We are often asked about ribs in wide or tilting buckets, should I put one of these in or not? We have a detailed look at the Pros and Cons of this add on, and review some applications where they are best used.

Pros

1. Strength to the cutting edge and bucket wrap. This is one of the obvious pros for the rib, giving extra strength and stiffness to the base of the bucket, reducing the chance of denting the bottom of the bucket, and stiffening up the cutting edge so there is less chance of flex when cutting through hard material

2. Splitting up clay. When cutting and loading out heavy clay material the rib can act as a knife in the centre of the bucket helping to break the material up into more manageable chunks - rather than staying as one slab.

Cons

1. Clogging up the bucket. Because the rib ads more corners to the bucket it increases the areas in where material can pack in and start to build up, this can be especially frustrating when working in sticky clay.

2. Hard to pick up large items. With the bucket split with a large rib sticking out in the centre of the bucket, it can make it hard to pick up large and awkward items such as large slabs of concrete. It can also make it hard to pick up your other buckets for transport.

3. Reduced working flex. The rib converts the bucket into a solid structure and reduces the working flex that is engineered into the design, this therefore increases the likely hood of cracking.

Note that the Attach2 Wide and Tilt Buckets have a BIS 500 cutting edge and BIS 400 bucket wrap - this does helps to reduce the flex when their is no rib compared to other brands, find out more here.

We also have a look at some applications where they are good to have and where they are not so desirable to have.

Applications it is good to have a rib.

1. Working in hard material where extra strength is needed to stiffen up the cutting edge.

2. Where the operator is using the base of the bucket to pat down any material making a hard surface, such as on sea and river rock wall erosion control, these operators are often referred to in the industry as Patties! The rib will help protect the bucket from being dented.

3. Ribs are great for hire machines where the equipment is not necessarily driven by competent operators, this will protect you and your client from getting a damaged bucket.

4. Machines that are used in multipurpose applications, or in conjunction with a thumb, you can never be too sure what these machines will be doing next so it is a good idea to protect them from the start.

Applications where it is not so good to have a rib.

1. Using a rib in sticky material is not so good as they can quickly build up with clay material around them decreasing the capacity of the bucket and increasing the weight.

2. Bulk material shifting as the rib can sometimes cause more resistance increasing the time it can take to empty each bucket load.

3. Where you are expecting to be picking up large and awkward items, as the rib can get in the way making your job as an operator harder.

Overall having a rib or not is generally a personal preference, and comes down to the operator’s style.

Ribs are available for all of Attach2's wide and tilt buckets from 5 tons up, please ask us for one of these when pricing your next bucket if required.