Box Scraper cheep box blade or expensive box blade

[workinallthetime]

ok tbn fellas im in the market for a box blade. i can get a 5.5 foot United box blade for 350.00. I think this should do fine, but i see these 500 + blades all the time for sale. I know you have to look at metal size and welds but other than that i dont see a reason to shell out the bank for a more expensive blade. Does anyone have a united BB or know of any good reason why i should look elsewhere?

 

[greg_g]

A glance at the B3030 specs suggests that there's not enough tractor there to worry about tearing up an entry level boxblade. 1852 pounds of two wheel drive on R4 tires should lose traction before inflicting any significant damage on that United you're lookin' at.

//greg//

 

[workinallthetime]

not that im arguing with myself but i used a "entry level" boxblade with a massy 175 and a deere 301 both were pretty heavy machines and didnt tear either one of those BB's up

 

[flusher]

ok tbn fellas im in the market for a box blade. i can get a 5.5 foot United box blade for 350.00. I think this should do fine, but i see these 500 + blades all the time for sale. I know you have to look at metal size and welds but other than that i dont see a reason to shell out the bank for a more expensive blade. Does anyone have a united BB or know of any good reason why i should look elsewhere?

The cheap box blades usually are pretty lightweight, so you'll have to add weight to make it work effectively. The more expensive BBs tend to be heavier.

My cheap KK XB box blade (4-ft wide) that I use on my Kubota B7510HST is way too lightweight to do simple things like strip turf/weeds without adding about 360 lb of extra weight (each plastic bucket is filled with 120 lb of concrete).

 

[MJPetersen]

My cheap KK XB box blade (4-ft wide) that I use on my Kubota B7510HST is way too lightweight to do simple things like strip turf/weeds without adding about 360 lb of extra weight (each plastic bucket is filled with 120 lb of concrete).

To be honest though I sincerely doubt that an "expensive" BB of the same size would weigh as much as your "wieghted" cheap BB, right?

Mike in Warsaw

 

[kwolfe]

I have seen the United brand in person. They are pretty stout for the price you pay. They have clevis pin hook-ups which are stronger and a larger tube to hold the rippers. I would have bought one, except that I was worried about the lift height for my bx1500. If I had a larger tractor, I would have bought one in a heart beat. Adding wieght is easy if you ever need to.

 

[flusher]

To be honest though I sincerely doubt that an "expensive" BB of the same size would weigh as much as your "wieghted" cheap BB, right?

Mike in Warsaw

My BB is 4-ft wide. Workallthetime's is 5.5 ft wide. But you're correct. That difference very likely does not add up to 360 lb. So he'll need extra weight.

 

[greg_g]

Don't listen to the BB weight arguments Dan, those guys expect gravity to do the work for them. It's one thing to take loose gravel and move it around, but a whole nuther ballgame if you want to grade/level. By design, it's the BB scarifiers (rippers) that take function to keep the BB from doing little more than kicking up dust for grading/leveling. You drop them down a level appropriate to the task, they then keep the BB at or under ground level.

Draft control or check chains help of course, so you don't end up ripping too deep. But otherwise that Union box should be just fine, and $350 sounds like a reasonable price

//greg//

 

[flusher]

Don't listen to the BB weight arguments Dan, those guys expect gravity to do the work for them. It's one thing to take loose gravel and move it around, but a whole nuther ballgame if you want to grade/level. By design, it's the BB scarifiers (rippers) that take function to keep the BB from doing little more than kicking up dust for grading/leveling. You drop them down a level appropriate to the task, they then keep the BB at or under ground level.

Draft control or check chains help of course, so you don't end up ripping too deep. But otherwise that Union box should be just fine, and $350 sounds like a reasonable price

//greg//

My dinky little XB box blade works OK as it is for simple grading jobs (driveway gravel, bare ground). As you say, the scarifiers will help pull the blade into the bare ground.

But the XB is way too lightweight to scrape turf off the ground (something I do a lot of around my place). With the scarifiers in the full down position, I end up with four ruts and the blade just slides over the turf. Add the weight and the XB cuts turf nicely. A lot cheaper than a Gannon box with hydraulic-controlled scarifiers.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

In MOST cases, a box blade needs to be of sufficient weight REGARDLESS of scarifiers, draft control, or any other accessories, options, gimmicks, or wives tales. In theory the teeth should pull the box into the ground, but in practical application, that just doesn't happen most of the time.(unless you're dealing with "ideal circumstances") That doesn't mean weight is the ultimate solution, but you need those pounds. Look at what commercial landscapers, general contractors, and excavating contractors use. HEAVY boxes often in conjunction with tractors featuring hydraulic down pressure on the hitch. In many situations, you need the weight just to get the scarifiers to penetrate hard ground. Granted, on a small sub-compact or even some compacts, you wouldn't be able to make good use of that digging ability due to not enough traction or HP, but it's easier to gauge the heavier box UP with the hitch, preventing it from digging in too deep, than to repeatedly go over and over the same piece of ground just barely scratching the surface.

More expensive boxes are GENERALLY heavier, but there is no direct correlation between weight and cost. If a lower cost box is of ample strenght, weight can be added as needed, usually for considerabley less than the cost of a "premium" box.

I have a Wood HB84that's more than enough box for use on my 60 HP Deere and works like a charm on my 40 and 47 hp smaller tractors.