bx2200 rear 3pt blade and brush hog

[texblonigan]

Does anybody have experience with a BX2200 using a front mounted snowblower and a rear 3pt blade for light snow cleanup? I am thinking of buyin the rear 3pt blade to handle light snows that are too small for the blower. I had also hoped to use it as counter weight for the loader in the summer.

Also, I have over 4 acres, mostly trees. I would like to use some type of 3pt brush hog to keep the underbrush down and make a nicer area for the kids to play. Thanks in advance for the input.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Tex, I have just that set up for snow removal and I find it an excellent combination for my drive. The rear blade is handy for pulling snow out of areas where there is no place to aim the discharge on the blower. I use the blade to push in reverse when the snow is too sloppy for the blower although the BX blower doesen't seem to mind wet slush either. Another way I like to use the blade for light snowfalls of 3" or less is to angle the blade and with two quick passes windrow the snow into a pile down the center of my drive, then make one pass with the blower to whisk away the pile. The blade I have is a Landpride 0560 which is a 5' blade however knowing what I do now I would recommend the 1560 which has a heavier frame. I have clipped a small triangle of material (1.5x3") off one upper corner of the blade to allow clearance on the 3ph arms to rotate the blade 180 for pushing in reverse. I have the ag tires which give plenty of traction without the need for chains.
As for the brush hog I can't help you there but I do have the 54" mmm which I use to maintain my lawn and a one acre field which gets mowed when the growth is about a foot tall. It does a great job. The mid mount will clear four or five inches if your terrain isn't too rough and rock strewn. A brush hog is much cheaper though if thats all you need it for.

 

[TresCrows]

I suggest you get the King Kutter 40 inch brush cutter for cutting small brush, the 48 inch will do as a weed mower as I have borrowed one and I just bought one to share with my 2410.
A 4 foot or smaller 42 inch boxblade of approximately 300ish lbs works well with the BX. I use the Kubota 7548 on both the BX and the 2410. I have a five foot cheapo Wallace blade and it works well with the BX but if you are going for a heavier KK or similar you may want to stay with a 4 foot rig. I suggest the box blade over the rear blade.
J

 

[texblonigan]

I see the King Kutter 40" has a gearbox choice of 40, 60, and 80 PTO. Does your BX have enough snap to run the 40"? I hope to clean out all the dead trees and use this for trimming 3" and smaller under brush.

 

[texblonigan]

Interesting. When you make the windrow pile down the middle, are you pulling the blade or pushing in reverse? I am looking into the Kubota rear blade-- it is reversable, but I hope it can be reversed EASILY while mounted on the 3 point.

 

[TresCrows]

The BX2200 would easily handle the 40 inch KK. Of course you would not waste money on a gear box of more than 40 horse capacity--why? I have used a KK 48 inch I borrowed on my BX and it did well for mowing my pasture/field area. It balanced OK with the FEL attached. For heavier cutting such as small brush I would get the 40 inch for the BX2200. It should blanace well even without the FEL attached.
I just bought a 48 inch KK, new, Atwoods, I plan to use it on both my 2410 and my BX. I figured for weed mowing the 2410 could have used a 5 footer but I got a few brushy areas I might want to wack down so I got the 4 footer. Good luck.
J

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I usually do the light snow windrowing running forward, if it gets to be too much well then I should be just blowing it anyway. I would recommend a 5' blade over a 4' simply because when the blade is angled to the side it still covers the wheel track of the machine. Mine will swing around while on the machine but it is close, the blade has to be leveled and lowered to where it is just off the ground and I did have to cut a small amount off one upper corner of the blade but it had no effect on the blade strength or performance.
I would be a little concerned with your intention to be able to brush hog 3" or even 2" material with the BX, not that power would be a concern but I think the machine would be a little light to climb over such brush and the small 40" brush hog is apt to bounce around a lot. You may want to look under the BX too and concider some type of skid pan to protect the fuel and hydralic lines as well as the spinning transmission cooling fan, filter, brake linkage etc. from stiff sticks which might spring up and snag something. You might have to approach some of this stuff in reverse with the brush hog first or manually clear the larger brush the first time around and then use the machine to maintain your lot thereafter.

 

[TresCrows]

OK, as the owner of both a 2410 and a BX I am somewhat unique in my perspective. For starters there is nothing under the BX that is not hanging down in the way on the 2410 and the BX does have a small fan that is way the heck up there out of the way--brush shields are always a good idea. Of course an errant stick might get up there and if so a new fan will likely be needed, they cost a few bucks and since the hydro transmission is cooled in part by the radiator and the large fluid volume the BX gets along very well except under the heaviest load and hottest weather without the redundant fan. Second the 1200 lb BX with it's 500 plus lbs FEL attached (how much does the brush cutter weigh--4 teenagers plus me were required to lift it and the 40 inch is not much lighter) will squash 2" brush down nicely at least as well as my 2410. I like your idea of backing into the brush--that is what I do.
Here is my concern, the BX does not have the tough R4 tires available and the mini bar ags can be punctured by cut brush as can the turfs. I suspect you will eventually flat one of the front tires, you may consider foaming the fronts only, the rears seem much less punture prone for whatever reason. Try not to ram the steering arms into logs and stumps, this is the main "off road" disadvantage the BX has and truthfully despite numerous excursions into the rough stuff, one flat tire is my only casuality.
J

 

[texblonigan]

I got ahead of myself-- I hope to clear the small 2-3 inch stuff with a blade attachment of my weed whacker-- it works well for that sized stuff. Then when I get most of that stuff out, I'd use the 40" KK to clean up all the small stuff and to keep the area nice.

Thanks for the help you guys.

 

[Dooze]

Tex,
I live in Vermont and have a BX1800 with a front mount snowblower and a King Kutter 40" Brush Cutter. They are both awesome. I mow some pretty rough terrain with the brush cutter and have had no problems.