What won't the BX22 do for me?

[Anonymous Poster]

What won\'t the BX22 do for me?

New poster, soon to be (I hope) a new tractor owner. Still trying to decide what I need. The BX22 looks like a good place to start, but my friends tell me I am going to want more horespower than it provides. So what types of attachments & activites would I be writing off with the BX22? How much more time will I spend in accomplishing the same things with this smaller tractor?

Besides the price difference, I am tending towards the BX22 due in part to the slightly smaller footprint. I have some areas around a pond that I would like to work on, and frankly they are tough to get to having to wind through heavily wooded area.

Mostly going to be using it for landscaping and maintenance over 12 acres, with about three acres in grass.

Any input very much appreciated!

 

[nitronut1]

Re: What won\'t the BX22 do for me?

Can you give us a little more info in your profile, such as what area you live in? There are many BX22 owners here from all around the country who can provide insight and comments...

Gregg

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Re: What won\'t the BX22 do for me?

Knowing more about you and where you live, as suggested in the other post, would definitely be helpful.

Generally speaking you need to carefully look at the capacities of the machine and match them up with your anticipated needs. Is 460 lbs enough lift on the FEL for you and is a 4 ft bucket big enough? Is a hoe with a 6' reach and a maximum 12" bucket going to do the job for you and do you have a problem working slower than you can with a larger machine? How big will the other implements you need to maintain your property need to be? Etc.

For me, the BX-22 is the perfect machine, but I only have 4 acres and don't have heavy maintenance needs. I dig a few holes, use the FEL for a schlepping a lot of mulch around (actually, SWMBO does that...) and mow about two acres when appropriate. With the 12 acres you have, you may need a larger machine, IMHO.

Buy the right one first, as trading in takes a bite out of your wallet!

 

[drcollie]

Re: What won\'t the BX22 do for me?

I've owned a BX22 for a year now and wouldn't trade up - it does 90% of what I want to do for the right amount of money on my 5 acres.

What it won't do very well:

1) Run a power seeder.
2) Dig out tree stumps easily
3) Run a rear air blower
4) Run a chipper

It WILL carry far more than the rated weight in the bucket, easily, and is very easy to operate with a miserly fuel consumption. It's a good mower with great maneuverability and the backhoe is more powerful that you might think at first. My attachments are limited on mine, but it easily handles my First Choice Core Aereator for the yard.

With the current 0% financing deal, it's hard to go wrong on one in the mid $ 15's / low $ 16's K

Duane C.
Virginia

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Re: What won\'t the BX22 do for me?

drcollie,
You mentioned that it won't run a chipper?
DaveL

 

[5030]

Re: What won\'t the BX22 do for me?

It won't do what a 5030 will. However, it won't relieve your wallet like a 5030 will either. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

Daryl
Forage Services, L.P.

 

[5030]

Re: What won\'t the BX22 do for me?

here's another.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Re: What won\'t the BX22 do for me?

I'd also like to know your thoughts on why the BX-22 will not run a chipper. There are some smaller units that by spec should work, but your help in understanding the situation will be appreciated. TYIA

 

[kcook]

Re: What won\'t the BX22 do for me?

I had though I have seen some rear chipper that only needed 15 horsepower to run?

KC

 

[5030]

Re: What won\'t the BX22 do for me?

I'm glad I live in the country. I don't need or will never need a chipper. I put it in a pile and roast it. I don't burn my garbage however. I don't like the smell so we have it trucked to the landfill. The lady down the road used to burn her kids diapers and the wind always blew our way, what a stink. I got even last spring. I had three rounds that got wet and moldy and I could'nt feed them so I waited for the wind to be blowing her way and I lit them off. The smoke was so thick you could'nt see her house down the road. I think she got the hint, no more burning garbage and diapers. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

Daryl
Forage Service, L.P.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Re: What won\'t the BX22 do for me?

