My scoops are daily drivers, my high capacity bucket sits in the weeds on the regular. Just today I loaded out 35 yards of unchippable crap with the scoops.
Another trick when using the Scoops is to turn the scoops so they are perpendicular to the machine and open the grapple. One scoop is in the air and the other is acting like a dozer blade. Push into the pile and close. I do that for snow often.
My $.02 is to get the drum balanced after you are done welding and grinding. Otherwise your new bearings will go away quicker or ,god forbid, catastrophically.
Is it possible to disconnect the rotator mechanism so it can free spin? I think getting it off is the easy part with one lifting point getting it back on and lined up you might need multiple rigging points to adjust your “level”.
I like Husqvarna muffs personally. They seem to grip my melon tightly with a good solid seal around the muffs, and I have not had any issues using them with SMH 10’s. I’m not familiar with Hellbergs but Peltors are my least favorite muffs, they clung to my head like a loose scarf.