Moving firewood palette with BX, bolt on forks

   / Moving firewood palette with BX, bolt on forks #1  

Scooby074

Super Member
Joined
Aug 4, 2006
Messages
6,364
Location
Nova Scotia
Tractor
BX 25, ZD 326
Anybody palletized and move their firewood with a BX?

Do you use bolt on bucket forks?

How much wood can you move per pallet? I know it will depend on species and wetness, but ball park numbers for a normal pallet would be great. Can you stack it 4' tall on each pallet? I just want to get a feel for the space requirements. number of pallets and whether or not this whole idea is worth it for the 8cord i have to put up.

If I had a larger tractor, id build or buy a system like this:

 
   / Moving firewood palette with BX, bolt on forks #2  
Yes, but a BX is a toy from the FEL point of view when confronted with a pallet full of wet wood. So, I know I can move way more wood with the 3pt hitch mounted carry all, therefore I will use that for the initial pallet load. If I wish to stack, I will then put much smaller amounts on pallets, and place those on top with the FEL pallet forks. My pallet forks are the ones I bought from BXPanded.

The front side is a challenge with the wet wood. But the backside come burning time is way better since the wood will have lost a great deal of weight. It is trivial to remove the pallets placed by FEL, and in some cases, carry-all placed pallets can be moved with FEL.

I find the pallet solution handy, and I find tar paper to be a handy cover.
 
   / Moving firewood palette with BX, bolt on forks #3  
You can move a skid off of the 3ph. You may need to put some weight in the bucket to make it stable. I would try to stay on fairly level ground.
 
   / Moving firewood palette with BX, bolt on forks #4  
Multiply the number on your loader by 2.2 to get the rated lift. ie. LA211 will lift about 460 lbs. at the bucket pins. That is not much and with clamp-on forks that number goes way down quickly.

As others have said, the 3PH is a better bet. It can lift 680 lbs at 24" behind the pins (BX2200). Not much better, but better.
 
   / Moving firewood palette with BX, bolt on forks #5  
bolt on clamps place the weight further out on the FEL reducing your lift capacity. get some FEL forks that replace the general duty bucket all together. to increase lift capacity on the FEL.

and for the most lift capacity, as other said, go for 3pt hitch forks.

bolt on forks can come in handy, and if have not been out bidded at some auctions would have some. but if had choice would more likely go with forks on FEL that replaced the bucket for more lift capacity. and then 3pt hitch forks as well.
 
   / Moving firewood palette with BX, bolt on forks #6  
Scooby,
I had also thought of doing this with my BX. I think, due to the set up of the forks, the pallets need to be modified a little. If the clearance on the bottom of the pallets were doubled, the forks could get under them easier. In this pic I added a half pallet to the forks to expand what the bucket could carry.
 

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   / Moving firewood palette with BX, bolt on forks #7  
Scooby- I move firewood all yeear around with my BX. I have loaded all kinds of wood in the bucket from pine,popular,maple,elm,hickory,ash with BX. I have used both FEL and rear firewood carrier I made. I find I can carry 4widex6high one row in my carrier better on my 3pt then in my FEL which is probably overloaded at 4x3 one row worth. I really don't care the tippy feeling with that much wood in the FEL when I need to transverse a hill. Having that much in the FEL is just unstable and I even added homemade forks and it can carry more in a stable way but I am finding that I have the rely on my traction on front wheels all the time and its no fun over bumps even with weight in the back unless I have my 3pt wood carrier on. Its much quicker for me to use my quick hitch to drop the firewood carrier in place then mess with forks on FEL.
IMHO, to move a pallet of firewood on a daily basis is way too much on a BX.
 
   / Moving firewood palette with BX, bolt on forks
  • Thread Starter
#8  
Thanks guys. Seems like its going to be more work than its worth to stack 8 cord on pallets. If I can only stack a couple tier high Im going to need a TON of pallets lol. The whole reason I considered this was so I could stack vertical to save space, with ease of moving a secondary benefit, because of that, using the loader was essential.

I still might build a set of forks, probably the chain on style, just for general use, moving logs, and taking the garbage to the highway on a pallet for garbage day.
 
   / Moving firewood palette with BX, bolt on forks #9  
   / Moving firewood palette with BX, bolt on forks #10  
I use these re-useable vented dumpy bags for my firewood - BAG Supplies Canada Ltd :: Vented Log Bags

On my B1750 - probably similar capabilities to your BX - I use the smaller size - 38x38x40" (97x97x100cm)

I have made a set of forks to replace the bucket - to get weight further back as others have suggested. I also find that I can hang the bag from the forks to fill it. I then put the bag on a pallet and stack it that way 1) to improve air circulation and 2) because I cannot get enough height to stack the bags 2 high when the bags are hanging from the forks.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...ting/157716d1267869004-forks-fel-dsc_0443.jpg

J
 
 
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