Anybody tried one of these things? Worth the money?
There is a concrete demo company here that uses those exclusively. They seem to work well. My issue with pulling concrete like that is how bad the subgrade can get torn up with a skid steer (depends on the job and operator skill as to how bad that can be). I prefer to use a mini ex to remove and if I need a skid steer to transport the broken concrete it can be done with a minimal amount of ground disturbance just moving straight back and forth typically. Tearing the subgrade up just makes prepping it back, that much more work.
I've owned one for quite a few years, found it used like new for way cheap. I'd have to say it's the most versatile attachment I own for my skid. It takes out concrete flatwork like a champ, can grab and drag if needed, and because of it's design can lower pieces into a dump bed rather than drop like forks. The fork design will allow a prying leverage that it truly remarkable. As stated above, you do of course disturb the subgrade, especially with a CTL, but frankly, I've never pulled flatwork out that we didn't completely re-do that anyway. Pulling flatwork and then re-pouring without compaction and bedding rock prep is generally not considered good practice, at least in my area. We have pronounced freeze/thaw cycles along with some seismic activity, and 8/10s of what we R&R is due to poor subgrade prep. It works for demolition, will work for clearing brush, stumps and rocks, tho there's better around for that, but in a pinch saves running back for a grapple. I have used it for placing rock when there was nothing else around. If you have a gentle touch on the controls, it will place culvert and other kinda fragile stuff, but the beak grapple exerts considerable force so it's not my first pick. It doesn't weigh all that much, so if you need to chain and lift something, it's friendly like that. The biggest thing to these is those shorter, extremely stout forks. I don't know what it would take to bend them, but I'm fairly certain you'd tweak your loader arms before they'd give. You can dig into a corner of a tearout slab, wiggle in and curl, and if there's no rebar I've never met anything I couldn't break and get started. It is accurate enough to stack 2 or more pieces up while tearing out, and then grab all and save trips to the truck that way.
You should check with that company about being a sales rep!
Very well written review. I don't do much concrete tear out, but you've about sold me on wanting to add this to my attachments fleet.
It's not very often that I find something that someone really put some thought into, and then executed the design well. They're not cheap, and I really hope they continue to not be cheap. My Dad was an IH mechanic almost all his life, a good one, and he always told me, "The only thing worse than something that doesn't work, is something that only kinda works."
We reprep it back as well, I just don't like tearing it unnecessarily, regardless. When we do use a grapple bucket, I use a Virnig solid bottom grapple bucket, and side load the bucket to get it to snap to get started. Maybe I am missing it, I just never saw the advantage of the Beak over other methods (unless you got it cheap). If you want to pickup small pieces or ex out material under the concrete to replace with gravel, you end up having to put a bucket on anyway. A solid bottom grapple can do all of that with the same attachment.
Sounds way positive. I'm plucking slabs a couple times a month and have already destroyed one brand new grapple doing it (see my other thread). No attachment does everything. If the Beak can pull slabs for a few years I'll try it. There's a competitor called the Sidney Grapple with mean looking tines, but it's hard to find used.
It's not a magic bullet, but it's specifically designed for concrete tearout. In over 30 years of concrete batching, hauling and now helping a friend on foundation and flatwork, I'm of the opinion that concrete tearout is one of the tougher jobs on equipment there is .. just nothing friendly about it. When I first started business, I landed on the Beak somehow and knew I wanted one. About 8 months later I saw a Craigslist ad, it was 30 minutes away and I didn't even try to bargain. Bigger jobs where there's lots of room, I'll take a 20T hoe with a good thumb and toothed bucket all day long. Everything else, the advantages of the Beak seem to make sense to me. Overhead so far has been $80 for a new set of hoses. I rent it by the day occasionally, and that's good money. Have timed it against a mini on the same type of work.. no contest if the tearout pieces need hauled to a truck because of access. And on those type of jobs, it's nice to have to t-port only the skid; I can grab my bucket with the Beak, load both behind my trench roller on the tag trailer. Tear out, then attach the bucket and clean up the small stuff, shave the old subgrade out and load, roll the dug area, haul bedding rock back in, grade and compact, ready to form. I looked at the Sidney Grapple, I think it would do a fine job. Either beats abusing and bending something that isn't made for tearout. I'm kinda one of those who has too many tools because I hate downtime, and I often work alone.
The Sidney Grappler is a seriously sturdy looking attachment but apparently they don't make many.