My new-to-me 850

[farmerboybill]

Hey all,

Here 's a pic of the BCS I recently acquired with a 28 inch snowblower. I mounted 6-12 tires and rims I got at a garage sale and modded to fit.

Here's a pic of my new-to-me 850 with the dozer blade and a snow blade I modded to make it more effective. This shows the stock 10 inch tires.

 

[Mac624]

I can believe, that the blower will outperform well, but what is about the blade??

We did not have that huge amount of snow here, and I have used the Agria 400with a 1,20 m sweeper 3 years ago.

 

[farmerboybill]

Hey Mac,

The blower performs excellent. I used it at the end of last year and the beginning of this year on my 715 and it sure can throw snow. It worked well enough on the 715, but the instant reverse, differential, and three speed options of the 850 make it a joy to use.

The blade is for smaller snows of 2 inches or less. I tried to use the 36 inch dozer blade as-is, but it didn't roll the snow, it just kinda pushed it along and spilled it off both sides regardless of how I had it angled. With mounting a used 42 inch snow plow from a lawn tractor, it actually rolls the snow and is much more effective. I'm gonna keep a lookout for a 50 inch or bigger blade, or I might find another 42 inch and cut it up to make any size blade I want.

They advertise that brush as a snow removal tool for small snows, but I can't see enough uses to justify the huge initial cost.

We had 100 inches of snow here last year, beating the previous record by 30 inches. Snow plows and snow blowers are essential.

Bill in WI

 

[farmerboybill]

Hey All,

And here's my new-to-me 730 I just got last week out of Raymond Washington. Now that I have two, I'm gonna dedicate the 730 to the blower and the 850 to the plow because it doesn't balance well with the snow blower. I would either need to weight the blower or buy an extension and make it even longer.

Since I have the 6-12 tires on the 850, I put its stock 5-10 tires on the 730 in place of the stock 4-8 tires. I also mounted free wheel devices. They really shine in this application. With tilling, they eliminate the hold back of the transmission and make the tiller much more likely to rocket forward, but the machine has no way to rocket forward with snow blowing. Since taking the picture, I set the tires in as y'all can see that the track width is the same as the blowing width.

 

[lkjhg]

You used the bcs850 on the showblower because "It worked well enough on the 715, but the instant reverse, differential, and three speed options of the 850 make it a joy to use."
Please describe how the instant reverse works. I understand that the BCS850 does not have live PTO [If you squeeze the clutch lever the snowblower stops and the drive wheels stop turning]. I assume that the instant reverese reverses the direction that the wheels turn without using the clutch. Is that correct? So you can keep the snowblower operating wide open and back away from the snow. If you were operating a hay baler and too much hay was going into the baler you could instant reverse, back away from the windrow and avoid plugging the baler. Is that correct?

 

[farmerboybill]

Hey,

To go from forward to reverse - disengage the clutch by squeezing the clutch lever under the left handle, flip the red T-Bar on top of the right handle, and rengage the clutch by releasing the clutch lever. I have flipped the T-bar without clutching and it did go into reverse, but it's very hard on the machine. I don't know why you'd need to back away from the snow with the blower still operating.

The Caeb balers made for these are round balers. They don't have a plunger like square balers and won't plug by stopping to downshift if you're getting too much hay.

What situation do you have that you think you need live PTO? It'd be nice, but I don't think it's necessary.

 

[mpapiary]

Looks like you have quite a nice collection of BCS tractors Bill. I currently am using a BCS 725 with a 9hp Vanguard engine and love it. Are the free wheeling devices a worth while investment on the 730 you have? I was thinking about a set for my 725, but don't really have any issues turning it.
I pretty sure the 730 and 725 are about the same size tractor if my memory serves me right.

 

[farmerboybill]

Hey Mpapiary,

I really like them. They're not as nice as locking differential, but I paid a lot less for my 730 than I paid for my 850. When tilling, I lock them. When blowing snow, I have them ratchet forward. When moving it around the shed with the engine off, I have them completely unlocked. Whether or not they're worth the cost of 220 bucks is up to you. I'd buy 'em again.

Yeah, the 730 is very similar to the 725. You have a few more speed options with the hi/lo lever, but I have the quick reverse T-bar.

Bill in WI

 

[mpapiary]

Thanks Bill! I have been looking at them for a couple of years now and always wondered if they really made that much differance. The cost is what has kept me from buying them. I was looking at moving up on tire size also as mine has 4.00 by 8.00 wheels.

 

[farmerboybill]

Hey mpapiary,

I just got back in from de-snowing my driveway. I used the 850 to push the snow into two windrows and and the 730 to blow it back from whence it came. Worked pretty good. I coulda just done one or the other, but then one of the machines woulda felt left out

Stock tires are good for most situations. I have the bigger tires on the 730 "because I can". It gives me a bit more ground clearance and a touch more speed, but nothing else. This summer, it will probably get its stock 4.00-8 tires back. It'll be on the 26 inch tiller and chipper for the most part. It may get occasional use on the trencher and sickle mower as well. The 850 will get spring tillage duty but then become a dedicated 38 inch mower for the rest of the summer. It'll keep its 6-12 tires for mowing and I'll see how much the taller tires mess with ground speed and tiller angle. If they mess with it too much, It'll have to get the 5-10 tires back for tilling.

What do you have for other attachments for you 725? Where ya located?

Bill