New 1526 HST

[brasco426]

I believe a mid pto on the Max 24 is standard equipment where it's an option on the 26xl.

 

[Navasot]

Thanks for the input Navasot. I have considered that a 1526 with a 72 inch mower deck would be a little big for mowing in tighter quarters (which I do have to deal with). The Max 26XL would probably be a very good choice for just mowing, but I am concerned a bit about stability - almost the entire yard is slightly sloped and the top edge of the church yard forms a small hill (close to 30 degrees in some places).

I, my dad, and several others have used the church's John Deere 430 diesel Lawn and Garden tractor for the last 23 years to mow the yard. It has a 60 inch deck and cuts well, but it has been having issues the past three or four years. HST is jerky, it creeps (it did creep with the brakes on but that is fixed), the muffler broke off and had to be replaced, a hydraulic line busted, front left wheel spindle broke off last summer, etc. All signs of use and wear I suppose. I think the 430 has a 1,300 hours so on it. I don't know for sure because the hour meter was broken for about ten years. It shows around 860 hours now, but I don't even think it is recording accurately. But anyway . . . . . The JD 430 can pretty much handle all of the major slopes in the yard. It has a very low center of gravity, filled R1 style rear tires, plus a differential lock. I have mowed up the hills, down the hills, and with great caution I can mow them at an angle. I would not try that with any other mower or tractor out there (I don't think).

adpqmi,

I'm glad that you are happy with your tractor. To me it is encouraging that your 1526 has performed better than expected with a five foot brush hog.

Time will tell what happens: whether my dad and I get a Max 26XL, a 1526, or stick with his eMax 25 HST. My dad helped me out mowing a few times last year with his eMax 25. The JD 430 was out of commission for two weeks getting the hydraulic line replaced. The church has the John Deere 430, but we have a ours which can be a backup when the 430 is down. Also (my dad and I) would have a front loader on a tractor for moving snow - from a couple of short driveways worth to clearing about a one acre parking lot. I am sure a 1526 would excel in that department.

Enjoy your Machines Gentlemen. And again thanks for the input: :thumbsup:

Even the 26XL is a huge jump from the Emax.. youll be happy with either :thumbsup:

 

[oldpilgrim]

As much as I love the 3016/1526 (same basic machines), I think they are a little large for mmm, unless you're mowing a golf course and even then other lighter machines would be a better choice.

the 1526 is a great machine but it is made to be a real tractor and not a large lawn mower.

 

[brasco426]

As much as I love the 3016/1526 (same basic machines), I think they are a little large for mmm, unless you're mowing a golf course and even then other lighter machines would be a better choice.

the 1526 is a great machine but it is made to be a real tractor and not a large lawn mower.

I love my large lawn mower

 

[Squidbait]

Well guys I was talking about using the 1526 as a backup mower for the church's John Deere 430 if it is out of commission for some reason. I am the one who does a lot of mowing, so I guess I think of that more than other uses. The Mahindra would have a loader for clearing snow and moving dirt, pulling a box scrapper, maybe skidding some dead trees, and doing other projects around the house and yard. My dad would be the main purchaser of a new tractor if he decides to sale his eMax and buy another Mahindra tractor. I helped buy the eMax we currently have. Maybe my dad and I do need less of a "real" tractor. We both kind of figured that a tractor with a 72" mower deck (like the 1526) could make fairly quick work of the four acres of grass at the church (only when need), but I guess that is some overkill. Well anyway.

Enjoy your machines gentlemen.

 

[Mattt2778]

I have an emax 25 that I purchased with a mmm and I also have an older toro time cutter 44". I ended up selling the 60" mmm for the emax back to the dealer for half what I paid for it. Bottom line is that compared to to even a cheap zero turn I feel these tractor are really not suited to mowing. They are heavy, cumbersome(unless you remove the loader every time) and sit higher (tree branches to the face or rops if you manage to duck in time). I think for the price of price of the mmm on the 1526 you could find a used 60" zero turn which would likely cut faster than a 72" mmm, just my opinion though, purchasing the mmm has thus far been my only regret with regard to the emax.

 

[Squidbait]

I have an emax 25 that I purchased with a mmm and I also have an older toro time cutter 44". I ended up selling the 60" mmm for the emax back to the dealer for half what I paid for it. Bottom line is that compared to to even a cheap zero turn I feel these tractor are really not suited to mowing. They are heavy, cumbersome(unless you remove the loader every time) and sit higher (tree branches to the face or rops if you manage to duck in time). I think for the price of price of the mmm on the 1526 you could find a used 60" zero turn which would likely cut faster than a 72" mmm, just my opinion though, purchasing the mmm has thus far been my only regret with regard to the emax.

Mattt2778,

I am sorry to here that you regret purchasing a MMM for your eMax. I can definitely see where using the eMax to mow would be cumbersome with the loader still on the tractor. We (my dad and I) always take the loader off before mowing - that makes things easier and safer. Whether mowing at the church or mowing our yard keeping the loader on the tractor while trying to mow greatly increases the danger factor. We don't have a level spot in our yard (It is not quite as bad at the church yard). I (personally) would not try to mow with the loader on unless the land was mostly level with lots of open space and few obstacles to contend with.

I can also kind of see now where a ZTR or other large lawn tractor/SCUT might be a better choice than a 1526 with the 72" deck for mowing duties. :scooby-doo:

Well my next challenge: to find more heavy work to do, so that I will need a 1526 to do the work.

 

[justinramani]

Congrats on your new machine ... leaks seems to be a recurring theme on Mahindra machines.

+1 hopefully you can actually get your leaks fixed.

 

[mguitas]

As much as I love the 3016/1526 (same basic machines), I think they are a little large for mmm, unless you're mowing a golf course and even then other lighter machines would be a better choice.

the 1526 is a great machine but it is made to be a real tractor and not a large lawn mower.

To heavy to mow, your tractor is light compare to the one I run. Alis 170 is near 6000lbs an works fine.

 

[arrow]

Had my new 1526 for two weeks now. It's pretty much perfect for my 10 acres. Just noticed a couple of oil leaks, looks like one engine oil leak and one hydro oil leak, very small but will definitely be getting those fixed asap. Living in Arkansas with pretty tough soil(haha), I'm glad I went with the slightly heavier machine over the max series. I've only put 8 or so hours on it but I've lifted the rear end off the ground pulling shrubs out of the ground on more than one occasion. 5' brush hog eats saplings like cheerios. So far I'm very pleased with the tractor.

I thought I had the same problem on my 3016. Turned out that the oil dipstick was not pushed in all the way. Because the oil was new, it looked just like hydraulic oil as it cascaded onto the hydraulic fittings making them to look like they were leaking. Two small spots on the garage floor about 10" part made me think I had two leaks.