Mowing bx22 mower question

[Anonymous Poster]

Do you leave the mower on while doing FEL or Hoe work? Do you leave the FEL on when you mow? Trying to figure out how much of a hassle it will be to switch back and forth from FEL duties to mowing duties frequently. Maybe I should keep my JD 318 for mowing and skip the MMM on the Kubota I buy. I won't get much more $$ on trade for the JD 318 than the cost of a MMM.

 

[rmc]

SUPERNUG

I have a BX2200 and I take off the FEL when mowing.
The reason for this is that it is easier to move around
the trees not having the FEL adding additional length.
When using the FEL I remove the deck just for the same
basic reason but this time I do not have to worry
how wide of a area I need. And the other reason with
the deck off you have more ground clearance.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Depends on what you're doing. The mmm cuts the clearance a bit and is ok to use on smooth areas, but the chance of damaging the deck is an issue. The deck comes off in 3-5 minutes and goes together faster with practice. Same goes for the fel. I can pop either on/off in a couple of minutes and not break a sweat.
I have a bx2200, not the bx22 so I can't say how easy that is, but it should be pretty fast.
Having the bh or fel on while mowing will raise youe cg a bit, so if you have hills it may be better to remove. Also, the fel will add to front end weight so if you have bar tires the fronts will tend to leave a pattern in the lawn.
just my .02
DaveL

 

[techman]

SUPERNUG:

You could leave the BH on to mow except the 3PH lift lever hits the BH frame as it lowers. Since this is the same mechanism that lifts the MMM, you can not lower the MMM all the way.

As far as the FEL, there is no interference there. I started mowing with the FEL on when I got the tractor. It ended up being more trouble than it was worth. Swinging turns you have a lot of structure in front of you, making it very hard to manouver in the yard without hitting things.

I think you will find that after a little practice the FEL and BH go on and off so easily and quickly that the change out is a non issue. It works best, by the way, on a paved area.

When I have the MMM on and need to do a bit of digging, I put the FEL and BH on without removing the MMM. Except for the low ground clearance of the MMM, there is no problem digging like this.

paul

 

[chrisjbell]

I'd say keep your JD lawn tractor for mowing and use the Kubota for the "rough stuff". It isn't that hard to put on or remove implements - most of the time. But there's always that time that things just don't seem to want to work. Its a pain, to put it simply /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif. That's one of the main reasons that people collect tractors - to avoid having to change implements.

I don't use my Kubota for any finish mowing - just the rough stuff. I have a JD lawn tractor that I use for all my finish mowing, and it is plenty tough enough to handle a fair amount of rough mowing, too. The only thing you might consider is the size of the deck - you'll get a 60" deck on the Kubota MMM.

 

[chrisjbell]

Ah, one more thing. For mowing, it is better to remove the FEL and especially backhoe - more important on hills. Must admit, I'm lazy and often leave the FEL on while mowing, though. Doesn't make a huge difference in my application, but is more comfortable - the bucket likes to bounce when you hit a bump and after a while you feel it /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif...

 

[kofronj]

Supernug,

Practice taking the hoe, loader, and MMM on and off. You'll get pretty good at it. None of them should take more than a few minutes to put on or take off. The loader is cake, I'm assuming that your BH will be easy. The mower is easy to get off, but you'll need a little practice to get the PTO shaft reconnected when mounting it.

Mowing is much easier with the loader off.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I'll use the FEL with the MMM on the machine if it's just light-weight stuff like multch and other incidental work, but the MMM comes off for "real work". I never mow with the FEL on...it gets in the way big-time. It only take a couple of minutes to install and remove as others have said. I would never have the hoe on my BX-22 when mowing.