High vs low range.....whats your policy?

[chucky79]

When do you guys use high vs low range? I know the difference and intended use just wondering what everyone's real world experience is with their BX tractors. I ask because today i ran down to the barn real quick for some tools to shovel gravel. I usually climb my steep hill back up from the barn in low range but today i forgot to switch it down to low like i usually do when mowing and i got to a point on the hill where the tractor almost completely ran out of torque. Ive had this happen with atvs and the like but never my tractor. I shifted to low and off she went but just got me thinking about what the real work limits for the tractor in high range might really be? I reckon what i experienced was normal and i hope i didnt damage anything as it was a really steep short bank that i was climbing but i later realized it was also the first time ive tried the hill since having 250lbs of ballast filled in the tires so im sure that added a little extra strain on things. I kinda had it in my head though that i had climbed that hill before in high but maybe i hadnt..:confused3: So guys whats your all experience with high and low range? Anyone ever ran out of power/torque in high like me? How bout ran out of power in low range? Ive never seen a tractor run out of power in low range before.....its always been my experience that anything with a motor lost traction before it lost power when pulling in low.

 

[whistlepig]

I don't have a BX but do have a B. Low is for grunt loader work. Medium for mowing and almost all of my everyday farm chores. High is road gear. I won't work my B in high range. Just for transporting the B on the road or level ground do I use high range.

 

[aczlan]

With the B7500 (Loader) and BX2660 (60" plow blade), we use High for everything but filling the loader on the B or pushing dirt with the blade on the BX. For those we use low range.

Aaron Z

 

[chucky79]

being that i dont have a medium im starting to think maybe my policy should be low range for everything besides driving it around on flat ground..... 4mph in low is plenty fast for mowing i would think which is the top end of speed in low range..... I wish i had a B series but it would just be total overkill for what i do which is mostly mowing my 2 acres....maybe someday right.

 

[chucky79]

With the B7500 (Loader) and BX2660 (60" plow blade), we use High for everything but filling the loader on the B or pushing dirt with the blade on the BX. For those we use low range.

Aaron Z

what else do you use your bx for? mowing or other work? Ive used high alot on mine but i have to admit the hill i was climbing was probably at the extreme end of safe and shouldn't have been attempted in high to begin with. I was scary though to have the tractor just stop on me like it did and start to scream back sorta like saying "back the **** off...."

 

[ENC]

I'm with whistlepig. I have 3 ranges and have only used high about 3 times in 115 hours. Med most of the time. Low for grunt work with loader or box blade. I lose traction before power in low, but I can stall it in med if i forget what gear I am in. My driveway is really steep and my tractor won't climb it in med if I am in 2wd.

 

[whistlepig]

Kubotas have a pressure relief on the hydro. If you push the hydro too hard you can feel the pressure relief let off. Feels like a surge. If my gear too high I can feel this pressure relief kick out. Kubota says kicking out the pressure relief on the hydro every now and then doesn't hurt anything. But long term switch to a lower range. Constantly pushing the hydro to the point it kicks out the pressure relief on the hydro is hard on the hydro.

 

[aczlan]

what else do you use your bx for? mowing or other work? Ive used high alot on mine but i have to admit the hill i was climbing was probably at the extreme end of safe and shouldn't have been attempted in high to begin with. I was scary though to have the tractor just stop on me like it did and start to scream back sorta like saying "back the **** off...."

Mowing, pulling a small trailer around, etc. Generally speaking, the mower deck goes on the BX in April or May and comes off in Oct or Nov.

The B7500 also gets used to move haywagons around. It goes in low gear for that.

Aaron Z

 

[whistlepig]

Don't get all squirmy wormy about your BX. It's a highly capable tractor for what you are using it for. Learn the tractor and you will love it.

 

[rbarker]

When do you guys use high vs low range? I know the difference and intended use just wondering what everyone's real world experience is with their BX tractors. I ask because today i ran down to the barn real quick for some tools to shovel gravel. I usually climb my steep hill back up from the barn in low range but today i forgot to switch it down to low like i usually do when mowing and i got to a point on the hill where the tractor almost completely ran out of torque. Ive had this happen with atvs and the like but never my tractor. I shifted to low and off she went but just got me thinking about what the real work limits for the tractor in high range might really be? I reckon what i experienced was normal and i hope i didnt damage anything as it was a really steep short bank that i was climbing but i later realized it was also the first time ive tried the hill since having 250lbs of ballast filled in the tires so im sure that added a little extra strain on things. I kinda had it in my head though that i had climbed that hill before in high but maybe i hadnt..:confused3: So guys whats your all experience with high and low range? Anyone ever ran out of power/torque in high like me? How bout ran out of power in low range? Ive never seen a tractor run out of power in low range before.....its always been my experience that anything with a motor lost traction before it lost power when pulling in low.

