Add a ZD to a BX2350 setup?

[sdirge]

Hi,

Currently I am at a dilema, I have a bx2350 with a FEL, MMM, Hydrolic Front Blade, Front Sweeper, Box Blade and landsape rake.

Im really getting sick of pulling the MMM off the tractor and putting it back on, when I do some of the 3pt and FEL work (it seems like I run into a ground clearance problem with the MMM even when its locked in the top position).

I also have the house and a few trees (that my wife wont let me trim down) to mow around, I mow about 3 acres.

My dealer let me have a ZD331 for the week, and even though I suck at driving it it does let me mow faster and easier around the trees and whatnot.

Im currently wondering if I should keep the BX for just the odd jobs (FEL & 3pt work) and get the ZD for mowing. Im also toying with tossing the front blade, broom and front hydrolic setup (I have never used the blade in the last 2 years and I keep trashing the grass with the broom) and adding a rear blade with manual tilt. (Mostly what I do is maintain a small gravel road and 2 driveways).

My questions are am I nuts for getting the ZD, and is there a good way to get leaves or dethatch without the broom like maybe a straw rake?

Thanks!

 

[leonz]

Keep everything you have and do not sell it!!!!!!!!!


If you want to totally eliminate your grass issues you should buy the Land Pride three point hitch mounted flail mower in Kubota colors for you beast of burden as it will cost you so much less to buy and if your dealer is someone you are happy to deal with you can trade in your MMM for the rear mount flail mower and never worry about mowing issues again.


The three point hitch mower will be running at 540 rpm and your tractor will not be running as hard with a lower engine loading due to the rear PTO.


The flail mowers design cuts and recuts and chops and it leaves little to no noticeable grass clippings and it will not dig into the lawn or scalp as easily and I believe you can still order a front roller as an additional option with the land pride mowers to totally prevent scalping which is very handy when you have to transit across asphault drive ways to avoid having the edge of the driveway look like it was attacked by beavers :laughing:

We are on our second Matthews Company Lawn Genie and other than greasing and replacing wear parts its going to run another thirty years with its original B+S I/C 16 horsepower engine.


leonz:thumbsup:



I am seriously considering importing them-motorised flail mowers as they flail mower is the safest type of mowing equipment as it does not throw objects like a mid mount mower or brush cutter does.


Please type "flail mower" in the search box and you will be able to read a lot about them here.

 

[sdirge]

Thanks for the reply!

I considered a 3pt mower, but that is allready about $4000, the ZD is alittle more than twice that ($11000) but its an eaiser to mow with, faster and uses less gas (I think).

I would keep the BX either way, just wanted to toss the front mount and front equipment because I really havent used them in 2 years. And then I can keep the FEL onboard all of the time. Id be keeping the Box, Rear Blade/Rake, Sprayer.

I love my BX, I just hate dealing with the front PTO mount and the MMM removal/attatchment. I have a bad back and dragging the MMM around after I take it off sucks.

Steve

 

[TripleR]

In the end, if you can afford it, it's only money. If a dedicated mower makes life easier go for it. My wife HATES zero turn mowers so...

Now if I would stop buying tractors so we could afford an F3630; whole different story.

 

[Unregistered2013]

i have the same situation as you -- b2400 w/ BH, bucket, etc. -- and MMM --

i went to the ZD331 last year, in addition to the 2400, and it's the only way to go.

i mow 3 acres in 40 minutes -- then spend 30 minutes cleaning the deck --

:confused2:

 

[LBrown59]

Thanks for the reply!

I considered a 3pt mower, but that is allready about $4000, the ZD is alittle more than twice that ($11000) but its an eaiser to mow with, faster and uses less gas (I think).

I would keep the BX either way, just wanted to toss the front mount and front equipment because I really havent used them in 2 years. And then I can keep the FEL onboard all of the time. Id be keeping the Box, Rear Blade/Rake, Sprayer.

I love my BX, I just hate dealing with the front PTO mount and the MMM removal/attatchment. I have a bad back and dragging the MMM around after I take it off sucks.

Steve

Here is how i solved many / most ot the problems you mentioned.

 

[MoKelly]

I'll give you my opinion.

We have about 10 acres of "lawn" that we cut regularly. Really only about 2 acres is lawn and the rest is a field with grass. There are some trees and burms and lots of open spaces.

I originally tried to cut with a zero turn mower. It worked but it took lots of time on the more open spaces. It took about 2 days to get eveything complete.

So, I bought a CUT with a 6 foot rear PTO finish mower. It makes cutting the fields so much faster. Now, my wife and I can both cut at the same time and we can get done in about 1/2 a day.

Bottomline, IMHO there isn't one piece of machinery that can do everything when it comes to grass cutting. You really need a zero turn and a tractor.

MoKelly

 

[ChuckinNH]

Go with your gut, wallet, and desires on the zero turn. As far as getting the leaves, and junk out of my grass goes, I use my grass collector that is powered by the mowing deck to pick up my leaves. It takes time because I have a LOT of leaves, but works. In the spring I tow a pull behind dethatcher all over the place, and then mount the collector, and pick it all up. I've pretty much converted my Yankee country neighborhood to this tactic! Of course, probably a pto driven, or gas engine driven pull behind collector would work better, but I can use neither since my big Simplicity is the only tractor in the world with left hand discharge on the mower.........

 

[keyman1808]

I have a BX24 with a 60"MMM. I have yet to use it. I use my husky still because everytime I need to cut the lawn I also need to haul trees or dig stumps or something else and I dont feel like pulling the loader and backhoe and install the deck then reverse the whole process again. So until my husky dies I'll keep going this way.

As for dethatching someone on here just made a front mounted hydraulic dethatcher. I beleive the treatd was titled "new life to an old dethatcher". Very slick setup. I will build one myself for when the time comes to use the BX.

 

[PHILIP8N]

$4000 for a rear pto finish mower? What size, brand, and model is that? That sounds extremely high. You need to do some more shopping. In 1999 I bought a new Woods RD7200 6' rear discharge mower for $1600. Philip.