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Mud sticking to my bucket

ericscher

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 12, 2014
Messages
196
Location
Central Ohio
So I'm working with my smallest bucket (12" toothed) and I'm literally cleaning out the bucket with EVERY SCOOP.


I know I can buy release agents, but you've got to reapply them a lot and I'm concerned about the cost.

So I start wondering if there are any tricks.

Clean the bucket really well and brush on dirty motor oil or axle grease? Crisco?

Maybe a technique trick?

Hoping some of you old timers have some ideas, because this is a PITA and I can't really use my larger buckets for this one trench.
 

wrwtexan

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 5, 2011
Messages
558
Location
Cooper, Texas
Occupation
Indy Farm Wrench, heavy land clearing, rancher
Working in clay or blackland, keeping a shovel or bucket dripping wet helps to keep it from sticking. Using a hand shovel, I'll keep a bucket of water to dip it in while working. Maybe somehow keep it sprayed down with water?
 

movindirt

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 5, 2013
Messages
672
Location
under a shady tree
I assume your trenching, usually I just trench however far I need to then clean it out, no point in cleaning it every pass. Helps to have a little play in the pins, then when you jiggle the bucket it moves around more and the dirt falls out :tong
 

Delmer

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 3, 2013
Messages
8,865
Location
WI
Starting with a dry scoured bucket :D spray it down with diesel and let it dry, that will wax it a little.

Take light horizontal passes with the bucket bottom close to horizontal so the "strip" of soil moves to the back of the bucket and piles up. But stop before you pack it full and have to beat the bucket to get it to fall out.
 

clintm

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 7, 2013
Messages
974
Location
charlotte nc
Occupation
trucking,concrete recycling,grading, demolition
:iagree I have seen blades instead of a bucket with sides. also seen big ones in canada called chuck blades to load the weft sticky stuff. now you see how John Deere made their billions all because of the steel non sticking mold board plow.
 

dirthog28

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 20, 2007
Messages
135
Location
Illionois
I've never done it, but guy told me, weld a small clevis just above bucket pin on stick and hook chain to it and then weld other end down by teeth or lip of bucket and make chain just the right length so you can curl bucket all the way back and chain will tighten up and pull dirt out. You wouldn't have to use clevis but that way you can remove chain if changing bucket sizes.
 

movindirt

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 5, 2013
Messages
672
Location
under a shady tree
I've never done it, but guy told me, weld a small clevis just above bucket pin on stick and hook chain to it and then weld other end down by teeth or lip of bucket and make chain just the right length so you can curl bucket all the way back and chain will tighten up and pull dirt out. You wouldn't have to use clevis but that way you can remove chain if changing bucket sizes.

I've done that many times with my Cat 303, really works good if you are trenching a long distance, I never mess with bolting it up if I'm only going a short distance though. The chain breaks the dirt up when it goes into the bucket causing it to not stick as bad and then also pulls it back out, I'll see if I can find a picture.
 

roddyo

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2008
Messages
788
Location
Arkansas
Occupation
Manipulator of the Planet
A chain is the only way to go running a narrow bucket
 

ericscher

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 12, 2014
Messages
196
Location
Central Ohio
Thanks for all the ideas guys.

I like that ejector bucket but as a practical matter I think the chain idea rocks.
 

td25c

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 14, 2009
Messages
5,250
Location
indiana
I lined a 14" bucket with plastic .

Wonder if spray on "bed liner " like used on pickup beds would also work ?
 

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simonsrplant

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2014
Messages
554
Location
Alberta CANADA
Occupation
Heavy Duty Off Road RSE
I've done that many times with my Cat 303, really works good if you are trenching a long distance, I never mess with bolting it up if I'm only going a short distance though. The chain breaks the dirt up when it goes into the bucket causing it to not stick as bad and then also pulls it back out, I'll see if I can find a picture.

Chain welded in the back of the bucket is an old trick we used back in the uk. Worked like a charm, clay, dirt, everything.
 

movindirt

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 5, 2013
Messages
672
Location
under a shady tree
Chain welded in the back of the bucket is an old trick we used back in the uk. Worked like a charm, clay, dirt, everything.

What I did was hook the chain from the tip of the bucket by the the teeth to the stick of the machine, that way when you were digging it would have some slack back into the bucket but when you dumped it pulled tight and pulled the dirt out with it. Teeth also helped to break up the dirt on a smaller bucket, it sticks much worse if its a smooth edge.
 

td25c

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 14, 2009
Messages
5,250
Location
indiana
I lined a 14" bucket with plastic .

Wonder if spray on "bed liner " like used on pickup beds would also work ?

Sorry for the late update fellers ...........

Thread is over two years old but thought I would share the results of the plastic liner .

Used the 14 " bucket today digging in a perimeter drain for a septic system . Late November digging in south Indiana clay .

Was pretty happy with it ! What ya see in the picture is when I finished digging the ditch , some sticking but at least the bucket aint jammed full .:D

Still had to shake her a little when dumping . Notice the small roots hanging on the teeth .

I think the bucket would work even better if we lost the teeth & just ran a smooth sharp cutting edge .

100_4125.JPG
 

Tinkerer

Senior Member
Joined
May 21, 2009
Messages
9,342
Location
The shore of the illinois river USA
We used to use worn out road grader cutting edges welded to the teeth when we were cleaning ditches. It worked really well. Used the minimum amount of weld bead for easy removal.
Years ago I worked on a pipeline, the Cleveland 300 wheel trencher had the bucket backs cut out and replaced with several rows of chain. We rarely had a problem with wet sticky clay.
 

DMiller

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2010
Messages
16,432
Location
Hermann, Missouri
Occupation
Cheap "old" Geezer
Customers always had issues with the narrow buckets, not enough mass to make it weight itself loose and sticky it would hang on the inside faces of the bucket. We tried paints, cross lay welds of hard face, any and everything under the sun, old man that dug ditches in the early days told us of the chain trick, had few problems or angry customers after that.
 

Tradesman

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 23, 2013
Messages
1,075
Location
Ontario
Occupation
Contractor
I lined a 14" bucket with plastic .

Wonder if spray on "bed liner " like used on pickup beds would also work ?
Good God TD your some kinda genius. Who to H... else would think of cutting up a plastic bucket to make a bucket liner, I would of spent millions to buy a commercial liner, my hats off to ya!
I have a sixteen inch bucket and if it's sticking I find if I change the angle of the bucket when I'm filling it it doesn't jamb it in so tight and cleans better.
 

td25c

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 14, 2009
Messages
5,250
Location
indiana
LOL Tradesman ................ I'm just cheap , we have an endless supply of 5 gallon buckets :D

It worked pretty good in the sticky clay . I hogged with it as usual , still had to shake her a little when dumping .

Next one will be a smooth edge bucket and might spend a little cash on regular " quicksilver " style liner like they put in dump trucks .

May do the 5' excavator bucket like that as well .
 
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