One year in with BX23s

pjoh784350

Active member

Equipment
BX23, quick attach bucket, 3 point, pallet forks
May 3, 2019
157
68
28
Danville
One year and 66 hours in on a BX23, here’s my list of Pros and Cons
Pro: perfect size for my 3 acres. I do not have the MMM as I have another lawn tractor.
Pro: Convenience of having it when you need it.
Pro: Easy maintenance mostly
Con: Rear fuel filter. Sadistic son of a gun that put that there for us to deal with.
Con: Being a newbie and buying the .5oz bottle of orange touch up paint for $9
Con: Having a dealer that was way too happy selling me that paint
Pro: Power systems Bio Kleen and anti gel treatments
Pro: OTT forum, learn a ton here
Con: lifting limit while using forks. Better research would have set my expectations more realistically
Pro: SSQA bucket and forks. Although limited in capacity, way convenient
Pro: Backhoe, glad I made the correct purchase
Pro: Backhoe learning curve, not too bad
Con: Moments of pure incompetence while running backhoe. Push the same lever wrong several times, down vs up, up vs, down. Those times I’ve learned to idle down and go get a glass of water, give yourself time to settle down and rethink it!
Pro: BXpanded belly guard, pressure kit, Ripper and quick change for backhoe bucket.
Pro: Kens bolt on hooks
Overall one of my best purchases ever. As my wife and I age we still want to do our own projects, this allows us to continue doing the larger things we want to do around the property.
 

GreensvilleJay

Well-known member

Equipment
BX23-S,57 A-C D-14,58 A-C D-14, 57 A-C D-14,tiller,cults,Millcreek 25G spreader,
Apr 2, 2019
9,672
3,922
113
Greensville,Ontario,Canada
coming up to 2 years, next week....

pro 280+ hrs
con grille guard clips and it bends too easy....

pro got a free 3PH kit
con never installed..BH's always on....

con rear trim of seat rests went 'walkabout'....

con front tires mega bulged
pro Kub swapped new one

overall rating 9.6/10
Jay
 

pjoh784350

Active member

Equipment
BX23, quick attach bucket, 3 point, pallet forks
May 3, 2019
157
68
28
Danville
I forgot 2
Pro Lock N lube XL coupler
Con, yellow grease fitting caps..not worth it
Greensville Jay, what happened to your front tires?
 

Tchess450

Member

Equipment
BX23S with 60inch deck. implements, blade, forks, spreader, and more.
Jun 18, 2018
45
4
8
Pa
3 years old and 200+ hours on my bx23s.

Biggest con loader is weak.
Pro super easy to take on and off.

Con deck is pain to get on and off
Pro 60inch cut.

Pro backhoe far more useful then I imaged and easy to take on and off.

Pro I find the 23hp to cover a larger range of attachments like post hole, brush hog, and etc with little to no blogging.

Over all pretty happy with it and amazed at the amount of work you can get done with such a little machine.
 

GreensvilleJay

Well-known member

Equipment
BX23-S,57 A-C D-14,58 A-C D-14, 57 A-C D-14,tiller,cults,Millcreek 25G spreader,
Apr 2, 2019
9,672
3,922
113
Greensville,Ontario,Canada
re: tires
Kubota Canada replaced tires/rims free of charge. I'd rather have Kenda tires(6ply,1100#) but can't get them up here. sigh. So far new ones are OK.....when (IF !! ) Spring ever arrives and stays it'll get a real good workout.
Already moved about 50 yards of topsoil and compost past 2 weeks.

pro : SSQA setup . It was a 'must have' and while it slightly reduces payload, anyone who'se struggled getting a 4 pin bucket off or on in cold weather,snow,on lumpy ground..... well.. you'll ENJOY the 30 second implement exchange SSQA offers !!
con : height of ROPS. It needs to be 8" less so I can get tractor into garage. I removed top section as I'm on level ground 99.44% of the time. Need to make a shorter replacement as I need a sunroof, well, that's IF Spring ever comes.....
 

PaulL

Well-known member

Equipment
B2601
Jul 17, 2017
2,098
1,105
113
NZ
Need to make a shorter replacement
If it's off anyway, may as well cut down the old one as make a new one. Unless you want to put the old one back on when you resell.

SSQA reduces load, but my theory is that it'll still lift a bucket load. I'm planning SSQA on my new B2601. When I care about load capacity tends to be with forks (and I don't have forks without SSQA, so no real loss there), or when I'm lifting stuff with chains. In the current world I wrap the chains over the bucket. In the new world I intend to buy an SSQA blank plate and weld my chain hooks onto that. So when I'm using chains, I'll actually have more lift capacity, as now my lift point is close to the pins (well, it's actually the pins), and I don't have the weight of the bucket any more.
 
