Kubota BX23 Bagger Hose Replacement

[sloppydogdrool]

I am new to the group and this is my first post. I did allot of searching but nothing on this topic.

I've had my bagger now for about 2-1/2 years. The hoses are cracking and pretty much shot. I've wrapped them with Ducts tape for about as long as I can but they have pretty much had it now. The large 8" hose started cracking after about 1 year. Last summer it really started going down hill fast. The 6" hose seemed to last up to this year then the whole thing just starting falling apart fast.

I called my sorta local dealer and tractorparts.com to find out about replacements. Between the two hoses I'm looking at about $300 + after tax or shipping. I'm having a real hard time swallowing the price for hoses that are going to need replaced every 2 years.

Has anyone had an experience in replacing these hoses with an aftermarket hose or another brand? I checked the Grainger catalog and did some googling to find out this is a "ducting hose". The only retailer I found so far is Grainger and their not exactly known for their low prices and they only sell the minimum quantity of 25'.

I don't necessarily mind spending the $ on a hose that works properly and lasts more than 3 years.

The only problem I am looking at the duct hose is that it all seems to be very flexible. The 8" hose coming from the deck is extremely rigid.

Any help or suggestions would be most appreciated.

 

[BimmerRacer]

LEAF GRASS VAC HOSE 8"X 6' URETHANE HOSE YELLOW HELIX - eBay (item 110317121452 end time Aug-21-09 11:01:17 PDT)


I got a 7" hose from them to fit on my BX23 and Cyclone Rake. It's the same hose that comes with the Cyclone Rake and is a MUCH better hose than the one that comes with the Kubota Grass Catcher.

The ebay seller was great. They sent the 6" hose by mistake and fixed the mistake after one email on their dime.

 

[kennyd]

Wynn Enviromental is another great source of high quality hose at good prices. I bought from them when I built/plumbed my dust collector.

 

[sloppydogdrool]

Thanks for the reply! I knew I had seen this stuff on ebay before. The shorter lengths are what I wanted to find. Only concern I have with this is that the hose will sag. My stock hose does not sag and is barely flexible. Hose clamps are pointless as you can't squeeze the hose. I guess worse case I could support the hose with a couple zip ties and dow rod or something. The BX23 bagger is not exactly super powerful. It gets the job done so long as I don't wait more than a week to cut. 10 days and your sure to constantly clog the hose. The Kubota dealer said this is a common complaint from BX owners with the 60" deck.

I'll post a follow up and let you know how it worked out. Thanks for the quick response.

 

[Arkaybee]

When the grass is taller than nominal (after 10 days growth, e.g.) try cutting less than a full width of the deck. This should lessen the tendency to clog by not having to throw so much volume of grass per unit of time.

HTH

Arkaybee

 

[sloppydogdrool]

Thanks for the advice! I have tried that while traveling at a crawl and running full throttle. I'm in South Carolina and originally from the north. The grass is tougher here and I think its a matter of the length combined with volume clogging the tubes. The longer lengths don't seem to get cut up as well by the impeller.

What seems to work best and make the overall job the quickest and cleanest is to run at at nearly full power, cut full width, cut the grass taller than normal on the first pass and make a second pass at the normal height.

I bought a DR pull behind last year to handle the volumes of leaves. That thing is incredible! I have 3 - 6 inch river rock in my flower beds. It will even suck the rocks up using the long vacuuming attachment (found this out the hard way). It has it's own share of problems like poor dumping method and maneuverability. For dealing with volumous leaves and grass though, it's the ticket.

Thanks again for the advice!

 

[LBrown59]

Thanks for the reply! I knew I had seen this stuff on ebay before. The shorter lengths are what I wanted to find. Only concern I have with this is that the hose will sag. My stock hose does not sag and is barely flexible. Hose clamps are pointless as you can't squeeze the hose. I guess worse case I could support the hose with a couple zip ties and dow rod or something. The BX23 bagger is not exactly super powerful. It gets the job done so long as I don't wait more than a week to cut. 10 days and your sure to constantly clog the hose. The Kubota dealer said this is a common complaint from BX owners with the 60" deck.

I'll post a follow up and let you know how it worked out. Thanks for the quick response.

I don't mess with a bagger with my BX23.