Bucket couplers options?

[Makers Acres]

I was hoping to get some opinions from some of you experienced with excavators... specifically buckets.

I just bought a Bobcat 442 machine with a damaged bucket. What I took for granted here is I thought there would be a standard for buckets like skid steer attachments. I WAS SO WRONG! I was surprised to find out that these come in a lot of different sizes and options.

After doing a lot of research, I found out mine has a Wain-Roy quick coupler. A lot of the bushings look like they are worn out and will probably need changing.

So my question is, is this an ok style, should I switch it to something different? What have you guys found that you liked and works best?

This is just a personal machine for use around my farm, so I don’t see myself having more than a couple of buckets and maybe adapting my breaker attachment and auger to fit on the end.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[Tags]

I am personally not a big fan of the wainroy style coupler, but for what you're going to use it for it would be just fine, especially since it already has it. It would get quite expensive to switch to a different style coupler and all new buckets at this point. You can find the Wainroy buckets relatively easily and I don't feel that they are overly expensive. I'm not a big fan because the buckets get very loose on the coupler because of the way it wears. If you can weld and have a decent welder you can periodically dress up the bucket and coupler with some welding and ginding. Also Wainroy has a coupler with an "XLS system" which is a plate on the coupler and a plate inside the bucket that gives the ability to shim the wear and also gives a larger contact area. You can find lots of used Wain Roy stuff on machinery trader.

 

[Makers Acres]

I am personally not a big fan of the wainroy style coupler, but for what you're going to use it for it would be just fine, especially since it already has it. It would get quite expensive to switch to a different style coupler and all new buckets at this point. You can find the Wainroy buckets relatively easily and I don't feel that they are overly expensive. I'm not a big fan because the buckets get very loose on the coupler because of the way it wears. If you can weld and have a decent welder you can periodically dress up the bucket and coupler with some welding and ginding. Also Wainroy has a coupler with an "XLS system" which is a plate on the coupler and a plate inside the bucket that gives the ability to shim the wear and also gives a larger contact area. You can find lots of used Wain Roy stuff on machinery trader.

Thank you. I don't really have any buckets for it, so if I do have to switch, now is the time. I do / can weld. The broken bucket that came with it is beyond repair and I did notice how bad the play is in the bucket.

 

[suladas]

I ditched the wain roy on my 6 ton, after 6 years I was sick of constantly fighting a loosing battle of trying to keep the buckets tight, even though I only put about 300 hours on a year it was non stop working on it. I went to a EFI wedge coupler. There is a ton of options wedge coupler and pin grabber are most common. Coupler was $1200 and $430 per set of ears. Best bet is to look and see if you can find used buckets then just buy a coupler. Since I already had 5 attachments it was easier to just convert all mine. It's only been a few months since I did it but it's a million times better. Faster to switch buckets, and no play ever again.

 

[KSSS]

I would find a pin grabber coupler. The idea of quick coupler is that it is quick and hopefully tight. Neither of those applies to the WR. I think the Werk Brau buckets are really good and reasonably priced.

 

[Makers Acres]

I would find a pin grabber coupler. The idea of quick coupler is that it is quick and hopefully tight. Neither of those applies to the WR. I think the Werk Brau buckets are really good and reasonably priced.

Is that a powered coupler?

 

[KSSS]

Yea it can be or mechanical. The Werk Brau coupler in both forms is pretty good, but there are others. My new Taki 257 came with a Strickland which seems to be decent so far. What I like about the hyd coupler is it keeps tension on the pins and of course you don't have to get out of the cab to change buckets. I have had 4 machines with the Werk Brau mechanical coupler. This is the first time with a hyd. Strickland pin grabber coupler. I will never go back to a mech coupler again that is certain.

 

[AzIron]

Live and die wain Roy it's like anything else when you know the quirks and tricks they are really simple to keep in good shape everything I own is wain Roy

Because I have probably around 70 grand in wainroy attachments I wont switch I take a saturday once a year and build up the coupler itself with 7018 if you keep the buckets tight they dont get sloppy as fast it takes about 10 minutes for me to weld a bucket to shim it with 2 or 3 passes as needed I have buckets with well over 10000 hrs and couplers that are over 6000 hrs

I can change buckets in under a minute or have a hammer on in under 2 it's just a matter of what your used to working with

A good pin grabber is going to cost a pretty penny

 

[Makers Acres]

I also need to order these compatible for a thumb attachment too right?

