Learned something about a BX fuel tank

Whatscooking

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Grand L 3130. BX2360. RTV900. GRASSHOPPER 721D
May 19, 2021
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Indiana
At least so far today. Have been getting to know my BX 2360 for a couple of weeks now. Yesterday i continued mowing with the belly mower. This tractor has shown it can handle even the tallest grass without straining, note the deck has to be able to rid of cut grass quickly ot it will bog down.
I pushed the mowing experance onto even thicker grass and also expermented on how much incline i could handle.
Fuel guage was getting down to half. Was mowing along and then it acted like i wound up some plastic, all but died, WTF. It recovered and we went on only to do it again and again.
Pulled into shop looked it over. Came into the house and started reading. Called it a day.
Most likley symptom plugged up pickup in tank. Sucked out all the fuel i could. Approximately 2 3/4 gal. Was very clean looking fuel.
Then i started looking at the way the tank is built, are you kidding mee. I could see if you ran it on a hillside the fuel could escape to one side or the other and possible suck a little air.
Took a chance and refilled tank full and went back mowing.
She is mowing like a beast without even a fart. And i have put it to the test. So far so good.
 

85Hokie

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yepper - that is a saddle tank - a pure pita to do anything with other than fill it !!
 
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GreensvilleJay

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re: I could see if you ran it on a hillside the fuel could escape to one side or the other and possible suck a little air.

well..... you're NOT supposed to go sideways on any hill, just up and down.......;)
 
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Henro

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re: I could see if you ran it on a hillside the fuel could escape to one side or the other and possible suck a little air.

well..... you're NOT supposed to go sideways on any hill, just up and down.......;)
Well, that is the safest way for sure. Not always most practical though. Guess it depends on how you define hill VS slope.

Personally I am uncomfortable on some slopes I cut crosswise. But my BX has a lot of weight at axle level or below. Foam filled tires plus MMM are pretty heavy. So my pucker factor is hit well before the safety point is reached.

Does does sound like the OP has been cutting on pretty significant side slopes though.
 
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RCW

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If my BX2360 fuel gauge gets to 1/2...I'm late putting fuel in it. It will take 4 gallons of fuel to fill. Your experience is a good example.

I pull some steep spots. I don't want it sucking air.

With temperature variations, it's also best to keep the tank as full as possible to avoid it sucking in moisture. Helps avoid algal problems in the tank.
 

GeoHorn

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If it’s a ”saddle” tank….I.E…. shaped like an upside-down “U”… then Kubota should have provided outlets at the bottom of EACH compartment.…and “ Wye-ed“ them together (Y) into one line to the pump. Disappointing if that’s not the case.
 

Henro

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If it’s a ”saddle” tank….I.E…. shaped like an upside-down “U”… then Kubota should have provided outlets at the bottom of EACH compartment.…and “ Wye-ed“ them together (Y) into one line to the pump. Disappointing if that’s not the case.
Not a saddle type tank apparently.

I got curious and looked at the parts list for my BX2200. The tank is a U shape with a vertical section dropping from the center of the U. Fuel is drawn from the bottom left side of that vertical section.

It looks like you would have to be very low on fuel before tilting sideways would cause the outlet to become exposed to air rather than fuel.

That being said, I think I have recently experienced the same thing when being low on fuel, where when I was tilted sideways (fairly significantly) the tractor lost power and engine RPMs decreased.

edit: Did the design change into a saddle type tank later in the BX series? Don’t know…
 
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whitetiger

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Not a saddle type tank apparently.

I got curious and looked at the parts list for my BX2200. The tank is a U shape with a vertical section dropping from the center of the U. Fuel is drawn from the bottom left side of that vertical section.

It looks like you would have to be very low on fuel before tilting sideways would cause the outlet to become exposed to air rather than fuel.

That being said, I think I have recently experienced the same thing when being low on fuel, where when I was tilted sideways (fairly significantly) the tractor lost power and engine RPMs decreased.

edit: Did the design change into a saddle type tank later in the BX series? Don’t know…
The tank is the same basic design for all the BX series.
 

85Hokie

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Bedford - VA
Not a saddle type tank apparently.

I got curious and looked at the parts list for my BX2200. The tank is a U shape with a vertical section dropping from the center of the U. Fuel is drawn from the bottom left side of that vertical section.

It looks like you would have to be very low on fuel before tilting sideways would cause the outlet to become exposed to air rather than fuel.

That being said, I think I have recently experienced the same thing when being low on fuel, where when I was tilted sideways (fairly significantly) the tractor lost power and engine RPMs decreased.

edit: Did the design change into a saddle type tank later in the BX series? Don’t know…

Well - I guess in a way saddle mean a vertical saddle like on a horse's back - where as the "saddle" is a horizontal shape saddle - notice the pick up point..... so IF you low on fuel the middle pick up point may starve for fuel. So hillside cutting could easily starve for fuel IF you were low to begin with ..... at least if someone runs out of fuel ........ a 30 second turn of the key will fix it!;)

The fuel gauge is a notorious problem with bx - shows full and a half second later swinging on the "E".





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Whatscooking

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Grand L 3130. BX2360. RTV900. GRASSHOPPER 721D
May 19, 2021
122
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Indiana
When you take a hard look at our BX fuel tank the side part above the wheels, the tank is higher up than the center but large enough to hide a couple of gallons. The center part has a bowl in the bottom. Talked to a fella i know that has been in there and he says the pickup tube hose has a very small hole.