Upgraded to a B3200

[Stoweski]

Well, after 8 years with the B7610 I decided to upgrade. I had been thinking about going with the 2650 but the dealer had a 3200 for a similar price so I went that route instead. I couldn't justify the $6000 difference jumping up to a B3350 - and I didn't want to deal with the DPF nonsense. Only attachments I added on were the FEL (of course) and a B2782 blower for my 1400' driveway. I think it will do the job!

After running it for a few hours I am very please with my upgrade. I was a bit concerned about the vibration issue but I have not had any issues with it so far. As a matter of fact I feel the engine is quieter and runs smoother than the 7610. Maybe it's just because I want it to sound & run smoother. Whatever the case, another happy customer!

 

[rswyan]

Very nice looking mo-chine ... :thumbsup:

 

[HEC]

Very nice , I know all about those long driveways .

 

[Teikas Dad]

I love mine, good luck with yours! Ballpark, what did the front blower run you if you don't mind me asking? I was thinking about one but I didn't know if they were stupid expensive compared to a TPH mounted blower.

 

[peterc38]

Congratulations on the new tractor :thumbsup:

 

[skyhook]

Nice looking machine, looks like your all set for snow.:thumbsup:

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

:thumbsup: Congratulations! The B3200 is a great B machine, a bit bigger than the B23/26/2920 series. My B3200 had a slight vibration at a certain RPM level that I rarely was using but believe my B2620 has a bit more and checked another B2620 on the dealers lot and it to had about same vibration as my current B2620 and these vibrations are usually at certain rpm levels.
Usually the vibration increases based on the number of reports you read from people about the vibration and most of them don't own or have never owned the model they're telling about.

 

[JRL305]

Nice choice. Let the modding begin.

 

[Stoweski]

Thanks! Plan on making a few mods to the blower. I want to add an electric chute deflector and, in time, an electric rotator. I also need to raise the blower a bit more than the skid shoes allow because of my gravel driveway. I saw Picts of a lined chute with UHMW Poly. I may explore that a bit too.

The blower is similar in price to a rear blower, right around $2900-3000. The quick hitch and pto shaft that are also needed add around $1600 to the price. If I was looking at getting a blower and I already had a tractor I'd be searching craigslist or ebay and just keep my eyes open. I found a few that I could have bought and saved some money but I went new simply because of their 0% for 60 mo offer.

I'm sure I'll have plenty of other mods for this tractor in the future!

 

[Stoweski]

Thanks! Plan on making a few mods to the blower. I want to add an electric chute deflector and, in time, an electric rotator. I also need to raise the blower a bit more than the skid shoes allow because of my gravel driveway. I saw Picts of a lined chute with UHMW Poly. I may explore that a bit too.

The blower is similar in price to a rear blower, right around $2900-3000. The quick hitch and pto shaft that are also needed add around $1600 to the price. If I was looking at getting a blower and I already had a tractor I'd be searching craigslist or ebay and just keep my eyes open. I found a few that I could have bought and saved some money but I went new simply because of their 0% for 60 mo offer.

I'm sure I'll have plenty of other mods for this tractor in the future!

 

[David Devuono]

My property is not smooth so I added a suspension seat. 54 inch bucket does not perform that well when ripping in virgn ground so I made a 48in toothed bucket which is perfect for the loader capacity. A skid plate is a good option, too many vulnerable hoses underneath. (mine are all displaced and I changed a couple O-rings) I have not been able to figure out why my rear locker is a bear to engage. I may reroute the pedals, locker engages fine from the lever when the rods are removed. I admit i only have a 6 foot box blade (also have an MF135) I have used it successfully many times on the B3200 until one time backing with the box blade I made a Pretzel out of the draft bar (lower link?). I have welded a 3/8 thick bar to beef them up.

I cannot drive this tractor far without looking for the ear protectors. Otherwise I am having lots of fun with it.

 

[Kanook]

Electric deflector and rotator?...You may want to investigate hydraulic ones...Run off your already installed loader valve. I've got the Hydraulics on my B2782 blower attached to the front of my B2650HSDC and they work great.

