1726E

[jibe717]

I just bought a new 1726E this week, to be delivered soon. I was impressed with the size of this machine for the price that I got it for. I am only going to be using it to run a 6' finish mower and will likely not be putting over 70-80 hours a year on it.

I have also liked Kubota and it was neck and neck between a 2650 Kubota bought from a JD dealer and the 1726E.The difference maker for me was my MF dealer was willing to get me my tractor for the budget that I was looking for and I didn't care to have to haggle with the local Kubota guy for days and weeks on end to get something similiar as the 1726 for the price. Since the 2650 Kubota would have been bought from a non local dealer I really also didn't want to bring an outside tractor to the local guy for future service.

But does anyone have any experience with a 1726E? Or the new MF E series in general?

 

[labhaven]

Congrats. I have a 1734e I purchased in December. I have about 30 hours on it now and am very satisfied so far. I've used it with a rotary cutter, a 5' rear mount snowblower and for loader work cleaning up an old rubble foundation. Plenty of power for the work I have for it and I find the operator platform very comfortable for a tall guy like myself. Our local MF dealership is outstanding.

 

[jibe717]

Thanks labhaven. I also have a 5' rear mount snow blower which I presently have on my 2615. I believe the 1726 is the same weight as the 1734, but do you think the 1726 would handle the blower? I used to have this blower on a L3800 Kubota. I'm thinking not enough HP on the PTO.
I'm also curious as to whether my 2615 will handle a 3 point 2-14 moldboard plow. If not I will put it on the 2615.

 

[labhaven]

I looked at the spec for my blower and it requires a minimum of 18 hp for 5'. I think you would be fine as long as you don't push it. We haven't had really heavy snow but I'm on a corner and get the brunt of the plow's fury. I don't notice any impact on the engine regardless of how hard I push into the snow. What my limitation has been is how fast the blower can feeding the snow and shove it through the chute. I can't speak to using the moldboard plow with it as I haven't tried it yet. I have a 2 bottom moldboard that came new with my '53 MH Mustang. Tractor data is showing 18 hp at the drawbar for the Mustang. I think it would depend on your tires, soil conditions, etc.. I think other TBN folks could speak to this subject better than I. I'm certainly interested in their feedback. Here's a quick vid of my 1734E blowing 10-12 inches of snow. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf7LAF3HZDo

 

[jibe717]

I looked at the spec for my blower and it requires a minimum of 18 hp for 5'. I think you would be fine as long as you don't push it. We haven't had really heavy snow but I'm on a corner and get the brunt of the plow's fury. I don't notice any impact on the engine regardless of how hard I push into the snow. What my limitation has been is how fast the blower can feeding the snow and shove it through the chute. I can't speak to using the moldboard plow with it as I haven't tried it yet. I have a 2 bottom moldboard that came new with my '53 MH Mustang. Tractor data is showing 18 hp at the drawbar for the Mustang. I think it would depend on your tires, soil conditions, etc.. I think other TBN folks could speak to this subject better than I. I'm certainly interested in their feedback. Here's a quick vid of my 1734E blowing 10-12 inches of snow. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf7LAF3HZDo

I am impressed labhaven with how that tractor handled the blower. Awesome! I will not have an FEL on my 1726, but I had no issues with the 3800 Kubota when I blew with it off. Otherwise I do wonder if they make any front weights for these?

Syracuse. You get dumped on I'm sure.

I am getting excited. I'll check with my sales rep this week to see about ETA of delivery.

 

[sdcharger]

I went to Massey Ferguson yesterday and checked out the 1726E. This machine seems like it is a very well made economy tractor. While it has less power than the 34E and 38E, it is using the same engine tuned down to avoid tier 4 emissions equipment. The tractor has the same frame and everything as the more powerful models. PTO power is only 19 hp so if someone want to run tillers, rotary cutters, chippers, etc. that may not be the best model for them.

The price quoted to me was the same as a much smaller Mahindra Max26xl. It's a much heavier tractor with bigger tires so it seems like a good value.

 

[jibe717]

I am very impressed with the bulk of this tractor. The size of the rear end and the frame of this tractor made the kubota's that I looked at look like garden tractors. As I mentioned I will mainly be using mine to run a finish mower. But I will be using my 5' rototiller on it. Mine is still at the dealer as I am hauling it myself but just a couple of days ago I was able to sit on MY tractor and it felt very comfortable with nice access to the controls and a good view. Though I haven't done field time with it I am thrilled with this purchase.

sdcharger, what did they quote you on yours? I am paying 11,900 for my tractor, no FEL or attachments. Gear shift. I checked on Mahindra's too and I wasn't getting a better deal than MF was giving me. Plus that 5 year powertrain warranty is very exceptional.

