IBC Totes With A Sub Compact Tractor? Is It Even Worth It?

So you've seen about 1,000 people using IBC totes for firewood storage... But, you have a Sub Compact Tractor that comes very much short of lifting a full basket. So, is it even worth it to use them???

[@Living-The-Dream]

A larger tractor is in your future…….no doubt 👍👏🇺🇸 Rick

[@wildbill23c]

Yeah the BX series is nice, but they have a lot of limitations due to their size, or lack of LOL. I love my BX2680 because of the places I can get into with it, but for firewood processing, the BX is not the correct machine, neither is the B series. An LX maybe, an MX would probably be best. Or a skidsteer would honestly be a wiser decision overall for firewood yard work.

[@robertzapatka1082]

Geez Sam making me think this early in the morning hurts my head. Great video as usual!

[@sunseeker6088]

Good info.

[@edsecorr7812]

Keep up great work

[@samsdoinstuff]

Thank you!!! I'll do my best 👌

[@botabob]

Sam, I would love to manage my firewood using IBC totes. I have a BX1850 and you are right, the BX has a very limited lift. I built a carry all for the back, but it too is to small to get any real work done splitting firewood. I love my carry all though for other reasons. So, like you I started to split into a 4x8 tow behind trailer and get about a third of a cord into it before I need to stack the wood. Maybe one day I can get a dump trailer to make the stacking easier. Good video - enjoy the journey - cheers

[@samsdoinstuff]

Thank you so much!!! Agreed 👍 It almost makes it worth it to lift the totes with the 3PT but what then? You can't dump them. Unless you have a machine that can lift and dump 1,000 + lbs, they're only good for sorting. Love the 4x8 trailer. So handy around the property 👌

[@schickstead]

I shimmed my hydraulic relief pressure spring, and it made a HUGE difference in lift capacity.

[@samsdoinstuff]

I did too. I stopped at 1,850 psi though. That's the top of the factory recommended specs. I know others have successfully gone higher.

[@MJADoingStuff]

Well you could sell the BX and get a LX!!!😁👍Sounds like a good plan to me. If you are going to use it for a firewood Business I believe you can write it off at tax time. Just a thought. Thanks for the video😁👍🚜💨🍳

[@RavensRidgeNC]

Sub'd - bx owner here, looks like you're doing similar stuff - appreciate the vid!

[@clarkharms]

I had a Kubota l3901, it could barely lift a tote full of unseasoned red oak to stacking height. I got rid of that and bought a tym t-25, it can lift that same tote to stacking height but it really struggles. It does feel more stable than the Kubota. After the wood seasons for a few months it can lift the wood no problem. I don’t think any other sub compact tractor can lift like the tym t-25. It is awesome and much less $ than a Kubota.

[@samsdoinstuff]

I keep thinking about an LX3310 (no time soon, I assure you) but I wonder if it will make much difference in the FEL capacity. My BX is shimmed to 1,850 psi and I don't want to go any higher. Thank you for the info on the other tractor! Always good to be informed 👍

[@romanmetcalf4116]

I have an m4900. The lift capacity is not a problem. 330 gallon of water will be about 2700 lb after the container. I don’t have forks. Even clamp on forks will be 3/4 the cost of the project. Could you carry one of them in a loader?

[@samsdoinstuff]

Good question. The most I've ever lifted with my forks is a 730 lb concrete pillar. I could only get it 25 inches off the ground. If I want to lift more, I'll need a bigger tractor 👍

[@ArborActive]

Wow. So glad I went with the Compact. My Kioti 2610 will lift the full tote, but definitely still have to be careful driving over anything bouncy. Just enough to make it so it saves a bit of time loading to full totes in the truck if I have to drive wood anywhere. Check it out if you want to see what the Compact will do for you! kzbin.info/www/bejne/g52yeIafadmtjpo

[@wildbill23c]

I'm on the same page as you are with those IBC totes and a BX tractor. Just useless IMO. For the amount of wood you can move in that IBC tote, you can put about the same amount in the bucket of the tractor, well if the bucket was larger, you could put more in the bucket due to the bucket being closer to the pivot pins of the loader, where that IBC tote sticks out there pretty far, add to that the weight of your pallet forks, it significantly reduces your lift capacity just with the tote and pallet forks alone before you even add wood to the picture. Well I guess that would lift high enough for a non-lifted pickup, but so many people where I live think they need 6+ inch lift kits on their trucks so no it won't lift high enough, but it'll definitely lift high enough to load onto a trailer...which seems to be a more common thing in my area due to the ridiculously high lifted pickups that run around my area. Ballast is a huge issue with these machines too, they don't weigh enough to really lift loads like that. My BX2680 struggles with my Landpride RTR0550 roto-tiller on a pallet, I have my 48" box blade on the back and add 4 of the 42 pound suitcase weights to the box blade and that is still marginally OK...really need a couple more weights to make it more stable. Even then the roto-tiller and pallet pretty much have the loader maxxed out anyways, doesn't help that I had to get heavier pallet forks than I should have on this tractor all because nobody seems to be able to get the lighter duty ones where I live so I have the Titan 42" pallet forks, that setup is pretty heavy LOL, but it works ehh ok for most tasks. Do you have the hydraulic pressure turned up in your BX? With that setup I'd cut the top 1/2 of that IBC cage off, that'll cut some of the weight down a bit for lifting purposes especially since there's no way that tractor will even lift that thing if you filled it even 1/2 full. They make smaller size IBC totes, which is what I was thinking about doing, but the price on IBC totes is so ridiculous it is far from worth it. I thought about doing an IBC tote in the smaller size or cutting a full size in half and load it with firewood to sit on my back patio for quick access for the woodstove in the house when the weather is really bad. Other than that, like you I see no point to IBC totes. Mike Morgan seems to find them useful, but even his way of unloading them is a huge waste of time due to the size of bucket he has on his skidsteer he could more quickly load a trailer or truck just with the bucket alone and not have to fiddle with that IBC tote, course if the front was hinged like you were talking about, it would work great, but not in the standard configuration that IBC totes come in. Now if you could rig the thing up so you could tip the whole thing over and dump right out the top, it would be even better, but I'm not aware of any loaders that have that much forward tilt capability.

[@samsdoinstuff]

I saw a skidsteer with forks that rotated 180° to dump the entire basket. And, of course, a skidsteer can lift a full tote with ease. I'm really concentrating on a setup where I can scoop bulk firewood with my bucket and load directly into my dump trailer or the bed of a pickup. My hydraulics are tuned to the upper end of the factory specs. Around 1,850 psi. I have 1 more shim that would take it up to about 2,000 but I'm weary of going that high.

[@wildbill23c]

@@samsdoinstuff That explains why you are lifting stuff that my BX2680 won't lift LOL. Kind of figured you bumped the pressures up. A skidsteer with that dump angle would be great, but I'd think having the front of a IBC tote hinged would be a good option anyways, or at least have it so you could remove the front completely one one for unloading purposes.