 

[Sourov1]

I have a kobelco sk125sr-2,serial no YV06-05889.There is no code but when try to off the key switch it doesn't off.I replace a battery relay with new one but the problem doesn't solve.can any one help me please.

 

[catman13]

i prefer pin grabber , i can turn the bucket around and dig or spread gravel into tight corners ,
WR are ok, wedge lock are ok . it does not make a difference brand if you dont take care of them they all fall apart

 

[Makers Acres]

Really appreciate all the feedback everyone!

 

[Makers Acres]

I have a kobelco sk125sr-2,serial no YV06-05889.There is no code but when try to off the key switch it doesn't off.I replace a battery relay with new one but the problem doesn't solve.can any one help me please.

I think you may have accidentally posted your question to my thread and you need to post in the main excavator board.

 

[Tags]

If you are going to buy a new coupler, I would go with a pin grabber, it could be manual or hydraulic, and you should buy the thumb at the same time so it matches the buckets the coupler and everything goes together the way it should. I would look at Strickland and Werk Brau but there are plenty others out there. I’ve had very good luck with Werk Brau myself. A pin grabber will push the bucket out a bit and you will need to be careful of potential clearance issues with the lift cylinders and possibly the cab too.

 

[suladas]

i prefer pin grabber , i can turn the bucket around and dig or spread gravel into tight corners ,
WR are ok, wedge lock are ok . it does not make a difference brand if you dont take care of them they all fall apart

Comparing maintenance on the wain roy to that of a pin grabber or wedge coupler is like comparing maintenance on a 2 ton and 200 ton excavator. You can run a wedge coupler or pin grabber for 1000's of hours without ever touching it. Run a wain roy for a few hundred hours without shimming it and the bucket will swing side to side an 1" or more, and if you let it get too much slop it puts stress on other areas and destroys the coupler, speaking from experience of having to remove the thing 2 things to weld it back together. I would run pin on attachments before I ran a wain roy again. The coupler is also a safety hazard, once there is a bit of slop if you push away on the bucket it will break the cotter key and then the pin can fall out and next the bucket falls off if you don't see the pin fall out.

It's one thing to keep wain roy around if you have tons of money tied up into attachments, but to buy a machine and start out fresh with it would be pure insanity and to recommend that option to someone would be doing them an incredible disservice. I didn't even try to sell my wain roy coupler, I threw it in the garbage where it belongs.

 

[gggraham]

As a mechanic I hated Wainroy they do two things. If they were swapping buckets constantly they get sloppy. If they change buckets infrequently the pin always seized. The hydraulic pin grabber was always trouble free and a lot quicker to swap attachments. Maybe the odd time a hose gets scrubbed but they are fairly maintenance free. I have to agree with Suladas about the wainroy coupler.

 

[KSSS]

"It's one thing to keep wain roy around if you have tons of money tied up into attachments, but to buy a machine and start out fresh with it would be pure insanity and to recommend that option to someone would be doing them an incredible disservice."

Cant say it any better than that. I would only add that if I was a contractor, I would pay what it took to convert everything over to pin grabber. Homeowner/private use, maybe not.

 

[delectric123]

Go with a hydraulic pin grabber, you'll never look back. I found a used one on Machinery Trader, and got by with paying a bit less than new. You will have slightly less bucket breakout force, but you will gain more reach. I have a Geith and really like it's simple but durable design. I've switched buckets several hundred times and the coupler still works like new.

 

[Makers Acres]

Wow, all of you have been awesome and have made me laugh! Thank you all for the wonderful recommendations. Sounds like mine is going in the trash!

 

[cuttin edge]

I find bobcat's own coupler to be the slickest I have ever seen. Out 4.2 has a lot of hours on it, and the bucket is swapped out several times a day, and it's still tight. It's a hydraulic system, you don't have to leave the cab, so probably pricy, but I am a fan.