BX 2200 FEL Operation Problems???

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

I just got a new BX 2200 with a FEL. I will primarily use the FEL for snow removal and for moving mulch occasionaly and other stuff I am sure. BUT when I tried the FEL on the driveway it is causing scraping marks in the black top. I have tried putting the FEL in the float position, but it still makes marks. My driveway is 200 feet long and 12 feet wide, so I will need to make a lot of passes. What am I doing wrong?? Does your FEL make marks on your driveway? Is this the way it works?, I hope not?? I feel sick paying all this money for something that will destroy my driveway. Should I call the dealer and trade in the FEL for a snow blower?, I would hate to pay $$ for my mistake… HELP…


One other problem I am having is with the 60" deck and anti scalp wheels. If I keep the mower deck on the 3 inch setting and adjust the wheels to the "C" setting as per the book, the wheels roll and support the deck. I thought the deck was suppose to float and the wheels prevented the lawn from being scalped, but do operate at all times. What am I doing wrong??

Thanks in advance for all your help.

Oh by the way the tractor is GREAT!!, just a few minor problems….I hope.

Tom

 

[TresCrows]

Well, not sure Kubota has perfected anti-gravity yet but if you let the 560 lbs FEL float on a soft black top driveway with the power and traction of a 4WD tractor behind it I imagine in short order you will need a new drive, no fear, the BX can help smooth and grade it for the new blacktop!!!!!!
Your MMM may need some minor adjustment but most likely you just need to set the anti scalp wheels were they provide the needed 1/2 to 3/4 clearence when set on a hard flat surface. When on the lawn they will likely skip and roll along and this is normal operation. There is nothing majic about the 3/4 inch adjustment, anywhere from say 0.5 inches up to nearly an inch will work well.
Sorry about the drive but loaders are meant for scooping and digging and it sounds to me like it is operating just as intended, scooping and digging. Keep the FEL and next year get yourself a rear 3-point snowblower, not a snow expert >>>>>me<<<<<<<<, but I think that would be my choice.
Now that you got yourself a tractor, you will have to learn to operate it, it will take more than one afternoon and in the process consider a scraped driveway Lesson number 1.
J

 

[EdKing]

Was you going foward or backward with the FEL in the float posistion ? You have to go backwards with the float, otherwise it has a tendency to dig in and scrape.

Ed King

 

[Charliebrn]

As for the FEL, you could just have the bucket rolled back too far. Raise up the bucket and look at the bottom...you'll notice that the sides of the bucket have a lip that extends down about a quarter inch, and they WILL dig into blacktop. Also notice that the front cutting edge doesn't have this. To stop making grooves in your blacktop, just do what I did: Tilt the bucket down enough that the back sides of the bucket are up about an inch, then let it float...the cutting edge will support the weight of the bucket, spreading the weight across the entire front of the bucket, with the back sides up just a bit, eliminating the scoring that you get if the edges are riding the blacktop. Been there, done that. I solved this completely by welding a skid plate along the bottom back edge of the bucket from one end to the other, the same thickness as the lip at the edges...now I can tilt the bucket back if need be to get the cutting edge up and still not mark my drive. Either way will keep you blacktop nice.

Trescrows is right about the mower, I had to raise the antiscalp rollers one adjustment hole to keep them from rolling on the ground...now they touch and roll just occasionally when my lawn is uneven.

 

[ewoss3]

normally I don't use the float position for pushing snow. Just lower the fel, place the blade at a flat angle then start pushing and adjust the blade as you go. the key to pushing with the fel is go slow and watch

 

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

An update...

Spoke to the dealer today about the FEL marking the driveway. He said they can order a hard plastic that is 6" wide, by 1" thick, and the width of the bucket, that can be bolted to the bottom of the bucket. Cost is about $100., think I will go with this option. I know it will need to be replaced as it wears, but the way our winters are going, who knows how long it will take!!!!!!!, I know next year we will get tons of snow because of that statement.....LOL, BUT I will be ready!!!

Thanks for your help on this.

Tom

 

[rock]

Tom,

I agree with Charliebrn. I got myself some angle iron and bolted it onto the sides of the loader to make skid feet for where the sides of the bucket extend down. Works great, doesn't mar my blacktop and I've got a pretty good plowing machine with the loader.

I'll probably get a back blade some time to assist in finish work, but right now, I just make two passes.

-- Rock

 

[Charliebrn]

Here's a pic of the wear plates I had put on my BX.....

 

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

Rock,

A picture or more details, size, location, etc. would be great. Since I do not have access to welding equipment, drilling and bolting sounds great! With this set up you do make any marks in the pavement??

Charlis Brown thanks for the e-mail, and picture.

Thanks

Tom

 

[rock]

Tom,
I'll see if I can't borrow a camera and take a picture, so I probably will not be able to do a picture post until the end of the week. I just went out and bought some 2" angle iron. I attach it with two drilled holes through the side of the bucket. The angle iron curves under the bucket and provides a nice level surface for the sides of the loader that extend down. I plow my blacktop with nary a scratch. I take them off for summer time mulch and dirt moving.
-- Rock

 

[frank_f15]

yankee: no mater what u do , u are going to leave some marks with fel(i move a lot of snow with it) but if u don't have it angled down to much u won't cause any per. damage. anything will mark a blactop drive and also a concrete drive, but not permentaly.heck just turning the wheeles on your car will mark it. don't be to upset.
p.s i am a yankee lover also/w3tcompact/icons/love.gif

 

[Frank]

Tom,

Here's a couple of comments for what they're worth.

