That looks good....I asked about a block heater for mine but my dealer said they don't have any real problem starting in the cold and talked me out of it....They had to order the deck so I would think if it was something they felt I needed they would have been happy to sell it to me. You are quite a bit north of me however...bet it gets colder up there then it does here. We will hit 0 once or twice a year but hanging in the 20's is about as cold as it gets here.
Real interested in the bucket hooks. I have been looking hard at them but just can't get my head around how they attach and stay on to the bucket. They would be VERY useful. I hate buying stuff without a real clear understanding how it all goes together.
Yours is just like mine, except for the thumb. I did the grapple thing and not the thumb. I had it in my quote and again the dealer said with one you really don't need the other.
We've been below zero several times here, but this has been a colder than normal winter. The desire for the block heater was based on the
BX1500, which really had to be cranked to get it to start in cold weather if not preheated. The
BX25D seems to start easier, so maybe a heater isn't needed, but I figured the few extra dollars was worth it for the convenience of cranking a warmed up engine.
I was struggling to understand the mounting system for the bucket hooks as well, even after I received them, which was before I got the tractor. It certainly wasn't obvious, at least to me, how they stayed attached to the bucket. However, the bucket hooks are just as advertised, quick-on. I just slid the bracket over the lip of the bucket, and set the tension pin...installed! No drilling or welding, and I can move them anywhere I want along the top of the bucket. I haven't put them under load yet, but they seem to be secure. I have read posts and reviews that say the brackets can work loose, and that sometimes the bracket doesn't fit the bucket, but I had no problem at all installing them.
Yeah, a thumb is probably redundant if you have a grapple.
I've seen some posts here about how the
BX25 vibrates at idle, which amuses me because it is way, way smoother than the 2-cyl
BX1500.
The most annoying thing about the
BX25D so far has been the incessant condensation on the underside of the instrument panel glass, and even on the glass over the fuel gauge. It is stored in an unheated garage, but I still don't get why moisture gets trapped in there and condenses on the glass. It should be roughly the same temperature on both sides of the glass. There is so much moisture that you can't even read the gauges. I've been using work lamps to heat the glass and dry it up, but I would sure like to find a way to prevent it.
The only other issue I had was with the rubber tie rod boots on the front axle. They were severely cracked and dry rotted. I asked the dealer to replace them when he installs the block heater.
