Do I buy a new BX2200 or used B1700/B1750/B1550

Anonymous Poster · May 1, 2000

I live in Massachusetts and want to use this tractor for grading my 2acres of land, plowing in the winter, cutting grass in the summer and other misc tasks. What should I do for snow plowing. Do they make a cheap attachment for snow plowing that can remove the bucket off the loader and replace with a angled front blade. Can these models lift enought weight (sand / dirt)?

Thanks for any inputs...

JET

PaulB · May 1, 2000

Seems like the going price for a Bx2200 with mower and loader is in the 12,500 range. I paid more than that for my 1700 without a mower, but there are some differences.
1) On another thread we discuss the position control issue - not availabe on the BX, is standard on the 1700/2100/2400. For rear blade work (snow) this is a huge difference.
2) rear 3 point capacity approx 1000 pounds on the 1700, 600 on the BX. How much weight will you be carrying?
3) Similarily, front loader capacity 400 something pounds on the BX, 600 something on the 1700
4) ground clearance is much higher on the 1700 - for me this is advantage BX, as it will increase stability on slopes. Do you have lots of rocks to ride over?
5) I think but could be wrong - no tach on the BX. Hard to know what you are doing just by ear, but an aftermarket tach is always a possibility.
6) the right choice???? Depends on what you will be doing, and how much you want to spend. is the new 2410 out of your budget?

Anonymous Poster · May 1, 2000

I am currently selling a used B1550

Anonymous Poster · May 1, 2000

Sorry about the unfinished post , I hit the wrong button! I am selling a 1991 B1550hsdb with loader, 60" mid mower turf & ag tires in great shape and it is MUCH more tractor than the new Bx series and cheaper Please e-mail me direct if you would like more info. In general the B1550,B1750 series are extremely heavy duty machines even compared to the 1700-2400 series ie all cast iron construction much heavier etc.

Roy · May 1, 2000

PaulB's memory is correct - no tach on the BX (and yes, it is something that I will be adding to my own).

jetman · May 1, 2000

Norman, you did not leave your phone or email address. Please email me at jetman@ultranet.com

Thanks,
jetman

Anonymous Poster · May 1, 2000

Roy, Since a diesel has no coil system I would assume it has a tach drive off of somewhere. Is this drive already on the BX? From that I'd assume you'd run a cable to a cable drive tach? What are you planning on doing. I find the lack of tach a glaring error. A salesman on a brand new one I was looking at simply pulled the throttle all the way on and then backed off a little and said "that's your mowing rpm"
How precise!

Anonymous Poster · May 1, 2000

Hate to be an ignorant about something you guys talk about but I have to admit I have no idea what "position control" is! Is it anything more than the adjustable clamp on some tractors you can move so you always drop the implement to a certain point? Or something else. If that's the case it seems like something you could retrofit/create. Or is it more involved, like the radar based controller that Mark has that constantly resets the implement at a point in relation to the center line of the rear axle. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

MChalkley · May 1, 2000

Del, it's sonar, not radar, and it has the added advantage of driving off moles as you work. Get your facts straight... /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Position control is just the ability to set the height of your 3-point hitch with that lever beside your right leg on both of your toys. The gizmo you referred to is the position control stop. I think.

Mark "I've run out of new monikers" Chalkley

Bird · May 1, 2000

del, I'll see if I can explain position control on the 3-point, using my tractors as examples (others are similar). My B7100 did not have it. So the lever to raise or lower the 3-point hitch was centered. When you pushed it forward, the hitch lowered and continued downward until you moved the lever back to center no matter how far forward you had pushed the lever. And conversely, when you pulled back on the lever, the hitch rose and continued rising until you centered the lever again (although you could pull all the way back and turn the lever loose and when the hitch reached its maximum height, the lever would center itself). The only way you could raise or lower the hitch to a specific point or height was by watching the implement on the rear while you gently moved the lever forward or back, then move it back to center when the implement reached the level you wanted. (It did have a locking device (clamp) on a rod that you could loosen and move along the rod and re-tighten so with enough trial and error you could get it adjusted so the hitch only fell to a certain level before the lever re-centered itself, but I found that worthless).

