Last push before buying F2690

[628pm]

Guys thank you for your input I am now leaning more to the rear discharge, lamblessed made good points about cleaning underneath, but in many of the discussions I have read is that a good leaf blower will take care of the clippings, of course if the ground is wet then blowing will probably not clear everything. But you just have to take a little time to clean it properly every once in a while.

Now my decision making is turned to 60 inch or 72. If I was just mowing my grass the 72 inch would be the one. But my in-laws place I mow the ditches next to his crops so some places the 72 inch would not work. Going around poles and such I would have to cut a few crops down. Well something to think about.

Again thanks for your input.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

Guys thank you for your input I am now leaning more to the rear discharge, lamblessed made good points about cleaning underneath, but in many of the discussions I have read is that a good leaf blower will take care of the clippings, of course if the ground is wet then blowing will probably not clear everything. But you just have to take a little time to clean it properly every once in a while.

Now my decision making is turned to 60 inch or 72. If I was just mowing my grass the 72 inch would be the one. But my in-laws place I mow the ditches next to his crops so some places the 72 inch would not work. Going around poles and such I would have to cut a few crops down. Well something to think about.

Again thanks for your input.

Quote Originally Posted by Sigarms View Post
I bought JT's old F mower and got it from him with a rear discharge deck.

Still have a side discharge zero turn.

Like the rear discharge better.

In fact you chose the used 60" rear finish mowing deck off the F2680e that Steve Barlow agreed to trade with you instead of the new 72" side discharge mowing deck. I was selling the F3080 to get rid of the side discharge mowing deck since I hated it so bad so I could buy another F3080 with rear discharge mowing deck which is what I did.


Looks like you are not the only one to pick the 60" over the 72" due to reasons that the 60" suits your needs better than the 72". One consideration is the true width of the side discharge with the big chute sticking off the side. Course the chute can the held up when needed or taken off. I just bought a BX2370-1 and the biggest deck was a 60" and doesn't come in rear discharge so I added mulching kit which blocks the side discharge and took the side chute off. Can now mow on both sides of the deck, which I've gotten use to doing with the rear discharge decks, and it also stops the cut grass from blowing on me when there is a bit of a breeze which I have most of the time on my hill. I'd get rear discharge for the keeping cut grass off me if that was it's only benefit!!!!:cool2:

 

[Iamblessed]

I don't care what kind of blower you use you cannot blow off the underside from the top. As there isn't enough room to get too areas plus the fact that if you keep the grease fittings greased every 50 hours as recommended, the grease slings out and collects on the frame which causes dirt and grass to stick to it. Maybe it is just in my area as we have a lot of fire ant mounds. I keep after the ants but they are like most nuisances and keep coming back. I mow most areas at 2 inches as I can spot the mounds before they get too tall. I had a rear discharge pull behind mower previously and used a B2301 to pull it. It give a good cut also but left more grass buildup especially if you let it get very high. Too each his own I guess. I am not complaining about the Kuboka F series mowers as I think they are the best. The one area I would like to see changed is the way you have to adjust the cut height. Something like most zero turns would be great and I think Kubota engineers are smart enough to do it if they tried.

 

[sixdogs]

What is it like with a rear discharge front mounted Kubota mower in that you drive over the grass after you cut it? Are there tire tracks of some sort?

My pull type 7 ft mower doesn't leave a mark other than scattered grass clippings.

 

[628pm]

I guess it wouldn't be any different than a mid mount BX or ZD (zero turn), granted you have 2 more tires going over it.

