What kind of Box Scraper?
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jeff9366
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Calculate weight per foot of width for the units under consideration.
Box Blades begin to be penetrate and cut well at 80 pounds per foot of width.
With heavier Box Blades there is less need to fool with frequent Top Link adjustments.
Box Blades begin to be penetrate and cut well at 80 pounds per foot of width.
With heavier Box Blades there is less need to fool with frequent Top Link adjustments.
New to Forums and blogs and everything else to do with this computer. I need some opinions or help. I Have a Kubota L3200 tractor. Rear tire weight is 58 - 58 and a qtr. It weighs with the loader about 3400 pounds. Should I get a 6 foot box blade or a 5 ft. 6 inch box blade. The latter will have to be ordered as no one stocks them. I am looking at a 6 foot heavy duty model that weighs 531 pounds. Would a 6 footer be to much for my tractor?
Thanks
Thanks
mangler
Gold Member
I have a Woods BSM72P on my Kioti CK2610 (similar weight to your tractor). I wanted to make sure I could cover my tire width. It's heavy(680lbs), so it makes for decent ballast also. To be honest when full it is a bit much for my 25HP, and that is in soil. Rocks would probably stall it. I just take smaller cuts and it is fine, staying with roughly a half box of material. I I wanted to max it out a 5' would have been good, a 5'6" a bit too large. It all depends what you want to do.
/pine
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The length if the top link adjusts the aggressiveness of the cutting edges moving both backward and forward...The overall weight if the box blade determines the overall effectiveness of the cutting edges...
A top link adjusted to make the blade cut going forward will continue to cut until the top link is readjusted...the weight of the box blade has no effect on that aspect...a heavier blade will just cut faster...
To move a box full of material and not continue to cut (fill the box) the top link needs to be adjusted to a neutral position...
I don’t think you would want much over 5’ with your tractor weight and HP. That being said a blade narrower than the tractor is frustrating. Can you adjust your rear wheel width to make it narrower?
If your rear wheels are 58” wide I don’t think 1” sticking out on each side will be that big of a deal unless you are trying to make a deep cut or something.
If your rear wheels are 58” wide I don’t think 1” sticking out on each side will be that big of a deal unless you are trying to make a deep cut or something.
MESSMAKER
Veteran Member
I think i would go with a 5 foot. They are pretty simple. Look for cutting edges and the beefier the build the better. This is one item not to cheap out on. A good sturdy used one is way better than a lightweight shiny new one.
DieselBound
Elite Member
Much also depends on the soil/material you'll be [primarily] working with.
Hydraulic top-links are a must! If you can get a good bite then, as the box fills, you can get plenty of weight to help cut. When I was digging up sod with my 7' box blade it would literally roll the sod up on top of itself, thus adding a LOT more weight (think of tractor pulls!).
Look for strength. I had a massively stout 5' box blade on my B7800 that I was never able to damage (except break a scarifier- operator error, popping roots with the scarifiers all the way down!). Strength will translate into weight. BUT, IMO, weight isn't necessarily the thing that makes box blades work, though it helps; it's the ability to get the blade to cut; once it's starting to cut it'll dig in. At 1,150 lbs my 7' box blade has bounced/skipped up due to hitting rocks
Hydraulic top-links are a must! If you can get a good bite then, as the box fills, you can get plenty of weight to help cut. When I was digging up sod with my 7' box blade it would literally roll the sod up on top of itself, thus adding a LOT more weight (think of tractor pulls!).
Look for strength. I had a massively stout 5' box blade on my B7800 that I was never able to damage (except break a scarifier- operator error, popping roots with the scarifiers all the way down!). Strength will translate into weight. BUT, IMO, weight isn't necessarily the thing that makes box blades work, though it helps; it's the ability to get the blade to cut; once it's starting to cut it'll dig in. At 1,150 lbs my 7' box blade has bounced/skipped up due to hitting rocks
CoyPatton
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1 point that has not been addressed in the weight comparison issue is the grade of steel. Modern production processes have allowed for lighter steels to be much stronger than other steels. This general comes with a price premium and thus will be pointed out.
Weight is a factor in the effectiveness of a BB, but only 1 factor.
While older implements tend to be heavier, they tend to not be quick hitch compatible without at least some modifying being done. This may or may not be important to you.
Lots of good info in other comments, but one last caution is to watch your implement and try to avoid abuse, it is hard on your implement and your tractor.
Weight is a factor in the effectiveness of a BB, but only 1 factor.
While older implements tend to be heavier, they tend to not be quick hitch compatible without at least some modifying being done. This may or may not be important to you.
Lots of good info in other comments, but one last caution is to watch your implement and try to avoid abuse, it is hard on your implement and your tractor.
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jeff9366
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I often remove several cubic yards of ashes and dirt from a community burn pit which is essentially a trench.
RE: 60" Box Blade width: If the Box Blade working width is 8" narrower than your tires and you are pulling dirt from a trench, your rear tires will eventually be up on a low dirt shelves on left/right and your Box Blade may not reach the trench floor. Your rear tires will try to friction cut the trench sides adding draft force resistance.
