BX-first impressions

[skipperbrown]

My bx2200 arrived Saturday before lunch w/ FEL and 60" mmm. Tiller is still on order. A/ lunch my wife asked me to show her how it worked and asked if the FEL was going to stay on or off for mowing. I showed her how everything worked and told her the fel shouldn't be too much of a problem for mowing.

She proceeded to hop on and drive off and started mowing the yard leaving me in diesel fumes. She mowed the front yard (1/2 ac) and asked if she could mow the backyard next (1/2 ac). Sure. Then she asked if she could mow the lower 1 (our version of the lower 40). Sheesh. It's my tractor and I don't ever get to use it!

I asked if I could mow the lower 1. Being a good sport, she turned the reins over to me and I was amazed at how powerful the tractor was. I am used to a gear tractor: Hit the clutch if anything bad starts to happen. Well, I got 200 ft down the fence row and I started getting too close to the fence. What to do? Hit the clutch. So I slam down on the HST. Wrong. The fel took out a plank. So less than 30 sec. and I have my first causalty. Oh well ....

Impressions on hydrostatic and mower: HST is incredible for mowing. The mower takes a huge cut w/o so much as breaking a sweat. Mowing w/ fel, well, if you have a lot of obstacles, it becomes a task raising and lowering the bucket to miss trees and limbs and, uh, fence planks. The tractor is so powerful you can mow at full speed, the only limitation is the roughness of your lawn/field. Those little tires are not as comfortable as big tires in the field. Once or twice, I thought I was on a bronco.

Using the bucket: This is going to take some getting used to. I have a newfound respect for backhoe operators. My first attempts at scooping up dirt in my soon to be garden yielded not a bucketfull of dirt, but about a teacup full. 'Honey, is it full?' 'No.' 'Now?', 'No.' 'Now?' 'No.' 'Well, how much is in there?' 'About a handful.' No way. I got off and looked. There was less than a handful. Going forward and lowering/raising the bucket and curling/dumping all at the same time is an art. And this is the first day of art class.

The bx 2002 doesn't dig very well (wheels spin, no dirt in bucket) but I didn't have a back weight or loaded tires or really know what I am doing. I think a tooth blade will be in order for any serious digging. And the mower got in the way as it sticks out about a foot on each side (watch out for those planks). I think it should come off if you are expecting to do several hrs of serious bucket work.

Later, I tried to scrape up a 10x10ft busted up concrete pad and was successful in scooping about a 1/4 load. I ended up filling the bucket by hand to the brim and hauling it around on level ground. I never got the sensation of a light rear end even though the bucket was teeming w/ fist and double fist sized concrete. Wow, I'm impressed. This is the best wheelbarrow I've ever had. Later, I moved bushes, trash bags full of trash, and garden tools around and as far as I'm concerned, I've already gotten my payback on the obscene cost of the loader. It is going to be great for landscaping w/ topsoil, mulch, stone/brick, anything you used to use a wheelbarrow for.

The engine is remarkably quiet. I always use muffs w/ motor equipment, but it would be easy to forget w/ this tractor. No noxious fumes or black smoke, although the front grill guard is already black from the exhaust. I used 1/4 tank of fuel in 4+ hrs according to the guage.

Bottom line: Pros. One fantastic overdeveloped garden tractor who has obviously been taking steriods. The front end loader is going to be a real asset whenever a wheel barrel is called for (which is everyday of yard work at our place). I'd still be moving all that busted up concrete instead of writing this report if I didn't have it. The only question is whether it should come off for mowing. It does stick way out there and a/ my close encounter w/ the fence, my wife confessed she hit the fence too. The wife loves it because it's not too big, has ez powersteering, it's fast, it's simple to operate (HST) and it vibrates ). And does it really use fuel?

