Kubota BX- Loader lift capacity VS. Relief valve pressure

#KubotaBX #LiftCapacity (FINALLY!) -Testing the benefits of increasing the hydraulic pressure on a Kubota BX and what affect it has on lift capacity! #ReliefValve #Mod
-I change the relief valve pressure BACK to factory and test the loader lift capacity, Afterwards I change the relief valve back to the modded 2000psi and test the loader lift capacity once again for a final time.
Messick's Video:
Title: "TESTED | How the wrong implement affects your lift capacity"
Link: • TESTED | How the wrong...

[@khtractors]

I wasn’t sure if the floor would hold or not, glad it did! It means a lot to viewers I think to do videos like this where they are requesting to see certain things. That’s why your channel is doing so well! Have a great day!

[@BiffsEquipment]

K&H Tractors thanks man! Try to keep everyone happy if possible. I felt bad it took me so long haha.

[@bobt169]

Thank you for doing this video! I took my BX2680 from about 1750 and shimmed it out to 2150. I did notice a big difference, I was able to move some big logs with the forks. Have filled back tires and a 48" brush hog on the back which kept her on the ground, very controllable. Very please with the out come, thank you again!

[@BiffsEquipment]

Awesome man I’m glad to hear that! I’m sorry I’m only just now seeing your comment! How have you been liking it so far? I agree even going up just a couple hundred PSI makes a HUGE difference with these little machines.. it can be the difference of getting a certain job done or not getting it done. Glad you found this video helpful!

[@seansysig]

One of the best explanations regarding shims and hydraulic pump psi increases using real world explanation. Thanks Biff keep the great content coming.

[@BiffsEquipment]

Thanks Sean! Hope you and your family have a happy thanksgiving and stay safe!

[@TF141studios]

Awesome video! Most exciting part is watching your camera lift up with the eyelet

[@BiffsEquipment]

Haha yah that was pretty funny when it did that… I couldn’t believe the floor held it myself haha

[@rickotte2120]

This is a great video!!!!! added .6 in shims and added 300 psi... super informational.

[@BiffsEquipment]

Thanks Rick glad you found it informative! It really does make a huge difference with these small machines making them much more capable so long as you have the proper amount of rear ballast for it once you do it. Thanks for watching!

[@darrellgrandadam7229]

Great info!! Thanks for all your great videos..I just recently bought a bx2380..You are my go to guy for info...Thanks!!

[@BiffsEquipment]

Congrats man! Your gonna love your new tractor, glad to hear and thanks for watching!

[@mistersniffer6838]

Hmmmm, looks like someone has a Milwaukee colab!!! All good, this is what I need, much appreciated. I will tell Milwaukee to throw in a few more bucks for me.

[@BiffsEquipment]

Awesome glad to hear man. I don’t have any deal with Milwaukee but I use there cordless tools as they are the best of the best. When I was a mechanic for a living I had all snap-on cordless thinking they were the best until I tried a guys Milwaukee gun, blew my snap on out of the water, I instantly sold all my snap on cordless and bought Milwaukee and never looked back.. it’s prolly been 9 years since I made the switch and I still feel they are the best. Take care!

[@matthewsampson5490]

Wow Biff, that was an extremely informative video. I just bought the tractor and will be looking into the pressure. Maybe I'll have the shop confirm before delivery. Then I will confirm myself to check their honesty. I definitely want mine at max allowances. Ballast being the key. Thank you for taking time out of your days to produce your vides.

[@BiffsEquipment]

Thanks Matt I appreciate that and congrats on the new kubota! Your gonna love the little BX.. it is a very powerful machine and will surprise you. As for having the dealer check it before it goes out that would be a great idea.. tell them you have seen too many of these machines ship out under spec and that you want to make sure it’s hydraulic pressure is at the max allowed from the factory which should be between 1800-1900psi I believe. Let me know how you make out! Increasing the pressure makes a huge difference just remember to have proper ballast and know it will void your warentee if you go higher than spec like I did. Thanks for watching!

