Second day was better than the first….thanks to a simple hack….saw blade.

[K7G]

The L2501 arrived Tuesday and other than parking it in the shop, yesterday was the first day of use. I attempted to familiarize myself with the FEL after properly storing the rotary cutter and attaching the box blade.

After day 1, I was a little discouraged knowing I’ll pick up the FEL operation as muscle memory kicks in. It’s like anything else that takes coordination.…be patient and you’ll get better. The hardest part was seeing the position of the loader. “Level” seems almost to be an illusion.

After looking at the Kubota options and various options on the internet, I decided on a $1 option. I took a blue hacksaw blade and taped it to the top surface of the loader. I even used blue tape so it would match.

Let me tell you you, Day 2 was 10x better than Day 1. I went slow, knew where the loader was pointed and moved more dirt. My first project is to dig out a shallow ditch for drainage and line it with gravel and I got about 25% of it dug today. When I parked it, I felt like I did a pretty good job for Day 2. All because of a blue hacksaw blade.

 

[D2Cat]

With practice you will quickly recognize the flat bar (you have the blade taped to) and recognize if it's level, and the blade not necessary. You'll also learn to feel the resistance the cutting edge has to make fine adjustments to that angle.

When you practice knowing what you should be seeing/feeling you'll become efficient quickly.

 

[K7G]

With practice you will quickly recognize the flat bar (you have the blade taped to) and recognize if it's level, and the blade not necessary. You'll also learn to feel the resistance the cutting edge has to make fine adjustments to that angle.

When you practice knowing what you should be seeing/feeling you'll become efficient quickly.

Thanks! I was thinking about cutting down the blade until it’s the same width as the flat bar. The flat bar‘s orientation was a little hard to see on Day 1 but, as you said, I’ll hopefully begin to recognize it.

I already noticed the change in pitch of the engine as it loads up and found myself making adjustments as I moved forward. It seems doable today after yesterday’s beginnings.

 

[armylifer]

If you will be using the FEL to dig dirt and move it, you may want to consider buying a piranha tooth bar. It makes quick work of almost every dirt project. If you do a search on this site you can find many posts about how useful that piranha tooth bar is.

 

[K7G]

If you will be using the FEL to dig dirt and move it, you may want to consider buying a piranha tooth bar. It makes quick work of almost every dirt project. If you do a search on this site you can find many posts about how useful that piranha tooth bar is.

Actualy ordered one yesterday. Luckily, the ground here is pretty wet. We’ve had rain every day this week. Today appears to be a chance of typical afternoon thunderboomers with a little puppy of a cloud formation of rain headed our way.

Edit: Thank you for your service. I was USAF for four years back in the 70’s. Our facility, Wilford Hall, Lackland AFB took care of some of the injured in the failed Iranian mission to rescue the hostages and took care of the Shah of Iran when he needed cancer treatments.

 

[armylifer]

Actualy ordered one yesterday. Luckily, the ground here is pretty wet. We’ve had rain every day this week. Today appears to be a chance of typical afternoon thunderboomers with a little puppy of a cloud formation of rain headed our way.

Edit: Thank you for your service. I was USAF for four years back in the 70’s. Our facility, Wilford Hall, Lackland AFB took care of some of the injured in the failed Iranian mission to rescue the hostages and took care of the Shah of Iran when he needed cancer treatments.

Thank you for your service also. One of my younger brothers served in the Air Force at Lackland AFB in the 1970's. If memory serves me, he was stationed in CA at the time that you mention though. He retired from the USAF in 1994 at Dyess AFB in TX.

 

[armylifer]

One more thing that I might mention since you are doing some FEL dirt work. Make sure that you are using plenty of rear ballast. Here is a 18 minute video about how important rear ballast is. The importance of enough ballast cannot be over-stressed.

 

[K7G]

Thank you. I watched it and it reinforced everything my neighbor shared with me. I’m taking it slow and easy. The tires were weighted with water and I always leave the blade bucket on. Our land is slopes from south to north but it’s a mild slope. I’m sure I could turn it over with enough speed and a tight turn but jeebus, I still remember as a kid when our neighbor flipped his tractor on a hill, pulling a bush hog with no weight on the front. Scared all of us and is a lifelong memory.

There’s one area of concern that I showed the dealer guy who delivered and gave me a long orientation on the tractor. I explained my approach to this area and he said my plan and approach was fine.

In addition, the ROPS is always up and the seatbelt is always on. I actually put a small flag on the ROPS so I’ll remember to put it up after I pull out of the shop. The flag is then attached to the top of the door so I don’t drive through it with the ROPS up.

See what the Chair Force taught me? Process and process improvement…it’s served me well over the years!