I've run out of power in high when I was first learning the BX capabilities. It was a strange feeling. I've never run out of power in low range though. You just need to experiment a bit to see what works best. I mow mostly in high except certain areas that are sloped where it works better in low. Snow blowing in low but if I'm using the back blade I go with high to generate speed for more momentum to help move snow to the side. If I'm using the loader I almost always have it in low. Well, that how I do it anyway. Find what works best for you, the tractor is tough and you're not likely to break it experimenting a little.

Sent from my iPad using TractorByNet

 

[chucky79]

Thanks guys, my dealer reassured me almost to a T back when i was first shopping. he told me the tractor is tough and smart and will protect it self before i get a chance to hurt her. As for the pressure relief kicking out....im not sure it happened or not. When the engine bogged down i let up quick so i may or may not have experienced that yet. Im sure i will in time. I also agree that i have not had an experience yet where i ran out of power in low and i dont expect i ever will unless its on concrete or something trying to do something i really shouldn't be. As a matter of fact i was working last week and got the front deck hanger and axle high centered and stuck on a hidden tree stump and used 4 wheel drive and diff lock to back out (which didn't work by the way) The BX just dug me two really nice holes and spun the tail end around about 45 degrees digging a trench the whole way. So id say that pretty much proves that Low gives more power than i will ever need and those wheels just keep spining...., ground clearance, now that's another story.... took an ATV and a logging chain to get me free that day.

 

[Ken45101]

I wouldn't worry about occassional overloading in the wrong range. As has been said, these are tough TRACTORS, not some fancy hot performance vehicle.

I don't have a BX, but I have two B's and two M's. A couple of times, I've even totally stalled them. Now that's certainly less than ideal. (I"ve stalled the 90 HP M9540 when the Bush Hog grounded out on a hump, Now that's a lot of load!)

It's best not to overload or "lug" any engine but once in a while for a short bit isn't going to hurt anything.

 

[AStanton]

I was in my BX-25 one day, and going down a hill in rabbit speed and hit a bump. Not having my seat belt on, I almost did a dixie. I would advise anyone boggieing downhill in rabbit speed to wear a seat belt.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

As the others have said it is normal what you experienced. I work in turtle on BXs and move from place to place in rabbit and usually in M on Bs until I get to heavy FEL work and then do L or going down steep or gravel covered terrain, I do L.
High on B is usually just on paved road in 2wd.

 

[TripleR]

Pretty much in line with everyone else, our BX2200 is eleven years old and runs like new, it has been stalled, run in high as well as low when mowing and spent two years without maintenance (long story) and it has many years of trouble free use ahead.

With use, you will learn what works best, one of the hardest things some of us had to learn going from gear to HST was to let up on the go pedal not press down.

 

[vabiker23518]

I don't have a BX, but general rule for me is: when moving from point a to point b, I use high range. When cutting grass, plowing, moving materials with FEL, etc I use low range.

 

[jejeosborne]

I have a B7800 with 3 speeds. Steep long driveway. I'll run it full throttle in high range if I am not moving anything heavy and it will slow down quite a bit. I modulate the pedal to keep rpms up and let it eat up the hill. It is just hydraulics and unless you do it for long periods, creating heat, I see no problems. Sometimes I will stop in the middle of the hill and downshift if I think it would go faster in mid range.

 

[Threepoint]

We've had our 1993 B2150HST for 21 years, so my input dates to Kubota's early development of their HSTs. (I think it was the largest HST they offered in the U.S. at the time!). I've consistently been amazed at how well they matched the powertrain to this tractor, and I suspect they've kept that up with later models. Mid-range handles everything from very heavy loader work to maintenance of 1 mile of gravel drive with a fully loaded 60" box blade. I've needed low range maybe 5% of the time over the years. High range for very light loader work and for getting from point A to point B quickly. My advice to folks with HST is to just listen to the tractor. When it starts to lug down, pay close attention and try letting up on the pedal. If the rpms don't ramp back up, time to go to a lower range. For 3pt hitch ground engagement, you'll likely lose traction before power in low range. For loader work, if you're bogging down in low, back out and take less material with the bucket.

 

[RaydaKub]

Agreed with all the above; you didn't hurt a thing. I use both low and high when mowing. Low gives a better cut, but sometimes you just gotta git'er done. On my lawn hill, I can stall out if I'm not WOT, but with the engine rpm up, it walks right up. On the sledding hill, it won't go up at all. Low range has never been a problem though.

It is interesting to me what generates more heat from the rear end. 45 minutes of mowing and there is some warm air coming from the rear end up around the seat. I took my yard trailer over the the nursery about a mile away this weekend and brought home a load of composted manure (loading it myself of course). Climbing the neighborhood hill (all paved) in high range causes way more heat to come up from the rear end in those 3 minutes than all the mowing.

 

[buck boost]

I try to use the lowest range I can. That theoretically maximizes the mechanical advantage putting the least amount of strain the HST. e.g. : If running for extended periods, I would rather run full speed in low range than half speed (or whatever) in medium. Full volume out of fluid out of the hst means full cooling and less hst whine. If that is not a ideal wheel speed, for sure I'll use the medium range.

I can't really use high range much. Everywhere I wanna go is just do darn bumpy! lol