Bought a B21, have a few questions

[cowpatty]

Look up my thread "Big Stump, Little Backhoe". That will give you some insight to some of its abilities

 

[SixMilesSouth]

Cowpatty, that's great! I've got a couple of those stumps on my to do list. I do have a 12" bucket (the deal included 3 buckets), but I'm wondering if a ripper tooth would speed up the job enough to warrant either making one or buying one.

 

[RobbieBones]

I recently added a hydraulic thumb to my B21 to move rock and build rock walls. It is the best add-on you can have in my opinion. I do not know how to post pictures to a thread, but if you email me at RLDiBiase@comcast.net I will send you pictures of the thumb, and a few pictures of the B21 abilities with trees and rock. Either way good luck with the B21 it is a monster for it's size.

Rob

 

[cowpatty]

Well I don't know what your dirt is like where you are at but my 9" bucket works great for most tough duties. With that being said, there are some instances where a ripper would be nice.

 

[SixMilesSouth]

Well I don't know what your dirt is like where you are at but my 9" bucket works great for most tough duties. With that being said, there are some instances where a ripper would be nice.

Connecticut soil, we grow rocks. Lots of them.

 

[troutsqueezer]

Then you might think about adding a tooth bar as well.

 

[SixMilesSouth]

So the issue with the sticky pedal seemed to be corrosion on a piece of linkage. A couple squirts of pb blaster and a few hours of use improved the movement.

Now here is another question which may be open to personal preference. When do you shut the engine off and when do you let it idle? I was moving firewood so it would take me 3-4 minutes to load up the bucket each run. I guess it's safer to turn it off while loading, not to mention the little bit of fuel that might be used. but starting it over and over seems like a lot of wear on the battery.

Any opinions?

 

[Ken45101]

Good question on short shut offs. If the engine is warmed up, it's not going to wear out the battery, but I worry more about wearing out the starter. Diesels usually idle pretty efficiently, that's why you see most truck drivers let the rigs idle rather than shut them down.

I doubt that a B21 uses more than a teaspoon of fuel sitting at idle for five minutes.

I go about 50-50, but more for wanting to enjoy the quiet.

Ken

 

[Carl_NH]

Glad you got the "go pedal" lubed and working freely without replacing parts.

Idiling has been discussed on the forums often and the verdict seems to be in the 5-6 minute timeframe leave it running.

Extended low idling tho is not good for most diesels - like buses and trucks they increase to high idle at timed intervals automatically.

When I am picking rocks or loading wood I leave it running. Normally on cold start up (under 45*) I let it warm up for 4-5 minutes while gathering tools before driving or putting a load on it.

 

[dfkrug]

It's hard to shift into different ranges at times. There's a grinding noise and the lever is hard to move. If I clutch again, then it will usually go right in without noise or hesitation.

Definitely use the clutch and don't force the shifter. My B21 is not
the only one to suffer from broken shifter forks inside the gearbox. I
have run into others with broken shifters and a lot less hours on the
machine.

I love the B21's tight turning radius, and my unit convinced me that
even small tractors benefit greatly with a 4-in-1 loader bucket.

Here is another photo from my B21 rebuild thread.