Snow Plow with 3rd Attachment BX2370-1

[macguyver13]

Wow, thanks for this post. I've been looking all over the internet for someone to have successfully added hydraulics to the snow blade for the BX25. I even called my dealer and they told me this hydraulic kit isn't compatible with this blade. I referred them to your post which is great since it has pics. As a result, I'm putting in an order for these today. I already have the 3rd function kit since I have the LandPride grapple, so I just need the hydraulic cylinder and mounting. Now I'm a little more excited about this winter (if that is actually a thing considering last winter here in New England).

 

[dfran1]

Wow, thanks for this post. I've been looking all over the internet for someone to have successfully added hydraulics to the snow blade for the BX25. I even called my dealer and they told me this hydraulic kit isn't compatible with this blade. I referred them to your post which is great since it has pics. As a result, I'm putting in an order for these today. I already have the 3rd function kit since I have the LandPride grapple, so I just need the hydraulic cylinder and mounting. Now I'm a little more excited about this winter (if that is actually a thing considering last winter here in New England).

Hi,
I know it's been a while but how did this go?
I have had tire problems see here last post
I was just wondering your outcome?

 

[macguyver13]

Well, for a little follow up I just received the blade and hydraulic kit on Thursday. I can't believe it took a month to ship it here. I was initially told 7-10 days. Not sure why the delay.

So I put the blade together and mounted on the tractor no problem. Then I went to hook up hydraulics and found out that the hydraulic kit comes with 1 male and 1 female quick coupler which are too big for the ports that are already on the tractor from the Land Pride 3rd function valve. Then I decided that I could worry about getting the right couplers later and was just going to use the ones on my grapple, but I removed one and found that the threading didn't fit correctly.

Now I can understand basic hyrdaulics, etc. but the sizing thing is really getting me. I'm thinking that the Land Pride quick connectors are ORB and the Kubota stuff is all NPT. I am going to try to get 3/8" couplers (female) for my new hydraulics and see if that is what I need. I'm a bit at a loss with all of the standards as far as sizing, threading, etc. goes. I'll update when I get those QD parts and see if they fit.

 

[dfran1]

Well that is great info for others!!.
I did not see this as my dealer installed, my dealer must have fixed all this for me, but then again I have no other attachments for the 3rd function yet, and your findings will certainly help me if I do get something for it.
Please keep us updated!!
Best of luck.

 

[macguyver13]

OK, I finally got it working and will list what was required here for anyone who cares.

My LandPride grapple (SGC05) uses ORB connections whereas everything I've seen on my BX25 uses 1/4" NPT. So what I needed aside from the snow blade was:

1. 4 ORB to NPT adapters. The ORB size is #6 (or 9/16") and I went to 1/4" NPT. I ordered 4 of these so I could replace the 2 nipples coming from the 3rd function valve and the other 2 are to convert the grapple connections from ORB to NPT.
2. 2 1/4" male NPT nipples. These replace the ones that came with the LandPride. I decided I wanted to make all my couplers the same and I am going with NPT just since that's what the tractor seems to use.
3. 4 1/4" female NPT couplers. 2 of these are for the snow blade and 2 replace the ones on the grapple. Same reasoning as above.
4. 2 3/8" to 1/4" NPT adapters. This is because the hose that came with the snow blade uses a 3/8" NPT connection and I needed to convert it down to the 1/4" couplers I am using.

You don't have to do all of that. I just decided to replace the ORB with NPT for uniformity and that's what I needed. I'm sure it's possible that LandPride could switch to a different style or maybe if you get it dealer installed they may use something else too. This was me doing all the work so I had to make some decisions on how to convert from NPT to ORB.

It would have been cheaper to convert the snow blade hoses to ORB using an adapter and then just buy 2 more of the couplers that the grapple uses, but the Parker Store in my area couldn't get them for 1 week as they aren't very common for them. I went with what I could get quickly as I'm tired of waiting for this project to be working.

Good news is, I tried it out and it is awesome. I can't wait for the next snow so I can clear the drive and compare times (I had been using the bucket before).

 

[dfran1]

OK, I finally got it working and will list what was required here for anyone who cares.

My LandPride grapple (SGC05) uses ORB connections whereas everything I've seen on my BX25 uses 1/4" NPT. So what I needed aside from the snow blade was:

1. 4 ORB to NPT adapters. The ORB size is #6 (or 9/16") and I went to 1/4" NPT. I ordered 4 of these so I could replace the 2 nipples coming from the 3rd function valve and the other 2 are to convert the grapple connections from ORB to NPT.
2. 2 1/4" male NPT nipples. These replace the ones that came with the LandPride. I decided I wanted to make all my couplers the same and I am going with NPT just since that's what the tractor seems to use.
3. 4 1/4" female NPT couplers. 2 of these are for the snow blade and 2 replace the ones on the grapple. Same reasoning as above.
4. 2 3/8" to 1/4" NPT adapters. This is because the hose that came with the snow blade uses a 3/8" NPT connection and I needed to convert it down to the 1/4" couplers I am using.

You don't have to do all of that. I just decided to replace the ORB with NPT for uniformity and that's what I needed. I'm sure it's possible that LandPride could switch to a different style or maybe if you get it dealer installed they may use something else too. This was me doing all the work so I had to make some decisions on how to convert from NPT to ORB.

