Box Scraper Standard Duty vs Heavy Duty

[audsp98]

I'm going to be purchasing a Mahindra 3550 in the next couple of weeks. I'm looking at purchasing a box blade for normal box blade activities (drive way maintenance, grading, etc.). I'm curious as to which version, standard or heavy duty, I should be looking at. What are the deciding factors when looking at box blades that would make me choose a heavy duty over the standard version?

Thanks

 

[jeff9366]

The key metric is Box Blade weight per foot of width.

Minimum weight that is effective is 100 pounds per foot of width. Better is 125 pounds per foot of width. Construction Box Blades start at 200 pounds per foot of width.

What type of soil do you have in Chelsea?

What type of tire are you considering for your Mahindra? Will tires be loaded with liquid?

Box Blades are probably this most frequently used implement as Three Point Hitch counterbalance weight for FEL work.

So calculate your probable FEL loads before making a final decision on a Box Blade.

If you will not have hydraulic TnT consider Rollover Box Blades in addition to regular Box Blades.

 

[RNeumann]

The heavy duty is what you want. BBs last decades or generations- especially a nice heavy duty one. The added weight is also a big part of the decision. No one ever wishes for a lighter BB!
As stated check out TnT if it's in the budget. It takes the box from a basic Implement to a incredibly useful multitool. Fitrite sells them and he is on this site. I have a Gearmore setup that will also treat you well.

 

[buickanddeere]

HD HD HD

 

[audsp98]

The key metric is Box Blade weight per foot of width.

Minimum weight that is effective is 100 pounds per foot of width. Better is 125 pounds per foot of width. Construction Box Blades start at 200 pounds per foot of width.

What type of soil do you have in Chelsea?

What type of tire are you considering for your Mahindra? Will tires be loaded with liquid?

Box Blades are probably this most frequently used implement as Three Point Hitch counterbalance weight for FEL work.

So calculate your probably FEL loads before making a final decision on a Box Blade.

If you will not have hydraulic TnT consider Rollover Box Blades in addition to regular Box Blades.

Wow, so 100 lb/ft is the minimum. Even the heavy duty Mahindra BB doesn't meet that requirement. The super extreme BB from EA meets those requirements but is easily 2x the price.

It's Alabama so it's top soil and red clay here.

I'm getting the industrial tire. I'd not planned on loading the tires since the tractor and FEL already weigh 6000 lbs.

I am planning on getting the TnT but it will be after tractor purchase.

 

[jb1390]

Wow, so 100 lb/ft is the minimum. Even the heavy duty Mahindra BB doesn't meet that requirement. The super extreme BB from EA meets those requirements but is easily 2x the price.

It's Alabama so it's top soil and red clay here.

I'm getting the industrial tire. I'd not planned on loading the tires since the tractor and FEL already weigh 6000 lbs.

I am planning on getting the TnT but it will be after tractor purchase.

I built my own BB out of 3/8" steel. If you can weld, or have a friend that can weld, it's a pretty easy project to tackle if you buy the steel sheared to size. I think a spent less than $400 in steel cut to size.

I think my BB is about 700-800 pounds, 6.5' wide if I recall correctly, and I also have a 3550. I often wish it was heavier.

When you get TnT, make sure you get cylinders that hydraulically self lock via a valve on the side. I had a cylinder without that feature at first, and it bled down over an hour or two.

 

[jeff9366]

Wow, so 100 lb/ft is the minimum.

It's Alabama so it's top soil and red clay here.

I'm getting the industrial tire. I'd not planned on loading the tires since the tractor and FEL already weigh 6000 lbs.

You will want an implement of 600-900 pounds mounted on the Three Point Hitch whenever you carry a heavy load in the FEL bucket, otherwise the rear wheels will lift off the ground. The Three Point Hitch counterbalance offsets weight of the FEL + FEL load, hanging off the front of the tractor.

My R4 tires are filled only with air. I routinely carry a 630 pound/60" ROBB or a 700 pound/60" ETA Cultipacker on the Three Point Hitch as counterbalance to the FEL.

 

[RNeumann]

I've been happy with this one.
Products - Braber Equipment
It has hydraulic rippers which is an easy add since you are adding TnT.

 

[darmstrong2319]

I have a 4035 Mahindra and I use a ETA Hinged back box blade that weighs 815 lbs. It works great but when I'm using the loader I could use a bit more weight at times. I had a lighter blade and it didn't work for me it was ok in loose stuff but no good in hard packed material. Good luck in your decision.

 

[BobG_in_VA]

I'm gonna stick my $.02 worth in here...First, get your rear tires filled (hopefully with about 1200 lbs of fluid...why? because your FEL will counterbalance your BB when you are using the BB...reducing weight on the rear end of your tractor...thereby reducing your traction) you need the weight on the rear end...second, if your BB doesn't have 1/2inch side plates, its not HD. Then you go from there...Good luck. BobG in VA

 

[Gary Fowler]

The biggest issue is money, do you want to spend the money (double or triple cost) on a super heavy duty box blade or not. I bought a medium duty BB with my first tractor (45HP) and have used it with my 70 HP tractor many times. It digs quite well when using the scarifiers to loosen the soil in front of the blade. It isn't much of a counterweigh though if that is what you want to use it for. I did load mine up with concrete blocks once when I didn't want to use my bush hog or 8 foot disc as a counterweight and it worked pretty good for that.
For the last several years it had set under a tree and chickens find it great for setting on and crapping all over it. I loaned it to my friends last summer and they get use of it grading the gravel roads in their RV park. I also have a landscape rake that the chickens like to set on, haven't used it in years. For my short gravel road, I find back dragging with the FEL works just fine so I never bother hooking up those 2 items anymore.

