BX 3PH float position?

[Chilly807]

That does sound like a pain in the a**... I was assuming it had at least position control, if not draft control. I guess Kubota designed the 3ph system on different models depending on what their most common intended use was going to be. More sophistication means a higher price tag, mine doesn't have draft control, and sometimes I wish it did.
The link I posted seems to have a pretty good explanation of the different setups available.

With mine, which has position control, once you lower the 3ph to a given position, the implement is free to rise but will go no lower unless you move the lever further forward. My control lever isn't detented anywhere along it's travel range, but does have a friction brake to hold it in place under normal conditions, as well as a movable stop block for the down direction.

Which model is it, exactly, SeOh? Kubota has had so many models and variations within each that it's hard to keep up with the changes. I like the quality of their products but getting one that suits your needs perfectly can be a real challenge. There's a lot to be said for a sales person that asks a lot of questions and knows how to interpret the answers. Mine was great, I was lucky. Buying a used machine, you'd better know exactly what you're dealing with for features and limitations.

You may want to add an extension spring and a carabiner to hold the lever in the lower position for back blading. If the lever is long enough just sliding the carabiner up and down it may change whether the extension spring is strong enough to overcome the centering springs. If you know what I mean... after reading that I'm not sure I can picture it...lol

I have something similar on my woodsplitter return lever, I can add a pic or two for clarity if you want.

Chilly

 

[TripleR]

radair - Currently, I cannot leave the control in the down position. It springs back to center.



This sounds like the ticket except... when I DO want to hold the hitch at a particular position, will the lever begin to drift forward without that spring tension holding it back?

TripleR - You can drop the blade to the ground and it'll stay in that position but when your front wheels hit a bump, the blade will dig in (which is fine). When your back wheels hit that same bump, the blade will lift off the ground (which is not fine). The blade needs to be free to raise and lower on its own in order to stay in contact. Maybe yours floats but mine sure doesn't. I even suspect that it ratchets up every time I go over another bump.

I use five different tractors and all but the BX2660 and JD have position control and with them, the implement will rise when the back wheels go over a bump, so I must compensate by using the lever or on the Case, it uses a dial. With my BX2660, when using my BB or blade, I drop it to the ground and it "floats". I sometime wish it didn't because my BB will dig down too much rather than stay at a certain height unless I have stopped it at that height.

Maybe something is wrong with my tractor, but I know what it does. I don't know how it would do if it wasn't allowed to go into the full "down" position like a rock or ledge.

 

[racolton]

I wish I would have known the BX2660 didn't have position control, I wouldn't have bought it. I wrongly assumed that *all* three-point hitches had position control. Nope, would have to step up to a B2630 for that feature.

 

[DavidAubke]

I'm working with a BX2350 purchased new in the middle of last year.

 

[DavidAubke]

You may want to add an extension spring and a carabiner to hold the lever in the lower position for back blading. If the lever is long enough just sliding the carabiner up and down it may change whether the extension spring is strong enough to overcome the centering springs. If you know what I mean... after reading that I'm not sure I can picture it...lol

I think I understand what you're saying. Sliding the carabiner up and down changes the amount of leverage it has on the lever.

I'm really liking the prospect of disabling the spring altogether but I'm putting this one down as Plan B.

 

[Zick]

Yeah the only way I can make mine float is by holding the 3pt level down and holding it down with my hand while I work. This works fine for short/long straight runs but doing a lot of manuevering can be a pain sometimes with only one hand on the wheel.

 

[Chilly807]

I wish I would have known the BX2660 didn't have position control, I wouldn't have bought it. I wrongly assumed that *all* three-point hitches had position control. Nope, would have to step up to a B2630 for that feature.

I'm the same as you, I was a bit luckier though since mine does have it. I don't plan on doing a lot of plowing with it, but it was one of the uses I had in mind over time. Draft control would have been nice, but I should have known better since that lever wasn't there to begin with.

Like I was saying, a good salesman that can tell how much the new owner knows about tractors is a real bonus, mine was really good.

Chilly

 

[Chilly807]

I think I understand what you're saying. Sliding the carabiner up and down changes the amount of leverage it has on the lever.

I'm really liking the prospect of disabling the spring altogether but I'm putting this one down as Plan B.

If you remove the spring altogether, the 3ph may "creep" up or down, I'm not sure if there's any detent in the center position or not.

You're right on the money about the leverage part, it works great on the woodsplitter. Depending on the user, using the spring disables one of the "safety features" (you don't have to use two hands to operate the hydraulics). For someone that's not too familiar with splitting, sliding the spring down puts it back to the original configuration for maximum safety, less productivity and more irritation.

Chilly

 

[milkman]

Dave, check the adjustment that others have mentioned, it's the rod with the double nuts and a spring on the rear close to the rock shaft on the right side. With nothing on your TPH, your control lever should stay in the down position till your lower Tph arms are all the way down then the adjustment mentioned will kick the control lever back to the middle. If this is adjusted correctly and you have an implement hooked up to the TPH, the control lever should stay in the down position because with an implement the lower arms won't go all the way down and kick the control back to the middle unless the implement drops into a ditch and lets the TPH bottom out. Watch the linkage with the double nuts and spring, when you raise the lift all the way up and you can see how at the top it will kick the control lever to the middle and should also kick the lever back to the middle only when the arms are all the way down with no implement.

 

[gwdixon]

This sounds like the ticket except... when I DO want to hold the hitch at a particular position, will the lever begin to drift forward without that spring tension holding it back?

No, it will not drift off center. There is a detent in the center position that will hold. The sole function of the sping(s) is to automatically move the lever to center. Of course, you will have to manually move the lever to the center from the "down" position if the spring is disabled.

At any rate, the spring tension can be restored easily and in short order if you don't like how it works.

Give it a try and report back.