Looking at buying a box blade for a B2650. Looks like a 60" box blade will barely cover the tire footprint (I bought the 1.5" spacers in case I needed to use/buy chains). Although the box blade will be used for some dirt action, I expect most use to be with snow removal duty with the 63" front mount snowblower. Any suggestions on size/brand I should go with? Scarcifier blades for occasional use are also considered. Thanks for the help!
Box Blade Recommendations for B2650
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EverythingAttachments
Elite Member
Here's my pick. Built with the B series Kubota in mind. Our 66" has 5 shanks and should work great on your tractor to get outside of your tracks.
Compact Tractor Box Scraper by Everything Attachments
Here's the product video:
Free shipping to a commercial business or supporting freight terminal within 1,000 miles of Newton, NC.
Travis
Compact Tractor Box Scraper by Everything Attachments
Here's the product video:
Free shipping to a commercial business or supporting freight terminal within 1,000 miles of Newton, NC.
Travis
s219
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If a 60" box blade can challenge the traction of my larger/heavier/higher-power L3200 when it loads up with material, then it's going to stop the lighter B2650 dead in it's tracks with even a partial load of material. So I sure wouldn't go larger than 60" because the box won't be very useful to you if you can't pull it (this is often overlooked when people put too wide of a box blade on a light tractor). You may want to check the width of the tire tracks on the ground to see if a 60" box will cover them. I know a 60" box would be fine for a standard 2650, but not sure if your tire spacers really push you over the edge or just get you closer to 60".
All that said, if the primary use is for snow removal, get a rear blade instead. A box blade is lousy for snow removal, whereas a rear blade is fantastic. You can angle it to move snow to the side, you can flip it around for light pushing in reverse (great for clearing parking areas and tight spots), and it's still usable for many kinds of dirt work. Better yet, if you have the storage space and budget, get a good heavy box blade for dirt work, and any old standard-duty rear blade for snow removal (the basic rear blade TSC sells is just fine for snow removal, and the price is right). A rear blade should be sized about 15% wider than the tractor, so that it still covers your tracks when angled. For a B2650, I'd suggest a 72" rear blade.
Kanook
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I beg to differ S219..I clear residential driveways in a rural estate lot subdivision. My B2650HSDC equipped with a 63 in front blower and a LandPride box blade at the back. The box blade does an excellent job of pulling snow awayfrom garage doors etc with no side spillover. I cleared 18 laneways on contract and about a dozen on an oncall basis and the box blade proved excellent for use in combination with the front blower.....I previously used a rear blade in the same configuration and the side spillover was a pia. A rear blade only (with no blower out front) is preferable to a boxblade, however..as you say.
My primary usage of the box blade is for snow but it does do a reasonable job in soil with the scarifiers in place.
My primary usage of the box blade is for snow but it does do a reasonable job in soil with the scarifiers in place.
Thanks for the comments guys. Kanook, what size box blade are you using? and with that size, did you have traction issues when scarcifying/moving dirt? Also dumb question: does the B2650HSDC rear 3 pt have a float setting so as not to destroy a gravel driveway when clearing snow? I figured that the blower shoes should be set lower to keep out of the gravel, and do final finishing with the box blade.
Can't tell from your avatar, but do you also have both the hydro controlled chute and deflector kits? Are they worth the exorbitant $1700 price tag? And drift cutters.... Kubota's "drift cutters" are not what I have known as vertical metal bars that cut drifts higher than the housing. Instead, their "drift cutters" are more like side extensions, adding to the effective width of cut (3" additional each side or overall??) How well do the drift cutters work?
Sorry for expanding the thread.... but I guess it's my thread.
Can't tell from your avatar, but do you also have both the hydro controlled chute and deflector kits? Are they worth the exorbitant $1700 price tag? And drift cutters.... Kubota's "drift cutters" are not what I have known as vertical metal bars that cut drifts higher than the housing. Instead, their "drift cutters" are more like side extensions, adding to the effective width of cut (3" additional each side or overall??) How well do the drift cutters work?
Sorry for expanding the thread.... but I guess it's my thread.
s219
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All 3-pt hitches float when the implement is on the ground, since they can't provide downforce other than the weight of the implement. It's not going to make much difference on loose gravel; in fact, when I am creating or resurfacing driveways, the box blade is almost always floating and it moves a lot of gravel. The real key factor to box blade use is the top link, as that can be shortened to bite more or lengthened to feather and be less aggressive.
For snow removal use on a gravel driveway, most of us here on TBN either put a pipe over the steel cutting edge of our blades, or use a piece of rubber stall mat or conveyor belt material to replace the cutting edge. Having tried both, I like the pipe myself. This will be a little tougher to do with a box blade since almost all of them have two cutting edges back to back. Top link angle will help. Issues are minimized if the gravel is frozen, but if it's soft or muddy, expect to disrupt the gravel regardless of what you use.
For short pulls it won't matter. Where box blades will suck for snow is when dragging down along a long driveway like most people here have to deal with -- once the box fills up with snow it's going to spill out in multiple directions. At least with a rear blade, you can angle it and windrow the snow cleanly off to the side. My neighbor and I both have 700' driveways. With my rear blade, I make a pass down one side and up the other, and I am done. He uses a box blade and needs multiple passes in each direction to really get it clean, and even then it's not nearly as clean as I can do. And he's on asphalt, versus my gravel!
I suspect the best combination would be a rear blade with removable or adjustable side wings, as some people use on front blades. For short pulls, that would take care of spillage, and then you could flip them up or remove them for long pulls.
Kanook
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Thanks for the comments guys. Kanook, what size box blade are you using? and with that size, did you have traction issues when scarcifying/moving dirt? Also dumb question: does the B2650HSDC rear 3 pt have a float setting so as not to destroy a gravel driveway when clearing snow? I figured that the blower shoes should be set lower to keep out of the gravel, and do final finishing with the box blade.
Can't tell from your avatar, but do you also have both the hydro controlled chute and deflector kits? Are they worth the exorbitant $1700 price tag? And drift cutters.... Kubota's "drift cutters" are not what I have known as vertical metal bars that cut drifts higher than the housing. Instead, their "drift cutters" are more like side extensions, adding to the effective width of cut (3" additional each side or overall??) How well do the drift cutters work?
Sorry for expanding the thread.... but I guess it's my thread.
My box blade is 5' in width and extends approx 3" beyond each year tire on my B2650 equipped with R4 tires. The shute deflector and rotator are hydraulic controlled and run from the FEL lines. In my case because I use my setup in numerous laneways that require redirecting the snow depending on the particular customer layout, I find the hyd rotator and deflector well worth the extra cost. Ifa person were only clearing an area that is open like say a single long laneway then their usefulness would be questionable. In my case the boxblade is only used to pull snow away from garage doors, fences, buildings etc and the snow blower disposes of the pile it creates by backing over it and then engageing it with the blower. As S219 has said, the agressiveness of the blade is determined by the length of the top link. On paved surfaces I run it neutral to a little negative bite and the scratching of the asphalt is minimal. On the gravel surfaces I run it with a negative tilt until the road surface has frozen solid. I do not have drift cutters but the leading edges of the ends of the blower flare out about 1 1/2 in.