Cons: Little tires = rough ride. And it's light for serious digging. The bucket needs teeth and I'll probably fill the tires w/ fluid. I'm afraid I'll never get to use it b/c the wife likes it so much. And the biggest con is that it costs 4x what the biggest lawn tractor Home Depot sells for. However, it is way kewler.

mark

 

[TresCrows]

Mark, er, uhmmmmmm, never mind---ah, remove the FEL for mowing or you will be replacing more than one plank. Trust me on this. It is easy to remove either the MMM or the FEL, after a couple of times it will be a snap, yes it is true. The little wheels equal rough ride vs big wheels equal smooth ride--well---maybe so all things being equal but as several of us including a JD 4100 owner discovered when he/we moved up to bigger tractors the ride did not improve--repeat--did not improve. In fact, it may have gotten worse. Why, well the 2410 has R4 tires which are awfully stiff and the big turfs are kinda like big basket balls, and several other factors result in my Bounce-o-Meter indicating a rougher/bouncier ride on the bigger 2410.
Okay, the digging thing, it takes practice, the bucket full thing, that takes practice too, the GT on steroids--whatever. Here is a hint, get a truck load of top soil or mulch deleived to practice (play) with, it will be a big help and useful too in learning how to operate. Tilt the bucket slightly below level, push into the dirt pile in 4WD Low range and as the bucket pushes in begin rolling back on the bucket and begin raising the FEL. Go into the dirt pile low. When you have dug out quite a hole drive up to the dirt pile and raise the loader high and drop the bucket full tilt down and then lower the bucket into and as far behind the pile as possible so as to drag the top of the pile off and into the emptied out hole--then using the first technique go at the pile again--probably does not make sense till you actually do it.
Four times the cost of the lawnmowers at Home Depot--yeah but when Home Depot sells something like the BX maybe I will consider them for purchasing a tractor--nah.
The wife on the tractor--man!!!!!, you got to put a stop to that like now /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif , hey great luck with the new tractor, enjoy. J

 

[TresCrows]

Sorry for the second post but I got an action sequence here that shows the procedure for attacking a dirt/gravel pile. Notice in the top pic the bucket is level or slightly down and low, in the second pic notice the bucket is being curled back as I drive into the pile and in the third pic notice the FEL has been raised pulling the bucket free of the pile. In this case I am not going to carry the gravel away but I am just spreading it out so I tip the bucket as I raised it to spill the gravel as I continue forward. This is the 2410, the BX is just as feisty, go have some fun. GT on steroids, sheeeesh. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif . The road in the picture behind the 2410 was built mostly with the BX. That gray loop of outdoor 12 guage wire in the background--that came from Home Depot. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif . J

 

[Anonymous Poster]

<font color=blue>...yielded not a bucketfull of dirt, but about a teacup full. 'Honey, is it full?' 'No.' 'Now?', 'No.' 'Now?' 'No.' 'Well, how much is in there?' 'About a handful.' No way. I got off and looked. There was less than a handful...</font color=blue>

/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif
Don't you just love it... /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Mark,

Congrats on the new workhorse... ummmm... what's that saying... practice makes perfect... it sounds like you'll be a pro in short order... /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[r0GuE]

From experience:
When you say " I never got the sensation of a light rear end even though the bucket was teeming w/ fist and double fist sized concrete". My first clue was when the tractor started racing (not real fast, but its the best word to describe what I'm talking about) down hill. I hit the brake and not too much happened. I looked at my rear wheels and they had stopped (I was till moving). If your going to do heavy moving on hills (not even very steep hills) with the loader, get ags, get rear weight, use 4wd. AND BE CAREFULL. Don't wait for a sensation, these things don't feedback like a formula one. By the time I get any feedback, its the tractor telling me its too late to react. In a real emergency, shove the loader lever full forward (float). Saved my arse!

 

[kofronj]

Mark,

My BX2200 (similarly equiped) arrived this past week, and I got to spend a little time playing on it Saturday (it rained here all yesterday). Lucky for me, my wife was busy with other tasks, so I had it all to myself.

FEL work will just take some practice. I don't have a ton of hours, but I've done some work with older Kubota's and our neighbors JD. I noticed that the BX seemed to be nicely responsive---it worked great at slicing through anthills /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif. I also used it to backscrape around a big burn pile that I finished off. And finally, I was quite impressed at it's ability to push a big old (dead) cedar tree out of a stand of burrdock, so that I could cut it up in relative comfort.

I think a boxblade or something else off the back (tiller?) would make your loader work more managable. I didn't really try to do much digging with mine this weekend---but I've got a toothbar coming from Carver's and hopefully it'll arrive for this coming weekend's fun...

Congrats, and happy tractoring.

