Box scraping the driveway. Grrrr!!!

[jenkinsph]

Well you're better than I, so you can imagine how I feel.:laughing:

It was 3RRL and here is one of his threads, I haven't seen, him post lately.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/owning-operating/116316-various-boxblade-uses.html?highlight=

S219, the list of things I don't know is getting a lot longer than the things I know, the quarter inching valve on my BX automatically returns to center when the 3PH reaches all the way down or up, there have been several threads here on it and work arounds and I assumed it was that way on the B. (Yes I know what they say about assuming)

However, even given that I may be the odd man out, but I much prefer position control and HATE quarter inching, finding them much harder to use.

Larry I remember 3RRL, he did some really nice work.:thumbsup:

Am I missing something about Kubota valves? On my x749 and the old tractors in the past, the valve was a simple center detent, make an adjustment and let go, the handle returns to center. No up or down detents, that could be a real pita.

 

[ovrszd]

Larry I remember 3RRL, he did some really nice work.:thumbsup:

Am I missing something about Kubota valves? On my x749 and the old tractors in the past, the valve was a simple center detent, make an adjustment and let go, the handle returns to center. No up or down detents, that could be a real pita.

On my JD2210 the lever returns to center if you make slight adjustments. But it also has full detent in the lower or raise position. As someone mentioned earlier, if raising an attachment to full height, detent the lever into the raised position and it will automatically return to center when the 3pt has raised all the way. In the lowered detent, it simply stays there and lets the 3pt float. The issue is when trying to make delicate adjustments. One thing it is not is delicate. And at best you can get 1/4" of adjustment if you are fast and accurate with lever movement.

 

[jenkinsph]

Thanks for the information Richard.

 

[TripleR]

Larry I remember 3RRL, he did some really nice work.:thumbsup:

Am I missing something about Kubota valves? On my x749 and the old tractors in the past, the valve was a simple center detent, make an adjustment and let go, the handle returns to center. No up or down detents, that could be a real pita.

What Richard said, but on our JD2305 and both BXs, there is no detent in the raised or lowered position; always returns to center.

 

[hunter townsen]

My 2 cents, I have been grading our community driveway for 25 years, about a mile long, and yes I had a few issues with washboards when I first started, I had a blade to start out with , I got aggravated with it, and got a box scraper. I do have rippers, with a combination of those, and some seat time practicing, I can get the road extremely smooth. I also adjust my 3pt angle so I can get some run off where needed. You couldn't pry my box scraper out of my hands. One thing I have found, and it may have been mentioned here, too many posts to read, If I back blade after I have broken the gravel up with my bucket flat and a little down force on it , then hit it one more time it does help if I have a really rough area to do.

 

[ovrszd]

What Richard said, but on our JD2305 and both BXs, there is no detent in the raised or lowered position; always returns to center.

Hmmm.. They've changed them somewhere along the line. My 2210 is a predecessor to your 2305 and it detents. Isn't that weird.

 

[ovrszd]

Okay, I'll admit it. I used my rear angle blade today. Raising a small pond dam. Dumping dirt with the scraper. The widening the top of the dam with the angle blade so I don't fall off.....

Can't do that with a BB or Land Plane. My old blade has the ability to swing the main beam to either side to get the moldboard farther outside the track of the tractor.

 

[NWhomesteader]

Position control would have a numbered scale, and you'd simply move the lever to any position along the scale and it stays there (and the 3-pt will always be at the same height when the lever is at that setting). It has many advantages for certain implements, but for box blade grading work -- when you have the top link set right -- there are no real advantages over your quarter incher. You're always going to be down in full float or have the box moved up for transport. I have position control on my current tractor, and it doesn't really matter for grading. And in the occasions where I do want the box held at a set height, I am normally setting that by eyeball relative to the ground and material I am trying to spread, and the number scale isn't real important. So a quarter-incher would work fine there too.

Oh ok, got it. Thanks for the explanation. The position control sounds nice. I imagine that's only on bigger tractors huh?

So i got out today and actually did some work. Move my vehicle's onto the grass, got all the stuff out of the way and went to town on the whole driveway. Man what a difference it made to extend the top link and put the BB in float. I use float the entire time and only adjusted the top link to make it either scrape more aggressively and move material or only spread what was there. Worked like a dream. The driveway is smooth as butter and looks a million times better than it did both before I started and after I messed it up. I appreciate all the help and expertise given. Thanks guys.

 

[ovrszd]

My old Kubota B2910 had position control. It's usually about luxury models in smaller tractors.

Glad you got it figured out.

 

[s219]

Oh ok, got it. Thanks for the explanation. The position control sounds nice. I imagine that's only on bigger tractors huh?

So i got out today and actually did some work. Move my vehicle's onto the grass, got all the stuff out of the way and went to town on the whole driveway. Man what a difference it made to extend the top link and put the BB in float. I use float the entire time and only adjusted the top link to make it either scrape more aggressively and move material or only spread what was there. Worked like a dream. The driveway is smooth as butter and looks a million times better than it did both before I started and after I messed it up. I appreciate all the help and expertise given. Thanks guys.

That's great to hear -- that's exactly how it should work, and it sounds like you got into the zone. The concept of the box blade is somewhat brilliant in my opinion, in the sense that it does a great job moving material from high spots and filling low spots once you get everything worked out. With the right top link setting, it will fill up just enough to distribute without digging down, and does a great job on gravel driveways. Whoever thought up the idea of the box blade was a smart cookie (seems simple in retrospect, but I still give the inventor a lot of credit).

You can get position control on all sizes, and in fact the B2620's new replacement B2601 model has it. I think Kubota realized it would be a good selling point for tractors in this size range, as many competitors offer position control. That said, I had no complaints about the quarter-incher when I had a B2920, and for my uses, position control on my new L3200 doesn't offer much else. If I was mowing with a rear implement and needing to set the same height every time, or some other use where height matters, I am sure I'd have a different opinion.