Questions from a BCS newbie

Hiptfarms · Mar 16, 2014

Hello everyone,
My BCS 850 is still new to me what with the weather not exactly cooperating as of late. I have been able to use the 38" lawn mower a couple times. It works well. But I'm still looking for a 40" or bigger sickle mower. ( I'm wanting it to mow below the bottom wire on my high tensile fences.) I haven't had a chance to use the 30" tiller yet nor have I used the mowing sulky. I also haven't used the moldboard plow.

Since no one I know has a 2 wheel tractor and since I had never even seen one in use before I bought this one, I am woefully ignorant on some of the finer points in using one. So, I have a few questions that I hope someone will take the time to answer.

My BCS came with dual wheels on it. Question 1: when do you use dual wheels and when do you go back to single wheels? Can you pretty much run duals all the time? Unless of course I'm wanting to put the mowing sulky on.

Question 2: when can you use the mowing sulky? Is it just for the lawn type mower or is it usable while using a sickle?

That's alli have so far. Any help is appreciated.

farmerboybill · Mar 16, 2014

1. Duals are usually used where more flotation or stability is needed. In most situations, single tires are adequate. You'll probably need to take them off with the tiller, unless they stay within the tiller width.

2. Mowing sulky also has limited uses. You end up with a very large turning radius while using one as you can only swing the handlebars so far from the seat. It could be used with an 850 to drive to a far off field at 8mph. To cut the field, though, you could probably cut it faster if you unhooked the sulky and walked it. It can be used with any mower or other front mount attachments.

If I had a sickle mower to sell, I'd sure let you know. I usually sell the used grease-type mowers for around $300. Put a search alert out on ebay. You can also search CL through google with "BCS sickle OR mower site:craigslist.org". This search will pull up all sickle mowers for sale on CL across the US. You'll just need to cull out the ones too far away.

Hiptfarms · Mar 16, 2014

Thanks for the reply. Even with the dual wheels on the tractor the tiller spans the entire width of the wheels so I guess that situation is an either/or deal. Maybe using the moldboard plow would make keeping the duals on a positive for control?

That mowing sulky just looks kinda fun. So if I'm going around a larger fenced area I could try to use it if the turning radius is big enough? I do have some fields far enough away to make it appealing from practical standpoint.

I sure wish you had a used sickle for sale too. I have actually contacted a couple folks from the craigslist searches. A couple of the people I contacted insist on shipping by truck freight. Is it not possible to take the bar off once a unit has been assembled? I had one person tell me that they couldn't be disassembled once they were put together. That makes no sense to me. How would you replace a knife bar if you can't take them apart? Also, prices seem a bit high to me...$575 for a more than 15 year old unit that i would have to buy an adapter to use or $1400 for a 53" mower with casters added to it. That's more than a new one from Earthtools...of course without casters, but still....Is it just me or are those prices too high? I was in contact with the guy from the Chicage listing and still have a small chance of being able to work something out with him if his trip to Florida pans out. I may meet him 3 hours away in Atlanta. But that's a longshot. Meanwhile, I am still on the lookout for an affordable mower. And, I'm trying to be patient about it

How about let me know if you come up on a used unit that would work with my 850. I sure would appreciate it.

farmerboybill · Mar 16, 2014

You couldn't plow with both wheels on. The plow is an "in furrow" plow, which means you need to drop at least the right dual off for the one-way plow and both duals off with the reversible or "rollover" plow Some larger plows are "on land". I suppose you could run the one-way plow on land by offsetting it, but the plow would be a lot harder to steer. Duals actually cause too much floatation to really work well with a walk-behind. The walk-behind is just too light to make the duals worthwhile traction-wise. Now, if you're looking to float over really soft ground or snow, duals might be the ticket. They might also be good for mowing on steep hillsides, but you could also buy axle extensions to get similar effect.

RalphVa · Mar 16, 2014

I had dual wheels on my Gravely, 12 hp. Needed them for extra traction to get up our hill out back and to help in keeping from skidding down it.

However, for plowing and for snow blowing, I had to go back to 2 wheels. Put the chains onto the 2 wheels for pushing the very heavy square chute snow blower.

Ralph

Hiptfarms · Mar 16, 2014

Okay. That makes sense.

Another question: when I brought the unit home the dual wheels were already on it. I noticed that they are mounted with their tread patterns opposite each other...meaning on the left side there is one wheel with the treads going forward and one with the treads going backwards. Same on the right. I'm familiar with a ground driven implement such as my manure spreader being set with the tire treads going opposite of the tractor treads. But why one each direction?

otus_branch · Mar 16, 2014

Hiptfarms said:
... or $1400 for a 53" mower with casters added to it. That's more than a new one from Earthtools...of course without casters, but still....Is it just me or are those prices too high?

Hey dude, ease up. I didn't come here to TBN to sell my sickle, I just read your post about wanting one. Would I need nearly-new prices to sell my nearly-new sickle? Yes, I would. No harm, no foul if you don't want it...

-otus

Hiptfarms · Mar 16, 2014

Hey Otus...No offense intended... That's what my direct reply to your offer was meant to imply. I'm not trying to knock your pricing of your implement. It's your mower and you get to price it the way you want. Being so new it's just out of my price range. And did I violate some sort of forum protocol by asking too direct a question regarding pricing? I didn't intend to step on any toes...so relax a little.
And, by the way, I'm not a dude. I'm just a Carolina girl trying to figure her way through this new machine.

farmerboybill · Mar 17, 2014

Hiptfarms said:
Okay. That makes sense.

Another question: when I brought the unit home the dual wheels were already on it. I noticed that they are mounted with their tread patterns opposite each other...meaning on the left side there is one wheel with the treads going forward and one with the treads going backwards. Same on the right. I'm familiar with a ground driven implement such as my manure spreader being set with the tire treads going opposite of the tractor treads. But why one each direction?

Yeah, they mounted them wrong. They must have theorized they'd have more traction going both ways this way. I always mount tires with the top pointing toward the PTO. This way they are right for both mowing and tilling. They drive the mower and hold back the tiller. If you're pulling a moldboard plow, potato digger, etc, then they should be pointed toward the engine. It doesn't make a HUGE difference, but I feel they're most correct this way. Some customers give me a little grief when they see the tires mounted "wrong", but understand my theory when I explain. I wonder how many change them around as soon as they get home...