First Impressions of new BX25

[dmacneil]

I've had my BX25 about a month and put on about 40 hours. I've had 2 issues to date. The first after about 5 hours of run time one of the hydraulic controls on the BH went limp. The clevis pin which connects the lever rod to the control must not have had the lock pin installed, or it broke off. I called the dealer and they got me a new clevis and lock pin. The second issue I still haven't been able to resolve and that is greasing the lower zerk on the horizontal pivot of the BH. It will not accept grease without a crazy amount of force on the grease gun (ie. squeezing with both hands). I've removed the zerk, chipped off the paint, made sure the zerk is clear and cleaned out the opening where the zerk installs. I may have to disassemble the BH to fix this one. (That sucks).

I've been happy with what the machine can do but found myself wondering if I should've gone with a B2630 as I've found the BH on the BX25 to be ok, but it left me wanting a bit more. The FEL is adequate, but I unintentionally stalled the lift capacity on it on my first day of use. To be fair, I'm still in the break-in period and haven't run the machine over 1,900rpms. I struggled with which machine to buy as I plan on using it to cut grass as well. Even the BX25 is too big for that job on my property (about 1 1/2 acres with lots of trees). But again, I wish I had more when using the BH or loader.

Today was the first day I used the machine to clear snow (with FEL, blower comes maybe next year). We got a few inches last night and it was wet and heavy. The worst kind of mess to clean up in the driveway. All I can say about the BX25 is "wow". I can't believe what this little machine can do and only running at 1800rpms! The amount of wet snow it can push well surpassed my expectations. I now know that this was the machine for me. Striking the right balance between size and ability for all the things I need it for. It was a big investment, but one I do not regret in the least. I can now complete jobs I only wished I could do for the past 9 years and finish some of my regular work in half the time it used to take. Heck, in the past, this wet slushy mess would've been left alone in the hopes it would melt!

Happy to be a part of the site, unlike some other forums I visit the quality of info on this site is very good.

 

[BigD23]

Welcome to the site...I'm thinking your BX25 is gonna do just fine for you...I own a BX23 and have been Very happy with it.

Don

 

[Tractor Factor]

Striking the right balance between size and ability for all the things I need it for. It was a big investment, but one I do not regret in the least.

Glad you're enjoying your new BX. I also just bought the 25, and I'll second that about finding the right balance. I spent more than I had originally planned, and then found out there's still a bunch of things I need to buy. Not to mention needing to put up a pole barn next year to house/work on the thing.

My limited time on it so far tells me this machine can do just about what I thought it would (a lot), but it takes longer to do it than a bigger machine. The maneuverability on my particular land is very perfect, though.

So, all in all, it's all about finding the right balance...size, ability and price.

 

[bota jim]

i got my bx24 recently. just had the 50 hour service done. i thought the same thing as you. not really with the bh since i haven't really used it but the loader was my concern. it was kinda weak. i decided to get myself a pressure gauge and check the pump pressure and it was way below spec right from the factory. it was set at 1700psi. the top of the reange kubota recommends is 1849. i got some shim stock and bumped it up to 1950. its a whole new machine and now performs reasonably. you might as well break the machine in first because there is a big difference in running as low as 1900rpm. i usually run 2500-2700. the tractor performs nicely around there. not too low and not screamin either. if your on some wooded property then be happy with what you have. there are advantages to owning a smaller machine. bigger ain't always better.

 

[LBrown59]

hands).
* I unintentionally stalled the lift capacity on it on my first day of use.
**To be fair, I'm still in the break-in period

*That's real easy to do for a novice.
I've had my BX 23 for 4 years and still do it occasionally.
**I'd say it was more the operator than it was the tractor


L . B .

 

[310-510]

Welcome dmacneil.
I second bota jim's opinion about bumping the pressure and making a new machine out of the BX. I bumped mine to 1910 and will probably go to 1950 like bota jim. Have you tried moving the back while greasing? Mine would only take greas on the lower pivot when almost fully swung to the right side. After 200 hours, it took grease in any position. Now at almost 400 hours, I just have to aim the grease gun at the zerk and the grease will flow in.

Again, congratulations on your purchase and welcome.

 

[dmacneil]

Thanks all for the welcome.

i got some shim stock and bumped it up to 1950

Where did you shim to accomplish this? I will wait until the break-in is complete and then (once I find time) I'm sure I should be able to check the pressure. I'm pretty new to hydraulics, but there isn't anything mechanical I won't tackle.

Have you tried moving the back while greasing?

I have tried 2 positions, almost completely to the right and then in normal resting state. I wondered if there were channels that aligned only when in the position given in the manual. I will try again rotating the boom completely to the right side as in the operators manual. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[KeithInSpace]

Congrats on the machine.

