Looking to make an upgrade sometime soon hopefully. Going from a 200CLC to a 250G or 290G. Mostly trees, building demolition, and cement tear out work. I have a direct link thumb now but have never run a progressive thumb, are they better for my conditions? Looking at Tag, CP/Paladin or a few others. Anybody put an aftermarket valve kit on a Deere? Like HKX or one of those kits to control the thumb vs Deere kit? I would have a regular long stick machine (11 ft.) if that makes any difference besides weight/ballast. also thinking about a manual quick tach coupler. We don't change buckets all that often but would be nice and lightweight, few tools, 15 min kind of deal. Probably 5-10 bucket changes per year. Thanks
Md00738-The progressive link thumb is great when its new, but no matter how good you are with a grease gun, there are just too many joints to keep tight. The normal main-pin thumb is a good choice for functionality and longevity. Both TAG and CP make good thumbs and I usually stock both. I like TAG a bit better since they have serrated teeth for better gripping. My shop installs 10-15 auxiliary thumb kits per year and we have found that HKX makes a very good product that is simple to install. The HKX support people seem to be a bit more helpful since that's all they do. Over the years we have tried many brands of pin-grabber manual couplers and I think that CF (Central Fabricators) probably makes the best of those. Unfortunately, no matter what brand of pin-grabber you get, they tend to create more play at the end of the stick due to the extra leverage and joints. The BEST manual coupler that I have found for wear, weight, and price is a wedge-lock coupler, like you find mainly in Canada...or on a JD mini excavator. They are half price of pin-grabbers, light, and maintain the original leverage, since they hook over the main pin. I have purchased 240D-270D's out of Canada with 6-7000 hours that are nearly as tight as new!! That won't happen with a pin grabber style.