Question on BX series loaders

[v8dave]

If you still haven't made the deal on the BX23, get the dealer to weld some chain hooks on the end plates of the loader bucket. You can move some serious stuff that way. Welding on the end plates will keep the chain from flexing the unsupported bucket material (which might lead to a fatigue crack).

Attached pix is a bigger 'bota (a 7610), but gives you the idea.

Dave

 

[BotaGuy]

No, I can't stand still and dig a hole with the loader. I am not sure many tractors will do this either. I use 4wd and some forward progress and it digs very well. I have to tell you I was actually shocked at how well it did since I was comparing the loader to the small bobcat that the BX23 replaced. A tooth bar will help with sod, sod is tough.

 

[jpr62902]

I'm callin' the cops on Junkman! He snuck into my house and took a pic of MY garage floor! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Tom_H]

Junkman & BotaGuy,

I agree that a BX FEL will "scoop" soft material that is sitting in a pile which is elevated above the plane of flat ground. My soil is hard adobe clay. My LA211 won't scrape any of the flat surface away. When I run the tiller several times, I get a powder that is as fine as talcum powder. I can run the BX2200 at this stuff at full speed with the edge angled perhaps 4 to 5 degrees down from the horizon and scoop in small amounts, but the front edge of the loader still snags on rough edges in the underlying clay. The stuff is so hard that it absorbs the entire inertia of the tractor, bringing the BX to a complete stop. Only the seatbelt prevents me from flying over the steering wheel. A toothbar allows the teeth to break away bumpy places below the surface and allows the bucket to skip along (I guess like a rock skimming on water) without getting snagged. I'm glad to hear your reports of success with the BX FEL in your soils.

Can I trade 'ya my dirt for your dirt? /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif People talk about "dirt cheap" but buying good topsoil is anything but cheap. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[jim_wilson]

Thanks for the replies - sounds like getting a toothbar is a good idea. I had some previous experience with a Terramite a couple of years ago and when I tried to get that to dig into
the sod I couldnt even get it started. That is what made me think of the toothbar for the BX23. One of my first projects is going to be excavating into the gently sloping backyard to put in a foundation for a garage - I was hoping the toothbar might help me with some of the excavating instead of having to break everthing out with the backhoe then move it out with the FEL. From your answers it sounds like that might work for me. The other question I had is - in general - are more or less teeth better? The ezattachments stuff I looked at had a couple of different versions - one with a lot of teeth that they called the landscaper version for ripping out sod and stuff like that. I was thinking the more teeth I had the better I would cut into the dirt instead of using the flat edge of the FEL bucket

 

[BotaGuy]

Actually the less teeth you have, the more force is directed to each one which should provide better digging.

 

[Rimmer]

Not gonna wade through 37 messages to see if anyone else has addressed this... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Don't believe everything you read in slick brochures. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Here are the specs from the BX23 Workshop Manual (maybe you can't believe these either, I dunno...) /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

LA210-1 breakout force = 950 pounds
LA210-1 digging depth = 4.7 inches
LA210-1 max lift height = 71.3 inches

(For all their obvious intelligence, Kubota appears to have the occasional problem with converting from cgs to fps units, and also problems with differences between "English" and "Imperial" fluid capacities. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[jim_wilson]

Thanks for the reply Rimmer. Looks like the 210 and the 211 loaders might just be the same thing after all. If so I wonder why they even bother to put different model numbers on them - seems like it would cause more of an inventory hassle than it would be worth. The reason why I asked this question in the first place is because I suspected that the specs might just be wrong - which is a problem that should be brought to Kubota's attention, when I was comparing the BX23 to the Massey GC2310TLB I was seriously tilting towards the Massey for a while and the biggest reason was the slightly better specs on the Massey loader over the Kubota. If the specs you put in your post were in the Kubota brochure it would make the two machines much more comparable to people just sitting around reading brochures.

 

[UncleAl]

Are these specs ever verified by anyone other than the manufacturer? I suspect the 2310 specs are "better" because MF knew what Kubota had already published and artificially set theirs slightly higher to sway potential buyers.... The only way to know is to put one of each head-to-head and let them duke (dig) it out... Maybe we can start a series on "The Learning Channel": SCUT WARS! !

 

[jim_wilson]

I was thinking that it would cool to do a Consumer Reports type of head to head comparison of the Kubota BX's, the Massey GC, NH TZ, and JD 2210. Compare specs and actually measure them, have a number of people try each one out etc. Tractorbynet could do buying reports to help people out with their purchase decisions.