Hand Tools and Machinery for Country Living

[j44ke]

Most PTO-powered implements (mowers, augers, rototillers, chippers, etc...) specify minimum PTO horsepower. 3-point hitches have specified weight lifting capabilities. Tractors with standard (quick release) hydraulic outlets have specified hydraulic flow rates to support hydraulic lift cylinders and hydraulically powered implements. You just match your tractor to compatible implements.

For true woodland or agricultural applications, ag tires are best. Our L245DT had ag tires front and rear with calcium in the rear tires for extra traction. Since the soil in our pastures and lawn had significant underlying clay, it had good load bearing capability and the ag tires worked fine for lawn mowing. The heavy flail mower (with a steel roller) kept the lawn very smooth. For your application with limited (if any) mowing, ag tires would likely be best.

Greg

Thanks! Very helpful. The TractorData.com info makes more sense now.

[Markco]

If the L series in the link is the target, hard pass. I don't see a ROPS. It would need to be added unless you live in Kansas and even then... I'd also confirm it wasn't an imported grey market unit. I have a dim recollection when I was looking that grey market parts were hard to come by in that era.

[ides1056]

That little Kubota is a great tool. Several people I know have them. Excellent for homeowners who are handy or want to be. Wear your seat belt and keep the ROPS up and you are good. I think it has a three cylinder motor which is industry standard, used in myriad applications, and bulletproof. Every implement adds to its utility. I have a backhoe and it is useful when you need it and costs nothing when you don't. Having a backhoe balances the machine when you are picking stuff up, in my case trees, often.

[j44ke]

If the L series in the link is the target, hard pass. I don't see a ROPS. It would need to be added unless you live in Kansas and even then... I'd also confirm it wasn't an imported grey market unit. I have a dim recollection when I was looking that grey market parts were hard to come by in that era.

It was a consideration if only to make sure I was considering all options. I am still thinking that as a package one of the sub-compact Kubota tractors is a better fit for me. And there are, as you mentioned, various dealer incentives (rebates/financing/financing rebates,) and there is a Kubota dealer with a full-service shop 45 minutes from our house.

[Tom]

Best ROPS is commen sense. I've driven a John Deere 530 row crop tractor (narrow front end, very tall, two banger with a hand clutch) haying hillside fields in Vermont. You just don't go sideways to the hill. Plan ahead.

Problem with that engine, though, is it drowns out thunder. I'm six feet off the ground on that thing raking when my brother starts waving at me from across the field so I shut it off to hear what he's yelling and holy cow I'm about to get hit by lightning. I quit for the day. I can't remember if that hay got rained on but at the time I wasn't taking chances.

[gregl]

If the L series in the link is the target, hard pass. I don't see a ROPS. It would need to be added unless you live in Kansas and even then... I'd also confirm it wasn't an imported grey market unit. I have a dim recollection when I was looking that grey market parts were hard to come by in that era.

ROPS are available for that model. It would be easy to confirm whether it’s grey market by checking the serial number with a dealer. My bigger concern would be if regular maintenance was properly performed over the years. For a 40 year old tractor with no records, I’d want to change all fluids and rubber parts (belts, hoses, etc.). The tires are likely not long for this world (big $$$). If it really has only 300 hours, I’d also be concerned that it has sat for years with little use. That could lead to internal, moisture-related issues in the engine. A compression check and borescope check would be in order. Lots to consider when purchasing older equipment!

Greg

[j44ke]

On the other end of the spectrum from tractors is the Dewit Cape Cod Weeder. Great for persistent invasive weeds with stubborn tap or knotted roots. 4 plus hours of it this morning. Filled the gorilla cart twice. Mostly garlic mustard.

[Mabouya]

Great for persistent invasive weeds with stubborn tap or knotted roots.

For years I used to fight dandelions that were near the house (no lawn, just misc landscaping). But then I realized that some flying insects really do like them, and I hate forever battles that one can never really win, so this year I'm letting the dandelions do whatever they want to do.

Plus, they remind me of the Larousse dictionaries I used to use with my father when we did crossword puzzles together.

[j44ke]

Garlic mustard is the sort of plant that will blot out everything. If you want any sort of plant life diversity - which is good for insects - you have to manage it. We cannot get rid of it without poisons, so we just manage it.

[monadnocky]

As I was saying a few posts back, blue Fords are ubiquitous here. This is my next-door neighbors. He has two. The farmer two doors down has a similar one, as does a neighbor down the road, as does one up the road....
I picture the Ford salesman coming through town in 1985 or so and just mopping up with these things.