 

[sdcharger]

They quoted me $16,500 with FEL for the Massey-Ferguson 1726E HST, which was within a few dollars of the Mahindra Max 26xl with FEL. I'm going to hold off making a final decision as I don't think I will buy until I return from a long trip. Mahindra also offers the 5 year powertrain. The Kubota 2650 I looked at was a nice machine with some premium features but priced $2000 more, the operator platform was crowded, and the loader joystick was hitting my leg every time I used it. Both the MF and Mahindra seemed more sure footed than the Kubota.

 

[sdcharger]

I wanted to update the pricing if anyone is researching this model. I looked at the actual paperwork and realized it was quoted at $16,850 last month. I just ordered a 1726ehl and the pre tax price was $16,680, so it's gone down $170. So this tractor has the hydro transmission, R4 tires, and loader. Delivery and loading the rear tires included.

jibe717 I hope you are still happy with your tractor I can't wait to put some hours on mine!

 

[jibe717]

sdcharger, I am very happy with this tractor. I am using it to lay down plastic mulch and have only put about 3 hours on it but I must say it is COMFORTABLE.

 

[sdcharger]

I've used mine to move soil, gravel, and wood. I've pulled a subsoiler through some heavily compacted soil. I'm about to start doing post holes with my new phd. So far I'm loving this machine. Less than 20 hour mark here.

 

[mapper]

I have noticed several threads recently that were about the damage to exposed filters, hydraulic lines, wiring and other vulnerable components under some brands of CUTs. As I was greasing my 1734e last week I did some checking under it for vulnerable bits and pieces, I am happy to say that there does not seem to be much of anything under there that is exposed or unprotected. I did swear a bit at the tight access while changing the hydraulic oil filter but it is reasonably well protected where it is located at.

 

[chsdiyer]

Do tractor prices vary a lot between states? I was looking at the 1726EHL on line at the dealer up the road and they have it listed at $25000 cash or $28000 financed. This comes with a 5' bush hog and FEL. Am I missing something? That prices is exceedingly higher to what others seem to be quoted elsewhere.

 

[MadMax31]

I was quoted 26,000 for the 1736 Premium. Your dealer is mistaken models or thinks your a fool....

And Im in NY- Land of everything overpriced and taxed to death

 

[chsdiyer]

Yeah, it's strange. That one they have packaged with a trailer, fel, and a 6' bush hog for roughly 35,000. Kubota seems to have much better pricing around here. Oddly compared to their 1726, what seems to be a better deal is their 1739EHL. It's got a disk harrow, bush hog, FEL and trailer for 26,500. Charleston is a bit of the land of everything overpriced as well. Particularly cars, and I'm guessing that transfers to the tractor market as well.

 

[Fiziksgeek]

Do tractor prices vary a lot between states? I was looking at the 1726EHL on line at the dealer up the road and they have it listed at $25000 cash or $28000 financed. This comes with a 5' bush hog and FEL. Am I missing something? That prices is exceedingly higher to what others seem to be quoted elsewhere.

Considering that a 1726E with loader and hydro transmission lists for just over $21K I would run screaming from that dealer...unless the brush hog is made of gold...

 

[jibe717]

Just to update my 1726E experience. I put almost 40 hours on it in 2016 and it is a super tractor for the price that MF receives for it. It is very comfortable to operate. It was able to to run my plastic mulch layer better than any other tractor I have used for that job. It handles a 6' finish mower easily. It was able to handle a 6' disc harrow OK as well. Also no problems with a 5' tiller either.

It struggled with a 6' three point field cultivator, though able . It was not able to handle the 2-14 moldboard plow at all. At least not in heavy sod. But I do not have fluid in the tires either. My tires are R-4 industrial. I like the smooth ride on the highway of these tires as opposed to the Ag's I have on my bigger tractors. What I mow isn't lawn per se but these tires are not prone to scuffing either.

I never have tried blowing snow with it. The reasons being that I neglected to put a rear hydraulic outlet on at purchase and my blower chute needs that. So for anyone else looking at a 17xxE series the rear remote is an option and not standard. I don't recall now if I was aware of that either way. I have also now moved up to an 8' blower and blow out with my cabbed 4610. My bet is I would need to fill the rears though in order to run my 66" blower with the 1726E.

I had one issue with the tractor. In mowing my ditch embankments it stalled. It basically ran out of fuel. The tractor has a split tank and at manufacture they did not install a check valve in between the tanks. So my tank was low enough in fuel that all of the fuel went back into the low side tank on the embankment which was opposite of the pump and filter. Called the dealer up. They checked it out and made the diagnosis and ordered the check valve and came back out and installed it. All under warranty. My tractor was down for a week or two while we waited for the part and the dealer to work on it. But it happened during a down time where I wasn't really needing it anyway.

Now if I had it to do over again I would have spent the few extra k's and bought the 1739E model. The tractors are on the same frame, which I love the size of these tractors but I wouldn't mind the extra HP. I can see others not needing the extra HP however and 2-4k is an extra sizable investment. Even myself with my other tractors I'm still ok with this size.

To sum it up I would w/o pause buy another 17xxE series MF tractor. They are priced very fairly and appear to be a very high quality tractor.