Re: BX2230, w/ 60\" mmm Mower Review
Mower review--update.
Okay, my last mower review contained some negative thoughts about the mowing job itself as "so-so." I said I thought that it might be due to slightly wet grass and the throttle pulling back to a lower RPM. Last night, I mowed without either of those problems. I tightened the throttle nut and the grass was dry.
My impressions are very good. Given the extremely rough terrain on my property (about 200 feet of varying elevation change over 500 feet of distance with lots of rolls, bumps, holes, etc.). First, the grass was cut evenly and with the exceptoin of a few stray dandelions, completely. This deck does a way better job of avoiding scalping than what I am used to (JD L130 w/48" deck). I am also, not suprisingly, able to get more done faster. However, the actual time it took to mow the property was longer than it had been with the JD, and I am sure its because this is my first time out with it on the grass and there's a learning curve in terms of what I can and cannot do with this tractor. Overall, one thing I am VERY happy about is that, due to this tractor's much better stability than the JD, I am able to mow grass I never could have mowed with the JD. On the other hand, the size, weight, and width of the deck prevents me from mowing a few places I could mow with the JD. I am still learning which trees I can get through, which hills are not too steep, and which hills need to be mowed in reverse backing up into it. I've been playing it safe. I think I care more about this tractor than the JD. The JD was fine, but it always felt a little like a toy, not a machine. The Kubota feels like a very well-tuned machine, and I don't want to do anything to damage it.
I am so glad this has a suspended deck, a front anti-scalp roller and a very handy hydraulic lift lever. I have two inclines that come right down to my gravel driveway. I cannot mow those hills sideways (for safety reasons--tipping). So, I have to come down onto the gravel head-on. When I do, as I approach the gravel, I pull up on the hydraulic lift lever, but sometimes I'm a little late, and the mower deck slides into the gravel. I hated the grinding sound it made, and at one point stopped the tractor on the gravel, lifted the mower all the way, turned the tractor off, put on the brake (safety first!) and looked to see what I was doing to the deck. Nothing. The gravel was hitting the front anti-scalp wheel, and when I did it next time and heard the grinding I went slowly and watched the deck, it lifted a bit as the front roller pushed gravel to the side, and rolled over it. Nice. Very nice.
All of the areas that really need to be mowed are closer to the house and can be mowed with the power-assisted push behind mower (JD-made Scotts 6.5 HP 3-speed push mower). But that's mostly my wife's job, and I want to be able to mow as much as possible so she doesn't have to (she did agree to let me buy this machine so I guess I want her to be happy I did). I can now mow much closer to the house than I could with the JD because I feel the handling on this is so much better, I am less worried about hitting the well pump, siding, garden ornamentals, etc.
So, my expanded reveiw of the mowing performance of the
BX2230? Four and a half stars out of five. I take the half-star off because the edge of the cutting shoot is like a knife. You'd think Kubota engineers would know we are trying to navigate between trees and put a plastic edging or something. Also, the operator safety switch that cuts out the engine if you get off is too sensitive. I don't want to turn the feature off. However, whenever I go down an incline (every other swath), I have to lean way back on the seat to prevent cut-out of the engine and mower. this cannot be good for either, and it makes for a very uneven cut. Part of the problem is the shape of the seat, like a curved spoon, which sets you sliding forward when on an incline, part of it is the sensitivity of the switch. Anyway, I'll need to figure something out for both of these problems. As to the cutting shoot edge, I will look at Home Depot today for either door weatherstripping with a hard edge, or someone else mentioned auto hoses. These are relatively minor annoyances, but they are the kind of thing Kubota should think about as they test their equipment.
