4500P

[johara1]

How does the engine hold up compared to the other liquid gas engine? I see where Fd 851D is rated for 30 degrees where the others are down at 20 degrees?. jim

 

[Machinery Poor]

Can't really give a comparison between engines since I only have limited experience with Ventrac. I purchased a 4500P new in April, 2016. I have about 150hrs on it now. I chose the 4500P, equipped with the Kawasaki digital fuel injected engine because it is rated for continuous operation on 30 degree slopes. So far I could not be more impressed with this unit.

 

[johara1]

This why i ask, i have some steep hills. The little extra cushion of 30 degrees is nice. Enough power to run a 72" mower up hill? ……. jim

 

[Machinery Poor]

Jim, it has plenty of power. I have the 72" side discharge deck with mulch kit installed. I have up to 28 degree slopes and this combination works with no issues.

 

[johara1]

Do you have any heating problems , like the other ones blocking the radiator ? …. jim

 

[Machinery Poor]

No overheating issues. I do take my backpack blower and clean all dust, grass, etc off everything after every mowing and also remove radiator screen and blow it out also. Never really accumulates much debris but I am kinda ocd about cleaning, washing and maintenance. These things cost a small fortune and I want it to last and perform as well as possible. I even scrape the underside of the deck after every mowing. I mow 10+ acres weekly. The flip up deck design makes cleaning a breeze. Do it immediately after mowing before the clippings dry and it is about 10min job.

 

[prs]

Some of my sloes exceed 30 degrees and mine is the Kubota gasoline model. The Diesel and Kubota gas engines are OK on these slopes so long as the duty is not continuous for fairly long periods without going back to 20 or changing the direction of the slope. In excess of 20 degrees, my longest linear run is probably only a hundred yards or so, no big deal. It pushes and pull the 84" mower well up/down all around. But, the REAR discharge mowers are the ones that require frequent clearing of the radiator screen.

prs

 

[johara1]

Thanks, for all the help, i have been kicking around the 4500P. Now the hard part $$$$….. lol ..jim

 

[Machinery Poor]

Go for it Jim. I have been mowing my property with 4wd equip for the past 28yrs, sitting on uphill side fender to keep from rolling over. Sliding down to the edge of my fishing hole where I would have to hook chains up and pull uphill with my truck or the other JD 4wd tractor. I love my JD equip and still have it, but it does not compare to the Ventrac for mowing or doing anything on slopes. For the first time in 28yrs I feel safe operating equip on my property. Wish I had purchased a Ventrac many yrs ago. Yes, they are expensive, but what isn't? Consider your safety and what risk you take whenever you climb aboard your equip. That is what I did and that is when I said bring me a 4500P. I'm amazed every time I use it, and my property has never looked this good. Go for it Jim, you won't be disappointed.
Mike

 

[johara1]

Well i bit the bullet today, 4500P should be coming up the drive way today………. LOl…. jim

 

[johara1]

It made it with a new bucket with teeth. to hot out there now heat index is a 100 degrees. Morning i will go over it ……. jim

 

[Machinery Poor]

Congratulations Jim. I know it's a big financial decision, but I don't believe you will regret it. I've had my 4500P 4 months now and love it more everyday. I've added some mods to mine that make it even more special. Glad you decided on the 4500P. Good luck to you!!!.
Mike

 

[murphy1244]

Congratulations Jim. I know it's a big financial decision, but I don't believe you will regret it. I've had my 4500P 4 months now and love it more everyday. I've added some mods to mine that make it even more special. Glad you decided on the 4500P. Good luck to you!!!.
Mike

Ok Give, what cool mods you done? Us owners need to know. Would love to see some kind of tool box mount. Maybe start a thread on Ventrac mods?.

 

[Machinery Poor]

Ok Give, what cool mods you done? Us owners need to know. Would love to see some kind of tool box mount. Maybe start a thread on Ventrac mods?.

Hey Murph. My 4500P is equipped from the factory with dual front hydraulics (running bucket with grapple and snowblower). It also has the 12vlt front plug for snowblower chute deflector. I have added an led bar light to the front of the snowblower to try to escape the glare of snow dust. The headlights on the Ventrac are pretty much blocked by the snow thrower so other owners have also modded some sort of light source. Got my tractor in April, 2016 so I have not used the snow thrower yet but it is ready when the time comes. I added another bracket to hold another front 12vlt plug and put the other plug end not the snowblower so when I hook up to plow I just plug in both 12vlt plugs and everything looks as if it came from the factory. I also wired a rear led light bar on top of the rope and it interchanges with a compact strobe light when working or mowing by the roadway. I will attempt some pics. Hope this makes sense. I added a switch just like the factory headlight, work light and strobe switches to operate the light on the snow thrower. I placed it in the dash where there are three blanks covers for extra switches.

 

[Machinery Poor]

/Users/joncole/Pictures/Photos Library.photoslibrary/Masters/2016/06/17/20160617-171140/IMG_2247.JPG

 

[johara1]

My first change is to eliminate the seat switch…… second will be how to turn the fan around for winter…. lol. the other is to figure out how to make the greasing of the drive shaft easier, and do something with the floor….. jim

 

[murphy1244]

I put on a Femco top and a rear 12 volt for a sprayer. I use a golf cart rain guard in the winter and hit the trans fan reverse switch for some heat.

 

[MountainBuck]

I just finished 3 hour mow on my 4500P with the rear discharge rough cut mower deck, which brings me up to a total of 10 hours so read my impressions based on I'm new to this tractor.

I also wanted the Kawasaki engine because I have very steep slopes on my property. The dealer heavily suggested the Kubota engine because of a slight HP advantage but I went with the Kawasaki anyway.

When the dealer delivered, he said he didn't sell many of these engines but remarked that the engine was very smooth and it was nice not having to deal with a choke.

While mowing today I finally had the courage to mow my steepest hill which is 30 degrees and in one area goes slightly steeper. I felt so secure that I was going across and not up and down when it started a light rain. Right at the very end I could feel a slight slippage in the rear but I don't think I slid more than a few inches. That is when I started mowing up and down and not across. I had the weight transfer lever engaged all of the time at the fullest extent.

Final impression. Way more power than I needed. The Kawasaki engine is very powerful, does not "hunt" or "surge". When mowing at these slopes, the engine does need to be almost at full throttle or the hydraulics whine a bit.

One observation is that the engine manual says to change oil at 8 hours but not filter, so that is what I did. Oil drain is repositioned to a nice location which I liked. However, when the oil came out it had a slight "sheen" through it like there was a suspension in it. At first I thought this was just metal left over from machining, but now my best guess is that it is part of the break-in oil that had possibly a polishing media in it. Dunno. Tried searching for that on web but came up empty. Contemplated changing oil again this time with filter but then again, don't want to second guess the design engineers. Whatever the case, I would certainly recommend following the manual and changing at the 8 hour mark.

 

[prs]

The oil supplied with the engine is almost certainly the same oil recommended for you to use in the engine manual. Ventrac, in your owner's manual, makes a strong pitch for their private label oil. However, if there was a sheen of metallic glitter in the engine, you need to report that to the dealer.

I also run the tough cut on slopes that exceed the suggested max by quite a bit. I found that the wheel kit was a costly, but appreciated addition and I have settled on having it set to cat at about 5" height. The rough cut is not all that heavy and I get less bounce on rough ground with the weight transfer at one or even two notches lower than max.

prs

 

[johara1]

I think if were me and i saw anything in the oil, i would have taken a sample and had it tested. If any metal showed up in the sample it would have been on record, they would have a hard time getting out from under a replacement engine if it went south. ……… jim