My 1985 John Deere 410B. Owned it since 2001. It's been a great machine.
Early on I installed a manual thumb which can be a great help, and a PITA when it's down and in the way. I am considering adding auxiliary hydraulics, if possible, so I can convert to hydraulic thumb.
I know that I will have to do some piping for the double acting cylinder and have some hydraulic lines made up. I will also have to fab or buy a foot pedal. I don't know if the valve that is currently in the machine is able to support this and if not, can I add on to the existing valve.
Part of the reason for doing this is to be able to run one of these flail mowers; https://brushhound.com/30exhdbrushmower I believe it requires 15 GPM flow on the aux line. I still need to find out if my machine can even support this flow. My experience with this is nil so all help will be greatly appreciated.
That's a closed center hydraulic system, you can tee into the pressure side wherever you have a big enough line for the high flow for the mower. You don't have to do anything to any of the existing valves. The installation will be straightforward, but not cheap. Capacity is 30GPM so it should run the mower, no idea how hot it will get the system though.
OK Delmer, thanks for the input. T into the pressure side. Looking at my pictures above, is that he pressure side? Forgive my ignorance. T in and the add an additional valve?, controlled by the foot pedal? Either via a cable or some direct linkage that I fab? The thumb cylinder is double acting but the mower is single acting. So, some sort of manual, or electrically actuated valve to select between the two? " The installation will be straightforward, but not cheap ." Where would the bulk of this cost come from? Should I consider upgrading the hydraulic cooling capabilities?
That was a general suggestion to point you in the right direction. I don't have a blueprint to add another hydraulic valve. I wouldn't mess with the existing valve, there's no reason to. Every valve is hooked directly to the pump, through the priority valve maybe, but basically all connected in parallel, you don't need to hook to that valve like you would with an open center system. It might make sense to add an electric solenoid valve on the stick for the thumb, and a separate line for the mower. But then you couldn't curl the bucket and thumb at the same time. The cost comes from parts and labor. I've seen figures on here of $10-20k to add auxiliary hydraulics to an excavator... You might do it for hundreds if you want to scrounge parts?
You might want to try calling HCT Kits ( http://www.hctkits.com/ ) to see if they have anything to fit that old girl.
Thanks for the info there mg2361. I'll check into that.