[@xdude2x]

Cool video, thank you. I actually have a La344s ordered for my BX2670, can’t wait

[@BiffsEquipment]

Thanks buddy, that's awesome! Bet your excited.. The LA340/LA344 is a fantastic loader.. Its built really well and the quick attach works seamlessly.. I haven't had any issues yet with mine and I work the living crap out of it. The skidsteer coupler is also a very nice addition so if you don't have one ordered for it yet I would highly recommend it.. Also on these loaders you can also add a Bucket Level Indicator straight from Kubota that bolts right on.. Its such a great tool to have specially if your a beginner as it will allow you to always know exactly what angle you have your bucket at before dropping it down on the ground to dig dirt or to do any grading.. Its only like $65 and your dealer should install it for free with your loader if you buy it now and have it when they go to install your loader. Best of luck LMK how you make out!

[@BiffsEquipment]

PS. I made a video talking about the bucket level indicator.. how it works, how much it cost, and how it installs.. You'll have to look through my older videos to find it.. should be called "Kubota BX- Bucket level indicator"

[@xdude2x]

@@BiffsEquipment thank you

[@xdude2x]

I have had it now about a month, I did get the SSQA because I also bought pallet forks too. I find I use the forks 75% of the time compared to the bucket

[@hermzinn8740]

Thanks for taking the time to do this test. My BX2360 lifts pretty good but I think I will buy a gauge and test it. I can lift the rear tires off the ground with a 6 foot grader blade on it so I guess it is pretty close to 2,000 PSI.

[@BiffsEquipment]

If your doing that then I would have to agree you must be very close to 1900-2000psi, test it out and let me know! I’m curious myself! Thanks for watching

[@philipjohnson8064]

Awesome video good test keep up the good work.

[@BiffsEquipment]

Thanks Phillip!

[@alexlindekugel8727]

well did the hard work for me thats very helpfull. was hopen the copacity gains would be more but o well. great vidio all the same

[@BiffsEquipment]

Thanks Alex! I actually didn’t think those gains were too bad at all.. you gotta remember how small the machine was.. and just a 100lb difference in lift can do a LOT when your working with your loader.. even a 50lb increase is very noticeable at times. Glad the video helped you and best of luck!

[@mikedimeglio7480]

Great video. Thx for doing all of this. Very helpful. Question for you, when you said max revs, what rpm did you put throttle on to test PSI?

[@garrytalley8009]

Nice video. It does void warranty for little improvement unless you are on low end of specs. Great to be able to shim and get to maximum specs within warranty. Considering the weight of that mini tractor you must admit unless you ballast it to death it won't pull the extra weight anyway. Best to get a L2501 at least to even think of this mod. And still it is best to stay within specs.

[@BiffsEquipment]

For sure, Ballasting is a MUST if your going to do this and that's why i emphasized it so much in the video. Anytime you exceed factory specs its a risk.. I do it because I'm comfortable with it and I know I can handle it as I am very comfortable with my machine but if others aren't than you should be cautious about doing this as it is not for everyone.

[@prayeranon2631]

Great video thanks for all your hard work and great info .God Bless

[@dddsire]

Super cool video!

[@BiffsEquipment]

Thankyou!

[@jeffwilliams4676]

Wow! Awesome

[@edhughes7235]

I just bought my BX23S back in May and according to my manual, max factory pressure setting is 1850 psi. Couldn't even pick up 450 lbs with the fork attachment, so had them check the pressure because the salesman said it should pick up at least 680 lbs and it was at 1850 psi, so was disappointed when I found out it couldn't. Being under warranty, still debating on whether or not to bump it up to 2000 psi

[@BiffsEquipment]

Hey Ed, you gotta remember that the 680lbs they state it can lift is on the end of the loader at the pivot pins.. so any weight that’s father forward than that is gonna greatly reduce the lifting ability.. so that 680 at the pins goes down 50lbs for the skidsteer coupler, another 150lbs for your pallet forks.. so now your around the 400lb mark.. now also think of how far the weight is out Infront of the loader when lifting the pallet.. that 400lb pallet was prolly like lifting 600lbs because of how much farther out it was. I think you just have to get use to it, but if you really feel you need more power you’ll have to increase the pressure.. I wouldn’t suggest going much over 2,000 and only do it if your willing to handle the risks and dangers that come with it and be sure to properly ballast the rear of your tractor as these tractors are very light in the rear so at 2,000psi it will tip over very easily if not ballasted properly. Hope this helps and I hope the issue gets better for you. It may get better with time too as your tractor is still brand new and breaking in

[@silverhorseman3541]

Nice vid what rpm were you at for testing?