 

[brown40]

Your budget is the biggest factor. Everyone's covered it well: overall weight, plate thickness, welded vs bolted (welded) braced vs. plated (plated) mast strength. Double pinned 3pt mount. Heavy as you can handle. I'd focus on ergonomics, look at fixed or roll-over blade, look for reversible blade and common scarifiers.
If you're able, install and adjust the scarifiers of the boxes you're looking at... my Frontier is a huge PITA, but better than some. There are some slick hinged setups that I wish I'd known about--as mentioned though, the box is holding great, and will likely outlast me, so I don't see replacing it.
You mention roadwork. I love my BB but if that was my primary use for it I'd look at a heavy RB or better a land plane/grader (stretched out box blades with angled cutting edges). Less compact as counterweights, but much more forgiving road tools.

 

[FTG-05]

Wow, so 100 lb/ft is the minimum. Even the heavy duty Mahindra BB doesn't meet that requirement. The super extreme BB from EA meets those requirements but is easily 2x the price.

It's Alabama so it's top soil and red clay here.

I'm getting the industrial tire. I'd not planned on loading the tires since the tractor and FEL already weigh 6000 lbs.

I am planning on getting the TnT but it will be after tractor purchase.

Not a good idea for lots of reasons. I'll leave this link here for you to read at your leisure. 6 Reasons to Liquid Ballast your Kubota’s Tires | OrangeTractorTalks

Since you live in central AL, rimguard won't be an option (unless you want to trailer your tractor to KY). The good news is that you won't need much in order to protect the liquid from freezing. Here in SC TN, I use 4-5 gallons of RV antifreeze with the balance of the 55 gallons just plain water. in other words, it's cheap to fill your tires by yourself, have all the benefits of having your tired filled and it won't freeze.

Succinctly put: I highly recommend you fill your rear tires.

Lastly: HD.

Good luck.

 

[bamboozled]

Put eyes on a Mahindra/Kodiak box blade before you buy it. I did not, and learned the hard way. I cut my losses, sold it and bought one from TSC that was much better quality.

Maybe their quality has improved in the last couple years, but I was not impressed with the one I got stuck with.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

As far as filling your tires. I was of the same mind set. I bought a Mahindra 7520, 7300lb base weight and then add 2000lbs for the loader. Why would I need to load my tires with a 9300lb tractor?

I also had cast iron to add, but wanted to add some on the inside of the wheel as well as on the outside. That meant that I needed help and was going to have to wait. So a year later I finally get some help with the cast iron, with 576lbs it simply was not enough, so I added liquid ballast to all 4 tires.

I can not express how sorry :sorry: I was that I had waited for a full year to do this. Operating the tractor with the liquid filled tires is like operating a completely different machine. Waaaaaaay more stable and much better traction. The ride is far superior over that of air only filled tires.

Even with that I still ended up adding another 288lbs of cast iron to get the tractor to where I could make the absolute most of the available power.

I didn't fill the tires on my 3215 to begin with, wanted the tractor to be lighter because it was going to get transported more often to help friends and family out. I couldn't take it, the tractor was what seemed to me about worthless with next to no traction. So after 1 week there I was filling the tires on it also. OH what a difference. :thumbsup:

So here is my recommendation, DON'T fill your tires. :shocked: Wait until you have, I don't know, 5-10 hours of use and then fill the tires. That is the only way that you will actually know what the difference is and you will be very pleased with what that difference is.

 

[richriddle]

I appreciated reading all the information you folks provided in the thread. It appears as though most consider heavy duty the way to go. Just to confuse us, some manufacturers now have extreme and severe duty choices in implements.

 

[jeff9366]

Calculate pounds per foot of width as most valuable information. Implement names are marketing.

Note that ETA provides weight for all their implements, which is honest policy.

 

[jeff9366]

Wow, so 100 lb/ft is the minimum. The super extreme BB from EA meets those requirements but is easily 2x the price.

Why do you find it surprising thicker material increases the Box Blade price? Heavier BBs also have gussets and other reinforcements.

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

Let me jump on top of the dog pile. Weight is your friend when it comes to box blades. I've got a 6' Gannon box blade with hydraulic rippers and it is fantastic. It weighs almost 1200 pounds. I bought it used for $1,100 and spent about $150 overhauling the cylinder and getting new hoses. Brand new ones are somewhere in the $3,500 - $4,000 range. Look for a used one.

I also have a recently acquired 48" Gannon "Earthcavator" rollover box blade that is built like a tank and weighs about 600 pounds. It's not very pretty, but works like a charm.

One more thing. Box blades are great for moving dirt and acting as rear ballast for your tractor. They are just ok at grading/leveling. If you're going to be primarily grading a roadway, consider a land plane grading scraper instead.

Spend the money and get a heavy duty one. They just work so much better.

 

[jenkinsph]

I appreciated reading all the information you folks provided in the thread. It appears as though most consider heavy duty the way to go. Just to confuse us, some manufacturers now have extreme and severe duty choices in implements.

Most light duty box blades are described or marketed as "heavy duty", that does not mean anything. Quality of construction, good design and weight all play an important part. My 7' box blade weighs in at 1,260 lbs. and over the years has moved thousands of yards of dirt. No problems with it and very little wear on it everything considered. It is considered by the manufacturer as an "Industrial model" that doesn't really mean much since if it is used in some industry that would qualify the wording.