I've got a 2200 and also use the FEL for snow removal. However, my driveway is only 100 feet long, but that's about the limit I think a BX can handle for snow removal with the FEL. If I get 12" or more, the weight of the snow backing up in front of the FEL is just too much to push even 100 feet, and I have a 300LB counterweight on the 3 pt and bar tires. I would agree with other opinions that have been expressed on this forum in the past. An FEL is really not a great option for snow removal on a drive of any significant length. If I had a drive that long I would get an inexpensive rear mounted blade, or even better, but more expensive, a front mounted blade.

Re: marks on the drive. I don't use the float, I angle the bucket so the front edge does make contact. It will make marks, but they seem to be gone months later. Before getting the BX I rented a B21 to move a couple yards of gravel I had delivered on the blacktop drive. Made quite a mess, scraped up the blacktop - but today I don't notice any marks.

In the long run you won't regret your purchase. The FEL is probably the single most useful implement you'll own - you'll constantly find a use for it.

Frank

 

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

Frank,

OK explain this to me, if the BX can not push the snow with the FEL for more then 100 feet, then how would a rear blade be any different? I would think pushing and pulling would be the same? Unless the rear blade pushes the snow to the side?? Was thinking of getting a rear blade, but was wondering if it too would scratch the driveway. What size rear blade would you use on the BX 2200 a 60 or 72 inch. Starting to think I should go with the rear snow blower, any suggestions on this as to a good one?

One good thing, I have until next year to worry about this! and given we only had one snow storm that I would have used the BX had I had it, perhaps this global warming thing is true???

Tom

 

[MDNick]

Tom,

I have a L3010 so my scale is a bit bigger but the principal is the same. The rear blade is MUCH better for snow removal than the FEL. The FEL is great for moving piles around, so your best, cheapest setup is FEL on the front and rear blade on the back. The reason the rear blade works so much better is that it can be angled 30-40 deg from perpendicular, so the snow rolls off to the side. The blade can be angled either way and rotates 360 so you can push as well as pull. I also got some gouges in my pavement from the FEL bucket once when I was to lazy to turn the blade around. The blade weighs MUCH less than the bucket, and you can't get a point load on the pavement like you can with the bucket edges. I don't have a mark one from the blade.

I'd highly recommend a rear blade and not a snowblower for your area. Farther north a blower is great, but it is expensive and you really don't need it in NJ. You watch, next year, now you'll get FEETs of snow.

As for length, the 72" would be way to big for a BX. 60" would probably work for snow (Other BX'ers need to weigh in on that), but not dirt. I use a 60" on my L3010 because I wanted to be able to push dirt to.

Nick

 

[Tom_Trees]

<font color=blue>As for length, the 72" would be way to big for a BX. 60" would probably work for snow (Other BX'ers need to weigh in on that), but not dirt.</font color=blue>

I have an RB60 on my 2200 -- a 60" can be angled and still cover the wheel track, a 48" is too narrow. I'm not sure about the dirt (check with me in a month -- that's one of the spring projects /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif)

Never got a chance to check out the theory, though. I just couldn't see firing up the tractor to handle 3 inches of snow, and that's the worst I got on the drive this year. And with an SUV . . . let's just say I've never worried about snow on the drive if it was under 10" deep. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Tom

 

[Frank]

Tom,

It seems like others have already anwered the question you posed to me - and I agree with their comments. If you do get a rear blade, it might be worth doing a little research checking out the web sites of different vendors: woods, howse, landpride, bushhog, etc. Most have 2-3 different models, some with features you may want to consider, e.g. offset and tilt function which could be useful in grading and ditching. Some adjust tilt with a spring latch, others you have to remove and reposition bolts - much less convenient.

Re: global warming - can't answer that one - but I hope it's not true or some of us will have to take up sailing instead of tractoring.

Frank

 

[rock]

Tom,

Here's a picture of what I did. You can kind of see how I hammered a slight contour towards the rear of the loader. They are attached with two machine screws, 5/16" as I recall, through the side of the loader. I take these feet off in the summer for dirt and mulch moving.

I plow with the loader in the float position with a slight tip forward for the best scrape. While a rear blade would be a nice addition, the FEL works so well for me that it is tough to justify it. My driveway is about 150 feet long and fans out to three cars wide at the garage end. With these feet I don't scratch the blacktop at all.

-- Rock

 

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

Rock,

Thanks for the taking the time to take a picture and posting it. Looks pretty easy and if it does not mark the driveway, the boss ( wife) will be happy, and that is always a good thing!
I think I will try this before spending $100 for rubber strip on the bottom of the bucket.

This site is great!

Tom

 

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

Just an update….

Tried the angle iron on the edges of the bucket, it helped a bit, but still marked up the driveway. I replaced the iron with a 2x4 using the same bolt holes, and held the wood about a ½" below the lip of the bucket. It worked like a charm no marks and the bucket moves along on the ground. Helped the neighbor move 20 yards of top soil and then I moved 15 yards of mulch. Never new those jobs could be so fun! Mulching which took forever and killed my back was done in less then 2 hours. Thanks guys for suggesting the FEL, even the boss likes it and now see why I spent the extra $$ for it. This BX 2200 is just a fine machine!


Regards

Tom

PS How about them Yankees!

 

[Charliebrn]

I'm happy to hear that you got it to where you are happy. It'd be a shame to see someone get rid of the most useful tool for a tractor!