Box Scraper box blades...is bigger better?

[Piston]

Since this thread has to do with "is bigger better" I thought I'd share a surprising experience I had.

I already had a heavy duty 6.5' box blade which weighed 150 pounds per foot of width. I was really happy with it, but even at times I couldn't believe that it almost seemed like I needed more weight??

I ended up buying an even heavier box blade, which weighs 178 pounds per foot. I don't think there is a heavier box blade made that has hydraulic scarifiers, which I consider a must have.

The difference in weight doesn't seem that much on paper, it's only 28 pounds per foot heavier. However, I really do notice a difference, even that small amount made it more effective.

I'm typically working in pretty rocky rooted soil so it might not be a big deal in sandy soil.

Anyways, I wouldn't necessarily say that "bigger is better" (as long as it's covering your tracks) but I would certainly agree that HEAVIER is better!

 

[Piston]

Go with the wider choice. When excavating a too narrow Box Blade will not clear a track wide enough for rear tires to enter aisle to make repeated pulls.

The key metric in Box Blades is weight per foot of width. It takes at least 100 pounds of weight per foot of Box Blade width to cut; 125 pounds per foot of width is better.

Construction grade Box Blades start at 200 pounds per foot of width.

Box Blades are the most common implement to do double duty as Three Point Hitch mounted counterbalance to a Front End Loader. So look up your FEL lift capacity and figure on buying a Box Blade 66% to 75% of FEL lift capacity. More than 66% is not necessary because Box Blade is cantilevered behind the tractor, increasing it EFFECTIVE weight as counterbalance.

I never thought about counterweight as a percentage of lift capacity before, but that sounds like a pretty good rule of thumb.

I'm curious about the construction grade box blades mentioned. Do you know of any makes/models that really do start at 200lbs per foot?

I think a 1400 pound 7' BB would be really nice!
(MUST have hydraulic scarifiers!).

 

[3Lfarms]

Now, just think about all that "playing" with the top link you did and how nice it would be to do that "playing" at the touch of your finger tips sitting in the seat using a hydraulic top link.

I did have remote top link....I made the guy watching adjust the top link for me LOL

One of your top links is on the wish list. I’ve just spent a lot of cash recently (thanks Travis ). I didn’t really intend on getting my EA box blade this soon, but since I had a large order coming anyway, I added it and the shipping on it was basically free.

 

[DieselBound]

Come on, 17 times? It shouldn't be any more than 15, well maybe 16.

I think that in reality, this actually causes "it's good enough syndrome". The cure is typically a good dose of Hydraulic top link.

Brian, that's funny!

One other thing to note, and that's that the top link on my B7800 seems to always be de-adjusting, I'm always checking and re-tightening it: so, rack up more on/off the tractor cycles!