[@BiffsEquipment]

Thanks man, I used full 3400rpm or "Full Revs" as they say when I did my tests. You should always have RPM at max to allow for accurate and consistent pressure readings. Thanks for watching!

[@davidprentiss7667]

I have a bx2380 and I tried to lift the tongue of my 16 foot landscape trailer and it wouldn't even budge it

[@hiscifi2986]

Hope you used woodworm killer on that wooden cupboard. If them things see your wooden shed they will have a banquet. . . . I remember splitting a hydraulic ram on one tractor; The implement was designed for a tractor with a lower hydraulic pressure than the one we were using. . . . . .

[@BiffsEquipment]

Wow that’s crazy you split a Ram. As for the shed it was built well before I moved into this house and has never had any issues with worms or bugs eating it, the shed use to sit way out back where it never got light and I was afraid it was gonna rot back there so when I moved into this house I put the shed on skids and moved it all the way to the front of my house using my Kubota bx and a pickup truck haha. Thanks for watching!

[@Rsenior1981]

I'm kinda bummed my bx23s won't lift the rear tire when lifting something, even without the backhoe attached...

[@BiffsEquipment]

Hey Russel. Sounds like your hydraulic pressure was set too weak from the factory.. Factory spec is 1900psi roughly yet some ship out at 1650psi or so which usually isn't even enough to lift the rear tire at times so I would buy a pressure tester and shim kit from BXPanded.com and check your pressures and report back with your findings.

[@jn123-r7h]

It's 50% of the tipping mode

[@charleswhitehead7441]

Everyone seems concerned about their warranty but no one bothers about safety! The loader and the over pressure valve are a designed system. Clearly there is a safety margen and the tractor will lift more than its spec but at the cost of your safety margen...I wouldn't do it. Considering the litigious nature of the U.S. taking that risk is just not worth it.

[@BiffsEquipment]

Safety is a HUGE factor and that’s why I mentioned this many times through out the video.. this is why I said “You MUST have proper ballast if you want to be safe “and that doing it with out proper ballast is absolutely stupid and pointless. Infact one of the reasons I made this video was so that I could emphasize that in order to be safe you NEED proper ballast. I must have said it 4-5 times in this video alone so idk where you think nobody is concerned about safety. Neil messick made an awesome video of his own and used parts of my video in his for this reason as well..

[@RiverValleyLandscaping]

@@BiffsEquipment ballast isn’t going to help when a hose splits with 3000 psi shooting at your face, hydraulics have spikes of pressure when suddenly slamming the bucket off something, I think this shim kit is absolutely fine but we both know someone reads 3000 psi on a hose and is going to shim their loader pretty close to that same pressure...I bought my backhoe with the spring sticking out the bottom of the relief valve so I’m guessing the previous owner was one of those

[@chromeharris]

Biff, what PSI did you eventually settle on?

[@BiffsEquipment]

Hey John, I'm currently at 2,250psi and have been for I think over a year now. I may be going up even higher in a video coming up very soon so stay tuned! So far iv had ZERO ill effects at 2,250psi but I def do not recommend it.. Typically 2000psi is plenty for most guys and is def a save point to be at as 95% of people who increase their pressure are at 2,000 no higher. My tractor is also paid for, and I realize the risks that im taking.. Increasing the pressure is hard on your hydraulic pump, your hydraulic rams, and cylinder seals.. You can also twist your loader frame if your not careful You can also potentially blow a hydraulic line and get hurt so just be careful. So far tho I have had no issues that I can see. Hope this helps!