I have to say that the FEL is very easy to stall, but it is usually a situation where you're lifting an entire pile of soil with the front edge of the blade or some other situation. You can stall nearly any piece of equipment if you blade in and expect it to lift whatever is over the bucket. I've found that if you curl, perhaps wiggle the machine forward and reverse while lifting, or just take dirt from higher in the pile, you can prevent the hydraulic stall. Point is that you can completely fill the FEL bucket with anything...bricks, dirt, stone, whatever...and it will carry it happily. It's more of a technique thing than a limitation thing.

The BH is not the strongest unit on the planet, but it is not intended to be. It is supposed to dig holes, chunk through the odd root, trench, and do light- to medium-duty BH chores. It's supposed to keep you from breaking the shovel digging 30 gallons of hard-pan clay to plant the 4" caliper White Oak. It is not to tear through 6" diameter roots to remove the stump from the 32" White Oak you just cut down. Nearly everyone who gets on these backhoes have to adjust their expectations down slightly. Once you understand what it can do and how to maximize its functions, you'll be VERY, VERY happy with it. I'll bet you're the only guy on the block with a backhoe...and I'd much rather store my 'less capable' unit on 6 square feet of garage floor than have a more capable $20k mini-ex rotting in the back yard. Mine EASILY takes care of 95% of any backhoe chore I've ever had, and for that I am happy. The other 5% get done, it just takes a little longer.

 

[LBrown59]

Once you understand what it can do and how to maximize its functions, you'll be VERY, VERY happy with it. I'll bet you're the only guy on the block with a backhoe...and I'd much rather store my 'less capable' unit on 6 square feet of garage floor than have a more capable $20k mini-ex rotting in the back yard. Mine EASILY takes care of 95% of any backhoe chore I've ever had, and for that I am happy. The other 5% get done, it just takes a little longer.

My BX23 BH has done a lot of task for me and handled them well .
The only thing I have ran into is at times I could use a longer reach to get to some areas on a couple of banks and the longer reach would help with dumping the spoils farther away from a ditch or hole so the dirt won't want to fall beck in the place you dug as easly .

 

[KeithInSpace]

Absoultely concur, Mr. Brown. In addition, I have a hard time reaching up into the bed of my side-by-side ATV without jacking up the rear end of my BX all the way. But having a BH attached to the rear of my lawn mower is so wicked cool that I tend to overlook the items you correctly bring to light.

 

[LBrown59]

Absoultely concur, Mr. Brown. In addition, I have a hard time reaching up into the bed of my side-by-side ATV without jacking up the rear end of my BX all the way. But having a BH attached to the rear of my lawn mower is so wicked cool that I tend to overlook the items you correctly bring to light.

I wanted to dig up a sapling that was across the ditch that runs along the bottom of a bank.
It was to far up on the bank for the BH to reach up to it.
The Bank is to steep to get on with a tractor.
I solved the problen by throwing a short piece of culvert in the ditch and backing the BX23 over it till the back wheels were just starting to climb up the bank a little .
Put me close enough to dig out the sapling.
A full sized BH would reach over half way up the bank without crossing the ditch.
Then I could get above the bank and reach down past what i couldn't reach from the bottom and grub that all out too.

 

[Jack's dad]

"I second bota jim's opinion about bumping the pressure and making a new machine out of the BX. I bumped mine to 1910 and will probably go to 1950 like bota jim."

Bota Jim or Carsce...Could you explain how / where a pressure guage is attached and what is involved in using shim stock to increase operating pressure? It might be that to answer the question is too involved and, if so, never mind. Just curious though.
I move a fair number of "boulders", and my BX24 refuses to pick them up at much over about 24" diameter...I'd guess 400 pounds.

 

[310-510]

Jack's Dad,
Search for Kubota shims in the forums. I sent you a PM regarding what I did so we don't hijack this thread of first impressions of the BX25.

 

[bota jim]

well i orderd my stuff right from mcmaster carr. here are the part #'s of what you need.

McMaster-Carr

pressure gauge 4053k893
1/4" quick disconnects 95825k81
brass shim stock .004" 9011k4 , .007" 9011k6

on the bx24 the pressure relief valve is at the back of the tractor. looking at the pto, just to the left and up. there are 2 large hex plugs. the bottom one is 22mm. thats the sucker. pull it out, throw a shim behind the spring, screw it back in and test the pressure. its an o-ring sealed plug and doesn't need to be killer tight so dont crank on it because you'll crush the valve seat. there is a hose just above those plugs that comes out and when the bh isn't connected you jump it over to the fitting about 6 inches to the right. hook the psi gauge to that hose. that is the hyd pump output hose. when you check psi make sure you do it at WOT and with the fluid at normal operation temp. keep doing this and adding shims until you get the psi you want. its so quick and easy its not funny. once you do it once, one round of this process should take about 3 minutes at the most.

