2720 Specs

[MessickFarmEqu]

If JD hopes to steal sales away from Kubota's B3030, they need a 3 range hydro on the new 2720. Unfortunately, the owner's manual, which is the only literature we or any of the dealers can look at right now, says it'll be a 2 range hydro.

They'll also need to get away from using the 200cx loader on all these machines. That loader is sized to a subcompact, I can see stretching it to the 2320 by upping the hydraulic pressure, but you gotta draw the line here. If this is going to compete with the B3030, it will need a loader made for more than a subcompact tractor. Heck Kubota's got an LA203,LA243,LA304,LA362,LA402,LA403 all specificly sized to the tractor. Deere is using 1 loader to cover this entire range, defentialy not performance matched to all those tractors.

 

[stimpee]

Interesting development, but as others have said, and as Neil outlined in the post before mine, there are a few key things on this tractor that would be a deal killer for me, and would have put me into the same B3030 decision that I made.

These 2 things are the 2 range hydro, and the loader.

I mow flat out in medium range on my B3030 pretty much all the time. The tractor goes around 5.5-6mph under this condition, with my 72" MMM. 1-1.5mph less speed would be a killer for me. It would cost me 20-30 minutes every single time I cut the grass...

Steve

 

[putt_putt_green]

I'm a little confused on the 3 range versus 2 range thing.

Take this hypothetically. If a 3 range tractor allows speeds of 0-5, 6-11, and 12-17 over 3 ranges, wouldn't a 2 range transmission on this same tractor allow speeds of 0-8, and 9-17? I'm sure the 2 range tractor isn't just missing the middle range and giving you speed of 0-5 and 12-17.

And I would think this would be preferential for all the HST operators who don't like to shift.

 

[stimpee]

My limited experience here:

Kubota 3 range (rough numbers)
L: 0-3 mph
M: 0-6 mph
H: 0-13mph

JD (really rough, just guessing to make a point)
L: 0-4.5
H: 0-12

Now, on my Kubota, I can mow in medium, at full speed, at 6mph. I can easily slow down if needed to mow very heavy stuff.

On the Deere, I may not be able to mow at all in high range at half pedal to achieve 6 mph, since the high range of the hydro may not give me the power needed to mow in that range. So, I might be forced to mow in L, which would give me a max speed of 4.5mph vs my 6.

In most cases, the high range is typically designed for low load, high speed, and vice versa for the low. The medium is just as it sounds, a good happy medium. I don't shift much at all. 90+% of my time is spent in Medium range.
Low only gets used for heavy loader work so far (where vs the Deere the Bota has another advantage in that it is geared lower, for more grunt when in low range). High only gets used for "transport" or for "fun"....

 

[putt_putt_green]

OK, I was taking this from a gear point of view. I haven't used an HST other than in a parking lot.

So with my gear tractor, I get 3x4 for a total of 12 different gear ratios. So if I had got the HST, would I only have 3 gear ratios?

 

[stimpee]

Only if you bought the Kubota. With the Deere you would get 2 "gear ratios".

But make sure you think about the fact that with a gear tractor, at a given engine speed for the PTO operation, you get 12 choices of tractor forward speed.

With the HST, you get essentially infinite control over the forward speed up to the maximum for that given range selected.

 

[MessickFarmEqu]

I'm a little confused on the 3 range versus 2 range thing.

Take this hypothetically. If a 3 range tractor allows speeds of 0-5, 6-11, and 12-17 over 3 ranges, wouldn't a 2 range transmission on this same tractor allow speeds of 0-8, and 9-17? I'm sure the 2 range tractor isn't just missing the middle range and giving you speed of 0-5 and 12-17.

And I would think this would be preferential for all the HST operators who don't like to shift.

What your missing is the gear ratio's that you get from having an extra range. For example, say Deere uses a 5:1 for low and 8:1 for high, while Kubota can use 3:1, 6:1 and 9:1. This stuff is not really published, but the B will push/pull nearly 50% more than the Deere will because of this extra range.

 

[2Malamutes]

What your missing is the gear ratio's that you get from having an extra range.

If the big complaint with high is that there isn't enough power at the "mowing speed" in the current models, then a 20% torque increase ought to go a long way towards solving that. There are a whole lot of other things besides a 3 range I'd like to have seen.

 

[jcmseven]

MFE,

I am not sure I buy the pulling difference due to the additional range. Can you explain further why this would offer more pulling power. To me, it seems it would mainly offer more precise control of RPM and PTO implements in the mid range, but at 31 gross HP and around 1900# the 2720 should be able to pull quite well with just two ranges, although I too feel three would be better.

John M

 

[AKfish]

JD "marketing geniuses" got it wrong on a great gear utility tractor a year or so back, too.

The 5105 and 5205 --- now discontinued. Plently of power and a great power/wt. ratio. But folk's were frustrated by the hi-lo range when using the tractor to bale hay, etc.

Either way too fast or way too slow!

Sometimes we all have to "pee on the electric fence" before we "get it"!

AKfish