bill6
Silver Member
....Just checkin' in to say hello. Thanks to rback33 for contacting me to see how things are going.
The 3215 is now slighty over a year old. I have about 185 hrs on it. The only "issue" has been the hour meter. The first one quit at 66 hrs. So the dealer mailed me a whole new instrument panel. I installed the new panel, and the hour meter quit again at 35 hours. Now the dealer sent me another new panel, and I recently installed it. The meter is driven by a rotating cable, similar to a tachometer cable. We'll see how long this 3rd one lasts. Fortunately, I can replace the instrument panel in about 1 hour.
The tractor is still extrememly clean. But it's been frustrating for me, because I spend aprox an hour cleaning it, for every hour of operation. Maybe something's wrong with me. For example, after using the tractor for a 2 hour job, I absolutely cannot put it away in the garage and sleep well at night, without first spending 2 hours: washing it down with a garden hose thoroughly, drying it off with a chamois, wiping any remaining dirt from hard to reach places with a rag, using my car-show polish to bring all exterior painted surfaces to a high-lustre again, applying Armor-all to the tires and all rubber seals, then finally lying down under the machine to wipe all dirt and grease from the bottom side.
The ML 111 loader has worked perfectly, can lift 1450 lbs to full height, and is extremely stout and durable. Every 5 hours I grease all 12 loader zerks with Red Line synthetic grease (very high quality)
The Mitsubishi turbocharged diesel continues to amaze me, with it's power and fuel efficiency. It ALWAYS starts immediately, runs perfectly smooth, and seems solid as a rock. Near max RPM (2575) it will burn about 1.2 gallons per hour. But after engine break-in, I have normally run 1750-1850 rpm, if not under heavy load. It only burns 0.65 GPH with this RPM setting; very efficient.
Generally I haul gravel from a large pile, break up plots of ground with a box blade & scarifiers, smooth & level dirt with my 84" landscape rake, load rocks & boulders into pickup trucks, and operate the 5' bushhog to knock down thick grass and wheat stubble.
Recently I purchased a 72' Howse finish mower, brand new from the Howse factory in Mississippi. I chose this model (C372) after MANY hours of research and reading. It has by far the highest (tallest) gear ratio of any comparable FM, allowing me to maintain a very high blade tip speed, at relatively low engine RPM, thus saving fuel. Also it has pnuematic tires, heavy 7-gauge steel deck, rear discharge, and powder coated paint. The key is to mow OFTEN. This way, the grass is never very tall, there's not alot of blown clippings, and you can mow at a faster ground speed. I found a brand new product from Firestone: turf tires that will fit my OEM Mahindra wheels; therefore I can change between turf and industrial tires!
Very frequently while operating, I bring the tractor back to the garage and open the hood and use compressed air to blow the dust off the whole machine. I remove and blow out the air filter.
Over all I am very pleased with the 3215. Sure, it needs a larger fuel tank, retractable seat belt, a cupholder, a toolbox, high-mount lights, a rear remote or two, etc, but still I like it very much. I love driving it, using the loader, working the land. But perhaps I'm not "wired" properly as a tractor owner. Mentally, I project the image of my highly polished Honda Insight that I display at car shows; as well as my clean & shiny airplane......and expect my Mahindra to look the same. Sometimes I even hesitate to use the tractor - - - because I might get it dirty!...........
The 3215 is now slighty over a year old. I have about 185 hrs on it. The only "issue" has been the hour meter. The first one quit at 66 hrs. So the dealer mailed me a whole new instrument panel. I installed the new panel, and the hour meter quit again at 35 hours. Now the dealer sent me another new panel, and I recently installed it. The meter is driven by a rotating cable, similar to a tachometer cable. We'll see how long this 3rd one lasts. Fortunately, I can replace the instrument panel in about 1 hour.
The tractor is still extrememly clean. But it's been frustrating for me, because I spend aprox an hour cleaning it, for every hour of operation. Maybe something's wrong with me. For example, after using the tractor for a 2 hour job, I absolutely cannot put it away in the garage and sleep well at night, without first spending 2 hours: washing it down with a garden hose thoroughly, drying it off with a chamois, wiping any remaining dirt from hard to reach places with a rag, using my car-show polish to bring all exterior painted surfaces to a high-lustre again, applying Armor-all to the tires and all rubber seals, then finally lying down under the machine to wipe all dirt and grease from the bottom side.
The ML 111 loader has worked perfectly, can lift 1450 lbs to full height, and is extremely stout and durable. Every 5 hours I grease all 12 loader zerks with Red Line synthetic grease (very high quality)
The Mitsubishi turbocharged diesel continues to amaze me, with it's power and fuel efficiency. It ALWAYS starts immediately, runs perfectly smooth, and seems solid as a rock. Near max RPM (2575) it will burn about 1.2 gallons per hour. But after engine break-in, I have normally run 1750-1850 rpm, if not under heavy load. It only burns 0.65 GPH with this RPM setting; very efficient.
Generally I haul gravel from a large pile, break up plots of ground with a box blade & scarifiers, smooth & level dirt with my 84" landscape rake, load rocks & boulders into pickup trucks, and operate the 5' bushhog to knock down thick grass and wheat stubble.
Recently I purchased a 72' Howse finish mower, brand new from the Howse factory in Mississippi. I chose this model (C372) after MANY hours of research and reading. It has by far the highest (tallest) gear ratio of any comparable FM, allowing me to maintain a very high blade tip speed, at relatively low engine RPM, thus saving fuel. Also it has pnuematic tires, heavy 7-gauge steel deck, rear discharge, and powder coated paint. The key is to mow OFTEN. This way, the grass is never very tall, there's not alot of blown clippings, and you can mow at a faster ground speed. I found a brand new product from Firestone: turf tires that will fit my OEM Mahindra wheels; therefore I can change between turf and industrial tires!
Very frequently while operating, I bring the tractor back to the garage and open the hood and use compressed air to blow the dust off the whole machine. I remove and blow out the air filter.
Over all I am very pleased with the 3215. Sure, it needs a larger fuel tank, retractable seat belt, a cupholder, a toolbox, high-mount lights, a rear remote or two, etc, but still I like it very much. I love driving it, using the loader, working the land. But perhaps I'm not "wired" properly as a tractor owner. Mentally, I project the image of my highly polished Honda Insight that I display at car shows; as well as my clean & shiny airplane......and expect my Mahindra to look the same. Sometimes I even hesitate to use the tractor - - - because I might get it dirty!...........