Last edited:

tekkie

New member
May 18, 2020
2
0
1
Michigan
One year and 66 hours in on a BX23, here’s my list of Pros and Cons
Pro: perfect size for my 3 acres. I do not have the MMM as I have another lawn tractor.
Pro: Convenience of having it when you need it.
Pro: Easy maintenance mostly
Con: Rear fuel filter. Sadistic son of a gun that put that there for us to deal with.
Con: Being a newbie and buying the .5oz bottle of orange touch up paint for $9
Con: Having a dealer that was way too happy selling me that paint
Pro: Power systems Bio Kleen and anti gel treatments
Pro: OTT forum, learn a ton here
Con: lifting limit while using forks. Better research would have set my expectations more realistically
Pro: SSQA bucket and forks. Although limited in capacity, way convenient
Pro: Backhoe, glad I made the correct purchase
Pro: Backhoe learning curve, not too bad
Con: Moments of pure incompetence while running backhoe. Push the same lever wrong several times, down vs up, up vs, down. Those times I’ve learned to idle down and go get a glass of water, give yourself time to settle down and rethink it!
Pro: BXpanded belly guard, pressure kit, Ripper and quick change for backhoe bucket.
Pro: Kens bolt on hooks
Overall one of my best purchases ever. As my wife and I age we still want to do our own projects, this allows us to continue doing the larger things we want to do around the property.
i am looking at the same one and this is new to me, can you elaborate on the lifting limit if you dont mind
 

GreensvilleJay

Well-known member

Equipment
BX23-S,57 A-C D-14,58 A-C D-14, 57 A-C D-14,tiller,cults,Millcreek 25G spreader,
Apr 2, 2019
9,672
3,922
113
Greensville,Ontario,Canada
re: lifting limit
On a BX23S, the loader limit is about 700# according to the manual..BUT that's at the loader frame NOT say 2' out like a forklift. So start with 700# then SUBTRACT the bucket or fork weight(200-300#) then SUBTRACT the skid(50#) , so 'payload' weight will be about 400#.
Now if, IF, you can move or arrange the payload as close as possible to the loader frame, it'll carry more.
Say 24x30 patio stones. they weigh about 100# each and no way my BX23S with 900# HLA SSQA forks will lift them, flat on the forks. Though I didn't try, 'stacking' them next to the loader frame will probably lift and carry them. I didn't try, gettin old,man it was hard enough to get them onto the forks. Maybe someone young ,flexible and healthy ( no L3-4-5 issues) will test my theory ??
 

tekkie

New member
May 18, 2020
2
0
1
Michigan
re: lifting limit
On a BX23S, the loader limit is about 700# according to the manual..BUT that's at the loader frame NOT say 2' out like a forklift. So start with 700# then SUBTRACT the bucket or fork weight(200-300#) then SUBTRACT the skid(50#) , so 'payload' weight will be about 400#.
Now if, IF, you can move or arrange the payload as close as possible to the loader frame, it'll carry more.
Say 24x30 patio stones. they weigh about 100# each and no way my BX23S with 900# HLA SSQA forks will lift them, flat on the forks. Though I didn't try, 'stacking' them next to the loader frame will probably lift and carry them. I didn't try, gettin old,man it was hard enough to get them onto the forks. Maybe someone young ,flexible and healthy ( no L3-4-5 issues) will test my theory ??
thanks i figured it was something like that
 

flogler

Member

Equipment
2017 BX23s
Dec 18, 2019
55
2
8
Debary, FL. USA
6 months on my BX which was 2 yrs old when purchased last December. I agree, backhoe is very useful and FEL is under rated but it fits my area and ease of disconnecting is nice. I have almost 100 hrs on it in 6 months. I give it a 9 out of 10.
 

pjoh784350

Active member

Equipment
BX23, quick attach bucket, 3 point, pallet forks
May 3, 2019
157
68
28
Danville
Tekkie,
if you have a source for free pallets they are indispensable with a limited fork set up. I have quite a few pallets on hand and simply load them light with brick, blocks or whatever and stack them. If you keep them light you can go up pretty high and it's still easier than having to move "piles" of stuff and restack every time you move them.
 

GreensvilleJay

Well-known member

Equipment
BX23-S,57 A-C D-14,58 A-C D-14, 57 A-C D-14,tiller,cults,Millcreek 25G spreader,
Apr 2, 2019
9,672
3,922
113
Greensville,Ontario,Canada
I 'double stack' skids or pallets. The bottom skid will rot away if left on dirt or grass any amount of time, usually 3-6 months, faster if a softwood skid.
The 'trick' is getting a steady supply of same sized skids ! I can get unlimited 39" x 39" ( 1meter square) BUT made from plywood. GREAT if inside, BAD outside...3rd or 4th rain, they come apart....sigh. My stash of 42x48 skids keeps getting lower for some reason...hmmmm