BX1500 Owners

[TPS]

Guys,
I have about 90 hrs on my '05 BX1500 with 48" MMM and FEL with no problems at all. I keep it serviced very well and usually mow with some light FEL work. I have about 1 acre with 20% grade. Use 4wd a lot! I am wondering if any of you BX1500 owners have had any problems or concerns that I need to be aware of as the hours begin to add up? I know many of you work your Tractors harder and have more hours on them so here is a chance to brag a little to gripe some. Anyway I am trying to get a feel of what to look forward to as the hours and years go by.
Thanks,
TPS

 

[ericbx1500]

Guys,
I have about 90 hrs on my '05 BX1500 with 48" MMM and FEL with no problems at all. I keep it serviced very well and usually mow with some light FEL work. I have about 1 acre with 20% grade. Use 4wd a lot! I am wondering if any of you BX1500 owners have had any problems or concerns that I need to be aware of as the hours begin to add up? I know many of you work your Tractors harder and have more hours on them so here is a chance to brag a little to gripe some. Anyway I am trying to get a feel of what to look forward to as the hours and years go by.
Thanks,
TPS

I have 102hrs on mine with no problem at all. I would have to say that there not really broken in yet.

 

[SPYDERLK]

I have about a thousand hours on mine. Its a great little tractor. Ive had 3 problems if we ignore the harmonic balance weight breaking off while fairly new.-I decided I didnt like it anyway. Problems;1]water pump replaced under warranty,2]leak of FWD oil at the front end center pivot happened during warranty but never took it in, 3]power steering cylinder internal leak makes steering pretty vague started during warranty but I wasnt quick enuf. Another problem I see is that the HST internal pressure relief seems to be set too low on mine. You cant get all the engine power to the wheels. The tractor just stops moving and you have to downshift. Engine loads but doesnt bog down. If anyone knows where the relief adjustment is that would be very welcome info.

Aside from the last - more a setup than malfunction issue - it is astoundingly capable. I just got finished baling 190 square bales with it - running along behind my wife who was raking.
Oh, and you may notice occasional power loss as time goes on. The 1500 has small fuel filters. Just a little water will semi clog the filter and starve fuel.
Enjoy!
larry

 

[TPS]

Thanks for the reply guys. Eric, I agree ours are probably not really broke in yet, that is why I was hoping someone like Larry would chime in so we could kind of see how it holds up and where the weak spots are. Larry, you have more hours on yours and probably using it harder than anyone else I know of. Most of your problems happened early on it seems. Did you follow all the maintenance as per the manual as far as the hours go? Also I too noticed the small fuel filters how often have you had to change them? Did you ever replace that balance weight? How did it run without one? Again thanks for the replies and good information.
TPS

 

[bxowner]

Sorry to sound naive... but what kind of baler can a BX1500 handle?!

I own one of the little tractors with only 35 hours - and have been afraid to work it too hard... but perhaps it can really take the work! For instance, I passed on a 3-pt hitch chipper for fear of damaging it. The manufacturer of the chippter recommends nothing less than 19 engine hp - I thought I could run it by not stuffing 4 1/2" thick branches into it (which the manufacturer claims it can handle) but they strongly advised against it.

This left me feeling like I ought to upgrade to a B-series, as I felt the 3-pt. PTO was useless on the BX1500. Am I wrong? (If it matters, I've decided to keep the BX and not upgrade, as I can neither afford the price difference, nor justify the $$ loss on the BX).

 

[TPS]

BXOwner,
I don't really think anyone is pulling a square baler with one. I thought that was at best a misprint. If not I want to see pics of it! Anyway I am like you I can't really justify much bigger for what I do. I will say this it seems to be able to do more than I thought so far. I have a 20% grade and had to mow long, thick and wet grass early in the season and it did it with only bogging one time as the grass was so thick it did not clear the chute well and I was cutting up hill! I lifted the MMM and put it back down and it mowed great. No overheating or bogging again. As to your question I do believe the low HP at the rear PTO is something to keep in mind when running things, but if the equipment can run on 10HP or so I say use it and see how it works. DR sells a lot of chippers in the 10HP (gas) range so it should handle that chipper I think. Good luck and let me know how it works.
TPS

 

[SPYDERLK]

Sorry to sound naive... but what kind of baler can a BX1500 handle?!

I own one of the little tractors with only 35 hours - and have been afraid to work it too hard... but perhaps it can really take the work! For instance, I passed on a 3-pt hitch chipper for fear of damaging it. The manufacturer of the chippter recommends nothing less than 19 engine hp - I thought I could run it by not stuffing 4 1/2" thick branches into it (which the manufacturer claims it can handle) but they strongly advised against it.

It is an Internation Harvester Model 37 - a standard type of baler for the small 40 to 60 lb square bales. There is plenty of power to drive the baler along a heavy windrow at a speed that will choke the hay pickup mechanism. I kept upping the tractor rpm to speed up the baler, but was still able to choke the baler before running out of power. Finally when I revved high enuf the baler began slipping knots because knotter didnt like the high baler speed. I had to back off a bit. There is more than adequate power to fully task the baler on level ground or even up a slight incline. More of an incline and the relief valve begins bypassing and the progress grinds to a halt until you downshift. Like I said the relief is set such that you cannot get the HP to the ground. If I could correct this I think I could do the whole field in hi range. In towing the baler the only real problem is that you must respect its weight. Its heavier than the tractor so downhill is time to be careful. Too much uphill and the front wheels dance to the point you can barely steer. Engaging 4wd helped steering when the front got light.
larry

 

[TPS]

Larry,
I was sure that was a misprint! Glad you reposted now I kow for sure that was what you actually meant. I really would not think the 1500 could work like that. Glad to know it can. Thanks for sharing, I would love to see an action shot of that little BX doing that. It would be all over; the little machine that could!
TPS

 

[SPYDERLK]

Larry,
I was sure that was a misprint! Glad you reposted now I kow for sure that was what you actually meant. I really would not think the 1500 could work like that. Glad to know it can. Thanks for sharing, I would love to see an action shot of that little BX doing that. It would be all over; the little machine that could!
TPS

Yeah, its not much HP needed for a square baler. 10HP is adequate for hard packed bales. We dont pack ours too hard so the tractor did not react much to the change in load caused by each ram thrust.
larry

 

[leolav1972]

I have 280 hrs on mine with only one minor issue. the front axle was leaking some oil and was making a grinding noise (not good). Turns out that the axle was still full, but I had bent the 4wd drive shaft and it was spinning out of round causing the racket. Replaced and it went away.

Only complaint I have with the tractor is the idiotic location of the tail lights and winker lights. Everytime I use my Mow N Vac, I almost always break one turning as the container hits them when I turn tight with it. I am considering welding a bracket to protect them.