OK, I dropped some coin and purchased an MS 720 with the hydraulic lift.
I did not trade the big contour, but may do so later if this works-out. I brought it home yesterday afternoon and have cut about 11 acres with it set at next to top setting (4 3/4 inches as measured by ruler in grass). It cuts evenly, did not scalp, and put less strain on the power unit. I thought I would not like losing that extra 12" of cut width, that the job would take longer. What I found was that my pace increased due to the lighter weight and lesser power requirement on my steep ground. Of course, the new deck is a rigid one piece unit; thus it does not "flex" to evenly hug contours such as road berms, golf sand traps, or ditch edges. Fuel use was so similar that I can see no difference there. The tractor did run cooler and I did NOT have to stop and clear the radiator screen, not even once. When I finished today, that radiator screen was only partially loaded as compared to the several stops I would have made with the rear discharge contour.
The hydraulic lift gets a mixed review from me. The operator does not just pull the secondary valve and "up she comes". You have to open the deck hood, lower the deck's cut height setting to minimum, pull three pins, then lift the tractor's front coupling to max, then finally operate the deck lift. So, I can manually flip-up the contour deck quicker; but it is a brute chore.
prs
