Backhoe bucket question

[lighthousealarm]

I have an older 580CK with a 24" bucket. I am looking for a 12" bucket for this machine so I can dig some smaller trenches for water / electric lines. I found one off a JD backhoe. Owner says it has a 8 1/8" pin to pin distance. My 580 is on an out of state property I own, so I can not check that measurement easily. Does anyone know if this bucket will fit my 580? Thanks

 

[hanksvilleman]

I was moving from Colorado to Utah and had a similar situation. Mine was related to a Massey Ferguson and I called the MF dealer to see if my application would work. They gave me exact measurements and told me that it wouldn't work without modification. Is there a dealer for your equipment near you to ask? Might want to give it a try.

 

[diggerdave1958]

Hey, lighhousealarm, i am pretty sure that the JD Bucket will NOT fit you Case machine i have a Case 580SE now and the ears on the Case are 10" and 5" top and bottom. I have had a few Case machines over the years and they all take the same size buckets, but i have never had a 580CK but the 580C and my 580SE are the same. Hope this help you.

 

[stumpjumper83]

I wouldn't buy a 12" bucket anyhow. You will find that you have to work very hard to get material out of them. Wet clay can nearly be impossible to get out of a 12" bucket. Narrowest that I would go is a 16", and if you have to work in the ditch you will prefer it was dug with a 24". If shallow is the goal, get a frost tooth and use that for the little ditches and leave the 12" idea alone.

But thats just my opinion, and it will not hurt my feelings one bit if you get the 12" and like it, but every time I use one I find it is faster to use a 24" cause the dirt falls out easily compared to having to bang the bucket or dig it out w/ a hickory handled hoe.

 

[diggerdave1958]

I agree with stumpjumper about the 12" bucket not being a easy bucket to clear we have a lot of clay in Michigan and i do NOT own a 12" bucket and can't see a day when i would need one.

 

[DGODGR]

I have 12"buckets for several of my machines. IMO they have there place. Hell, I even have an 8" bucket for my 416C. But I digress. While I think it's not very likely that the buckets are interchangeable, I would not rule it out. Case in point (get it?):
About 20 years ago I got to demo a new John Deere 310C. The company I was working for had, primarily, Case backhoes. The "K" series had just come out about a year prior. The bucket that was on that 310 belongeed to my employers. It was a 12" bucket for a Case. Wether it was from a "C", 'D", "E", or "K" was unclear, though I believe they all can share buckets, so I guess it doesn't matter.

 

[Phil]

I have heard the same news, the 18" is the preferred bucket for trenching. I won't buy a 12" now unless someone throws it in with the machine. I believe the 580CK through 580K share the same bucket type. Phil

 

[Tinkerer]

I have seen buckets with the backs cut out and then had several rows of chain welded in to replace it. The chains were long enough that they would easily flop back and forth. It worked really well in wet clay. If the bucket did plug, a spade could penetrate the clay from the back between the chains.

 

[davidd]

I am always thinking of ways to do things.
The chain thing sparked some thoughts from the ether.
Fabricate the chain thru holes in the bucket so that they are slack while digging.
As the bucket is curled open to dump, the chain tightens and Pullsthe clay out. Sorta like a mechanical thumb

 

[DGODGR]

The way you dig can effect how the bucket unloads too. If you take small even cuts, that fill the bucket gradually over the entire length of the machine reach, the clay will not be packed in the bucket as tightly as if you just "shove" the bucket through the dirt, and therefore will not have the same amount of stiction that makes it hard to dump out. We've all heard the term "let the tool do the work" comes to mind.

 

[cgraham1]

I have heard the same news, the 18" is the preferred bucket for trenching. I won't buy a 12" now unless someone throws it in with the machine. Phil

Where I live, footings for a single story building only need to be 12", and homeowners don't like to buy extra concrete when they don't need it. I prefer a 12" bucket for trenching & french drains.... why dig a wider trench than you need? More dirt to haul off, more gravel to back fill (drains). No thanks.
We do have clay soil which makes digging in mud a PIA, but I just throw on a wider bucket if I need to, it only takes 5 minutes to swap from 12" to 18".

 

[nilzlofgren]

I have heard the same news, the 18" is the preferred bucket for trenching. I won't buy a 12" now unless someone throws it in with the machine. I believe the 580CK through 580K share the same bucket type. Phil

The 580K is the first model to have the quick coupler. 10.5 inches inside of "top" bucket "ears". 5 inches inside "bottom" bucket "ears". 14.25 inches from pin center to pin center.

 

[diggerdave1958]

Here in Michigan footing need to be twice the width of the block being use 8" block = 16" wide footing, 12" block = 24" wide footing and so on. The only time i have seen 6" block used is on garages but if the garage is attached then you would use the same size blocks as the house and the footing need to be 42" deep.

 

[amunderdog]

18" and 24" are the two most used backhoe buckets. 36" occasional use.
Tried a 12" for trenching. It was terrible in every way.
Always wanted to try a ripper.

 

[cgraham1]

Where I live, footings for a single story building only need to be 12"

Our footings only need to be 12" deep x 12" wide for a slab floor. On a raised floor, the footings have to be twice as wide as the block, usually they're just dug 18" wide....

Here in Michigan footing need to be twice the width of the block being use 8" block = 16" wide footing, 12" block = 24" wide footing and so on. The only time i have seen 6" block used is on garages but if the garage is attached then you would use the same size blocks as the house and the footing need to be 42" deep.

Obviously, where I live, the frost line is not quite as deep as it is in Michigan!

 

[JS580SL]

Lets just say my one foot bucket has been worn completely through and plated and the shanks are getting long. 2 and 4 inch main we use the one foot as well as use it alot when digging around tightly packed together utilities.

6 and 8 inch main we use the 18 inch which is worn alot to. Anything bigger use a 24inch bucket. Digging around here varies. Alot of ledge, boulders, gravel, clay, sand. New England is nothing but a mystery as to what your gonna run into.

 

[quigoline]

IMHO 18" is min...

 

[jcb1968]

I use a 9" bucket all the time on the farm as you can see in the photo
If you look closely, you should see that has open sides that help the clay/soil tip out

 

[Brandt]

I love my 12" bucket and use it almost exclusively. Then again we have no clay and very little moisture in the soil here. What we do have is ROCKS. From pea gravel size to the size of an F-250. I use the 12" bucket because my machine doesn't have the horsepower to dig into the rocks with an 18" or 24".
When I sell my old 530CK, I'm keeping the 12" bucket and the 24" will go with it.

 

[starcarfx]

I have a 12 inch bucket on my machine and in clay it is hard to empty out if its wet and real hard to work in the trench but it is great in rock and to pull tree stumps you can cut roots real fast