Okay, I finally tried it out this past weekend, but was a bit disappointed in the performance. It handled the bulk pickup and mulched well, but did not leave what I consider as a finished job. The deck was set on the usual 3" height using standard Kubota blades. I am attaching a photo for comparison so maybe you folks can tell me if this is normal or not. I made three passes over this area, at least once with a completely empty bag.
It was the first effort of the season to gather up the leaves. I did not consider my yard to be that heavily covered, but the bag still filled up twice just in my back yard (~8000sqft). That included the leaves I blew out of my plant beds. Guess I would have had to empty the OEM eight times. I have mostly maple and water oak leaves, but some red oak as well.
Maneuverability - Not too good! I knew this thing stuck way out behind my tractor, so I intentionally tried to make wide sweeping turns. Didn't help. Still kept running over shrubs, running into retainer walls, and bumping trees. Great for backing up, but trying to get around plant beds doesn't work!
All in all, after I was left thinking I would have been better off investing $500 in a large volume backpack blower. I have a small backpack blower, but it is not sufficient for blowing leaves in grass. Works well cleaning out plant beds though.
Any suggestions? (already aksed Woodland - no suggestions).
It was the first effort of the season to gather up the leaves. I did not consider my yard to be that heavily covered, but the bag still filled up twice just in my back yard (~8000sqft). That included the leaves I blew out of my plant beds. Guess I would have had to empty the OEM eight times. I have mostly maple and water oak leaves, but some red oak as well.
Maneuverability - Not too good! I knew this thing stuck way out behind my tractor, so I intentionally tried to make wide sweeping turns. Didn't help. Still kept running over shrubs, running into retainer walls, and bumping trees. Great for backing up, but trying to get around plant beds doesn't work!
All in all, after I was left thinking I would have been better off investing $500 in a large volume backpack blower. I have a small backpack blower, but it is not sufficient for blowing leaves in grass. Works well cleaning out plant beds though.
Any suggestions? (already aksed Woodland - no suggestions).
The OEM boot adds to improved manuverability as well. The documentation was REALLY POOR (hear that Kubota??). Also, looks like you have to remove one of the bag support brackets to access one of the gear boxes for lube servicing (can that be for real??). Connecting it by myself was a little tricky until I learned some tricks like using a floor jack in just the right place.