 

[Tractor Factor]

Thanks BJ, very informative. I would worry though that there is a reason it's set from the factory where it is. But it seems like you've been running it for awhile this way with no ill effects. Any idea if this would void the warranty (even if for work not related) on a new machine?

 

[dmacneil]

Great info bota_jim, thanks. I'll be checking this out for sure come spring time. Much appreciated.

 

[bota jim]

i would imagine it would void your warranty for hydraulic issues if you go over the spec. whole point is really that kubota seems to set them well under spec from the factory. i decided to go over spec a little and its really no big deal. before i did this i did a little digging on this and other forums and it seems there are a ton of people that make this mod to their tractors. if you think about it really everything hydraulic on the tractor is going to be rated at a min of 2500-3000 psi. and really thats working pressure. my hoses for example are rated at 3000psi but the burst pressure is like 10000. really there is no way kubota or any other tractor manufacturer is running their machines out of the factory so close to the failure limit that a measly little 1 or 2 hundred pounds is going to make them self destruct. any smart manufacturer is going to build everything to handle atleast 50-100% more than actual rating. if my math is correct. going up 250psi will be somewhere around 75lbs or so in the bucket and that little bit of extra weight ain't going to make a bit of difference in durability. turn it up a bit within reason or atleast to the max spec and dont worry about it.

 

[Dakota_male]

Welcome dmacneil.
I second bota jim's opinion about bumping the pressure and making a new machine out of the BX. I bumped mine to 1910 and will probably go to 1950 like bota jim. Have you tried moving the back while greasing? Mine would only take greas on the lower pivot when almost fully swung to the right side. After 200 hours, it took grease in any position. Now at almost 400 hours, I just have to aim the grease gun at the zerk and the grease will flow in.

Again, congratulations on your purchase and welcome.

I have BX25 and found thre hyd pressure @1700PSI, set it up to 1843PSI.

 

[EE_Bota]

Congrats on the new tractor!

If you are concerned about the warranty, and I would be, why not put it at the top of the factory service manual spec. Then after the warranty period, do whatever you like.

My tractor has ballast in the rear tires. I can safely lift near rated capacity without much safety hazard...but if I turn the wheels sharply, the opposite rear wheel will come off the ground. This can be quite dangerous, since essentially, the tractor is trying to start the process of turning over. Lowering the bucket does not help much either, unless it is lowered almost to the ground.

Please consider that if you were to up the pressure much, if you do not hook up a heavy implement in back, your tractor may turn over when you turn the steering wheel, hit a hole, etc.

I am not writing this for those of you who know, only for those who may not know. I like reading only happy news like reviews of great new tractors. Increasing hydraulic pressure can lead to sad news for the unprepared, so please sprinkle safety advice in with your shim recommendations.

I've worked in hydraulics for years now, and relief valves do drift over time. I believe that it is likely that many users could stay within spec, but at the upper end of spec, and be quite happy with the improvement.

 

[check]

This hydraulic pressure discussion has got me convinced. I'm goinb to be buying some stuff from BXpanded.com (e.g., clamp-on bucket hooks), and I just saw that they have a Hydraulic System pressure Test and Adjust Kit, for only $69! And it comes with shims (and no doubt some good instructions), so I think I'll buy it and get myself some more power for my new BX25 FEL and BH like you guys have.

BTW, I must say that these forums are just great, and thanks to all you contributors - I have learned so much about my new tractor.

I'm also a first-time tractor owner, and by way of newbie feedback (vis a vis this thread) I just LOVE my new BX25. It starts every time (even though it has sat at 30 below without being plugged in), it runs great, has lots of power, has surprising traction with the industrial tires on ice and snow (guess where my tractor lives!), it trailers easily on my 5' X 10' trailer, it looks just great, has a foldable ROPS (very important for garaging), and moves snow easily.

On the downside, it is a real pain to turn around and get into the seat after you have reversed it for BH operation, and a big pain to get back as well. It's also awkward to get down to the ground from the BH position, and I have to be very careful not to bump the levers when doing so. I could also use a little more ground clearance, but that is mainly because I have been spoiled from driving around my ATV. One other thing I would realy like is a second BH bucket (say, 16") because the stock 12" capacity is just too small when digging out a large area, and the beast has more than enough power to handle something bigger with the soft (cottage country) soil and sand that I have. (In fact, I even tried digging in frozen soil recently, and even that didn't seem to be a problem.)

I'd also like a bigger FEL bucket for moving snow, which Kubota does not make. Fortunately, however, BXpanded.com does make a bucket expander which they claim DOUBLES the heaped capacity of the FEL. So, I may get that as well. Any of you fellow Canadians want to become the Canadian distributor for BXpanded.com? It will save a lot in shipping costs and border hassles for the rest of us!