B3030 or B2630

[qed-cat225]

I have 5 acres of lawn to mow and another 8 to brush cut and also will do some light landscape work in the yard like moving gravel mulch etc, putting in flower beds. Also plan on using a box scraper to smooth out some soil now and then. Any suggestions on which unit? I have been told by king kutter a 48" rotary cutter is the largest this unit could handle. Right now I have no plans for a backhoe but who knows down the road.....any input would be appreciated

 

[The Gardener]

It sounds like the rear PTO is an important part to your long term plans [or potential tractor use]. For this reason alone, I would suggest that you add the B7800 to your comparison list. It has a little more hp than the B2630 in both the engine and PTO categories.

They're all terrific tractors. I am sure based on TBN, owner feedback that you would love any one of these choices. It might come down to features and/or their layout of levers, etc.

The B3030 is the only one of the three that offers a cab w/ heat and A/C. That may or may not be of interest to you [now or down the road]. I believe the B3030 can lift a bit more than the other two in its FEL. It has the highest rated PTO hp of the three. Again, you're probably splitting hairs in every category.

Best of Luck ... it will be a great choice no matter which one you choose!

The Gardener

 

[ronjhall]

I have a B2910 (B3030 is new model). Have a JD 513 rotary cutter. This is a light duty rotary cutter. Tractor handles this cutter OK for weight. But in heavy grass it will bog down. I just let up on the pedal to get RPM's to raise back to PTO speed. I believe that the B3030 is better suited to running even a 48" rotary cutter. This one attachment requires more HP than any other attachment I have. Plan on spending about 1 hour per acre if heavy grass.

A box blade will work with the B3030. But since the tractor is light weight will require some added weight to use box blade best. Loaded tires may be required. Both of these tractors can have 2 sets of remotes added. This will allow Top and Tilt cylinders to be added to 3PH. These option make box scraping much easier. But the high cost may not be worth it for occasional use.

The 72" MMM works well with my tractor. Cutting 5 acres would put this on my list of needed attachments on a new tractor. Plan on spending 2 1/2 hours cutting this size area if not to many obstacles.

Doing the other projects on your list should be no problem with either tractor.

 

[lawn_king]

Both machines will get the work done for you. If they are close in price, go for the 3030. I have not 1 complaint about my 3030. The 3030 sells more than the 2630, 5 to 1 would be my guess around here (tbn).

 

[ChuckinNH]

In driving both, but having no experience on either, I found that the three cylinder engine in the B2630 to be smoother, and a little quieter. The four cylinder engine in both the B7800, and B3030 that I drove seemed to have a high frequency vibration especially at full pto rpm. Lawnking is sure right about the B3030 being more popular as some high volume dealers don't even stock the B2630, and I think a B3030 might sell quicker, and for more if you needed to do that. In my mind, the B3030 is better if you need the pto hp for brush hogging, etc., but the B2630 makes a lot of sense if you want the size, and hydraulic capacity for TLB work, etc. I personally "like" the B2630 best since I have no need for the extra pto hp, but would like the backhoe ...... well, maybe if I decide on a larger chipper, and can't use a cab (darn) in my situation. It is a very smooth, and pleasant machine to operate...
Chuck

 

[teeravis1]

I have a B3030, and have no complaints about it, it will easily get the work done that you described. As for the B7800 & B2630, I can't speak on their behalf, but everyone on this forum seems very happy with their B7800's also.

 

[Sully2]

I have 5 acres of lawn to mow and another 8 to brush cut and also will do some light landscape work in the yard like moving gravel mulch etc, putting in flower beds. Also plan on using a box scraper to smooth out some soil now and then. Any suggestions on which unit? I have been told by king kutter a 48" rotary cutter is the largest this unit could handle. Right now I have no plans for a backhoe but who knows down the road.....any input would be appreciated

I went with the B3030 instead of the 2630 because it was only ( at that time..??.) $1000 more in costs AND the fact that both have their rated power at / near 2700 RPM which I never run mine that hard unless IM traveling on the road ( for fastest MPH as I can get)

Normal operation RPM's for ME is closer to 2000-2100.

I use mine for the sort of things you describe EXCEPT for the mowing part and MIGHT someday install a BH..if for no other reason that just to say "Ive got one"....

If you remotely think you MAY go with very many impliments..get all the HP you can buy NOW! "Upgrading" is an impossability...you have what you have..period

 

[doctord23]

I went with the 2630 because my dealer sold it to me for $2000 less than the 3030. I think it might have been on the lot for awhile. I could have bought a 7800 for nearly the same price as the 2630, but I wanted the position control and other deluxe features of the **30's.
My property is on steep terrain and the machine works great. I've only brushhoged about an acre of heavy grass so far (I still have clearing to do) but I didn't notice any lack of HP issues. I usually run at about 2200 RPM.
It makes sense to get the most HP you can if the budget justifies it, but so far I am very satisfied with my purchase.

 

[Tom_H]

I have been told by king kutter a 48" rotary cutter is the largest this unit could handle.

There are people who run 48" brush hogs on BX1800, 1830, 1850. A B2630 or 3030 will definitely handle larger.

You do need to match what you're cutting with the type of unit.

