FEL vs box blade for spreading dirt

[Cpita1]

I have a FEL on my Branson 3015H. Which I’m not an expert at using, so would a box blade be easier for spreading dirt, gravel, etc….?

 

[i7win7]

You will get better with practice. FEL material being transported is lifted fom ground. BB material is dragged across ground. With BB, a hydraulic top link allows blade adjustments on the fly. BB allows a road to be crowned, FEL always level unless it's bent

Having both is great

A land plane is simpler than BB. Landplane moves small amount of material short distances. BB moves more material greater distances. FEL can keep materials separated because you lift it.

 

[jeff9366]

Your FEL bucket can scoop up loose material from a tall pile, then transport the loose material to where you want it. To safely carry a max load in the FEL bucket, Three Point Hitch counterbalance to the dirt laden bucket is necessary. A Box Blade is one of the most common implements used as TPH counterbalance to heavy FEL loads.

Wet dirt is much heavier than loose dry dirt. Gravel is heavier yet.

I regularly transport bucket loads of tree debris 1/2 mile one-way to a community burn pit.





A Box Blade peels 1" to 3" layers of dirt, which accumulate in the box. Your cannot transport dirt from a pile until the pile is reduced to ~ 4" height. Transport distance for a Box Blade is usually just a few feet, from one part of the work site to another part of the work site close by.

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Tractor FEL is delicate relative to the tractor Three Point Hitch. Heavy tractor works should be accomplished utilizing Three Point Hitch implements.

 

[scaredychicken]

box blades are awesome. use it along with FEL

have fun doing

 

[beowulf]

I am not an expert but have moved a fair amount of dirt. A box blade will drag and move dirt to be dropped and spread as you need to - some patience is needed. But I find that I can be more precise with a rear blade as it can be angled as well as tilted and thus you can toss dirt to one side or the other to be spread as needed and it seems with more control. I keep a box blade on the tractor but when I need to move dirt with a bit more personal control I use the blade - particularly for grading roads.

There is a place for both and I would not be without either.

You did not say what you are moving dirt for - how much, how wide, over what kind of ground - knowing that would be helpful. The FEL can also be used to spread dirt.

 

[Piston]

I have a FEL on my Branson 3015H. Which I’m not an expert at using, so would a box blade be easier for spreading dirt, gravel, etc….?

Both the box blade and the FEL take some practice to become efficient when spreading dirt. I find that using both of them together is most efficient. If you are spreading dirt from a pile dumped onto your driveway, a box blade (when proficient with it) will very quickly spread/grade the dirt, and in a very controlled manner. A hydraulic top and side link make adjustments 'easier', however those adjustments can also be made with your manual top/side link.

A FEL is okay for spreading dirt. It's a lot easier to become proficient with it so typically people are very comfortable using them (and it seems like they are always on.) You can back drag the FEL in float, and by varying the pitch of the bucket move more or less dirt with some simple adjustments.

For moving dirt over a paved driveway or lawn for example, a box blade is not very useful, you will need the FEL. However, if moving dirt over an area that is already dirt (such as unfinished lawn or gravel driveway your touching up anyways) then a box blade will carry a lot more material. I can carry a little over a yard of dirt in my box blade, but only 1/3 of a yard (at BEST) with my bucket. After moving many hundreds of yards of material with my tractor I found that scooping up a bucket full, then turning around and filling the box blade, was the most efficient means of moving the material moderate distances.

The box blade is my most used attachment, however it takes some getting used to. Once you figure out precisely how to keep it perfectly adjusted, you can do a LOT with it in a short amount of time.

 

[rademamj1]

I find the FEL is best for moving and positioning the dirt or gravel. But nothing beats a box blade or land plane for effective spreading. However, it does take some time to develop experience and best practices with a box blade. Utube provided much useful knowledge and shared experience using box blades and proper setup. After 3-days effort, I got fairly good at spreading and leveling gravel loads.

 

[savageactor7]

To fill and level a hole in you yard a FEL will do the trick. To level a gravel driveway a box blade or grader is the better attatchment.

 

[newbury]

I have a FEL on my Branson 3015H. Which I’m not an expert at using, so would a box blade be easier for spreading dirt, gravel, etc….?

Tell us what you are trying to do -
Many of us leave our FEL and buckets on 24/7.
(Note Front End Loader [FEL] does not necessarily include a bucket, many have grapples, pallet forks, hay forks etc.)
Since your FEL & bucket is more likely to be hooked up it's like a pocketknife, always there. Learn to use it.

I liken the FEL & bucket to my pocketknife. If I have to tighten a screw, cut a piece of cardboard, cut a piece of cheese there may be better tools. But my pocket knife is with me.

If I have to spread a few buckets of gravel it's quicker to just do it with my bucket. If I have to level a front yard I COULD use my bucket but it's quicker to get my box blade.

 

[old and tired]

....so would a box blade be easier for spreading dirt, gravel, etc….?

Yes, but you need to know how to use the box blade, too. Also, does your FEL have the ability to "float"? Using the float feature while back dragging with the FEL also helps to level things out. I will back drag with the FEL with lots of weight in it to work better (full bucket of gravel helps with extra down pressure).

Box Blades, you'll need to know what effects the length of your top link does for the cutting edges of the blade:

 

[s219]

Need to know what you plan to do.

My short answer is that both are required for some tasks such as grading and driveway maintenance. In other cases, only one may be necessary.