BTW...I almost went the same route on a B3200 but the dealer sold it before I made up my mind so I went for the B2650 Cab model.

 

[AStanton]

Good luck with the new machine. That blower looks like a beast. I wish I could find the instructions how to mount my blower to the front also.

 

[Tobyone]

Stoweski,

Congratulations! The B3200 is a very well built tractor that will give you many years of use.

Tobyone

 

[Stoweski]

Electric deflector and rotator?...You may want to investigate hydraulic ones...Run off your already installed loader valve. I've got the Hydraulics on my B2782 blower attached to the front of my B2650HSDC and they work great.

Would have gone with hydraulic but I already have an electric actuator and gear motor. Actually have a wiring harness & switches too. Figured I might as well use those instead of having to buy all new hydraulic parts. All I need is a 4 wire connector and make a metal plate for the motor to connect to the rotator and I'm good to go.

 

[skyhook]

Would have gone with hydraulic but I already have an electric actuator and gear motor. Actually have a wiring harness & switches too. Figured I might as well use those instead of having to buy all new hydraulic parts. All I need is a 4 wire connector and make a metal plate for the motor to connect to the rotator and I'm good to go.

What about those "trailer light" wire setup's, there's four wires with connectors at each end.

 

[tk tom]

Nice machine! I looked at the 3200 and the 2650, and went the 2650 route. I really, really like the quick attach on the LA534 loader. Those 3200's look like awesome machines I'm sure you'll be happy!

 

[bumperm]

You're gonna love that blower! Congratulations!

Guess I might be the one that came up with the UHMW polyurethane lining:



The lining all but eliminates chute clogging, even with really wet mushy snow. Side benefit, throw distance already excellent with this blower, increases maybe 10 - 20 percent with wet snow (doubtless more due to no clogs than from reduced friction).

I bought mine with the hydraulic chute rotation, then added chute deflection as I have 3rd function on my tractor. Without 3rd function, you won't have enough hydraulic functions without diverting something (and that's doable of course. Either way, hydraulics or 12 volt linear actuator works well for deflection.



bumper

 

[Stoweski]

You're gonna love that blower! Congratulations!

Guess I might be the one that came up with the UHMW polyurethane lining:

bumper

Yes bumper, I was clicking through your Picts and thought I'd steal a few ideas. I was going to pick your brain about the lining once I actually find the time to do it. I assume you picked up an 1/8" thick piece of poly and then heated & bent it to fit the inside of the chute. Looks like you used two pieces on the inside instead of trying to go all the way around with one. Did you attach them with some kind of metal screws?

It definitely looks durable. How has it held up? One other reason for putting the poly in the chute was to protect it from stones that occasionally fly up through it. One of the misfortunes of having a gravel driveway.

I did get a piece of 1" poly to use on the skid shoes. I need to get that scraper blade up as high as possible. I don't mind leaving 2" of snow on the driveway as long as I don't have to blow stones all over the place!

By the way, thanks for taking the time to post the Picts. They help a lot!

 

[bumperm]

You're welcome!

I used 1/8" UHMW Polyurethane sheet (amazon). Lower (main) chute section is one piece. Cardboard pattern first, cut PU oversize. Then took a thin scrap of waste PU and used a heat gun to form the bends. Held strip in position to cool, marked corners on strip, then used strip to layout corners on actual piece. Bottom of lower chute liner is cut so it "locks" in place (there's some recesses there that will hold chute in position. The the only other attachment for lower chute are the holes on front side used for the grill guard (which I removed previously as it makes the chore of cleaning out a clogged chute that much harder.

Deflector, being a compound shape, is made from 3 pieces the sides go up against the curved center to help hold its curved shape. All 3 pieces are held fixed in place with small countersink head SS screws (8-32) - - I drilled and tapped the chute for these so there are no nuts on the outside (no particular reason for doing it that way).

Still trying to figure out a good (easy) way to make seals for the impeller - - stock isn't bad, but it changes from maybe 3/8 to less than 1/8"

bumper