Daryl,
I live in the country too, but with the last drought the county here has required permits for burning brush or trash and won't allow it to be done through the spring or summer. Cost of ignoring the law is a $500 fine. Makes a chipper look somewhat cheaper.
I was quoted a price of $2700 for a Woods unit. After collecting my jaw off of the floor I told the dealer to forget it.
But the only implement the wife is interested in is a chipper.
So now I'm looking for one.
I'm interested in finding more about whats' out there. I think I'll slip over to the implement forum and ask the question.
DaveL

 

[Bird]

Re: What won\'t the BX22 do for me?

I've burned some brush piles, but when I had the time and small enough brush, I wanted the wood chips to till into my garden. We burned part of our trash and garbage, but also had a weekly garbage pickup by a private individual in the business. And while we had burn bans every summer, you were permitted to burn trash if it was enclosed. Even a barrel with a screen on top was acceptable, but my brother built a 5' x 5' x 5' incinerator at his place because he had so much cardboard to dispose of in his business.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Re: What won\'t the BX22 do for me?

Thanks for the input!

As requested, more about me:

A relative youngster (34) living in a small town in SE Iowa. Have 12 acres in town, and 39 acres of timber in the country. I am a complete tractor novice, having only had a riding mower up to this point.

The 12 acres consist of timber, a 1 acre pond, 3 acres of grass, and an old abandoned tennis court that I have dreams of turning into a very large garage (near perfect slab under all that mud and grass) - well, a guy can dream can't he ("No" would be my wife's reply!)?

The 39 acres are wild, and will probably stay that way. I love untouched timber, as long as I am not living in it!

Main concern, and biggest plus for the BX, is getting around the timber on my 12 acres. I have a lot of cleanup work to do, and then a considerable amount of landscaping I want to do. I have some very tight quarters I need to manuver in; it would be nice to have a little room left in the garage too!

I guess my main concern, being a tractor novice, is that once I get one I am going to realize there are all these things I could do with it that I have not yet even considered. If that is the case am I really going to miss that extra HP? Would the extra few inches on the B7800 be worth the extra HP and the much higher price for a similar package?

Thanks again for the input so far everyone! Trying to gather as much info as possible prior to my trip to the dealer...

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Re: What won\'t the BX22 do for me?

hp isnt gunna be a problem unless you have to do it fast. the 22 has pleanty of horsepower I think. Just might take you longer is all. If your time is worth more money then what you would save by buying the bx then go with a bigger rig.

 

[kyoders]

Re: What won\'t the BX22 do for me?

Jason,

For what it sounds like you are looking to do, I can't think of anything that it won't do for you. As mentioned, the hoe isn't big/strong enough to dig stumps very well, but if you're patient, it can be done. The reach isn't very far, so you will end up re-positioning more often than you would with a bigger machine. And of course the lift capacities/digging force of the hoe and FEL are less than they are for larger machines, so you might find some rocks or other large objects that just can't be lifted.

There are some implements that aren't made small enough for a BX. I haven't seen a trencher that would work on it, and things like haying equipment definitely aren't appropriate (and the BX isn't the least bit appropriate for it, either). I've also not seen a fork lift that would fit it, but then the smallest one I've seen wouldn't work on half the CUTs out there. For all of the things it seems you will be doing, there is an appropriately sized implement that will work on a BX. The biggest trade-off is going to be how long it takes to do something. More trips to move a pile of dirt, more re-position to dig a trench, narrower tiller so more passes for a given piece of land, only a single bottom plow so twice as many passes as with a two-bottom plow, etc.

Now, there may be some things that you can do with a BX that something bigger might not be able to do. You've already mentioned that you have some tight areas to maneuver around, and you won't get more maneuverability than a BX without going with something smaller. Although I don't own one, the 60" deck is supposed to make it an excellent mower. As for horsepower, it has plenty for it's size. I owned a BX2200 for a year and traded it for a BX22 a couple of weeks ago. I can't imagine any situation where more HP, on this size machine, would have been a benefit. Think of it this way. The B21 is a good bit bigger than a BX, with bigger hoe and FEL. But it is only 21HP, and the displacement is only a little bigger than the BX's engine.

Kevin