Hydraulics help please

If you want to keep it cheap and simple and only swing it unloaded, you could use a single reversible electric linear actuator, and a cable or chain or whatever to pull the lock pin while seated.

Come to think of it, for a blade that small you could probably angle it faster with a couple of ropes, or rope-pulley-lever etc.

I had the same issue with a light duty snow plow on a pickup. Worst thing about getting in and out was snowy boots making the cabin fog up. My first solution was to leave the plow pointed one way, and adjust my routine to accommodate. Worked well except on the ice. My second solution cost 40 grand. :)

Yeah, it does have a seat safety. Just another reason to add hydraulics to swivel the front blade while I'm sitting on the tractor. I would love to use the tractor hydraulics to swivel the blade but it will actually be easier to just add a complete system. And the way the tractor is built it is almost like they expected someone to hang a hydraulic pump off the front PTO. There are a couple really robust castings with pivot holes just in the right place. Easy to get at, about .75 dia and 1 inch long through holes. Eric

Well, using 2 opposing cyls eliminates the reservoir capaciy issue, cecause the total volume of the system never changes. Here in Canada I'd head to Princess Auto for cyls - inthe USA Northern Hydraulics wouild likely be the choice. TSC would be another choice both sides of the border - or Orchard Supply in the USA.

Lots of fairly affordable sources. Err on the side of 2 big rather than 2 small. Remove the latching pin You want a single acting cyl with the shaft as close to the bore size as possible.

Amazon has cyls for Meyers plows for $81 each -

1.5" shaft in 1.625 bore, I believe.

If "I" was doing it I'd pass on the PS pump and get an electric snowplow power unit complete with the proper solenoid valves.

Something like

YouWILL want a crossover relief valve in the system to protect from damage when (not if) you catch the end of the blade on something that won't yield.

Systemshould be available used for about $200 with some scrounging

Yeah, hydraulics are a lot more fun and sexier, but when a simple spring, bracket, throttle-style cable, and reins could do it, why not give those a think?

Spring load the pin via the bracket and spring, with the throttle control coming up to the hood to lift it. Curve a piece of 3/32" wire rope up to the hood from the blade ends. Pull the pin, pull one side of the rope until the pin can drop into the tilted hole and you're done. It wouldn't take you two hours, including parts retrieval.

Hydraulics are too messy with tiny tractors.

Another, simpler solution if it's just a little 4 foot or smaller plow on a Garden Tractor is a winch/windlass system or a worm gear/linear actuator setup. Much simpler and lower cost. An ATV winch can be bought for under $100, with the reversing switch on a "pigtail"

- Mount the winch virtical with short cable running from side to side of the blade, with several wrapps around the winch drum. Put a heavy tension spring on one side or both.

Linear actuators are a bit more expensive and less robust.

They're the upgrade (instead of a winch) for this type of plow.

A friend used one for the bucket lock on his skid steer. Plenty robust for that job as well, but slow. He said he hits the button the day before he wants to swap implements.

If you can't fit snowplow cylinders into the available space, you could try these:

I used two second-hand 10 ton rams to raise the boom and two 4 tonners to lift the bucket. They cost me $70 total, plus new seals.

Use only hydraulic pipe fittings, plumbing fittings aren't strong enough. A "swivel" hose end fits male NPT threads as long as the ID is concentrically countersunk.

Do you read my posts or am I wasting my time trying to help?

-jsw

I was talking to my son about the hydraulic thing, bouncing ideas off of him. He said I should put quick disconnects on the hoses that go to the cylinders. That way if I ever want hydraulic power for something in the future I'll have it. That settled it. I hadn't thought that far. No electric actuators for me. Eric

Having done it I disagree, though finding components small enough to fit into the cramped spaces was tricky, and I had to make several hydraulic parts including the adjustable pressure regulator, bushings to adapt the cylinder seals I could find to the pistons and the oil-tight welded frame / reservoir. The oil strainer housing is a 2" pipe tee, in the side, out the top, and drain at the bottom.

-jsw

Fine for a lift - not so good for power angle.

A week earlier might work better - - - - - Nothing beats hydraulics for functionality

A good friend is a very accomplished fabricator. He has built the loaders for all of his tractors over the last 40 years, built his own forage wagons, and designed and built a hydraulic self unloading bunk feeder - with a Kubota diesel powering the hydraulics - using orbital motors for wheel drive and beater, and cyls for the unloading ram.

He just finished a dump trailer for his ATVs - as well as a grader unit that is powered by the same 12 volt electro-hydraulic unit. He has other plans for that electro-hydraulic unit on the ATV too.

During the last 10 years before retirement he worked off-farm for a company building "honey wagons" - including engineering and prototyping the 3 axle suspension on the big trailer unit, and a lot of work on their truck-mounts

Totally self taught dairy farmer - - -

The Snpwbear plows are built about 30 Km down the road in Cambridge Ontario (referenced re using actuators instead of winch for raising the plow)

Assuming the pivot and guide rail are lightly lubed, one should be able to swing that little blade with tug on some fishing line, or maybe even a few shots with a Red Ryder BB gun. Mounting a $100 actuator flexibly to guarantee the lock pin is taking the load would do the job.

My old skidsteer had a homebrewed hydraulic quick attach. Press the pedal and the pins seemed like they wanted to be punch presses when they grow up. Overkill for sure, but very fast. My new one has an electric linear actuator that takes about 6 seconds. A bit of a downgrade but this one isn't hogging an aux port or requiring a mile of hose and tubing and fittings and an extra valve.

And just like that I found another use for hydraulic power. The front hyd. cylider only raises the front blade. It is single acting and cannot be made double acting because of the way the cylinder is built into the casting with the raising mechanism. But I can add another cyl. to push the arms down. So I think I'm gonna get a two spool joystick control so I can force the blade down rather than letting gravity do the work. I do need to learn about the open center floating spool with detent type valve because all the joystick controls I have seen so far are made with one of the spools being this type. If I go this route I will need to remove the front hyd. cyl. from the Honda hyd. circuit. Eric

I guess you like messy. ;)

It ceased being messy after I learned to do things right.

Messy = overly complicated (to me). Whatever works for ya.

Hey, I designed and built my first computer and coded its operating system and editor/assembler. By comparison making a hydraulic bucket loader was quick and easy.

-jsw

Har! I guess so. I remember flipping a sequence of toggle switches on the (Altair?) computer to load the bootloader from the 14" hard disc for the old Baird Gamma Camera from the '70s eons ago, so I vaguely grok your design.