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Deere vs Cat controls

Jeckyl1920

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Joined
Jul 31, 2018
Messages
226
Location
Riverside, CA
Here is the link to Wikipedia with the explanation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excavator_controls#SAE_controls

Backhoe loaders started with four lever controls for years before they ever considered joysticks. I have backhoe loader customers that won't consider running one with joysticks.
Yep, I've ran 4 stick. The awesome part about it is you can feel the hydro going thru the valves in the individual handles.

The best operator I worked with uses a case with 4 stick, owner operator. He was so good the bottom of every footing was undisturbed native, and within probably 1/8" flat across the 10 foot wide by 6 foot deep pad footings. 12 in one day, and I shoveled at most 4 shovels out of the bottom of each. I was hugely impressed.

Our "operator" jumped on the rental thinking the guy was going too slow, and dug a bunch of 6" deep gouges in the bottom of one before conceding he was outmatched by a long shot. One of my last days with that company, and I was very amused.
 

Birken Vogt

Charter Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2003
Messages
5,305
Location
Grass Valley, Ca
I learned on the JD style, and I find it most logical because the order of functions seems to go from left to right as the closest to the operator to the farthest from the operator, in order. Or, another way to look at it, the left hand controls only the main boom and the right hand controls the fine functions closest to the actual dirt.

I once had to run a Ford 4 stick, and was telling the soils engineer to get away from the side of the bucket, I was afraid I was going to smack him, I was so crossed up in my functions.
 

Bumpsteer

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Sep 2, 2009
Messages
1,333
Location
Front seat on the Struggle Bus
Occupation
Mechanical designer
Have a retired friend that only ever ran an old Ford.....doubt he could get anything else out of transport position. Lol.

He's a slow operator, every move counts, get more done in a day than most other operators.

He was the local dig the in ground pool guy, call 5 other contractors......they would give you John's number.

Ed
 

Jeckyl1920

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Joined
Jul 31, 2018
Messages
226
Location
Riverside, CA
Yep. I think excavator operators like Cat controls because they aren't always pulling sticks at an angle.

I've always used deer controls. I tried cat twice, and the second time wasn't so horrible. The first time I kept jamming the bucket on the ground trying to reach out.
 

Jeckyl1920

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2018
Messages
226
Location
Riverside, CA
Have a retired friend that only ever ran an old Ford.....doubt he could get anything else out of transport position. Lol.

He's a slow operator, every move counts, get more done in a day than most other operators.

He was the local dig the in ground pool guy, call 5 other contractors......they would give you John's number.

Ed
I tried convincing my ex boss that if he let me run the machine it would break less often and things would get done faster while the backhoe moved slower.

He didn't believe me.

This is 'Merican way of thinking. Beat it with a sledge hammer until it fits.
 

CatKC

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Joined
May 25, 2016
Messages
230
Location
North MO
View attachment 184928 My caterpillars have the choice of SAE and BHL, with BHL meaning BackHoeLoader. Therefore, the "common" Caterpillar pattern must be SAE (not ISO). My newer Cats, including the backhoes, use electronic valves as opposed to the manual one above.

As for the earlier post on a Takeuchi, all my Takeuchi minis have pattern change valves. What model Takeuchi is this plumber's mini?

My 312B is ISO - LEFT= swing & boom up/down, and not switchable.
ISO is the most common setting everywhere in the world . . . except in the US where apparently it's SAE.
I wonder why Cat changed the 'US standard' (like on the 312B) from ISO to SAE and the 'name' from ISO to BHL . . . .
 
Last edited:

heymccall

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 19, 2007
Messages
5,349
Location
White Oak, Pa
My 312B is ISO - LEFT= swing & boom up/down, and not switchable.
ISO is the most common setting everywhere in the world . . . except in the US where apparently it's SAE.
I wonder why Cat changed the 'US standard' (like on the 312B) from ISO to SAE and the 'name' from ISO to BHL . . . .
Cat says there are at least 4 patterns they recognize...
Screenshot_20180816-102059_Chrome.jpg
 

CatKC

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Joined
May 25, 2016
Messages
230
Location
North MO
Cat says there are at least 4 patterns they recognize...
View attachment 184946

I am not trying to change the 'pattern' on my 312B.
I understand there are many 'patterns' that Cat 'recognizes.
Caterpillar is -international- and they have different 'patterns' for different 'areas'.

I was just wondering WHY the -apparent standard- for the USA was changed and WHY the NAME change.
 

Jeckyl1920

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Joined
Jul 31, 2018
Messages
226
Location
Riverside, CA
I was just wondering WHY the -apparent standard- for the USA was changed and WHY the NAME change.
The world may never know. My guess is after a lazy American operator worked with the pilot sticks for a while during testing, he decided he liked the "cat" style setup better than iso for joystick purposes because he was used to a 4 lever system and that setup made it so there were less angles to pull.

I think JCB and case wobble sticks are iso. I could be wrong. Idk if they are switchable or not either, I only every used one of them, and that was a while ago.

It seems most backhoe operators who dont run excavators prefer iso, while the only operators I know that prefer SAE are those with large excavator experience.
 

mx727

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 5, 2012
Messages
68
Location
Memphis
G'day guys,

In Australia Excavators are almost all SAE and Backhoes (traditional controls) are ISO. However newer Backhoes with excavator style joysticks offer both styles.

In the SAE control pattern, the left hand controls swing (left-right) and dipper (in-out), and the right hand controls the boom (up-down) and bucket (curl-uncurl).

* Left hand left = swing left.
* Left hand right = swing right.
* Left hand forward = dipper out away from operator.
* Left hand back = dipper in toward operator.

* Right hand left = bucket curl.
* Right hand right = bucket uncurl.
* Right hand forward = boom down.
* Right hand = boom up.

The other most commonly used control pattern is ISO controls, which differs from the SAE control pattern only in that ISO controls exchange the hands that control the boom and the dipper.

I have next to no experience on Deere excavators downunder because they are as scarce as hens teeth and am curious as to what Deere controls are?

I know this is an old thread, but everything I read says this pattern is ISO but no one corrected it. Who is confused here?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excavator_controls#ISO_controls
 
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