Mowing Belly mower for ck20 hst.

[tassiedevil]

I am yet to meet anyone with an underbelly mower, I am considering one for the little machine. My question is whether most small tractor brands will fit or do you specifically have to have KIoti ? Any one out there running one, and how do they compare with rear finishing mower ?:
Great forum..

anyone coiming to this remote part of the world let me know...

Matt

 

[IslandTractor]

I am pretty sure you need one made specifically for the CK20. They were not that popular here in the USA which is why Kioti stopped offering them. The issue was basically that they cost significantly more than a good quality rear finish mower and they were no easier (arguably harder) to attach. The only advantage really is that you don't have the RFM hanging six feet off the back of the tractor. On the other hand, the RFM allows you to back under bushes etc where you could not mow with the MMM (mid mount mower= underbelly mower).

 

[pilonidal]

Like "islandtractor" said, you'll need a kioti MMM to fit it. I take your model is an older one that has the mid pto. I have the rear discharge MMM on mine and I like it for my use. Mowing around trees, the house, going down into the ditch, etc.. A RFM wouldn't allow me to do some of the things I do without some extra time maneuvering the tractor into position. My father in law has the RFM on his for mowing the pasture and it also does a good job. The MMM requires the front end of the tractor to be raised to attach or remove the deck. Use the FEL or some car ramps to do that. Then 4 pins to attach the deck then the pto shaft. I can hook up or remove it in under 10 mins. As I age though that deck gets heavier and heavier. It is a heavy duty deck. I'd say it's all about the number of obstacles you have to mow around in choosing MMM over RFM, and if you can even find a Kioti MMM these days. They were significantly more expensive also.

 

[Josh61513]

I would recommend talking with Bob of Michigan Iron & Equipment. He is very familiar with these decks. I believe his take on them is that they were somewhat problematic as shipped form Kioti but he knows how to make them right.

I opted to get one for my CK20S. Mine is a rear discharge model and i've been extremely pleased with the cut quality, though this is a somewehat heavy tractor to mow with. I had some issues with the lift mechanism on mine which had been updated to the newer twin arm lift setup, the earlier ones only lifted the deck from the left side which was problematic. Now that Bob has worked out the bugs i'm very pleased with the cut quality, it does such a good job mulching leaves that I haven't had to pick them up this year. The deck is welded (not stamped) and made from 1/4" steel. EXTREMELY heavy duty, i've never seen a deck this thick before.

Installing/removing the deck isn't particularly difficult and like pilonidal said you have to lift the front of the tractor up, I use the FEL and then remove the FEL before I mow. To install / remove the deck it's ~10 min + the few minutes to add or remove the FEL. The maneuverability of the MMM is nice though I don't have experiene with a RFM. The front tires do push the grass down which makes it harder to suck up if you are going real fast, I have to imagine it would only be worse if the deck was behind the front AND rear tires.