Mconnell power arm

ARW

Member
Location
Yorkshire
We had a foster digger and I still have night mares about spending my short childhood shifting the Massey 690 on while my dad cleans ditches out.
On the bright side the top link pin once fell out and threw him in the sh!t, a pin one broke on the side and threw him in the dyke and the frame that stops it being lifted too high once broke and catapulted him across the field!
 

ste

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Derbyshire
Mines like this one but more rusty and with a different spool block, has 2 buckets with it and would be looking for around £400 for it. As I say though I've not used it for several years now so not sure if it all works ok.


849699
 

milkloss

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
East Sussex
I’ll put my head above the parapet and say that back actors do have their place! As long as you are aware of the pitfalls they are very handy, always there ready to go and cheap to keep. There not a hope in hell of finding a 1.5t spinny that could cope with any work round here for £2k, you’re just buying someone else‘s trouble.

We’ve got a foster with seat on the back of the 956, not saying it’s comfy or particularly efficient, just useful.
 

Wellytrack

Member
You will buy something like this for around £2.5k to 3k give or take. Not a hope I’d be within a mile of that bloody contraption on the trailer - and I’m miserable too.

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mixed breed

Member
Mixed Farmer
The one on ebay looks like it's been made to 3point linkage.. Its probably perfectly usable but they really need to be on the original brackets which allow the weight of the tractor to be transfered onto the legs to make it a sturdy digging outfit.

Had one for years on a mf 165, light outfit and dual wheels were often added for ditching on wetland, later mounted it on a 390t, removed the pto pump and operated it off the tractors twin flow hydraulics had plenty of power and handy having controls mounted on rear of cab as you could kneel on seat to dig, then a quick turn round to move on a bit.
I still have some m Connel buckets lying about if anyones interested..
 

Boohoo

Member
Location
Newtownabbey
The one on ebay looks like it's been made to 3point linkage.. Its probably perfectly usable but they really need to be on the original brackets which allow the weight of the tractor to be transfered onto the legs to make it a sturdy digging outfit.

Had one for years on a mf 165, light outfit and dual wheels were often added for ditching on wetland, later mounted it on a 390t, removed the pto pump and operated it off the tractors twin flow hydraulics had plenty of power and handy having controls mounted on rear of cab as you could kneel on seat to dig, then a quick turn round to move on a bit.
I still have some m Connel buckets lying about if anyones interested..
The ebay one that I posted the link to is bracket mounted
 

penntor

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
sw devon
I remember looking at a power arm digger many years ago. It mounted onto the tractor, not the link arms and had fixed legs. The whole digger lifted up and down on a small ram. I think it had to have specific brackets for the tractor it was being put on, that's why we did not buy it.
I run a Twose 190 on the back of a Fordson Major, useful bit of kit to have around for cleaning ditches and doing up hedges, get someone in with a JCB for bigger jobs.
 

Boohoo

Member
Location
Newtownabbey
If you email me your post code and lats/longs I will glad order an orbital bombardment to ensure the complete and full destruction of these contraptions and rid the Earth of them.


Its the only way to be sure. There are less painful means of self punishment.
A spade is more painful than moving a few levers so I'll stick with my back actor, unless you want to drive the spade for me?
 

Andy Nash

Member
Arable Farmer
My father bought a PA44 when I left school 40 years ago and Cornthwaite’s fitted it onto our IH 474.
Both of which are still here and working but not in concourse condition.

The brackets connect to where the drop arms go on the tractor and where the link arms fit on the trumpet housings.
You reverse the tractor up to the digger, connect the hydraulics and back up til the top pins on the bracket engage the jaws, shove the locking lever forward and connect the link arms to the digger legs and bracket.

It was designed to be easy to take on and off which it is, except when you want to remove the bracket which is a bit of a pillock on your own. Ideal if you don’t use the tractor back end much.

On the IH, you sit on the fuel tank with your feet on the bracket and when you want to move, swing your left leg over drop the clutch and into gear. Easy when you’re 18. It does mean you never need to get off the tractor though.Not sure how practical it would be on other makes.

Ours had a hedge cutter with it which was crap and worn out.
We have a grab for it which was used in the days we made field silage clamps. Saved tearing the field up. You alter the geometry of the dipper arm for that or loading stone etc.

I use a contractor now for ditching simply because the work rate of modern 360 machines mean that it is so cheap to have done. I would love to have a tidy 2.5 - 3 tonner but what are you looking at? 15k? It’s all fantasy farming to me.
So the 44 is relegated to finding drains and odd jobs.

I wouldn’t want to pay much more than scrap price for that machine and make sure you have the right brackets for it.
 

robo

Member
Location
northamptonshire
I'm looking for a back actor for my tractor and have seen one on ebay but it's called a power arm and has no seat so it has to be operated from the tractor cab how awkward is this and is it very practical compared to a backhoe, back actor or ditcher and I'm not to sure what the difference is between them all. Any advice would be very helpful
power arm is old as i am and would probably be about the same digging capacity , no slew just drag spoil to tractor wheel . i would have thought best left alone
 

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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