HST or manual shift on B series?

[iptman]

I'm looking for opinions/pluses/minuses on the manual shift vs HST on the B series tractors. Anyone had both (on any series) and have direct comparison? I have 2.5 acres, mostly grass and flat. Uses will be mostly mowing and some yard/dirt work.

[oldnslo]

HST is great for frequent speed and direction of movement changes like FEL work.

Gear is better for constant speed heavy pulling ground engagement type work like chisel plowing.

I suspect that if you do a search on this you will have more reading and opinions than you carre to look at.

[Gary Fowler]

I have a gear drive 70 HP tractor and a hydrastatic drive B26 Kubota. The B26 is so much quicker than the gear drive in loader work and also much easier to inch forward or backward when needing to. For 2.5 acres, I wouldnt look at anything but hydro drive for mowing or any other task. If you had to mow 20-40 acres a gear drive would be preferable to holding down the hydro pedal for hours. Some of the higher end tractors with lots of bells and whistles have a cruise control on them, but I have never used one so I cant say anything about their operation.

[bikerdib]

My vote, HST. FEL work and mowing is done much quicker with HST because there is less time spent during the change of direction and making speed change while underway is much easier. Take mowing for example, you are in short grass moving quickly but approching tall grass; you simple back off the pedal to slow down. With gear you would have to manually shift gears requiring a stop. Then when you want to speed back up, another gear shift. On larger tractors doing mainly heavy pulling I think I'd prefer gears but on the B you can't beat HST. I recently replaced my gear drive JD mower with a HST JD and I now wonder why it took me so long to do so.

[wcampbell47]

I have both in the B series. I bought a B7510 several years ago with gear. 3 forward with H & L range. Great little tractor. Pro - you can set your speed by RPM and gear selection. Con - reversing direction with the clutch means you disengage the PTO. You have to time your shift just right or there can be a lot of gear grinding.

About this time last year I bought a B3200 with HST. Far superior for mowing a lawn with back and forth motion. PTO stays engaged as you change from forward to reverse. The B3200 comes standard with 'cruise control' which is a lever that can be engaged to maintain a constant speed. A B3300 is basically the same tractor without a mid PTO.

I prefer a mid mount mower as opposed to a tow behind finish mower. With the FEL detached you have a lawn tractor on steroids. Con - more difficult to mount and dismount the mower.

[JOHNTHOMAS]

I've bought 13 Kubotas in 10 years. Number 12 was a geared B2320 which mostly brought about number 13, to get rid of number 12 after about 10 hours of use......... my first and last geared Kubota.
I've gotten used to letting off the pedal and my tractor stopping which an HST does but a geared doesn't. I've gotten used to controlling my forward speed, stopping and reversing and reversing speed with my foot while keeping my hands on the steering wheel and FEL lever for those with FEL.
About the only thing that I have heard from people preferring a geared over HST is the lose of some HP with HST. Guess I've never had to little HP that a fraction less of HP would have made any difference to me. Most Kubotas I've owned have had more HP than the tires/traction could handle soooo the lose of HP to HST vs geared ............well, for me that has never been any thing to consider. HST costs a few dollars more and I have found out through my experience that the HST is well worth the difference over the cheaper geared units. I think it is usually more for the cheaper than the usability factor that people go geared vs HST. There are also those that believe the "the old ways/stuff iis better than the new ways/stuff" fable. In my opinion most new stuff is better than the old stuff and that's why the old stuff is gone and people are buying the new stuff.
Just my experience/opinion which may be of no value but I believe it and am sticking to my story.

[bandit67]

Uses will be mostly mowing and some yard/dirt work.

My very first compact machines back in the 80s & 90s were geared, and used for mowing, snow removal, FEL work, etc. Even back then, I had complaints with the extra time spent changing gears between forward & reverse, wishing direction changes could be accomplished quicker. HST has made tractor work so much more efficient, whether mowing, FEL work, snow removal, the list goes on.

On machines the size of the B series, you are obviously not dealing with major ground engaging work such as plowing (otherwise you'd be looking at much bigger machines), so I'd highly recommend going with the HST. You will NOT be dissapointed in the overall work efficiency vs. a geared tractor.

[CobyRupert]

Real men clutch!

[RobertN]

I had a "B" series for 12 years. I can not see any reason to get one in a gear transmission. I have driven gear tractors; they work just fine. But for that 0-10 acre range, and lots of moving about an going back and forth to tasks, a HST is perfect. That is really the heart of what a compact tractor with HST is designed for. Regardless of brand; it could be a Kubota, a JD, a NH etc. Compact tractor with HST; that is their market niche.

I like driving a stick in a car/truck. Gear tractors are just fine. But, for zipping around, loading, unloading, making small adjustments while mowing, scraping etc, HST is a shoe in.

[oldballs]

Real men clutch!

Yeah, and they don't have cabbed tractors or scoped rifles.