No Pump Needed For Hydraulic Top Link
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Bill Medley designed an independent hydraulic top link that doesn’t need auxiliary power of any kind. Replumbing a tractor for auxiliary power can cost thousands of dollars. He used a few parts from a hardware store, hydraulic hose, a $120 hydraulic cylinder, and a couple of $30 ball valves.
“I wanted to be able to adjust the top link on my compact tractor without getting off and doing it manually,” says Medley. “I didn’t want to spend the money to put in an auxiliary line, so I looked for an alternative.”
He found a commercial product, but users reported it did not stay put when set. He came up with a design that lets him adjust the top link from the tractor seat, and it stays put.
He points out that a hydraulic cylinder can be adjusted by hand if you have a place for the oil to go when you retract the ram. However, if the oil has no place to go, the ram stays put, even under extreme pressure.
He recognized that he needed a reservoir to hold the oil and keep it available, as well as a way to lock the flow of oil when he wanted.
He bought the hydraulic cylinder and mounted it in place of a standard top link. For ease of access and simplicity, he mounted his control valves and reservoir on a ROPS column beside his seat. He attached them using heavy-duty hose clamps with a block of rubber between the reservoir and the ROPS to cushion it.
“I ran hoses from the cylinder to 2 high-pressure ball valves on the ROPS,” says Medley.
Hoses from the ball valves connect at a T coupling mounted to the bottom of the reservoir. The T completes the hydraulic circuit and provides a place for the excess oil to go.
“I made the reservoir by capping a 10-in. length of 2-in. Schedule 40 pvc pipe,” says Medley. “It is never under pressure and only needs to hold about a quart of oil.”
Medley added a breather tube to the reservoir. It prevents a vacuum from forming or air from entering the system as oil is withdrawn.
“I drilled a hole in the side of the square clean-out cap at the top of the reservoir,”
says Medley. “If you drill through the top of it, rain can get in.”
To set the top link on a 3-pt. mounted implement, such as a dirt blade, Medley opens both ball valves. This releases pressure on both sides of the cylinder. To shorten the top link, he drives forward, dragging the implement and causing it to pivot on the lower links of the hitch. This retracts the ram on the top link, pushing excess hydraulic fluid into the reservoir. Reversing the procedure by backing up with the implement on the ground extends the ram.
“When the top link length is what I want, I shut both ball valves. The ram is locked in place,” says Medley.
He points out that the system also allows him to adjust the top link manually. This makes it easy to connect the top link when hooking up an implement.
“I used 1/2-in. hoses to match the ports on the cylinder,” he says. “Smaller hoses might make it harder to push the ram by hand.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, William Medley, 1065 Douglas Branch Rd., Elkview, W. Va. 25071 (ph 304 545-7738).
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No Pump Needed For Hydraulic Top Link HITCHES Bill Medley designed an independent hydraulic top link that doesn’t need auxiliary power of any kind Replumbing a tractor for auxiliary power can cost thousands of dollars He used a few parts from a hardware store hydraulic hose a $120 hydraulic cylinder and a couple of $30 ball valves “I wanted to be able to adjust the top link on my compact tractor without getting off and doing it manually ” says Medley “I didn’t want to spend the money to put in an auxiliary line so I looked for an alternative ” He found a commercial product but users reported it did not stay put when set He came up with a design that lets him adjust the top link from the tractor seat and it stays put He points out that a hydraulic cylinder can be adjusted by hand if you have a place for the oil to go when you retract the ram However if the oil has no place to go the ram stays put even under extreme pressure He recognized that he needed a reservoir to hold the oil and keep it available as well as a way to lock the flow of oil when he wanted He bought the hydraulic cylinder and mounted it in place of a standard top link For ease of access and simplicity he mounted his control valves and reservoir on a ROPS column beside his seat He attached them using heavy-duty hose clamps with a block of rubber between the reservoir and the ROPS to cushion it “I ran hoses from the cylinder to 2 high-pressure ball valves on the ROPS ” says Medley Hoses from the ball valves connect at a T coupling mounted to the bottom of the reservoir The T completes the hydraulic circuit and provides a place for the excess oil to go “I made the reservoir by capping a 10-in length of 2-in Schedule 40 pvc pipe ” says Medley “It is never under pressure and only needs to hold about a quart of oil ” Medley added a breather tube to the reservoir It prevents a vacuum from forming or air from entering the system as oil is withdrawn “I drilled a hole in the side of the square clean-out cap at the top of the reservoir ” says Medley “If you drill through the top of it rain can get in ” To set the top link on a 3-pt mounted implement such as a dirt blade Medley opens both ball valves This releases pressure on both sides of the cylinder To shorten the top link he drives forward dragging the implement and causing it to pivot on the lower links of the hitch This retracts the ram on the top link pushing excess hydraulic fluid into the reservoir Reversing the procedure by backing up with the implement on the ground extends the ram “When the top link length is what I want I shut both ball valves The ram is locked in place ” says Medley He points out that the system also allows him to adjust the top link manually This makes it easy to connect the top link when hooking up an implement “I used 1/2-in hoses to match the ports on the cylinder ” he says “Smaller hoses might make it harder to push the ram by hand ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup William Medley 1065 Douglas Branch Rd Elkview W Va 25071 ph 304 545-7738
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