Difference in mowing and driveway work b2320 and b2620

[kcender]

You mention that you want to mow with the tractor.I bought a new B2620 with a 54 inch mower deck in May and was never happy with it for mowing.I finally got so frustrated I bought a new GR 2120 to do my mowing.Strictly for mowing there is no comparison between the two,the GR is way more maneuverable and gives a better quality cut.Many people do mow with B series tractors but that is my experience.As far as vibration I never noticed anything abnormal.I have owned two BX tractors and I don't feel they were any different than the B2620 for vibration.

 

[s219]

I haven't noticed significant differences in vibration among the three-cylinder Kubotas I have driven, but the four-cylinder B3200 definitely seemed worse to me, inline with the inherent balance characteristics of three versus four cylinders inline.

 

[bigpinwheel]

I currently mow with a DEERE X500 and plan on keeping it for the area closest to the house. The B will be relegated to the larger wide open field/yard area. So the cut quality will probably be adequate. I'll be sure to keep the vibration issue in mind as I test these tractors.

 

[GPintheMitten]

I mow with a 60" mmm under my B2620. It does a fine job of mowing, but trimming around trees is certainly not as convenient as a zero turn or small garden tractor. My only problem is when I want to drop the mower for other work and put it back on later. Not a real bad task, takes about 5-10 minutes to hook it up, but I just don't like all the bending over and crawling around, but I'm 63 years old. As a younger man, it would not be an issue.

One thing to consider is to skip the mmm for a rear fininsh mower, if you are going to use it only for large straight open areas. It would be easier to hook up and disconnect and they are cheaper.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

If your going to have a small mower for close work then I to second the motion to get a rear discharge rear finish mower. Get a good heavy one like Landpride or one of equal weight. My first rear finish mower was beautiful, no weld joints, red, light weight and junk. Traded it for a Landpride and it was a tank, heavy and very visible welds.

 

[tractchores]

Doing some work with my b2920 today I thought about this thread. I have had a few instances (maybe 5) in the last couple of years where I ran out of power before traction. There have been many instances where I've run out of lifting power with the BH or front end loader. The power instances were always pulling or pushing something on a dry paved surface with good ballast (excellent traction). They were pushing big snow loads, trees or pulling rocks. Those may or may not be driveway maintenance types of activities for you, but I'm positive I would have run out of power in the b2320 far sooner. If you do go with the B2320 I would encourage you to get the bigger loader (you can), which increases lift. I run out of lift on the loader quite a bit moving rocks, breaking out chunks of ice / snow in big banks, lifting wood / pallets or digging stumps.

I think the vibration issues mentiones are the B32xx series, that is known to have had some vibration issues with the 4 cylinder engine.The only B vibrations you are likely to get are at very low RPM if you have lose items (noise only), typical culprits are the SMV sign, the ROPS (fixed with bolts) and the BH controls (can be fixed with zip ties, but not really worth it)

 

[Finnster]

Is there really any cost savings trying to get a 364 loader separately and get it onto a 2320? IIRC, my B2620 was only ~$1000 more than the 2320. The dealers are not supposed to reconfigure the loaders, so the ones I talked to wouldn't consider putting the 364 Fel onto the 2320. You'll have to go some unusual route.

Considering the bigger bucket and more powerful lift, it doesn't really make sense to try and turn a 2320 into a bigger B when you can just buy one as is for minimal cost increase.

As far as mowing goes, I don't think it would matter.

 

[Luv2Q]

Interesting thread. FWIW, my experience with the B2320 (HSD) w/ LA304 FEL & 4 ft BB is this:
* When I got rid of the 601, I wanted a "compromise" tractor that would allow me to take care of bigger mowing problems but be small enough that I could use it for "detail" work around house, large shrub beds in the yard, & maintain our driveway with a little more precision.
* I'm retired so getting things done quickly isn't as important to me as it once was.
* I have around 15 acres - mostly Bahia and coastal Bermuda - on very sandy soil - to keep mowed & sprayed. I use a 4 ft LP shredder (aka brush hog). Sometimes I'd give my right arm for a 5 ft shredder but just don't think the 2320 is up to it in tall green grass (12-18"). Bahia is like wire!
* Our driveway is probably around 200 yds in length. I've just finished spreading around 60 tons of roadbase (aka limestone gravel around 2" or less). This stuff may also be called caliche in some places. The FEL & BB made this a fairly pleasurable task.
* I also use the tractor to place mulch in beds around the house & yard. Small tractor size & FEL are very handy for this. Plenty maneuverable.

Looking back,I think the 2920 might have been a better choice. More HP for a bigger shredder + not enough difference in overall size to hurt maneuverability. BTW, I didn't go with a BX because I wanted the ground clearance plus a radiator-cooled tranny. Saw too many cases of BX fans getting sheared off by brushy stuff.

Anyway, as mentioned, this was all about compromising. Could have picked a more suitable machine but OTOH, this one is working out. I got a canopy for it so mowing on hot days isn't nearly the misery it was. Also this small tractor is real rough going over gopher holes, armadillo holes compared to the heavier tractors like my old Fords.. I don't think the 2920 would have helped this much, except maybe for bigger tires. I'll be filling my tires soon & bigger tires would have allowed a little more weight.

Long post - sorry, but hope it helps some.