 

[Iamblessed]

Old age is catching up on me as I had a Kukota B7510 previously and after I got my property leveled enough to suit me I started looking for the best mower for my property and some next to me that is vacant and that I have mowed for eleven years. I agree that the side discharge can blow grass back to you if the wind is right. I mow both sides of my long driveway and I have to make two runs blowing the grass away from the drive. That indicates to me that my mower blows grass over five feet and under most conditions it disperses the cuttings so well you really don't even see them. I am retired and can pick my mowing times so I rarely have to mow when grass is wet. It seems to me that someone that was handy could fabricate an extension for the standard chute and solve the blowing back. I have made several modification to my F2680 to suit me but the blowing back hasn't been much of a problem to me. One thing I would highly recommend is to forget what the manual says about tire pressures. I have settled on 12 pounds all around but mine is two wheel drive and a four wheel drive would probably need another couple of pounds in the rears. I also only run about 25 in the deck wheels and this makes a big difference in comfort. I have 576 hours on mine and can hardly see any tire wear. Does the newer models have a tachometer? Mine didn't and I bought a Tiny Tac diesel and it works good. I mow between 2700 and 2800 RPM's and that is all it needs.
Probably better for fuel usage and engine wear also. These things are loud so hearing protection is a good idea. I bought mine used with either 13 or 17 hours on it so it was basically new. I looked for several months before finding it in Tenn. Someone there bought it and decided that they needed four wheel drive. I live in flat land and have never even needed the diff. lock. I had one spindle start making noise on the deck and had to have the bearings replaced. Dealer told me that there had been some cases of mower decks being assembled with dry bearings.That was around thirty hours and so far there hasn't been any other type of problem with the mower. In any event anything that you buy is a compromise between something and something else. I sold my B7510 and equipment and basically just spent it on my F2680 and have never looked back except for losing my front end loader but I have solved that problem with a used John Deere 425 and adding a Buford bucket. All I really need is a powered wheel barrow. I also added a plastic canopy which really helps in this southern climate. Which ever mode of discharge that you decide on I don't believe that you will regret purchasing an F series mower.

 

[ironpen]

I have an F2690 about 4 months since purchase. The rear discharge is the ONLY way to go. No clumps, beautiful cut no wind rows. Most importantly no clippings spraying all over me. My dealer pushed side dc and had no reason he could give other than that's what most of their mowers came in with. The 72 inch rear dc is really really good. Buy what you wish, of course, but my experiences with side dc in the past has made me vow to never go there again. They are wider for the same cut, if the grass is a little tall, the discharge side mandates which way you have to make your turns to avoid big piles of clippings, etc. I cut about 65 acres per week between here and church....all with rear dc finishing mowers. Luckily about 55 acres of that is with a cab with a/c!! I got rid of all my side dc mowers for good and they are not missed at all. Good luck...the f2690 is a great machine.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

I have an F2690 about 4 months since purchase. The rear discharge is the ONLY way to go. No clumps, beautiful cut no wind rows. Most importantly no clippings spraying all over me. My dealer pushed side dc and had no reason he could give other than that's what most of their mowers came in with. The 72 inch rear dc is really really good. Buy what you wish, of course, but my experiences with side dc in the past has made me vow to never go there again. They are wider for the same cut, if the grass is a little tall, the discharge side mandates which way you have to make your turns to avoid big piles of clippings, etc. I cut about 65 acres per week between here and church....all with rear dc finishing mowers. Luckily about 55 acres of that is with a cab with a/c!! I got rid of all my side dc mowers for good and they are not missed at all. Good luck...the f2690 is a great machine.

I swear I did not write this under a different name. This is from another person that I agree with 100%. Interesting that people that own them seem to like them much more/better than people that don't and have no actual hands on experience with them which happens a lot here on TBN with lots of different items.

 

[628pm]

Guys you have given me some valuable information, I just want a good looking lawn after I am done. My only experience with rear discharge mowers were the ones behind a BX. That experience was very good as how the lawn looked afterwards. As stated before I mow every 7 days or less if needed, most of this year I mowed every 6 days. If you let the grass get long with a side discharge the yard looks awful also. I am just picky and I always over analyze everything. But I have decided I will be ordering a f2690 4wd either Monday or Tuesday. Oh my wife will keep mowing with the bx2680 with side discharge and what she mows looks great.

 

[ironpen]

What is it like with a rear discharge front mounted Kubota mower in that you drive over the grass after you cut it? Are there tire tracks of some sort?

My pull type 7 ft mower doesn't leave a mark other than scattered grass clippings.

No tire tracks at all.