HOMEMADE RESIDENTIAL FRONT END LOADER WITH 12 VOLT ACTUATORS POWERED BY 24 VOLTS 

The philosophy I have always taken is: 1. - Evaluate what I can gain if I am successful with the project. 2. - Can I build it in such a way that I can make corrections if I do something wrong? 3. - Can I afford to totally fail? I have found throughout my life that most offen I am successful. Also, that even when I totally fail and have to scrap the project, what I learn is most valuable.

I am trying to do the best I can. I hope more home fabricators will take on the challenge of building their own residential loaders. Thanks for the undeserved praise. Ed

Yes, thanks

Many thanks!

Thanks for the subscription!

Glad you enjoyed it

Glad you like it!

It works for me.

Thanks

I am glad you find them inspirational. I would like to see more people build their own. The actuators I use are rated at 1320 pounds or 6000 newtons. They are 12 volt actuators that I am running on 24 volts. So far they are holding up without any alteration. The actuators are measured by their stroke, so a 10 inch will extend 10 inches. The overall extended length and retracted length are provided in the ad. They are available on Amazon. Here is the link for the 10 inch. www.amazon.com/dp/B07S2R4RCX?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details Also, I have several videos on actuator performance experiments and one video on repair / upgrade. If I can help with anything else, let me know. Ed

Do you have the electrical switches and relays as shown in the video?

I do not recommend exceeding 24 volts using the medical equipment style actuators. I have been running 48 volts (2 - 24v batteries connected in series) on one of my loaders as an endurance test. Electrically the actuators can handle the 48 volts however the 48v is so strong that you will likely strip the internal gears of the actuators if you get the loader into a bind. I've been contemplating a new video explainig the issue.

There is generally a very slight timing difference with actuators going from stop to stop. This seems to be caused by slight mismatch in the stop switch positioning (usually less than 1/32 or .030 inch) rather than actual motor speed. Matched brands - for example, 2 Vevor actuators should be reasonable close. I have built several electric loaders and other electric devices that use actuators. For loaders I have found that there is enough flexing in the loader frame to make allowance for the tiny difference in travel. Unless you build your loader arms really heavy and extremely rigid you should be able to use the actuators without any real concern. And if you are building extremely heavy duty, you should probably go with hydraulics. I hope this helps. Ed

@@eds2centsworth203 Yes it does! Thank you Sir!

Here is a link for the 4 position switch - www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07H3NTWDD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Yes, I simply use the tractor frame as ground because the 12 volt battery negative terminal is connected to the tractor frame. It serves well for the 24 volts as well. However there is no problem with creating an isolated negative circuit, but I see no practical reason for doing so. I just use tractor frame - it's simple. Hope this helps, Ed

www.amazon.com/dp/B07H3NTWDD?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details I hope this helps. Ed

It definitely helped. Thank you!

The idea of using electrical actuators is to keep costs low in comparison to hydraulics. This works strickly for the homeowner situation where speed is not the main issue. That having been said it sounds to me like you will be pleased with a hydraulic system rather than electric.

The loader in this video you have contacted me through uses electric actuators. It is not hydraulic. Possibly you have in mind one of my other videos on hydraulic loaders. You can see all of my videos on my channel " Ed's 2 Cents Worth ".

Hydraulics are not new to me, but as pointed out in many of my videos, I have been experimenting with the DC electric systems to see if they are a viable option to hydraulics. I have been sharing this information by means of videos. Some things that I have learned by my experimentation and communication with other builders are as follows: Point 1. You hit the nail on the head when you said "A hydrlics system might cost more". I have built loaders with hydraulics. There is a considerable greater cost with hydraulics. At least 5 to 1 when using the electric actuators depicted. Point 2. There are people out there that are constantly striving to find another way at doing things. Sometimes they actually improve things by their persistant efforts. I mean if we didn't try things different we wouldn't have cheeseburgers, just hamburgers, we wouldn't have flat screen television, just the old bulky box televisions. Point 3. Many would be loader builders are on severely limited budgets. They've got to use that riding mower as a platform to build off. They don't know much about metal fabrication but are willing to learn on a project that they can afford to mess up on. They can't afford or do not think it is worth the $1000 - $1500 dollars to buy the hydraulics to install on a riding mower - so they opt for the $200 - $300 install of electric actuators. In other words for many builders, the simpler inexpensive electric version is the place to learn and then later opt for the hydraulic version. Now it should be acknowledged that at the current time hydraulics are definitely superior! However, that may not always be. Personally, I applaud the builders that have figured out the different ways to build there loaders. It is inspiring to see their ingenuity. Please don't fault us for trying to build a better hamburger.

You are really smart.

You protect them from weather by creating covering for each actuator or the only other option is to not use in bad weather and keep covered when not in use ( park inside garage or shop - best, put a good quality tarp over - 2nd best).

Be sure to watch this video for voltage above 24 - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-p5BOtLRpDs8.html

That depends. Using the same design that I used - if you have a source of used steel that you can repurpose you can probably build the loader for around $400 to $500.00. If you are buying everything new it would be around $950.00. My build was a mix of repurposed and new materials. I figure I have about $750 invested in materials. Ed

Also, I used existing tool batteries, so I didn't need to buy the batteries. I you don't have any battery operated tools then that would be an additional cost. While the loader will run on a 1 amp hour battery, I recommend at least a 4 amp hour battery. Ed

@@eds2centsworth203 I thought you were using a 12v tractor battery. you are using 18v corless tool batteries/ I guess I need to rewatch the video I missed that.

Using 12 volt tractor battery to supply power to Joystick. The joystick then supplies 12 volts to the switching terminals of the solenoid relays. I use a 24 volt tool battery to the big terminals on the solenoid relays. The relays send 24 volts to the actuators. @@southbridgeforestHOA