# NEED HELP WITH SLOW MOVING 48 inch snowsweeper on bobcat 453



## studentscape (Nov 9, 2008)

My Bobcat 453 with a 15 hp 3 cyl kubota diesel engine : I just bought an angle broom. I changed the hydraulic couplers to fit my machine (the sweeper is bobcat brand, but the couplers still needed changing) The broom spins when the hydraulics are engaged however not nearly fast enough with little torque. How can i improve the power, is there a hydraulic restrictor valve on the 453? Snow is almost here I want my toy to work Please help obi one kanobi your my only hope!


----------



## 02powerstroke (Nov 7, 2006)

It could be a problem with the valve for the aux hydralics not opening all the way we had that happen to are 773G, but I just checked and a 453 only has about 9-10GPM flow where as the bigger machines like the S150 have closer to 17GPM and high flow machines are about 25GPM. Is the broom made for this size machine?


----------



## grsp (Oct 19, 2008)

sorry buddy, there is now way that your bobcat is going to turn the broom anywhere close to the speed that is required to move snow. my s250 has to have the hi-flow turned on to get it to spin fast enough. thats a tough lesson to learn.


----------



## heather lawn spray (Mar 11, 2003)

grsp;629684 said:


> sorry buddy, there is now way that your bobcat is going to turn the broom anywhere close to the speed that is required to move snow. my s250 has to have the hi-flow turned on to get it to spin fast enough. thats a tough lesson to learn.


^^^ what he said

We've got the 4_*6*_3 with 22.5 hp and it's labouring to keep its SB150 snowblower running, and it's only 48". Check the manufacturier's requirement for the sweeper against the 9.8 gph of the 463/S70. We've also got a 48 sweeper on a 20 hp gas Deere mower it's ok. 15 may be just plain lack of flow and power

Our old 443 was the 15 hp. It didn't even have hydraulics, I suspect for the reason you are now encountering

Trust the Force Luke and the engineers at Bobcat. You may have to step up to S70(463) to get the minimum flow required. If it's any help the SB150 on the 463 kicks-butt.


----------



## Mr Bigblock (Dec 9, 2008)

I run 3 Bobcat Angle Brooms all on S130's I have S100's too i dont think they would have enough power to move never mind a 463. I hope a Bobcat dealer did not tel you it would work.


----------



## leon (Nov 18, 2008)

*sweeper*



studentscape;629527 said:


> My Bobcat 453 with a 15 hp 3 cyl kubota diesel engine : I just bought an angle broom. I changed the hydraulic couplers to fit my machine (the sweeper is bobcat brand, but the couplers still needed changing) The broom spins when the hydraulics are engaged however not nearly fast enough with little torque. How can i improve the power, is there a hydraulic restrictor valve on the 453? Snow is almost here I want my toy to work Please help obi one kanobi your my only hope!


First things first:

Did you buy 2 identical female and 2 identical male replacement couplers for both hoses?

The couplers are the huge restriction for any attachment and this may warrant purchasing threaded adapter fittings for the hoses to mount the broom as they will allow full oil flow to the motor-the hydraulic couplers are simply a convenience item for the end user.

You may simply need to buy four adapter fittings to plumb the broom two for the broom and two for the boom and just buy the proper hydraulic plugs and caps for the hoses and fittings on the boom.

The added time to attach and detach the hoses and fittings may be all that is needed.

Does the broom run at the same speed in forward or reverse?

Does the oil filter have a restriction indicator on it? if it is showing a restricted flow during operation it needs a new filter be sure to fill the filter with oil prior to installing it.

Is the oil level adequate during operation? the pump may be starved for oil assuming it is still a closed center hydraulic system.

Where did you buy the couplers? what brand? aeroquip, parker etc. they all have a flow rating reference on them, and this is a majority of the problem due to flow restrictions in the couplers.

Aeroquip couplers are a full flow design.

As it is an auxilary circuit it may be that there a needle valve on the control circuit to restric flow and not rob flow to the primary functions-being forward and reverse that you are unaware of?

If the auxillary valve has a lot of time on it it may be bypassing back to tank as well.

The typical axial piston hydraulic pump generates a huge amount of pressure.

Does the broom rotate at the same speed in both directions?-thats your first clue. There may be a one way check valve to direct flow through the motor.

Where are the guage wheels set if any? How much down pressure if the sweeper has no guage wheels?

If none of the above fits, if it is chain driven(sorry its been a while) a sprocket change out for the sweeper drum chain drive may be in order reducing the drum sprocket and or motor sprocket size will increase the drum speed but only if the sweeper is chain driven.

Finding out the actual rpm is the first step and then determing the speed with the new sprockets is easily done. A smaller driven sprocket will generate faster operating speeds.

A Sprerry Vickers hydraulic vane motor will run much faster than a geroller motor so this is an option to consider with the sprokets as well. a mounting adapter will be all that is needed if the face plates are not the same.

The first thing to do (if the couplers are two matched sets) is flow rate the circuit of the sweeper drive to be sure it is working properly and go from there following the hoses back to the valve body on the pump.

You may simply have a weak relief valve spring on the diversion valve for the auxillary circuit allowing oil to bypass back to tank.

Until you flow rate the pump it is unreliable to guess from out here as it will narrow the problem down to the circuit being used.

One more thing- is it possible the right stick is pushed slightly to the right affecting the flow to the boom by allowing some oil to go to the auxillary circuit? ussmileyflag


----------



## Mr Bigblock (Dec 9, 2008)

An Angle Broom will only run in one direction its not a pick up broom their is no way a 463 would have enough flow to run that broom i dont care what couplers you put on it. Go back to the dealer and tell him to shove he will now try to upsell you to a bigger machine.


----------



## heather lawn spray (Mar 11, 2003)

We cleaned an aircraft landing gear factory 's parking lot with a rented 60" pick-up sweeper attached to our 4_6_3 each spring for 3 year's wesport. The biggest issue was worrying about falling on my nose on a lift-and-dump. I can't spreak to the 4_5_3's ability to drive a pick-up sweeper, but I suspect it won't have the power at 15 hp.Our 4_6_3's predecessor the 4_4_3 was bucket only, no aux hydraulics, and not alot of power.


----------



## raceyz125 (Nov 14, 2008)

studentscape,

What model number is the sweeper? Is it Bobcat brand? Hopefully dealer did'nt sell this to you.

Let us know what model it is.

Thanks


----------