It would have been cheaper to convert the snow blade hoses to ORB using an adapter and then just buy 2 more of the couplers that the grapple uses, but the Parker Store in my area couldn't get them for 1 week as they aren't very common for them. I went with what I could get quickly as I'm tired of waiting for this project to be working.

Good news is, I tried it out and it is awesome. I can't wait for the next snow so I can clear the drive and compare times (I had been using the bucket before).

Thank You So much for that great info, I am sure between you and I the next person will have most all they need to know!!

I have plowed once with mine so far and am getting a snow storm now, the one before was only ~3 inches but did very well and it was really nice to angle the blade back and forth so easily, as I need to do this quite often with my driveway.

I found floating the blade caused my steering to go opposite where I wanted, so I went to manual (up and down) and just picked a hight that did not affect my steering. I probably should have slowed down but I was in rush as I had to go to work.

I have a little hill with a curve and it has been and always will be a slight challenge with traction (as my last craftsman tractor also), BUT my heated cab, absolutely loved it (was like doing something outside in a cool fall night), I know it cost me $$ for it but I can tell you all it is well worth it as my craftsman tractor before never had it and I froze all the time on it for years, even with a snow suite on. I turned my front and rear cab lights on as it was dark out and wow, extremely nice.

I certainly do not intend this to be bragging at all!! I know how cold, wet, and can't feel my toes and fingers are no matter what I wear feeling is, I did it for years, I just meant this for the ones considering purchasing a heated cab "is it worth it" and I can absolutely say "it is".

macguyver13 please post back with your findings on the tilt? I love it.

Edit: Just got done with one sweep in this snow storm and I went slower, steering was fine. Now I am getting used to this.

 

[JoeG]

OK, I finally got it working and will list what was required here for anyone who cares.

My LandPride grapple (SGC05) uses ORB connections whereas everything I've seen on my BX25 uses 1/4" NPT.

Thanks for this information. I have not added the hydraulics yet but I was planning to just buy two of the quick connects from Landpride. They are part 841-466C and are listed as "CP 9/16FORB QD 1/4BODY FEMALE." To connect to the hydraulic angle cylinder though it sounds like I'd still need to reduce down the 3/8 hoses.

 

[JoeG]

Even up until late Thursday the predictions were for 5-10" of the white stuff for my town here in NJ. Since I had not yet put the snowblower on I decided to try out the quick attach blade (without hydraulic angle.) Seemed like a good idea at the time.

We ended up with about 28". While I like the blade very much, that amount of snow was just too much for the BX with a blade. I needed the snowblower. Rather than switch it out though I used the blade, loader, and a Honda snowblower. Here are my thoughts on the blade. Before I had the BX snowblower I had the 60" blade for the quick hitch. The quick attach blade on the loader arms is much nicer than than BX2763. My gripe with the BX2763 is that the quick hitch cannot lift the blade enough for many situations and when the blade is on an angle, one side hits the ground much earlier than the other. The blade on the loader arms remedies both problems. With the two loader functions and the angle of the blade it acts very much like a 6-way blade. Angle the blade and adjust the contact by curling the bucket. Another great advantage is the ability to stack the snow high by pushing it up the pile. I made piles about 8' high. Very cool.

In hindsight the BX snowblower would have had the job completed much sooner, but I had a lot of fun.

Joe

 

[macguyver13]

Of course, now that I have the blade and hydraulics we haven't had snow and aren't expecting any for a while. I guess my purchase is more of a talisman for now.

On the 1 snow I did use it on, I loved having it on the loader arms as you guys have mentioned. Being able to control the tilt is nice for when the blade is fully deflected one way or the other. Adjusting the tilt allows you to keep the whole blade on the ground. Being able to lift the arms is nice for creating piles too. Since those arms are out in front, I was able to create piles of snow away from the driveway by pushing it back a few feet. I only do that at the bottom of our driveway which is on a good incline since that's where all the snow piles up and the town plow deposits a bunch down there too. The cleanup is so easy now.

Initially when I bought the tractor I could get 1 implement for $500 off and I was thinking about the snow blade, but my salesman told me I wouldn't be able to steer with it because the BX25 is too light. From what you guys have said, this is probably true for really deep snows, but for a few inches it is great. I'll have to continue to experiment to determine at what depth I can clear easily and maybe I'll clear twice for the bad storms. I'm willing to do that because I was amazed at how nice it was and fast to clear with the blade vs. the bucket. The bucket leaves so many of those trails on the sides of the bucket which cause me to redo work so much and the blade was great. I'll post an update once we get another snow of substance.

P.S. I do love the grapple and wouldn't change the purchase of both grapple and snow blade.

 

[macguyver13]

OK, I love this blade. It works great up to about 6 inches. Anything more than that was starting to reduce my ability to steer or would start to push the tractor around a little bit. Still doable, just not as simple as it is when you have less than 6 inches. It's great not having to get off the tractor!

Also, I'm trying to include a picture of how I fit the ORB connections from the LandPride 3rd function kit (on the left) to the 3/8" hose fitting that came with the Kubota hydraulic kit (right side). Just in case anyone needs to try to replicate this and has the same setup.