those door stop springy things that kids like to play with, Installing something like that could limit travel and prevent excessive heat build up in the hydro system from deadheading the hydros when the cylinders are maxed out if you could figure out how to make it talk to the rest of the system.
Also, another thought… I have a Summit kit on my 1025R and its great but one of the problems with the momentary contact style control switches is that you get all the flow or none of it. Once again on some of the bigger Deere machines I've worked with you can turn down the flow to certain SCVs to smooth the jerkyness in certain applications. Obviously the Summit kit is not that advanced but I wonder if installing flow controllers on the blade side where you could slow down the cylinders would smooth out some of your issues.. Just pondering.
Thanks for making great content!
Have you tried with JohnnyX? The additional hydraulic flow should increase the speed on the cylinders