Buying Advice B2650/3350 or Lx 2610/3310 cab tractor

Crazykansasan · Feb 25, 2020

Long time member,not many posts. I want to upgrade my 18 year old Bx22 to a cabbed tractor. Was looking at B2650 or 3350. The B3350 was a no go due to history with emission problems. The Lx looks like feasible option. Either of the 26hp tractors have me concerned with the loss of horsepower with the Ac operating. I have talked to dealers in this regard one shrugs it off,the said they put a tractor on their dyno said there was a loss of about 5hp with AC on. Makes me think I want the 33hp. Dealers in my area have had few and between 2650 3350s. Was able to operate an open station 2650 a few weeks ago, no cab unit available. Found another that had both open station and cabbed 2650 and 3350s. Dealer said they had been getting more than usual deliveries (maybe Kubota is trying to reduce their inventory for the Lx) I drove both a 26 and 33. I like the cab. The ride was harsh I overlooked suspension was not adjusted. My largest concern was the noise from the hydro-static drive, I do not believe that I could operate tractor without hearing protection. I discussed this with both the salesman and shop manager. Was told some units were noisier than others. Also it would get better after a few hours. Anyone who has a cabbed b2650 or b3350 what is your experience?

ovrszd · Feb 25, 2020

Good questions neighbor. Hope you get some worthy advice here.

robstaples · Feb 25, 2020

I have the B3350 cab unit 2012 ish. Got thru all the revisions and it runs great. I cut my grass with it and will be down sizing this year. BX2680 is to be delivered next week. The B is too heavy for my yard and frankly too big for my yard. I cut and pickup ( rear pto bagger)my grass in 20 minutes.
I will be selling it this spring. To your questions:
It is very comfortable but I always wear hearing protection. Added fancy radio first thing. Turn it up load to listen with ear protection on. Most noise is from transmission, got a little quieter with transmission oil change. Operation: learned to run above 2200 rpm no matter what. I idle around on my l39 (2007) pre tier4. It regens about 2 times per year. I love to cut on a hot day with the AC running. nothing to add about ride. I don’t go fast cutting.
Not selling because of problems with tractor except it tears up my yard. About 3000 lbs with cutter and vacuum. I have fel, used once. L39TLB does all my lifting and digging.

SDT · Feb 25, 2020

Crazykansasan said:
Long time member,not many posts. I want to upgrade my 18 year old Bx22 to a cabbed tractor. Was looking at B2650 or 3350. The B3350 was a no go due to history with emission problems. The Lx looks like feasible option. Either of the 26hp tractors have me concerned with the loss of horsepower with the Ac operating. I have talked to dealers in this regard one shrugs it off,the said they put a tractor on their dyno said there was a loss of about 5hp with AC on. Makes me think I want the 33hp. Dealers in my area have had few and between 2650 3350s. Was able to operate an open station 2650 a few weeks ago, no cab unit available. Found another that had both open station and cabbed 2650 and 3350s. Dealer said they had been getting more than usual deliveries (maybe Kubota is trying to reduce their inventory for the Lx) I drove both a 26 and 33. I like the cab. The ride was harsh I overlooked suspension was not adjusted. My largest concern was the noise from the hydro-static drive, I do not believe that I could operate tractor without hearing protection. I discussed this with both the salesman and shop manager. Was told some units were noisier than others. Also it would get better after a few hours. Anyone who has a cabbed b2650 or b3350 what is your experience?

Do not expect HST noise to reduce with time.

AC does take noticeable HP but I doubt it is 5 PTO HP for a 2650/3350. Still, a 5 PTO HP reduction is more than a 25% reduction for the 19.5 PTO HP 2650.

The forthcoming LX series has an improved spring suspension seat.

If you want a 2650, buy it now as Kubota is no longer producing any.

SDT

chim · Feb 25, 2020

Not exactly the models you're talking about, but I believe there may be some info you can consider for starters.

I've had 3 HST Kubotas. B7500 HST, then L3200 HST and now L4240 HSTC. The first two were open station. I think the B7500 had around 1,000 hours on and the L3200 about 530 hours when I sold them. Hours didn't make them quiet.

The B7500 had a fair amount of whine, but it was tolerable. Switching to Super UDT2 helped some.

The L3200 was a good bit louder. In a baseball cap or no hat, it was bearable. If I wore a hat with a brim, the noise was too much without hearing protection. The brim of the hat reflected the noise to my ears. After I added the homebrew cab, hearing protection was necessary regardless of what I had on my gourd. Using Super UDT 2 for a hydraulic oil change didn't do much to help.

The factory-cabbed L4240HSTC is quiet enough that I don't need ear protection. It isn't "Mother's Buick Quiet" but the noise isn't objectionable. While operating the RFM, the noise level is high enough that it interferes with listening to the radio. To describe it accurately, the noise is not that bad itself, but the radio has to be turned up too loud to compensate.

You'll need to evaluate your HP requirements. When I went shopping the last time, the goal was to get something that would run a wider RFM and have A/C. The 32 HP L3200 was pretty much maxed when running the 6' RFM on hills. Figured an extra 5 HP to go with a 7-1/2' deck and another 5 for the A/C. That bumped the targeted HP to 42. After looking for the best part of 2018 this clean used L4240 came along. Very satisfied with the way it worked out

skipperbrown · Feb 26, 2020

I have a 2650. Anyone who tells you the HST will get quieter over time is trying to sell you a tractor! When mowing 3 to 5" lawn with a mmm, the 2650 cruises along with no issues. Pulling a 5' brush cutter through 18 to 24" heavy field grass will really load down the engine. Lifting a full load of gravel in the bucket is not taxing at all. If you are going to be pushing the limits of the tractor, I think running an a/c unit on top of the load is going to be a frustrating experience. However, if you are doing mostly light work, it should work fine. I have been told if I have to shout to be heard, you need ear protection or hearing damage will occur.