Traditional pan on mb550

I've done a lot of google searching on this topic, I can't find anything. Has anyone here ditched the pit pan setup on a mb550? I love these traps, but I am not a fan of pit pans. I'm sure its an unpopular opinion, but I'm wondering if its possible to swap pans for a traditional setup. Thanks

No. You'll have to find someway to add a pan post to the frame for a standard pan to be bolted on. I thought of a way to do so while writing this post.

Right, I did think about it. I thought a small weld job would get that taken care of.

Just remember youll have a bigger deadspot as a result of doing so because you're moving the pivot point closer to the pan, which is one of the benefits of the pit pan.

I didn't think of that aspect. Maybe worth just looking at a different trap

No worries, if you have 5# of tension it's all a dead spot for anything but coyote.

That was the pan tension of the last batch of 550's I saw.

The PIT pan isn't the end all...There are several drawbacks
to getting a lighter pan tension with them.

I never have liked the PIT pan, but can see the reason many
would prefer it.

Just curious, what is there to not like about pit pans? Other than the extremely light pan tension. The pans flop and move freely as can be, the only tension added is the power of the springs pushing against the dog. If anything I wish they had a little more tension so the smaller critters wouldn’t set them off so easy.

I’m also curious about the 5lbs of tension? Mine have been well used by me, so the springs are obviously gonna be weaker than new, thus decreasing pressure on the dog and in return lowering pan tension. But I feel mine were never close to 5lbs brand new.

I’ve got 3 dozen of them purchased at least 5 years ago if not more, I wonder if they changed something in them now

if you want to change the pan tension on a mb 550 if have to bend the dog

Yes that is one way to do it, I wanna say Jeff Dunlap had a pretty good video of it a year or two ago on the YouTube. The other way to increase spring tension is by 4 coiling. Consequently lowering spring pressure will reduce pan tension, but it’s minuscule amounts and the springs would just have to age and weaken naturally. Bending the dog is definitely the way to go if a guy wants them lighter.

If you do look at a different trap might look at a victor Monty dogless 3 it's a bit bigger but not by much 99% live inside the jaws, once you get tension set it does move until springs get weak then just change out springs your right back. And same shape as mb 550 .

It would a lot easier and probably cheaper to sell your 550s and buy different traps that are set up like you want .

Pan tension is way high, like ky_coyote_hunter said, mine were at least 5#. Yes its simple enough to adjust the dog to get the pan tension down to 3ish#. I like to run a handful at a lower tension but to do that you really have to get that dog bent. At that point they're a pain to set.



What does pan tension run on these out of the box?




This is the way I'm leaning at this point

Are your traps 4 coiled? It has been my experience lately the 2 coiled run around 2.5 to 3 lbs out of the box. A few years ago the new two coiled were closer to 5. I don't think the 550s need to be four coiled when the springs are new.

So your're saying more recent production seems to be lower tension?

My last two orders were lower than they were a couple of years ago. I think they may have changed the type of springs they used. I order from Minn Trapline, maybe other suppliers still have some older ones. Are yours 4 coiled?

no just 2 coil. I purchased my traps in 2016

My older ones required bending the dogs to get the pan tension down to 3 lbs. My newer ones do not.

I ordered at least a dozen every year for the past 3 years 550’s and this year added a dozen 450’s...every one of my traps trip at the 3# mark. The 450’s may be at 2.5. Never ever had an issue with tension or pan height. All mine have been ordered from MTP.

Thanks, this is good info, maybe I'll order another dozen and see.

So it seems like the pre 2016 traps had the higher pan tension. I wonder what changed? I know the first generation mb 550’s have a different pan and a longer dog. But I don’t remember hearing of any changes to them in the past 10 years, besides their little disclaimer on the website of them maybe, sometimes, using foreign parts. I’d be curious to see if the pre 2016 traps maybe had a little stronger, made in the USA springs, and the latter ones maybe have foreign made ones. Or perhaps something happened with the grinding of the dogs or stamping the pans. Either way the traps I own have a pan tension that is around 2.5-3 pounds. I’d prefer a little heavier, but they work for my purposes.

And I had said above that mine were 5 years old , but after thinking about it, I believe that I started buying the 550’s in 2016

I bought mine in end of 2016, beginning of 2017, and they all are in the 4.5-5.5 pound range.

Great question. Love the trap, absolutely hate the non adjustable pan.