BX 3PH float position?

[DavidAubke]

I don't know about other models but on the BX the 3PH is controlled in a different way from what I'm familiar with on older machines. I can see no way to make the arms float. When you let go of the control, the hitch height locks in place. When I'm blading the driveway, I feel I must keep my hand on the control all of the time to keep the blade on the ground under its full weight.

Am I missing something? Is there a work-around? I'm going to end up rigging something with a bungee cord or a wedge to keep the control in the "down" position.

 

[Chilly807]

I don't know about other models but on the BX the 3PH is controlled in a different way from what I'm familiar with on older machines. I can see no way to make the arms float. When you let go of the control, the hitch height locks in place. When I'm blading the driveway, I feel I must keep my hand on the control all of the time to keep the blade on the ground under its full weight.

Am I missing something? Is there a work-around? I'm going to end up rigging something with a bungee cord or a wedge to keep the control in the "down" position.

I'm not sure what you mean by "float"? I don't have a BX, but as far as I know none of Kubota's tractors have down pressure on the 3PH. They do "float" in the upwards direction. Downward movement is controlled by the "response control" valve located in front of the seat. (That's where mine is, whether yours is in the same place or not I have no idea.) I do know that if that valve is completely shut, the 3 PH won't move downward.

If your blade won't dig deeply enough, either your draft control (if you have that option) is set too light, or you need more weight on the blade itself to force it down. I've seen blades with weight racks welded to the top to force them down into the ground.

Some good reading... http://www.tractorsmart.com/main/Tractor%20Three%20Point%20Lift%20Types.htm

Good luck,

Chilly

 

[DavidAubke]

I'm not looking for down-pressure from the hitch, I just want it to allow the implement to... well, float. I don't know any other way of putting it.

On other tractors I've seen, the height control is a lever the position of which corresponds to a specific height at the hitch. All the way forward means all the way down. All the way back means all the way up. If you want the hitch to ride at a particular height, you set the lever at a specific point along its range of travel. If you don't want the hitch to support the implement at all, you set the lever all the way forward.

On the BX, the lever is spring loaded. Pushing forward opens the hydraulic valve allowing the hitch to float. Pulling back pumps it back up. At its neutral position, the hitch is supported at whatever height it happens to be when you released the lever. When blading even slightly uneven ground, the blade frequently lifts up off the ground unless I'm constantly pushing forward on the lever.

I'm aware of the response control valve but to my knowledge that only changes the speed at which the hydraulic pressure is released when lowering. I want an option for the release valve to be open all the time.

 

[DavidAubke]

OK, I just followed your link.

I've got "Non-position control" and I want "Position control". Since I'm not gonna get it, how are others with non-position control keeping their implements on the ground with no upward support?

 

[radair]

I leave the 3 pt hitch control in the down position on my BX23 and the implement seems to float just fine.

 

[gwdixon]

You can adjust the link found inboard of the right rear tire to not spring back to center from the "down" position. That should give you true float since the valve will remain open.

The link is easy to find by tipping up the seat and looking about 4 inches from the right tire toward the transmission. There is a spring on both ends of the linkage where it goes through a swivel. The front spring is the one that controls the down lever if I remember correctly. Just operate the 3 PH lever and it will become obvious which compresses for the "up" and the one for the "down" stroke. Have the engine running and you will see how the return works.

There is a cotter pin in the front spring that can be removed for completely disabling the "down" return thus leaving the valve open.

 

[TripleR]

My BX2660 3-point hitch "floats" with my BB or grader. I push the lever down and when it automatically returns to center, the implement remains in the fully lowered position.

 

[DavidAubke]

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

You can adjust the link found inboard of the right rear tire to not spring back to center from the "down" position. That should give you true float since the valve will remain open.

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.

 

[Kubota-guy1911]

You might try adjusting the valve that controlls how fast it drops to let it drop quickly. When I use my 5' back blade I literally let it fall to the ground by shoving the lift lever all the way forward. Is it possible your blade is not real heavy and could use some additional weight? Is it riding up over packed snow or bumps on the ground? I think my Landpride blade weighs about 250 pounds and it has no problem staying on the ground.

kj

 

[racolton]

Triple and Chilly -
The problem I think he's talking about is that it won't float down. Say you lower your box blade and a 6" rock is under the cutting edge - the box blade will stay 6" off the ground even after you drive forward and off of the rock. I noticed that when clearing snow - I lowered my box blade next to the garage, drove all the way to the end, and when I turned around I saw 1" of snow still on the driveway. Apparently the rear cutting edge had caught on the lip of the garage slab and stayed at that height all the way through. Since then, I just keep my hand on the down lever until I'm ready to raise. Kind of annoying when I'm maneuvering around vehicles, so I think I'll try removing the spring as gwdixon suggests.

 

[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.