Regardless of width, rotary cutters, aka. rough cutters, brush hogs, come in Light Duty, Medium Duty, and Heavy Duty models. The differences are in the strength of the frame and the mass of the blades. LD is for pasture grass. HD will cut weeds 10 ft. or more and even sapplings 2 inches thick. MD is in between these two. All units have a stump jumper: a spindle pan with two free pivoting blades attached on opposite sides of the pan. If a blade hits a stump or rock, it glances off and the drive train continues moving. On a HD model, the blades are 3 to 4 in. wide and around 1/2 in. thick. The great inertia simply breaks things it hits (like sapplings) Now if you took a 48" LD model into sapplings, it would stall. Likewise, you could put a 60 in. HD unit on a B3030 and drive through the same area with ease. I imagine that you could go even larger, but I'm not sure how large.

Woods has a hybrid unit that is a cross between a rear finish mower and a brush hog. It has 3 stump jumpers (with 6 short free pivoting blades) and is rated at 25-50 hp. Woods calls this unit a Rear Finish Mower, but it's spindle pans and blade size are closer to a light/med. duty brush hog. If your pasture isn't too rough, you might be able to cut the pasture and lawn with this one unit:

RM990 Rear Mount Mowers by Woods Equipment Company

 

[Toolguy]

I would not put a 48" hog on a B3030. A 60" will cover the wheel tracks much better. In really tough conditions you can either go slow or take less than a full swath. In light conditions the extra width will mean getting the job done faster. I think size limits were recommend for gear drive tractors that perhaps did not have a very low first gear. With HST it is not a problem to use a wider hog because you can always slow down to a crawl if conditions require it. Of course, weight is also a factor so you don't want to go with too heavy of a model for the size tractor you are putting it on. The B3030 manual lists 500 lbs as the maximum wieght for a rear mower.

 

[qed-cat225]

can you comment on King Kutter vs Woods vs Brand X, the king cutters are really inexpensive, I assume they are not built quite the same?

 

[Tom_H]

The B3030 manual lists 500 lbs as the maximum wieght for a rear mower.

Typically, a tractor can lift approximately twice as much (or more) at the 3ph as the manual lists for implements used while in motion. Manuals usually list the maximum lift capacity, and then the weight recommendations for implements used while in motion are normally listed at about half of that, or less. Attachments used while the tractor is sitting still (chippers, post hole diggers, cement mixers, generators, etc.) do not have max. weight recommendations listed. The reason for this is the potential for abuse and warranty issues. A B3030 can lift much more than 500 lb. at the 3ph. But let's say your nephew from the city comes to visit, gets on the B3030, puts it in high range, and races out across a furrowed field perpendicular to the furrows. Normally, the B3030 could handle a 1000 lb. rough cutter with no problem, but as the irresponsible kid races across the furrows with a 1000 lb implement attached, the downward forces of oscillation increase the G-forces and the stress on the 3ph is equivalent to 2000 or 3000 lb. on the hitch each time the tractor bounces. If the hitch breaks, Kubota doesn't want to pay the warranty costs to fix it. The implement weights listed in the manuals are quoted at numbers low enough that tractor abuse will not break the 3ph. You should be able to operate with much heavier implements with no problems at all as long as you do not abuse the tractor. If you abuse the tractor with an implement heavier than the recommended weight, however, Kubota can say, "Ahh, you had a heavier than recommended implement on the tractor, so the warranty is voided and we don't have to pay." As long as you are going to use the tractor sensibly, I would pay more attention to the max. lift capacities than the recommended max. per implement. Still, it is important to observe the differing lift capacities at differing distances behind the hitch (a box blade has its center of gravity closer to the 3ph than a brush hog does, therefore the tractor can lift a heavier box blade than it can a brush hog).

 

[Tom_H]

can you comment on King Kutter vs Woods vs Brand X, the king cutters are really inexpensive, I assume they are not built quite the same?

Woods has a very good reputation. I don't know about KK. My Gearmore 40" heavy duty rough cutter on my BX2200 will cut two inch sapplings easily. With 13 acres to cut, you need something bigger.

Just make sure you compare apples to apples. Even though two brush cutters may be the same size, make sure you're comparing heavy duty units to heavy duty units, not to light duty units.

If I were in your situation, and the rough cut area were hay only, and money were no object, I'd lean towards a B3030 and a Woods RM-990.

 

[MarkV]

can you comment on King Kutter vs Woods vs Brand X, the king cutters are really inexpensive, I assume they are not built quite the same?

The rule of thumb is that you want 5 PTO horse power per foot of rotary mower. Before someone else says it, you can get by with less for some types of mowing. Surprisingly to some heavy pasture grass requires more power than cutting saplings.

In your case I don’t think a 4’ mower will cover the tire tracks of either of the tractors being considered. That would be the deciding factor for me. The 3030 would let you move up to a 5’ mower which will cover the tire tracks getting you closer to fence lines and cut down on your mowing time.

Woods, Bush Hog, Rhino, Landpride all make very nice mowers that you can’t go wrong with. Personally I think King Kutter is a real bargain for the price. Their welds are not as pretty, the paint is marginal and some of us have modified the attachment points to better fit small tractors. If those things don’t bother you my KK mower has taken a real beating and still keeps mowing just fine. I could almost buy a second KK mower and be in the price range of one from the major brands

MarkV