[@ChromeIndustry]

@@BiffsEquipment That would be an interesting video, I am more than happy following from behind when you go that high! I have found that going from 1850 to 2000 psi, the generator I need to move around during power outages went from just lightly dragging to now I can carry it 6 inches off the ground without fail. I have ballasted rear tires + wheel weights and a full ballast box on the back, and use a quick connect and new style adjustable forks from www.mytractortools.com. Moving 800lbs of concrete off the back of my truck still lifted me up enough that even slamming into float as soon as I broke free of the tailgate almost rolled me. But, I went from dragging around the pallet that night to being able to get it a few inches off the ground a week later. So the main trouble I believe is starting out with a high weight, essentially getting into trouble you can't get out of. Which is less of a PSI issue than an operator running around fool hardy. Glad to hear that you've had no issues setting the psi to 2200, that gives me some relief as to the durability of the systems. My reading of the shop manual find a 'High Pressure Relief Valve' internal to the hydraulic pump has a release pressure of 1991psi - A reason why I don't want to go over 2k is this. Well above the 1850psi spec noted for the shim set relief valve, I don't understand how that valve works within the entire systems and am worried that going too far above will cause issues. My tractor is a 2003, first gen BX1800 with LA211. I wonder if your newer model LA344 has the same internal relief valve. Again I look forward to seeing you run higher and see where it goes. I am going to stick to 2000psi for a while, plenty of power to do what I need right now.

[@bombidude]

What shims did you use? All three in the kits... .004, ,.002, .001...

[@BiffsEquipment]

I couldn't tell you to be honest, every machine is gonna be different because no relief valve spring is the same, every machine will have a slightly different starting pressure and every machine will take slightly more or less shims to get it to the same psi so you just have to do some trial and error and see what gets you to where you want to be. For an example mine was at 1650psi when I got it and I ended up using every shim that the BXPanded kit came with as well as bought 2-3 more shims from my local dealer to finally get me to 2000psi, iv seen others only have to use a couple shims out of the BXPanded kit to get them close to 2,000psi. Hope this helps man and I hope all is well with you! New video coming soon BTW.

[@howardmiller4241]

Ok I have a question , I have a 2017 BX 2380 what shims do u suggest ? Also do I have to buy a pressure gauge and a scale ? Or can I just use the shims you used?

[@BiffsEquipment]

Hey buddy, sorry I’m just seeing this, you can’t just use the exact shims I used as every single relief valve is gonna be different and no spring tension is the same on these machines.. you need to have a gauge to first check your pressure and once you have a baseline you will then add a few shims and recheck the pressure.. you will continue checking the pressure and adding shims until you have it set at the pressure you want. As for what shims to buy, you can still buy all the shims I did, infact I recommend you get all the shims I did, you just may not use as many as I did, or may need more shims then I did to get to that same pressure.. but if you get all the shims I got then you should have plenty to get the pressure where you want it. Hope this helps!

[@howardmiller4241]

@@BiffsEquipment you wouldn’t happen to have a link to the pressure gauge I would need for this would u?

[@BiffsEquipment]

@@howardmiller4241 unfortunately I wouldn’t because your couplers are different from Mine since I own a BX70 and you own a BX80.. Just go on eBay and search “Kubota BX2380 hydraulic pressure gauge” or “BX80 hydraulic pressure gauge kit” they have tons of them online from various websites and the kits come with the pressure gauge and the shims.. or you can buy just the pressure gauge individually as well for your tractor. Lmk how you make out!

[@LongPondNH]

Great vid. Can you please post a link to the shim kit?

[@BiffsEquipment]

Thanks man, I bought most my shims individually but if you buy this kit from bxpanded it will come with all the shims you need, you can also prolly call them and ask to sell you just the shims too they would prolly do it. LINK: www.bxpanded.com/pressure-tester

[@Ron-ds2ob]

You can just go to your local Kubota dealer. Shims are about 50 cents each. Then you won't have to pay $5 or $10 shipping from some online dealers. The .1 shim is part #31351-37970, the .2 shim is the same only 60 for the last 2 numbers, and the .4 is 50 for the last 2 numbers. Hope this helps.

[@LongPondNH]

@@BiffsEquipment Thanks!

