FEL capacity rating?

[ravensview]

Hello All,
This may seem like a dumb question too many, but it’s still a question that I have, I am looking at getting some pallet forks for a 2019 bx23s, while looking at weights of them and my loader capacity I had a question pop into my noggin,
When they list loader capacities for tractors is the bucket weight included in that capacity or is it deducted from the actual lift capacity available? In other words say the lift capacity rating is listed at 1000# and the bucket that comes on the loader weighs 200#, is the lift capacity really only 800# or is it the listed 1000#?

 

[dirtydeed]

Most specs are listed at loader pins to full height. This would be minus the weight of the implement (bucket or forks) so, your actual capacity is generally substantially lower. Often times, they will also list another spec out in front of the pins (where the load would be in the bucket). Again, this spec would be quite a bit lower.

Keep in mind that you can still lift quite a bit more (off the ground) but not to full height.

 

[mikester]

Hello All,
This may seem like a dumb question too many, but its still a question that I have, I am looking at getting some pallet forks for a 2019 bx23s, while looking at weights of them and my loader capacity I had a question pop into my noggin,
When they list loader capacities for tractors is the bucket weight included in that capacity or is it deducted from the actual lift capacity available? In other words say the lift capacity rating is listed at 1000# and the bucket that comes on the loader weighs 200#, is the lift capacity really only 800# or is it the listed 1000#?

Yes, if the lift spec posted is at the pins, you need to deduct the weight of your bucket/forks and calculate the center of mass of your load and the distance from the pins. The further your load is from the pins, the less lifting capacity you have.

In your example if you have 1000# lift at the pins and a 200# bucket thats 24 inches deep you probably have closer to 750# lift available. Add on a quick attach and your Actual lift might drop to 700#. Im just spitting out Nice round numbers here to give you an idea, nothing calculated.

Look in your operator manual at the 3PH capacities section for pictures/examples of what I mean.

For a small tractor you want the lightest, shortest forks and pin on attach for maximum load capacity.

Be aware that maximum lift capacities can be quoted as 48 inches off the ground, at max height, breakout force....they are not all equal and salesmen like to over promise.

 

[old and tired]

Another thing about lift capacity is your tractor's operating pressure. For my tractor, the pressure was listed as 2347 psi. The actual pressure was 2200 psi. I went ahead and increased it to 2500 psi (risking damage).

Someone, somewhere did the math and estimated each psi was roughly equal to a pound of lift (warning that could be false information).

It's my opinion that dealers set the psi on the low side.