20230507_162612.jpg

[j44ke]

As I was saying a few posts back, blue Fords are ubiquitous here. This is my next-door neighbors. He has two. The farmer two doors down has a similar one, as does a neighbor down the road, as does one up the road....
I picture the Ford salesman coming through town in 1985 or so and just mopping up with these things.

20230507_162612.jpg

Front loader and box blade - how you fix the gravel drive in the spring.

[j44ke]

Locally we have now entered another season of Spongy Moth caterpillars. Windy day and 3mm long caterpillars are everywhere and on everything. Yay.

[j44ke]

I have yet to go to a tractor dealership, but it seems like the prices are highly erratic. Dealers who sell a lot of tractors (which may not be the same as a large dealer) get pricing considerations, so their customers can see multi-thousand dollar discounts and rebates on financing and package deals on implements.

Anyway, I am looking at the following:

Kubota BX23s - I guess this is the top selling tractor in the country. The price is right, it comes with backhoe and front loader, and you can put it in your 1.5 car garage because it is less than 48" wide. Bucket is pin-attached not quick-attach without paying more and the backhoe is good but has a reputation for herky-jerky movements. Engine is one of the best - 21.6hp and PTO has 27.7hp. Incentive deals abound. Lift capacity on the front loader is 6-700lbs, probably due to having a single centrally mounted hydraulic rather than one on each arm. Has an underbody-mounted transmission fan that gets whack easily necessitating the purchase of an aftermarket armor plate. Kubota dealer is relatively near our house. No agricultural tire option, just industrial, which is sort of a combo tire, and turf. Cult-like following means loads of aftermarket implements and accessories available.

Kioti CS2520 - Heavier than the Kubota, a lot of it coming from the frame not add-on weights. Front loader has dual hydraulic rams and lift capacity is 1062lbs. Quick attach bucket and level indicator standard. Two separate side-by-sider forward/reverse pedals versus the Kubota toe-heel arrangement which keeps the deck clear on the Kioti. Most common package only comes with front loader, though some places have a package that also includes backhoe and box blade. Cheaper than Kubota by maybe $2-4000, depending on attachments and incentives. Higher clearance. Backhoe is $7800, but it is a step up from the one on the Kubota. Not sure if this is a plus or not, but Kioti just started making its own engine for this tractor. Previously it was the only one with an out-sourced engine. Engine has good reputation - 24.5hp and PTO is 18.5. Dealer is farther away. Agricultural tire option. Long time tractor manufacturer but not well-known.

The next tractor up would be something like the B2601 HSD for the Kubota and the CX2510HST for the Kioti. Both put the starting price in the $24K range, which means you are pretty quickly to $30-35K. I like those tractors - they feel like the beginning of the real work tractors, but there are plenty of videos around showing real work getting done with the smaller tractors. I'm kind of leaning towards the Kioti, and they just seem like heavier better builds. Less like lawn tractors. The Kubota seems small and the lifting capacity a bit limited, but the key is whether I would be limited in the work that I would do with it. One reason it sells so well is price, but there are a lot of satisfied customers and Kubota service gets high marks.

Hydraulic snow plow seems like a no-brainer as pins and such get caked with snow on manual plows, which means either tractor would need a third valve added. Implements like York rake or back blade are primitive implements so aftermarket versions from 50 years ago have the same function as newer orange colored versions. Box blade makes a lot of sense as a maintenance tool for gravel drives, though probably a back blade and a York rake would work just as well - but then you are switching implements any time you work.

I might have time in the next month to go look at tractors in person at the two dealerships. Right now I am dealing with drought and caterpillars.

[SlowPokePete]

I might have time in the next month to go look at tractors in person at the two dealerships.

seek
me
out

SPP

[monadnocky]

After putting pretty plastic ribbons around threatening trees for several years, Asplundh (the company contracted by Eversource to trim trees that threaten electrical lines) finally came through last week and took them down. Professional arborists these guys are not - it's a brute force approach that leaves wood everywhere. Their cuts are inelegant to say the least but it gets the job done. Most of it, unsurprisingly, is ash.

The downed wood is there for the taking on the side of the dirt road. The guys obliged my request to toss what they could over the stone wall separating the right-of-way from my property - that's already been split (it's almost unreal how straight ash grain is, and you can split giant rounds by hand - if you need confirmation of your manly-manliness, split some large ash rounds).

They did leave a very large portion of the main trunk. There's no realistic way I can process it where it is, so Farmer Brad down the road is going to use his forks attachment on his tractor (yes, one of those blue Fords I mentioned above) and he's going to drop it near my woodpile. I asked him if it might be too heavy to lift (as you can see in the pics, it's huge) and Brad just laughed at me. I'll carry some lengths of birch tree trunk (also cut down by Asplundh) for him to place it on so I'm not putting my saw into the dirt on every crib cut.

