I have a Case 1845C in good shape. I'm needing to clean up and get rid of several mixed piles of dirt and concrete/rock/brick/wood tear out from from old structures when building my shop years ago. I'm wanting to purchase a skeleton bucket for this but don't know if I should go with 72", or 84" for when I do replace the tractor next year. I'm wanting something on tracks and much heavier lift capacity. I also don't know if I need teeth, or smooth. I'm not a contractor and the loader is for general use, and it gets it as so damned handy to have around. Recommendations please. Thanks,
I just bought a 78" Prime brush grapple for my S650. It's big and heavy. It works great on the S650, but the 1845c doesn't have the same capacity, so I'd definitely recommend the 72". I'm extremely happy with the Prime brand. I looked at a bunch and it seems like one of the better build without breaking the bank. Jenkins is also good. Mine has teeth on the front, and I found it works great for grading out the ground/driveway and smoothing the washboard.
Thanks kindly for your response. I was wondering the same thing as far as size. I see your teeth are the fixed type. I've seen both these, and the pin on type which are much larger. I've never had a tooth bucket, only smooth and a set of forks so don't know if I'd need teeth or not.
I bought the same exact Prime grapple as Phil 2 years ago but mine is an 84". I run it on a Kubota SVL90 and have been pleasantly surprised the way it has held up especially for what I paid for it. I know the 1845 is a smaller unit but if you pay attention and run it carefully I bet you would be fine with a 78". The thing is with the track machines it is nice to have the bucket wider than the tracks because it keeps material from falling back in the tracks. The teeth on the end of mine grapple are fixed too and seem to work fine, I think it would take a very long time to wear them out.
That 1845 will handle that 84" just fine.
I work with a dealer part time that vendors New Holland construction equipment and am going to purchase a 337 tracked loader when it comes off lease early next year. I know the party very well and it's maintained well used on a cattle farm. They lease a new tractor every year accumulating about 100 hours a month in use. The machines when returned are not hurt at all. An 84" bucket is supplied with these so I was contemplating the larger size bucket if the Case would handle it without abuse.
It's a skeleton bucket, not a dirt bucket. Take your time and you will be fine. If you try and grab too much, either you'll pick the back or the hydraulics won't move it, either way no big deal. The only thing that could hurt you is trying to pick stuff way out on each end, which could *potentially* stress the loader with the twisting forces, but I would not worry a bit if you're careful. We drag around 40' trees with our Virnig on a T770, never an issue.
I've had this 1995 Case since 2000 when building the shop. I've ripped out a lot of footings using the forks after breaking them up with a jackhammer, and the back end raises readily. I've always thought the hydraulics were too strong for the machine myself but I ran another just like it and the performance was the same. I do have the weight plates on the center rear and the tires are filled with "beet juice" for weight so it pushes gravel better than it did. It's always done what I've needed and is dependable as a rock, so it's been kept. I would rather purchase the larger bucket as the machine will be upgraded in the next calendar year so I can expense it. If best I can also await the larger machine before a bucket purchase but I'm kind of wanting to clean the place up as the piles are once again overgrown.
I have an 84" skeleton bucket (not a grapple) that I use with a case 1840 for sifting through gravel that I remove from a seasonal stream bed. It handles a full bucket ok, but I don't lift it more than a foot or 2 off the ground. I fill it then shake it to sift the gravel. The splines are spaced around 2.5" apart. That's probably too close together for what you're planning to do with it. I would definitely recommend getting teeth. It makes a lot of difference when digging into a pile and is nice for back dragging through material too.
Thanks guys for the help and advice. I have ordered a kind of custom bucket with removable side plates, and grapple assembly in an 84" width. Tine spacing is 3.00"o.c. of .375" steel, and the cutting edge supporting the pin on teeth is 1.00" thick AR400 series steel. A bit heavy at a calculated 1230# complete, and it will be a bit lighter without the grapple installed which is a quick four pin attachment affair. I don't need a grapple attachment for the separation phase, but the piles are loaded with semi mature trees which I will use the grapple attachment for to move them for burning in another pile. A grapple will most definitely be used often. Thanks again.