 

[hogboy]

Got my BX2200 Saturday afternoon with 60 " MMM, FEL, drawbar and retro seat off B2410. WOW...what a difference the highback seat makes on back support. Its ashame Bota doesn't put these seats on the BX as standard equipment.

 

[kyoders]

Mark,

I started out with Home Depot's biggest, a Scotts (made by JD) 25HP. For a garden tractor, it wasn't bad. I really didn't care about the mower deck, but couldn't buy it w/out. I mostly needed it to haul a trailer and hopefully some small sleeve hitch implements. I tried to take a partial trailer of mulch up the back lot driveway. At the point it started sloping up, the rear tires started spinning and the front-end started coming up. The guy I talked with at Home Depot had "guaranteed" it would go up. He's also a landscaper who happened to do the landscaping on my neighbor's and my house, so he knew exactly what was in store for it. He said "even if it won't, you have 30 days to return it, no questions asked." So, back it went. It was about $4,200 with sleeve hitch.

I immediately went and bought my ATV, which I had been debating vs. the GT for a few months. No problems with the hills. I put an aftermarket cat 0 3pt hitch on it, and it did remarkably well. I found a rear bucket for cat0 3pt hitch, and discovered that it really didn't like that much weight back there. So, I went to plan C, which ended up being the BX2200. I figured it was better to spend the money on a tool designed for the task than to end up having to repair the rear end on the ATV. I still use it for hauling the cart around, and also with a rear blade. And as I discovered by experiment, it is a whole lot more stable on our hills than the BX.

Be extremely careful with the FEL, even with ballast on the back end. My tires were filled from the start, but I had no other weight back there. In my first hour of playing, I noticed something felt a little weird with a full bucket of crushed gravel. On my next scoop, it felt even more so. When I looked to my left, I realized that the left rear tire was off the ground. Fortunately, it occurred to me to drop the bucket completely to the ground and I was able to recover with only an elevated pulse (my initial reaction was to lean into to it, which works with the ATV, but not the BX When it happens, and I would guess it will if you aren't very careful and get some kind of rear ballast, it happens very quickly. I was very lucky. Since then, I am very conscious of exactly where the bucket is and how much I have in it. I've also learned to watch out for ruts and depressions, which is what contributed to my little adventure. The depression that my right tire had found got filled in with the next bucket of crusher, and I went and found some other stuff to play with. I bought a carry-all to load up with weight, and haven't had any interesting experiences since.

Kevin

 

[wdn]

Weclome to the group. I have sure learned a lot about operating my BX by reading TBN.

I would not do ANY more FEL work with the BX2200 until you get yourself a weight box mounted the 3 point hitch. You would not want to be operating the FEL when the rear end comes off the ground and maybe tips over the tractor with it.
Even if you don't have an 'accident' then the FEL will not be good for much work without plenty of weight in the rear. I would hesitate to call it an 'accident' since you already know better. 'Nuff said.

When you get the weight set up properly, it still takes a bit of practice to dig below ground with the FEL. Likewise, ditch the mower deck for FEL work. As others have stated it is very quick to remove/reattach the mower deck and the FEL. It is more of a 'psychological barrier' when you first get it.

Here in the frozen north we are about a month away from mowing the lawn yet. Also I agree with earlier posts, unhitch the FEL when you want to go mowing. It is way too dangerous to mow with it on, you will be taking out all your shrubbery with it.

Let me know how the tiller works (how much does it cost anyway). We have a 1500 square foot garden in front but it is surrounded by a boxwood hedge (i.e. it's an English garden). So no way I could get the BX2200 in there. I will have to rent a Troy Bilt or something.

 

[theboman]

Congratulations on the new tractor, rookie. We've all bumped things with the FELs, spun tire or two. Well, I haven't. : ) Maybe you should let the wife use the tractor, she didn't seem to have any problems at all. ha.

I dug up the old sidewalk with my FEL on my B7500. The tip I have is whack it with the front lip of the bucket (I don't have a toothbar, and right now not too interested in for messing around here), then use the edge of the bucket to lift edges of the concrete chucks. I shoved them into a pile and a lot into the bucket, but did hand load a nice pile too (I wasn't about to mess up mom's flower bed, I may be 40 but she's packs a mean willow switch!).