[@jaredkelley2583]

So how do I keep from voiding my warranty? Staying under the factory spec? I know the dealer sells shims so clearly they know it can be adjusted. What are your thoughts?

[@BiffsEquipment]

I’ll tell you how.. when you bring it in for repairs just remove the shims lol. There really is no solid way of them knowing you increased your line pressure unless something breaks because of it.. which I doubt would happen long as you don’t abuse it. If you had to go back for warentee work just remove the shims and bring it back to stock.. factory pressure is 1850psi or less I believe

[@jaredkelley2583]

@@BiffsEquipment Haha! I guess if I increase it just enough to be below spec they would never notice LoL

[@Steelaworkn]

Remind me please, are the hose rated at 3,000 psi?

[@BiffsEquipment]

Jeff Fitzmaurice you are correct , 3000psi 👍🏻

[@joatrating385]

You never stated what rpm’s you were running the engine at on any of the tests!

[@BiffsEquipment]

I did, i stated that all test should be run at MAX RPM to ensure you are getting an accurate test.. or at least i thought i did? lol Always do your testing at full revs for consistence and full pump pressure. Thanks for watching!

[@tempboy99]

I really like your videos and I am looking for a good deal on a BX2370 after seeing everything you have done with yours. What was the cost to add the LA344 to yours (round numbers ok).

[@BiffsEquipment]

Hey Tony thanks alot, I'm glad you enjoy watching my videos. You should be able to find a decent deal on a 70 series Kubota now that they are aging a bit with the newest 80 series line-up. The cost to add a loader will be around $3500-$3800 and thats installed and after taxed too I believe. Just make SURE whichever tractor you decide to buy that it comes with a loader valve and the hydraulic manifold already installed. If it does not come with a loader joystick then odds are it has no hydraulics plumbed either for a FEL in which case you would have to spend thousands more to get yourself a loader valve and all of the plumbing which can be very difficult to find on its own and very costly if you even do. Mine had the loader valve and hydraulics so i knew all i needed was the FEL which comes with the loader frame mounts. Hope this helps and goodluck with your search!

[@tempboy99]

@@BiffsEquipment I was able to pick up a BX2370 over the weekend. I think i got a decent deal. Came with the LA243 loader and the 60" mmm. Looks like new was used mostly for mowing. 3 pt hitch and rear pto look new. Loader still has most of the paint in the bucket. Now the fun begins. Ordered the pressure gauge to check my pressures and I will see where it is. Thanks for the reply.

[@BiffsEquipment]

Tony G thats awesome man! You must be super excited, I know I was when I first got my bx, I was dreaming every night of all the projects I wanted to tackle with it and all the things I wanted to do to make it even better. I’m glad to hear it’s in great shape too! Sounds like it may have been used for mowing more than anything.. that’s how my bx was used as well when I bought it, guy owned a huge farm and did nothing but mow with it for 80% of its life. How many hours?

[@tempboy99]

@@BiffsEquipment about 425

[@BiffsEquipment]

Tony G right on man that’s nothing, she’s practically a baby still!

[@CentralNH]

What are the measurements of the shed?

[@BiffsEquipment]

Hey David, my shed is roughly a 20x18 give or take an inch or two either way.. it’s Def large enough to keep the tractor in there and be able to work on it but with the amount of tools and benches I have in my shed I’m quickly running out of space. I plan to extend my shed out off the one side and build like a Lean-Too this way I can free up some space in the shed so that I have more room to work.

[@puddlejumper3534]

Do you find a big difference when you work the machine?

[@BiffsEquipment]

Yes there is a huge difference in power and what I’m able to lift, break out force is increased as well! Thanks for watching!

[@puddlejumper3534]

I put some shims in mine and it’s better. Thanks

[@bombidude]

Where in western Ny are you located?

[@BiffsEquipment]

Near Buffalo, where are you located again?

[@bombidude]

@@BiffsEquipment near glens falls ny

[@BiffsEquipment]

bombidude Right on man. Maybe some day we can go do some tractor work together 🚜

[@bombidude]

@@BiffsEquipment sounds good I'm in