TheSheriff
Member
A little background?
I recently purchased a new home on several unimproved acres and started making a list of all the tractor work projects I needed. As the quotes came in, my wish list dwindled to the bare necessities; A curtain drain behind the house and a level spot for a future shop. It occurred to me, for these prices, I could do the work myself over a period of time and still have a tractor to show for it. Enter the Jinma 284.
I originally ordered my 284 with the LW6 hoe. After many, many nights of reading this and other forums, I decided to go with a better quality backhoe. I anticipated possible issues with the new tractor and I did not want to deal with a problem tractor and a problem backhoe at the same time. (As it turns out, the 284 now has 15 trouble free hours). After a month of shopping, I could not beat the price of the BH-650 from Affordable. My best local price for a comparable USED hoe was more than a new TomCat shipped from Texas.... go figure (I'm in Oregon).
Fast forward to my BH from Tommy at Affordable Tractor and the constant flow kit from Ronald at Ranch Hand Supply. Dealing with these gentlemen has been effortless and refreshing! Both provided old school, genuine customer service.
I cannot say much about the BH-650 yet as I have only put it through its paces without actually getting it dirty. The hoe is supplied as a 3-pt mount, and despite Tommy's assurances of the strength of this mounting with careful/reasonable use, I wont put it to work until I fab a subframe mount. I will say that the supplied 3-pt attachments are absolutely MASSIVE. Much more so than anything they connect to on the tractor.
I was very impressed with the apparent quality of the hoe. It looks every bit the quality of the finest American made product. The controls are extremely smooth and to a large extent, multifunctional (Trying to say I can use more than one control input at the same time). Just the opposite of what I have read about the LW6. I feel very good about my decision purchasing this hoe.
Tommy suggested I purchase Ronald's constant flow kit. I called Ronald and after telling him I was a tractor newbie, Ronald explained in great detail exactly what I could expect, with and without his product... sound effects included! I ordered the kit with the unpainted bracket.
I really cant say enough about the kit. It works as advertised. The instructions were the most detailed I have ever seen for any product of similar complexity. I'm not making fun here, but Ronald even tells you to hold a specific part while you tighten the nut! How detailed is that? Pictures, pictures and more pictures. My wife could have installed this kit following the pics alone.
To further dummy-proof the kit, Ronald has washers, standoffs, etc, already attached to the appropriate fittings and bolts. My Christmas Eve bicycle assemblies back in the day were far more confusing.
On my tractor, the longest hose to the diverter valve was a bit of a challenge, requiring me to pry one of the hard lines out very slightly to gain clearance (The supplied hoses are very stout/stiff). I considered routing the hose differently, but thought better. Ronald has obviously given much thought to this kit and his hose routing is ideal.
I spent about two hours installing the kit, but that included several coffee breaks and numerous interruptions.
I could have painted my bracket Jinma red, but I'm not much into aesthetics and it wasn't worth cleaning my spray gun.
I highly recommend both products and both vendors. Now on to building my hoe frame.
I recently purchased a new home on several unimproved acres and started making a list of all the tractor work projects I needed. As the quotes came in, my wish list dwindled to the bare necessities; A curtain drain behind the house and a level spot for a future shop. It occurred to me, for these prices, I could do the work myself over a period of time and still have a tractor to show for it. Enter the Jinma 284.
I originally ordered my 284 with the LW6 hoe. After many, many nights of reading this and other forums, I decided to go with a better quality backhoe. I anticipated possible issues with the new tractor and I did not want to deal with a problem tractor and a problem backhoe at the same time. (As it turns out, the 284 now has 15 trouble free hours). After a month of shopping, I could not beat the price of the BH-650 from Affordable. My best local price for a comparable USED hoe was more than a new TomCat shipped from Texas.... go figure (I'm in Oregon).
Fast forward to my BH from Tommy at Affordable Tractor and the constant flow kit from Ronald at Ranch Hand Supply. Dealing with these gentlemen has been effortless and refreshing! Both provided old school, genuine customer service.
I cannot say much about the BH-650 yet as I have only put it through its paces without actually getting it dirty. The hoe is supplied as a 3-pt mount, and despite Tommy's assurances of the strength of this mounting with careful/reasonable use, I wont put it to work until I fab a subframe mount. I will say that the supplied 3-pt attachments are absolutely MASSIVE. Much more so than anything they connect to on the tractor.
I was very impressed with the apparent quality of the hoe. It looks every bit the quality of the finest American made product. The controls are extremely smooth and to a large extent, multifunctional (Trying to say I can use more than one control input at the same time). Just the opposite of what I have read about the LW6. I feel very good about my decision purchasing this hoe.
Tommy suggested I purchase Ronald's constant flow kit. I called Ronald and after telling him I was a tractor newbie, Ronald explained in great detail exactly what I could expect, with and without his product... sound effects included! I ordered the kit with the unpainted bracket.
I really cant say enough about the kit. It works as advertised. The instructions were the most detailed I have ever seen for any product of similar complexity. I'm not making fun here, but Ronald even tells you to hold a specific part while you tighten the nut! How detailed is that? Pictures, pictures and more pictures. My wife could have installed this kit following the pics alone.
To further dummy-proof the kit, Ronald has washers, standoffs, etc, already attached to the appropriate fittings and bolts. My Christmas Eve bicycle assemblies back in the day were far more confusing.
On my tractor, the longest hose to the diverter valve was a bit of a challenge, requiring me to pry one of the hard lines out very slightly to gain clearance (The supplied hoses are very stout/stiff). I considered routing the hose differently, but thought better. Ronald has obviously given much thought to this kit and his hose routing is ideal.
I spent about two hours installing the kit, but that included several coffee breaks and numerous interruptions.
I could have painted my bracket Jinma red, but I'm not much into aesthetics and it wasn't worth cleaning my spray gun.
I highly recommend both products and both vendors. Now on to building my hoe frame.
