Capability's of the BX25

[Jon Heron]

Hello all,

I have been looking for quite awhile now for a decent compact TLB, I have been looking at used stuff like early 90's JD 855's in the range of $15,000 CAD.
I had no idea that you could buy a new Kubota TLB for only 5g's more!

Here are some of my questions about the BX25;
I need to put new weeping tile around my raised bungalow this year and will need to dig down to a maximum of 5', is this little bugger up to the task? I understand that it will take longer than digging with a mid size excavator (I have many hours digging with mid size excavators) but will it be up to the task?
How convenient and quick is the quick attach system really?
I have 3 acres of grass to cut with a mild amount of trees, how maneuverable and how nice is this thing as a mower (60") in comparison to the JD425 (54") I have now?
Would a set of forks for the FEL or 3ph be practical to move around 55 gallon drums of WVO or biodiesel (approx 500lbs.)? I wouldn't be stacking them but just moving them around the yard.
Is anybody around hear running their Kubotas on biodiesel?
The local dealer (Deboer's Equipment) quoted me a price of $20,904 CAD + TAX with a 60" MMM, does this seem reasonable?

Thanks in advance for any and all assistance!
Best regards,
Jon Heron

 

[dodge man]

As far as moving 500lbs drums, I'm not sure. That would be right at the limit, and I'm guessing it would do it with the right amount of counter weight.

As far as mowing goes, I was suprised at how well my BX2350 mows. A 2350 is the same machine that you are looking at, just no backhoe. It will not turn as tight as what you are used to, but it reduced my mowing time, mainly by a bigger deck, and a little more power.

I don't have a backhoe, but I can take the end loader off in about 5 minutes, and I have read the backhoe takes the same amount of time. It will take longer the first time, but you will get quicker.

I think someone posted several pictures of putting in drains around a house with a unit similar to a BX25. From what I have read, it will do the job. Do a search, and maybe you can find that post, or maybe someone else can find it.

 

[Jon Heron]

Thanks for the info dodge man!
Jon

 

[Tom_H]

The tractor will easily do what you want. You can put a HD brush hog on the 3ph and cut 2" saplings with no loss of RPM. Even a BX1500 with Woods BH will dig well. A BX will not dig in the hardest of hardpans, however, unless the pan has been supersaturated with water for weeks, and only slowly then. Your price for TLB, before tax should be about US$14,999, and MMM about US$1600 to US$1800. Tax will vary by state. If close enough and you have cash, one can buy in Oregon with cash, paying no tax, then haul it home. Ontario is likely too far. I don't know your monetary conversion rate, nor whether you would pay import duty if buying in US.

 

[LBrown59]

Hello all,
Would a set of forks for the FEL or 3ph be practical to move around 55 gallon drums of WVO or biodiesel (approx 500lbs.)?
I wouldn't be stacking them but just moving them around the yard.
*Is anybody around hear running their Kubotas on biodiesel?
Jon Heron

Please till me more about the moving around of biodiesel ?
I move 55 gallons of red off road diesel from place to place with a pump not a set of forks.
Lots easier and safer.
*I use off road fuel lots cheaper than on road or biodiesel.
Why are you interested in biodiesel?

 

[Jon Heron]

Thanks guys!

LBrown59,
Making biodiesel is a hobby for me, not to mention its way better for the environment, sustainable*, much better for the engines and still cheaper than off road fuel.
I live in Canada and when its -15C and lower the biodiesel and used vegetable oil freeze solid. I Still have to collect the frozen drums of WVO from the restaurants during the winter and a FEL with some forks for offloading my truck would be much easier to handle than a hand truck.

Best regards,
Jon Heron

 

[LBrown59]

Thanks guys!

LBrown59,
Making biodiesel is a hobby for me, not to mention its way better for the environment, sustainable*, much better for the engines and still cheaper than off road fuel.
I live in Canada and when its -15C and lower the biodiesel and used vegetable oil freeze solid. I Still have to collect the frozen drums of WVO from the restaurants during the winter and a FEL with some forks for offloading my truck would be much easier to handle than a hand truck.

Best regards,
Jon Heron

what's the cost of the 2 fuels.?

 

[Jon Heron]

what's the cost of the 2 fuels.?

I am not sure what you pay down there for coloured fuel (off road) but the last batch of 100 Liters of biodiesel I made cost me $0.24/L or $0.92/Gallon in Canadian dollars of course.
If I figured out how much I save by recovering the methanol the price would be significantly cheaper than that... And the cost of methanol now is also cheaper than when I made my last batch (I have not fired up the processor yet this year). The figures I posted above were based on $3.69/Gallon of methanol and $1.05/lbs. of caustic, the used oil was free.

Are you able to purchase coloured fuel for anywhere near $0.92/Gallon?
I know you cant here, the cheapest I have seen coloured fuel around here, last I checked was around $0.70/L...
Jon

 

[Jon Heron]

Well I took one for long test ride today and I must say I was pretty impressed with the power of the little bugger!
It turns quite sharp, even tighter than the JD425 I have now so that eased that concern as far as mowing goes.
The hydraulics seemed quite slow on the hoe when doing 3 movements at a time but I though after, that I didn't check to see if it was in inch mode... Does inch mode just effect the implements or does it also effect the drive speed?
Jon

 

[CHDinCT]

Well The hydraulics seemed quite slow on the hoe when doing 3 movements at a time but I though after, that I didn't check to see if it was in inch mode... Does inch mode just effect the implements or does it also effect the drive speed?
Jon

Jon, not sure what you mean by "inch" mode. The 3 point hitch has a quater-inching mode, but that only effects how much the 3PH raises or lowers for each pull of the lever. The speed of the hydraulics and motion will vary with engine RPM, so if you had the unit running at low RPM, your hydraulics would move slow and so would the forward/reverse motion of the tractor.

At idle, my FEL barely moves. It's much quicker once I push the RPMs up closer to 2,000. You don't need to run the machine at full throttle to get acceptable hydraulic performance, but idle will be too slow for any effective work.

Edit: Just re-read your post and the inch mode was in reference to the BH operation which I don't have, so maybe that's something related to BH operation I'm not familiar with. In any case, with 3 circuits in use, your hydraulics will be slower since the total GPMs available are split between all open circuits. Three at a time is a lot for a little BX, or any other subcut.