If you have a 60" wide bucket on your FEL a 66" Box Blade should be fine, as overall Box Blade width will probably be 70", tractor weight will mash down a certain amount of dirt and no Box Blade pulls continually straight. But you may have to wait months for delivery.
If you have a 72" wide bucket on your FEL order a 72" wide Box Blade.
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Snowlan
Silver Member
So you are running out of hp before you lose traction? Even in low?
mangler
Gold Member
I used to spin all 4 tires. Now with filled rears it's close, but I tend to stall before I lose traction. So I am putting all 25hp to the ground, just running out of steam with a full box.
Edit : I tried this again, and it will pull the full 72" box in dry sandy loam, in low, very slowly. I got confused because with the filled tires and the box blade as ballast, I can now stall the tractor if I do something stupid, like dig too deep with the forks, or take too big a cut with the bucket. But not with the full box blade, in my light conditions anyway.
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Wyobuckaroo
Platinum Member
I have to presume from what has been said you tractor is 30 hp or so..
We got a China built, 5' box blade from our local auto farm store on a catalog sale flyer reduced price.. We use it on a 32 hp JD.. The blade is 2" a side wider than the tractor foot print that has loaded turfs..
When doing aggressive work, the tractor has plenty of power, just not weight to maintain traction.. The China made blade does all that is expected of it, and what a box blade is capable of doing.. The fact it came at a much lower price than other options in this area is a bonus to me..
We got a China built, 5' box blade from our local auto farm store on a catalog sale flyer reduced price.. We use it on a 32 hp JD.. The blade is 2" a side wider than the tractor foot print that has loaded turfs..
When doing aggressive work, the tractor has plenty of power, just not weight to maintain traction.. The China made blade does all that is expected of it, and what a box blade is capable of doing.. The fact it came at a much lower price than other options in this area is a bonus to me..
ovrszd
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If the BB is wider than the tractor and a bit large for the tractor, lift the 3pt a pinch in the hard spots.
If the BB is narrower than the tractor, bummer. Can't fix that.....
If the BB is narrower than the tractor, bummer. Can't fix that.....
The owners manual says use a 52 incher. I think everything in the manual is listed for regular farm tires not the R4 tires which make it wider. My FEL is 65 inches so I will get a 66 or 65 inch BB. Thank you all for your help.
SylvainG
Platinum Member
Got my 'China built' on sales from Princess Auto for $600 last week. It's 5', weights 500lb and survived its first use without damage last weekend being pushed and pulled by my 30 HP tractor. Digged up many 6-10" boulders with it on my 1000 feet road. Now my road is so much more flat. My snow blower will no longer bounce and scratch on those big boulders sticking out next winter
Wyobuckaroo
Platinum Member
Got my 'China built' on sales from Princess Auto for $600 last week. It's 5', weights 500lb
+ + + +
Exactly what we got... A couple years or so ago it was $500 or a bit less (?) on sale.. Cheaper than I could buy the steel and make one at that time..
You are lucky your boulders are only 6-10" ... At my old lake place I routinely scalped a rock with the mower deck that was showing about the size of my hand.. When I finely got it dug out, it was the size of a wash tub... With a scalped top.... Bugger...
+ + + +
Exactly what we got... A couple years or so ago it was $500 or a bit less (?) on sale.. Cheaper than I could buy the steel and make one at that time..
You are lucky your boulders are only 6-10" ... At my old lake place I routinely scalped a rock with the mower deck that was showing about the size of my hand.. When I finely got it dug out, it was the size of a wash tub... With a scalped top.... Bugger...
freedomlives
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I'm looking at a Chinese box blade as well: RBB4FT 150 cm GEOGRASS leveller with basket
Does this look like the sort of thing y'all run into? There aren't many options for box blades in Europe, it doesn't seem as well known.
There is a public tractor path that runs in between our property. I want to keep it maintained enough that it doesn't form mud pits, as then people swerve around them, and one time someone snapped a wire on the electric fence (without noticing, apparently). Beyond that, I would make finally some paths on our property and smooth out where pigs in the past dug the land.
With a boxblade, if one arm of the 3pt is lower than the other, it would cut a bit of a slope? So that when it rains, water would tend to run off and not pool?
My tractors tires are 154cm outside-outside right now, though I can change that to be a bit narrower, so I'm thinking the 150cm wide (appx 5' -- I think the Poles wrote down the wrong model number on the link above) would be ideal?
Does this look like the sort of thing y'all run into? There aren't many options for box blades in Europe, it doesn't seem as well known.
There is a public tractor path that runs in between our property. I want to keep it maintained enough that it doesn't form mud pits, as then people swerve around them, and one time someone snapped a wire on the electric fence (without noticing, apparently). Beyond that, I would make finally some paths on our property and smooth out where pigs in the past dug the land.
With a boxblade, if one arm of the 3pt is lower than the other, it would cut a bit of a slope? So that when it rains, water would tend to run off and not pool?
My tractors tires are 154cm outside-outside right now, though I can change that to be a bit narrower, so I'm thinking the 150cm wide (appx 5' -- I think the Poles wrote down the wrong model number on the link above) would be ideal?