The FEL's primary purpose is to help you distribute loose material from a stockpile. The box blade's primary purpose is to grade material already on the ground, whether new or old material. The purpose/design of the box blade is to be able to move material and it has the ability to redistribute material from high spots to low spots. There are subtle differences in the FEL versus box blade and in the type of material operation. That will dictate which is the tool of choice.

When regrading land as I did last week, both were required. When improving a driveway, as I will be doing next week, both are required. For periodic driveway maintenance where no new material is involved, I can do it all with just the box blade (or land plane i many cases).

I know some folks who swear that backdragging with the front bucket is all they need, but I have tried that and it's not even close to the sophistication I can get with a box blade. It's good to get you within 70% of your target in many cases, but that's about it.

As shown in the movie and graphics up above, angle of attack is key to box blade use. Having a hydraulic top link (or an easily accessible/adjustable turnbuckle top link) will give you very precise control over how the box performs. I have a hydraulic top link and I am adjusting it hundreds of times a day when doing grading work. I can fine tune what I want the box to do and I can fine tune the behavior for forward operation or reverse operation, on the fly. It significantly improves the productivity of the box blade.

 

[ericm979]

Careful with back dragging with the loader bucket. People have bent loader cylinders that way. When I do it I keep the bucket bottom at a shallow angle vs the ground and don't try to move much material with it. Using float is even safer. The box blade is a lot better for spreading dirt. I think it's better for moving packed down dirt too, like for levelling an area. The loader bucket doesn't dig very well even with a tooth bar, especially with the number and size of rocks we have (obviously this will depend on your soil). The box blade can pull them out and move the material. The loader's more for picking up and carrying already loosened dirt.

 

[oosik]

I have a few of the "basic" 3-point implements used to move dirt. HD rear blade, roll-over-box-blade & land plane grading scraper. The ROBB & LPGS both have scarifiers. Each has a "best" use.

For my mile long gravel driveway - LPGS with scarifiers down will correct potholes and other rough areas.

The rear blade is for snow removal and cleaning out the driveway ditches.

The ROBB is very seldom used on the driveway. I will use it to create new trails around the property. With scarifiers down and aggressively tilted it makes quick work of virgin areas. I then finish off the trail with the LPGS.

I use the FEL and bucket to move piles of dirt or gravel. I do not dig or back drag with the FEL. It's just too easy to damage something.

 

[rademamj1]

I have a few of the "basic" 3-point implements used to move dirt. HD rear blade, roll-over-box-blade & land plane grading scraper. The ROBB & LPGS both have scarifiers. Each has a "best" use.

For my mile long gravel driveway - LPGS with scarifiers down will correct potholes and other rough areas.

Oosik, that's incredible. A mile long gravel driveway has got to keep you busy from time to time. I also don't back drag with my FEL on float due to damage risk.

 

[oosik]

Yes - unfortunately there is a 120 foot section on the driveway that can take up about 95% of my driveway time. There is a spring area along side the driveway. Usually the water just runs off. However - there are those times when the water will "combine" with the driveway material. It becomes soft, mushy and rutty. In the end - when this section hits just the right point - the LPGS will "trowel" it, it dries out completely and it ends up smooth as a pool table.

There are reasons that my driveway does not need lots of attention. It was built correctly in the beginning. It gets VERY LITTLE traffic - average two vehicles per week - most usually me. The top layer is a combination of gravel, sand, silt & volcanic ash. After spring rains it will harden up to a surface very much like concrete.

 

[beowulf]

I do not dig or back drag with the FEL. It's just too easy to damage something.

oosik, I have used the FEL to back drag but not frequently. I totally agree that you can damage something doing that - personal experience. When I do back drag it is at a shallow angle and only with very lose material - and not very much of it.

 

[workinonit]

Are you back dragging in float? I'm missing the damage from back dragging. I do it all the time but I do use float.

 

[Piston]

For the OP.... It is certainly possible to damage your tractor doing any number of tasks. Back dragging and digging with the FEL are no exceptions.

However, If you use some logic and understand the forces applied, and how they transfer to the structural attachment points, you can alleviate virtually all of that risk. These tractors can do a lot more than many people believe. Obviously things can break, but that goes without saying. I've put many hours on my tractor while moving dirt and doing jobs that it wasn't necessarily meant for, and I have not broken or bent a thing. I don't attribute that to luck.

On the other hand, you can very easily bend or break something when applying forces at an angle, or using speed to move solid objects, or digging with a corner of the bucket, or back dragging with the bucket at full dump position, or not understanding float, or (the list goes on and on.)

Use your head, think ahead, work slowly, and think about how you could damage something before trying it out. Just because something works for me, or anyone else, doesn't mean it will, or won't, work for you.

 

[Diggin It]

OP hasn't come back or added any information, so we don't know if he already has a BB or what kind of material is to be worked. If we're talking material already down and packed, then a BB might be the answer if he can afford one.

For newly laid loose material, even a simple rear blade or landscape rake will be better than the FEL and cost much less than a BB.

 

[Cougsfan]

Shame on me. I was unaware one could damage a cylinder by back dragging with an FEL. I do it frequently and with the bucket at all angles and not using float. I often curl the bucket enough to lift the front wheels off the ground when doing it. After 1000 plus hours I have yet to damage anything. You guys are probably right, it is not proper tractor etiquette and it may damage your cylinders and I am just plain lucky. But it sure the heck works well at times!