Can the BX dig it?

[marrt]

How well does the BX dig? I have a few small hills I would like to take down a couple of feet. I can loosen the soil with a middle buster plow first. Will the BX scoop up a full bucket of loose dirt? I’m worried it may be too light to do much “digging” but wanted to get some owner’s impressions. Thanks.

 

[TresCrows]

This gives me dejavu----the BX ain't all that light--it is 1300lbs bare plus 300 or so for a boxblade plus 500+ for the FEL plus any ballast. The B7500 is barely 1400 lbs and the B2410 1500lbs (give or take). Since the BX has a smaller bucket than say the larger 2410 it can produce similar force per area along the front cutting edge. Your question, and I am only trying to help, does not make sense. Are you digging a hole in flat ground? are you digging into a dirt pile? is the soil hard clay? I know some guys will disagree but FEL are really meant for scooping and not digging--that is why they make backhoes--they dig because they have a smaller toothed bucket and can generate more force per cutting face area. OK, I have dug both flat ground with my BX and from dirt piles of dumped dirt. If the soil is loose a full bucket evrytime is possible. When trying to break and dig hard soil not even the 2410 can do that easily. I have to go at the ground and break it up and then work at it with the FEL. Once you have some soil loosened up using a small plow or my boxblade etc I then use the boxblade to push it into a pile and then using the FEL I scoop it up. What exactly are you digging anyway? Here is a collage I have posted before, all the pics are the BX except for the top left and the bottom right which are the 2410. Notice the full bucket of hard clay in the BX loader. This was one push into a pile of "reserve" dirt that is mostly clay that has been sitting for a couple of years. Look at the other pic showing the BX pushing into a gravel pile. Those buckets look full to me. Both the 2410 and BX require counter weight when using their FEL at maximum effort. J

 

[Nuru]

Tres good pics. My 4100 is 1500 bare , and over 2000 with the loader, MMM, and nothing else.. You are right the BX is not really small.

 

[wdn]

I can dig a couple feet with my BX with the FEL. As for filling the bucket, unless you are digging into a pile of loam it is pretty hard to fill the bucket. But it digs quickly. I am using the BX2200 to clear the land and dig an orchard, that's what I was out doing today.

 

[marrt]

<blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr>

Are you digging a hole in flat ground? are you digging into a dirt pile? is the soil hard clay?

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Well, to be very specific, there are several areas around my house that I would like to “re-grade” to change the slope for landscaping purposes. The soil is a mixture of fill in some places and hard pack in some places. In general, I would need to take about two feet or so off the surface. I realize no FEL can easily attack that type of job without help. So, I would fist loosen the ground with a plow or tiller. Your pictures pretty much convinced me that I can get a full bucket if my wheels are on firm soil and this type of project wouldn't take "forever" (the wife has no patience with landscaping projects). Thanks.

 

[Old_Wanker]

You might be better off just using a box-blade. Not because you couldn't do it with the FEL - but that it may be a tool better suited to the job. How far do you need to move the dirt?

 

[marrt]

I need to move the dirt between 30 and 40 feet to several landscaping mounds. And there's grass in between that I would like to avoid ruining if possible.

 

[TresCrows]

I agree with Old Wanker, the box rocks!!!! maybe it is time you invested in the new XB box from KK. Good luck.
J

 

[theboman]

Box blades, tillers do nicely. I've done some serious dirt movin' and hole filling with my B7500 and I'm really impressed. I hope to have a box blade in the next week or so, but I've seen here they can move mountains.

 

[chim]

Kinda surprised nobody brought up a 3PH scoop. I have one, and used it with a Ford 1210 about 5 years ago to transport quite a lot of topsoil to fill in along my driveway after it was blacktopped. The driveway is over 300' long, and the new blacktop was about 4" higher than the existing grade. The scoop did a pretty good job filling itself from both a stockpile and an adjacent field...........chim