Have had my BX1870 for a couple of months now. Thought I would share my experience and address some specific things that I had a hard time finding out before I bought it.
My setup is BX1870, turf tires, BX2750D front-mount blower, and LA203A loader. About 12 hours on it so far, all blowing snow. No experience yet with the loader. My yard is less than 2 acres, but I have a decent area to snowblow.
1. Power - I was concerned about the 18HP (vs. stepping up to the 23HP) but went with the smaller one anyway as I thought it fit my property better overall and was slightly smaller to fit in the garage. I am happy with the power. It is still in the break-in period. Max RPM I have used so far is 2800 and that was when we had a foot of snow to blow. A couple of times when I was going a bit too fast it started to bog just a little, but letting up on the pedal for a second or two solve it each time. I am sure that more HP would mean I could go even faster through the snow, but I am very happy with the power that little 18HP engine delivers. Once it is broken in I will probably run it closer to full throttle when I have deep snow.
2. Diesel Engine - This is my first diesel. I keep the tractor in my (finished off) garage along with my cars, workbench, etc. I was really not sure if I would be unhappy about the diesel smoke blowing inside the garage especially upon cold starts. It is not a problem. I have a side garage door where it is parked and I open the door and start it - get a little puff of smoke - then I quickly move it outside and let it warm up there. No issue with smoke in the garage. Even on the coldest mornings when it was probably 10 degrees (F) in the garage and -15 outside, it didn't fill my garage with smoke.
3. Diesel Fuel - Again, this being my first diesel I wasn't sure if I would have problems on cold days with it gelling. When I took delivery from the dealer, I was told they had treated the fuel...well I found out the hard way that they had not. It did freeze up on me after about 1.5 hours outside blowing snow in -15F weather. However, I was able to nurse it back into the garage and get some Power Service into it (and top it off with a full tank of diesel) and it was fine after a few minutes. I was probably lucky as I didn't end up messing up the fuel filter or anything. Lesson learned.
4. Turf Tires on Snow - I didn't know if the turf tires would really work well in the snow or if I would end up needing chains (which I really did not want). I blow primarily paved driveways, but there are some reasonably steep uphill portions. Those tires, along with the 4WD are absolutely adequate. If the ground is snowy, I normally do put it in 4WD and a couple of times when I got really crazy and started blowing down into a snow bank I even used the differential lock. But, at least for my applications, there is absolutely no need for chains, and also no need for any additional weight in the rear (I do have RimGuard in the rear tires, which is all I need for blowing snow).
So I thought I would share these things in case it helps anyone else. Excellent little machine and a joy to use.
My setup is BX1870, turf tires, BX2750D front-mount blower, and LA203A loader. About 12 hours on it so far, all blowing snow. No experience yet with the loader. My yard is less than 2 acres, but I have a decent area to snowblow.
1. Power - I was concerned about the 18HP (vs. stepping up to the 23HP) but went with the smaller one anyway as I thought it fit my property better overall and was slightly smaller to fit in the garage. I am happy with the power. It is still in the break-in period. Max RPM I have used so far is 2800 and that was when we had a foot of snow to blow. A couple of times when I was going a bit too fast it started to bog just a little, but letting up on the pedal for a second or two solve it each time. I am sure that more HP would mean I could go even faster through the snow, but I am very happy with the power that little 18HP engine delivers. Once it is broken in I will probably run it closer to full throttle when I have deep snow.
2. Diesel Engine - This is my first diesel. I keep the tractor in my (finished off) garage along with my cars, workbench, etc. I was really not sure if I would be unhappy about the diesel smoke blowing inside the garage especially upon cold starts. It is not a problem. I have a side garage door where it is parked and I open the door and start it - get a little puff of smoke - then I quickly move it outside and let it warm up there. No issue with smoke in the garage. Even on the coldest mornings when it was probably 10 degrees (F) in the garage and -15 outside, it didn't fill my garage with smoke.
3. Diesel Fuel - Again, this being my first diesel I wasn't sure if I would have problems on cold days with it gelling. When I took delivery from the dealer, I was told they had treated the fuel...well I found out the hard way that they had not. It did freeze up on me after about 1.5 hours outside blowing snow in -15F weather. However, I was able to nurse it back into the garage and get some Power Service into it (and top it off with a full tank of diesel) and it was fine after a few minutes. I was probably lucky as I didn't end up messing up the fuel filter or anything. Lesson learned.
4. Turf Tires on Snow - I didn't know if the turf tires would really work well in the snow or if I would end up needing chains (which I really did not want). I blow primarily paved driveways, but there are some reasonably steep uphill portions. Those tires, along with the 4WD are absolutely adequate. If the ground is snowy, I normally do put it in 4WD and a couple of times when I got really crazy and started blowing down into a snow bank I even used the differential lock. But, at least for my applications, there is absolutely no need for chains, and also no need for any additional weight in the rear (I do have RimGuard in the rear tires, which is all I need for blowing snow).
So I thought I would share these things in case it helps anyone else. Excellent little machine and a joy to use.
