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Manual thumb
- Thread starter Brandt
- Start date
willie59
Administrator
It's actually simple Brandt, the manual thumb uses a stiff arm and keeps thumb in a fixed position whereas the hyd thumb uses a hyd cylinder and is able to change thumb position. Which one is better is an argument that will probably never be agreed upon.
Wardiker
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2009
- Messages
- 101
- Location
- British Columbia
- Occupation
- excavator owner, trencher owner
I have a manual thumb on my unit, Being in a fixed position its not as easy sometimes to use, but I must say I have developed some great skills as a result and the lower cost was much to my liking.
willie59
Administrator
powerjoke
Senior Member
- Joined
- Aug 2, 2009
- Messages
- 1,125
- Location
- Missouri
- Occupation
- owner/operator/estimator/mechanic/grunt/ditchdigge
I actually dont mind a stiff link thumb, they are a lot stronger and dont fold back with bucket pressure. I know a hyd thumb is alot handier but for the money I say go with mechanical.
Here's a few pic examples of some of my machines
Pj
Here's a few pic examples of some of my machines
Pj
Attachments
245dlc
Senior Member
They are a pain in the way you can't easily fold it up very quickly like a hydraulic thumb, but you can however "mash" stuff up faster 'cause like powerjoke said it won't fold up since the relief valve for the bucket and hydraulic thumb have to be set lower so you don't bend up the stick or blow something up. They all have trade off's but if your doing lots of demolition and landclearing type work they can be pretty handy. I'd recommend trying a machine with either type before purchasing if your an owner operator. Some outfits in my area take the thumb off entirely once their done doing a demolition job, but that can be a lot of downtime with a bigger machine.
tootalltimmy
Senior Member
The last job I worked on I was driving a rock truck, gravel truck etc. The excavators loading did not have thumbs. They were chasing pieces of concrete curbing around. With a thumb it would have been so easy to pick up.
Operators can adapt to what they have. I wouldn't trade my hydraulic thumb for a mechanical one. I would trade it for a progressive thumb.
Operators can adapt to what they have. I wouldn't trade my hydraulic thumb for a mechanical one. I would trade it for a progressive thumb.
I don't plan on doing much demo,. I wouldn't mind a way to get boulders out of a foundation hole. It is not uncommon to find a 4'-7' diameter boulder right where the septic is gonna go or right in the middle of where the basement will go. Not only would I like a way to get these out of the hole, but I want a way to load them in my dump or drop deck w/o doing a lot of damage to the bed.
Can the manual thumbs be pinned is 2-3 different positions for different sized boulders??
Can the manual thumbs be pinned is 2-3 different positions for different sized boulders??
Wardiker
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2009
- Messages
- 101
- Location
- British Columbia
- Occupation
- excavator owner, trencher owner
Yes mine has 3 positions, but by using the bucket to grap against the thumb I never have to use them. Folding it up takes about 2 minutes.
Wardiker
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2009
- Messages
- 101
- Location
- British Columbia
- Occupation
- excavator owner, trencher owner
Heres 2 pics of my manual thumb, custom built at a cost of $700.00. It works great doesnt add a lot of weight to the boom of my EX60 (thus doesnt make the unit jerky from extra weight) Has 3 positions on top and 2 on bottom for 6 position adjustments (which I havent had to use). Im sure when I upgrade to a hydraulic thumb Ill feel spoiled.
Attachments
Havan't bought one yet.:Banghead As soon as the wife let's me spend the $$, I'm looking at a 45,000 lb machine.
tootalltimmy
Senior Member
WoodBoy
Well-Known Member
We have a fixed thumb and its handy, but for land clearing it would be alot more handy havin a hydraulic thumb
digger242j
Administrator
I occasionally get on a machine that has a fixed thumb. The irritating thing is that if you're doing a lot of work with the bucket, it's no big deal to fumble around for a minute with one rock or log without using the thumb, but if you're doing a lot of work with the thumb, and you need to take one nice big bucketful of dirt... :Banghead
stumpjumper83
Senior Member
When I bought my tak tb53fr, I tried to get the dealer to throw in a 3' bucket and a hydraulic thumb for me taking the excavator off their hands...
Well they said I could have one or the other... but not both. So I chose the hyd. thumb.
After having the hydraulic one, the only choice is progressive or not. Today I was digging and backfilling a trench and there was a ton of roots involved. With the hyd. thumb its easy to sort the roots out or grab a boulder, pull a ground rod, or whatever, then press a button and its tucked back up out of the way again.
Well they said I could have one or the other... but not both. So I chose the hyd. thumb.
After having the hydraulic one, the only choice is progressive or not. Today I was digging and backfilling a trench and there was a ton of roots involved. With the hyd. thumb its easy to sort the roots out or grab a boulder, pull a ground rod, or whatever, then press a button and its tucked back up out of the way again.
I have a hydraulic thumb on my mini and a fixed thumb on my 160. I would love to have a hydraulic thumb on my 160. If things get better a 200 with a hydraulic thumb is on my wish list. If you have the money and if overall versitility is what you are after a hydraulic is the way to go. There is fixed thumb by Geith (I think) that slides and has a looking pin that is very easy to use. Take a piece of rebar and roll the locking pin to release it and then curl the bucket with the thumb resting on the bucket teeth and the locking pin will "fall into the hole" locking the thumb in the up position.
Although I am not a big fan of thumbs on trackhoes they do come in handy at times when clearing. The one thing i have noticed when comparing fixed to hydraulic is that over time a fixed thumb will start to rattle and after 4 or 5000 hours it can get pretty annoying. It does not seem to be as big of a problem in the hoes with hydraulic thumbs i've ran.