Here's the trunk supporting the Beast, as I call the Hampsten. I'm guessing it weighs about sixty million pounds but I may be a little off.

The trunk, that is, not the Hampsten.

20230623_175757.jpg

20230623_175746.jpg

[Too Tall]

Looking forward to a neatly stacked wood pile. Honestly, I look forward to hucking some firewood with my manlyman splitting maul.

*Always consider distance to a competent neurosurgeon before manly-foolishness.

[j44ke]

Ash is most fun to split when it is frozen.

[j44ke]

After putting pretty plastic ribbons around threatening trees for several years, Asplundh (the company contracted by Eversource to trim trees that threaten electrical lines) finally came through last week and took them down. Professional arborists these guys are not - it's a brute force approach that leaves wood everywhere. Their cuts are inelegant to say the least but it gets the job done. Most of it, unsurprisingly, is ash.

The downed wood is there for the taking on the side of the dirt road. The guys obliged my request to toss what they could over the stone wall separating the right-of-way from my property - that's already been split (it's almost unreal how straight ash grain is, and you can split giant rounds by hand - if you need confirmation of your manly-manliness, split some large ash rounds).

They did leave a very large portion of the main trunk. There's no realistic way I can process it where it is, so Farmer Brad down the road is going to use his forks attachment on his tractor (yes, one of those blue Fords I mentioned above) and he's going to drop it near my woodpile. I asked him if it might be too heavy to lift (as you can see in the pics, it's huge) and Brad just laughed at me. I'll carry some lengths of birch tree trunk (also cut down by Asplundh) for him to place it on so I'm not putting my saw into the dirt on every crib cut.

Here's the trunk supporting the Beast, as I call the Hampsten. I'm guessing it weighs about sixty million pounds but I may be a little off.

The trunk, that is, not the Hampsten.

20230623_175757.jpg

20230623_175746.jpg

Speaking of firewood, I just saw that Stihl has a new battery chainsaw along with a higher capacity battery with some refined discharge circuitry to further increase work time. Just looking at that saw I can say it is a more professional chainsaw. The one I have, which was the top of the line but is now second to this new one, has plastic in some annoying places like chain adjustment that will inevitably wear out. And it was supposed to handle an 18" bar but I haven't seen an 18" bar come out for this saw so I figure this new saw, which does up to a 20" bar, is why they didn't waste time making an 18" bar for my saw. Someone explained to me the amount of work time lost with each increase in chain length, and from that I kind of could see that my saw is really most highly functional with a 16" bar and the available batteries - which is what Stihl actually says in the saw's description so there wasn't any trickery involved. And I have to say the MSA220 that I have is a great saw. Any time a friend comes over and turns their nose up at my saw, I let them cut some maple or something, and they are convinced after the first cut. The chain flies and when it is sharp, I keep looking at the battery level lights and it takes a long time to get down to one or two lights. Something falls down, I just get the saw, put a battery in and go to it.

But that new saw looks great. Look at how the bar is attached. There is a chain catcher on the bottom and bigger spikes in front. The saw tells you when the chain oil is down, and chain oil flow is adjustable. I'd really like to be able to manage chain oil flow. And the chain tension is set by a metal flat head screw. On mine it is a metal gear meshed with a plastic adjustment wheel - works but cannot be long lived. The adjustment also tends to tighten when the bar is snugged down. All conveniences but useful.

I'm not buying another saw. The one I have is great. But I can see how this new saw is an improvement. I'm 100% behind getting these battery saws, but if you can afford it, get the bigger saw.

MSA 300 (new model)



MSA 220C (my current saw)

[j44ke]

The tool for today is an Amish black broomcorn broom. Two male turkeys were locked in mortal combat out front of the house, and usually I'd just let them wear themselves out, but they were threatening a really lovely patch of bee balm and asters - and they are huge! like two bulldozers trying to push each other into a ditch. So I grabbed said broom and went out and whacked them good then chased them to the edge of the property and down the hill. Knuckleheads. The broom has a nice wide face and makes a nice sound through the air with a resounding whomp! when it whacks a turkey but just stuns them and doesn't hurt them, especially when they are all hopped up on turkey hormones. Geez. Animals.

Also works for sweeping.

[Tom]

You don't have early drops from apple trees, do you? Seems like an odd time of year for turkeys to be jousting over females. I'm wondering if they got into some fermented fruit and were merely having a drunken brawl.