Thought I'd throw in a reply to this thread since I've now had a chance to use the mower / tractor a fair amount...
I ended up with the 2520, FEL, 61" bucket, ballast box, 54" snowblower (front mount), and 62D MMM deck w/ mulching attachment. In addition, I purchased a set of Artillian pallet forks with 42" forks. It swaps very cleanly between the bucket and the forks with the quick-attach, and they are by far my most used attachment.
As for the mowing, I've mowed ONLY with the mowing attachment and have had excellent results. Yesterday, I pulled the deck, raised it up with the forks, and did a thorough inspection / cleaning underneath. It is in great shape and the blades have held up very well. I had a minimal amount of cleaning required to get rid of collected grass clippings.
The blades have no nicks in them, but they are clearly a little bit worn from all of the mowing that I've done. I will likely pull them midway through the summer and sharpen them for the first time.
I mulched all of my leaves last fall, and quite a few leaves this spring as well. I even mulched down some small piles of leaves that were raked out of mulch beds and such. It does a great job for me.
The only mowing "issue" that I've encountered is that I have to monitor the full height of the grass before I cut. If it's too tall, the wheels (turfs) will flatten it a little and I have to go over it again a day or so later to clean it back up. It doesn't seem to matter how much of the grass I'm cutting off the top, although less will obviously not show the flattened down grass quite as much.
Tractor is immensely useful to me so far, and does an excellent job with the lawn (especially when compared to the much smaller deck of a riding mower).
I ended up with the 2520, FEL, 61" bucket, ballast box, 54" snowblower (front mount), and 62D MMM deck w/ mulching attachment. In addition, I purchased a set of Artillian pallet forks with 42" forks. It swaps very cleanly between the bucket and the forks with the quick-attach, and they are by far my most used attachment.
As for the mowing, I've mowed ONLY with the mowing attachment and have had excellent results. Yesterday, I pulled the deck, raised it up with the forks, and did a thorough inspection / cleaning underneath. It is in great shape and the blades have held up very well. I had a minimal amount of cleaning required to get rid of collected grass clippings.
The blades have no nicks in them, but they are clearly a little bit worn from all of the mowing that I've done. I will likely pull them midway through the summer and sharpen them for the first time.
I mulched all of my leaves last fall, and quite a few leaves this spring as well. I even mulched down some small piles of leaves that were raked out of mulch beds and such. It does a great job for me.
The only mowing "issue" that I've encountered is that I have to monitor the full height of the grass before I cut. If it's too tall, the wheels (turfs) will flatten it a little and I have to go over it again a day or so later to clean it back up. It doesn't seem to matter how much of the grass I'm cutting off the top, although less will obviously not show the flattened down grass quite as much.
Tractor is immensely useful to me so far, and does an excellent job with the lawn (especially when compared to the much smaller deck of a riding mower).
