Comparison Need horsepower help

[toddrdmd]

Currently looking at either a Kubota B2620 or Kubota B2920. Will use the tractor for leveling driveway, midmount for yard, rear tiller for deer food plots, some stump removal and a front loader. What benefit would the larger 29 HP tractor be over the 26 hp Kubota? Would like to save the extra 3k if i dont need the extra hp. Would the extra 3 hp make a big difference in stump removal? Looking at a 60" rear box, 60" midmower, 50" tiller.

In other words, make a case why I would or wouldn't need the bigger tractor and thank you in advance.

Todd

 

[kuboman]

The extra hp won't make any difference to the tasks you mention. Extra weight will help you more than hp. BUT, you may find new jobs for your tractor that the extra hp would help. I found my b2620 extremely capable and loved it but I ended up trading it for the b3200 mostly for the extra power. If you have never had one of these tractors before you will discover ways to use them that you could not have imagined until you have one to use.

 

[toddrdmd]

Great thinking. What extra tasks made you realize you wanted the extra hp of the 3200?

 

[MarkV]

At 1k per extra horse power I would stick with the 2620. If you had said you plan on a lot of heavy bush hog type mowing then the extra horse power would come into play. One thing though, don't get your expectation up to high when it comes to removing stumps of any size. Small or even big tractors don't do that very well without a backhoe. Even a dozer can have trouble with stumps of any size.

MarkV

 

[KU Gator]

We bought our 2920 about 18 months ago, so things may have changed, but the difference at that time was more like $1k between the 2620 and the 2920. Knowing nothing about tractors, we decided to go with the higher HP of the two.

I have not used a 2620, but I would agree that you would see little if any difference. Of the tasks you listed, the only one that I would see as PTO demanding would be the tiller and you may just have to run a little slower with it than with a 2920 and maybe no difference. With ground engaging stuff like the box blade or FEL, it is traction, not power that I run out of. I use a 5' rotary mower and have went through some pretty thick/tall weeds with it without much issue, but again that would be a task you might need to slow down a little more that a 2920 if you were doing it.

I would say that without a B.H. (which I don't have), I would not get my hopes too high on a lot of stump digging/pulling. The B series are pretty light and don't have the hydraulic power to jerk stumps out at least without some digging.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

I to will tell you that stump removal is not one of the greatest jobs of the SCUT and CUT's. I believe you can/should pick the tractor that best suits your needs less stump removal and then pay someone with a big machine to come over and push, dig your stumps up if they bother you that bad. I believe it will be cheaper and definately save hours or days of your time depending on how many and how big the stumps are.

 

[big bubba]

one thing seldom mentioned in the "should I upgrade my HP game" is taking the frame & wheel size into consideration in addition to just straight HP increase. you can have all the HP you want in a machine, but if the frame & wheels are small, you'll be spinning your wheels (and pocketbook) doing any serious fel work (traction from wheels, leverage from fel size)....so ask yourself, what is the largest size tractor I can afford (and manage at your place)....HP alone doesn't always cut it. good luck bb

 

[TripleR]

I am from the "there is no such thing as too much HP", but as others have pointed out, HP alone is often meaningless. My BX2660 would be no more useful if it was a BX2960, not that I wouldn't buy one if it was offered.

Rather than focusing on HP, if I was looking at a 26 HP model it would be a B2630, heavier with position control 3 point, tilt steering etc.

To answer your original question; 3 HP not worth 3k, but worth a little.

 

[KU Gator]

Out of curiosity, I did the build my Kubota routine with a 2620 & a 2920, both with FEL & 60" MMM and the difference in price retail was about $800. Maybe the 2620 is one that has been on the lot for awhile and they are more anxious to move it or something. If you are getting a really good deal on it, then my thought stands, not that much difference in performance.

 

[kuboman]

Great thinking. What extra tasks made you realize you wanted the extra hp of the 3200?

Well just for one, I run a pto generator as standbye power sometimes and the 2620 was just a little short. Also I found that the bigger tires on the 3200 made it more capable. Tire size alone can make a tractor seem allot bigger.
I think someone already mentioned that the price diff between the 2620/2920 is only a K more at most.

 

[toddrdmd]

Appreciate all the help. Ok then. What would be a comfortable size brush hog to pull with the 26hp or the 29hp tractor and at what speed would it comforably cut.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

Appreciate all the help. Ok then. What would be a comfortable size brush hog to pull with the 26hp or the 29hp tractor and at what speed would it comforably cut.

Speed depends on terrain. Here is some info on sizes that may be helpful. This site also has a bunch of interesting videos showing attaching and using tractor implements.

King Kutter Tractor Rotary Cutter, Field Mower, Bush Hog, Bushhog, Brush Cutter, Brush Hog

 

[KU Gator]

I have a 5' Bush Hog brand Squeeler model rotary cut mower. The manual recommends either 48" or 54", I don't remember which. I talked to the dealer and he said he would get me what I wanted, but it would easily handle a 60". I brought my tractor to the dealer and tried the 60" one on it before buying and it was ok. They make a lighter duty I think called a Razorback, but I was concerned about how it would hold up as it was clearly lighter built. The 48" one would have been the same width as the wheels which I would not have wanted and the 54" one's are hard to find although I think Land Pride makes one. The rotary cut mowers are pretty heavy and it sits way back, so I leave the FEL on when using it. It is also my defence against spider webs in the trees.

As John Thomas said, roughness of the ground and how heavy the grass and weeds are affect the speed you can mow at. We had and area that had not been mowed in at least a year and mowed it in low range but usually in mid range as fast as that range goes.

The MMM is very good and if you don't have brush to mow over or rocks to dodge or it is not really out of control, you can mow some pretty heavy grass with it. You can set it to 4" or even raise it higher than that.

 

[easygo]

I used a 60" MMM on a 21" HP B7510 and never had problems. I even used to cut some grass that was really meant for a brush hog. I just cut it slow. I would say if you are going to till large area regularly or brush hog 6-7 acres regularly the extra HP will allow you to use a size larger implement. But if you don't have the need to do that kind of work you will never notice the difference. You will lose traction long before you run out of HP on any loader or pulling (heavy things) task. I sold the B7510 and bought a B7800 mainly because I wanted a loader that can handle larger VOLUME. For the new B tractors however the buckets seem to be interchangeable. So. If you want you can have a 50" and a 60" bucket and use them as the need comes up. Just a thought.

 

[toddrdmd]

Thanx for all the advice folks. So everyone with 26 hp tractors, do you have any trouble pulling a 5 foot brushhog? anyone pulling a 6'

 

[easygo]

I would say a 5' brush hog is about as big as you would want on that tractor. If I remember correctly it was recommended here that you want about 4 (pto) HP for each foot of the implement width.

 

[Verticaltrx]

Thanx for all the advice folks. So everyone with 26 hp tractors, do you have any trouble pulling a 5 foot brushhog? anyone pulling a 6'

Personally I wouldn't go any larger than a 4' bush hog on a B2620. It may be 26 Engine HP, but its only 19hp on the PTO as I recall. For any serious cutting my B3200 is barely big enough for my 5' bush hog, we use a 40 PTO hp tractor on a 6' bush hog.

 

[Will_C]

I have a 2620 and use a woods 54" Woods cutter. I think I could go with a 60" unit as far as power goes (in my application-field grasses) but the limit, to me at least, is the weight of the unit. Even though my cutter is a lighter duty unit, you know it is back there!! The 2920 is the same tractor as mine; if I was serious about needing more tractor, I would have went straight to 3030 or a 3200.

Will