Now the B2710 has position control. Along side the lever are numbers from 1 (all the way down) to 8 (all the way up). When you pull the lever all the way back to 8, the lever stays there and the hitch rises all the way. If you push forward to 4, for instance, the hitch lowers about halfway and stays there, and the lever always stays wherever you placed it. So, when I pull my cultivator plow in the garden, I know that I want the depth to be about 5.5, and I can either visually move the lever to that position, pull all the way back at the end of the row to pick up the plow, turn, and go back to 5.5 to plow each row the same depth, or it has a clamp type arrangment with a knob that can be loosened with your fingers and moved to any position and re-tightened (which is what I do), so I can pull all the way back to raise the plow, turn, then push all the way forward, but with the clamp stopping the lever at 5.5 to drop the plow back to the same depth.

Clear as mud?/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Bird

Bird · May 1, 2000

I think you must have given del the abbreviated definition of position control just about the time I decided to start typing the long winded version./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Bird

Anonymous Poster · May 1, 2000

Hey, you both did a great job, now I know why the 3pt lever is so goofy on the BX, my 1710 just stays where you put it, the BX always bounces right back to the middle. I'm surprised it is built that way but I'm guessing the other way is more expensive? If all they figure you might be towing is a mower it wouldn't matter much but it seems like it would be a lot easier for a novice "3-pointer" like me to use a position controlled setup for a box scraper.

MChalkley · May 1, 2000

Ooops. I didn't know your BX didn't have position control. I thought they had it...

So, since you've got both, do you find the BX's approach to be much of a disadvantage?

Mark

Anonymous Poster · May 2, 2000

If he doesn't want your tractor send let me know. Dansplans@aol.com

Anonymous Poster · May 2, 2000

I asked the dealer about a tach when I purchased my BX2200.
He guestimated $200. I grew up with diesel tractors on a farm. Some with broken tachs. Never found myself really needing it. I run my BX2200 2/3 to 3/4 for loader and mowing functions. I may change rpm's as conditions change, trying not to labor the engine continuously, not that this is a problem with the 2200. As we get more familiar with our tractors we probably won't find a true need for a tach. Just a nice to have feature. I am glad they kept the cost down. I really like the tractor 22hp is more than enough for its size and I am certian the 1800(18hp) would do a great job too for $500 less if you could not get a 2200. The draft control has not been a issue for me. Most of the time I control this manually anyway(I live on a hill) nothing is very level. A counter weight(blade etc.)is a must with a bucket full of wet dirt.
Good luck.

PaulB · May 2, 2000

Wow, Bird did a great job explaining position control. For another in-depth discussion, go to Archives, then go to Keyword search. Search for "New low priced B7500 HSD vs 2100 HSD" in Kubota database, under subject lines. Read the whole post, and you will learn a lot.

Muhammed - whatever you did to the keyword search worked, it is lightening fast!! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

PaulB · May 2, 2000

Gotta disagree on the tach thing. I think it is critically important. I don't know about you guys, but under a high strain (which is exactly when you want to know what the engine is doing) about all I can hear on my 1700 is whine from the HST, not engine noise, so I would find it impossible to accurately judge what my engine is doing without a tach. I use the tach to tell me if it is time to shift down from hi ot lo range, what rpm to warm it up at (Kubota specifically says to run at 50% of rated rpm during warmup - how can you do this without a tach?), and where to run it for loader work (again, my manual says to run 1700 - 2200 rpm for loader work, and I'll be darned if I can tell that by ear). If it is a $200 fix, no big deal. The lack of position control, however, can not be upgraded. For a while I was entertaining the thought of trading in the 1700 for a 2200, because it is lower to the ground and I thought it would be safer on hills. When I found out about the lack of PC, I decided to stay with the 1700 and just buy a tiltmeter.

Roy · May 2, 2000

Del; I haven't found the solution yet, but it's something I have been looking for (searching the internet on and off). Asked a mechanic friend of mine about a week ago (to find me a cheap tach solution), but he has not responded to date. If he comes up with a viable solution, I will let everyone know.

W5FL · May 2, 2000

>Hard to know what you are doing just by ear, but an aftermarket tach is always a possibility.

Wonder how you would add a tach on a diesel with a mechanical injector pump?