New B7610

[Bob_Young]

Nice pictures.

Whatcha using under the trees, tchix? A push mower?

Great looking rig, but suspiciously clean. You are hitting those grease zerks on the spindles and the drive U-joints before mowing aren't you?

I count 16 zerks on my mower, its wheels, its lift mechanism and its drive shaft. For awhile I thought they were multiplying. There were more everytime I looked.
Bob

 

[ToddW]

Nice tractor! Good luck with it, how long will it stay that clean and shiny?

Todd

 

[rico304]

tchixarro, those are great pictures....
One question though, what is that stuff on the inside of your bucket?????

Oh, I went back and double checked. It was paint. I haven't seen that inside a bucket before. Looks good there! hahaha

 

[Hotwheels]

I am curious about what the decision point was between the BX and the 7610? Were there specific issues that tipped the choice to the 7610? Some of the posts here seem to suggest that if mowing is the primary job for the tractor, then the BX series is a good choice. If more heavy tasks are needed, especially FEL type work, then the 7610 is the choice. The BX owners say that the tractor can do most tasks the 7610 will do, it just takes more time.

What do you think?

 

[mike4038]

I really like the looks of the vac setup, can you tell us more about it?
How long can you mow before you have to dump?
Can a setup like that be run off the rear pto?

Thanks, Mike

 

[Bob_Young]

Hotwheels: Can't speak for tchixarro, but I'll mention what led me to choose the B7610:

1) More ground clearance
*Possibility of doing minor FEL work on B-series while leaving mower installed without worrying about damaging mower on rough ground. The thought was that due to the overall lower ground clearance of the BX series, even with the mower fully raised, the mower deck would be much closer to the ground than it would on the B-series. This (I thought) would restrict FEL usage with mower installed on the BX to smooth ground. Since my ground is rough, I didn't want to keep R&R-ing the MMM to use the FEL
*With mower removed, B-series can handle rougher ground than a BX with mower removed. I could see the B-series traversing a plowed field; not so the BX
*With 3pt. hitch arms lowered and parallel with the ground, the hitch balls on the B-series are higher (further off the ground) than those on the BX. The B-series arms, in that position, will handle more standard Cat I implements than the BX. Once the BX arms are raised enough to hook-up with most standard Cat I implements, there is very little travel left to raise the implement off the ground. Because it starts higher, the B-series will lift higher. This is not the huge issue it might be now that companies like King-Kutter are making implements specifically for the BX .... their XB series

2. Though both the BX2350 and the B7610 are rated at 24HP, the B7610 has a larger displacement engine delivering its HP at a lower RPM. The B7610 is rated at 2600RPM from 68 cu. in. while the BX2350/24 is rated at 3200RPM from 55 cu. in. The large slow-turning engine is the traditional approach to achieving longevity in tractor engines. Max. engine torque will also be higher for the larger displacement engine.

3. The B7610 has a real tachometer....not a biggie, but it's what I'm used to

4. The B7610 has larger tires (related to 1. above) which will roll over rough-ground and obstructions more easily and offer a better ride.

Basically the B7610 is like a small field tractor while the BX2350 seems like a large lawn tractor. Under the less than civilized conditions on much of my property, I felt the B7610 was the best choice. But I did agonize the point for quite awhile and came very close to buying a BX24.
FWIW
Bob

 

[Hotwheels]

Thanks Bob,
I was ready to buy the BX24 and yesterday my wife went by a dealer for one last look. She saw the BX next to a 7510. Her comment when she got home she observed, "The BX looked like a toy tractor next to the 7510." We both started talking and thought we better sort out the issues here before we buy. I checked the specifications and noticed the larger displacement, higher ground clearance, and more width of the 7610. The brochures show the BX24 is heavier than the 7610.

I also have rough ground and it is on a slope. There are numerous rocks protruding that will have to be removed or worked around before I can mow. The ground clearance with or without the MMM is an issue because of the rocks, but I thought we could work around that by going slow and using a box scraper and the BH to move as much as possible, then eventually get to the point I can mow.

My wife is set on the BH, so I thought the best price option would be the BX24. If I am interpreting conventional wisdom correctly, the idea is that you can do just about anything with a BX24 that can be done with a tractor such as the 7610, it will just take longer because of smaller loads, etc.... The dealers I have spoken with say the same thing: it just takes longer to do the same tasks.

The rough ground, slope, and the need to do a reasonable amount of box scraping and rake work makes me think I need to revisit the 7610 ONE more time before we buy. In the end, even with a 7610 we may have to use a pull behind rough/finish mower becuase of terrain -- unless a MMM is a better option on rough terrain?

One friend suggested the BX might be a better option because of its lower center of gravity than the B7610. I am taking some pictures to the dealer to see which one they recommend given a slope and rough terrain.

Thanks, your comments help to sort out the differences that make a difference.

 

[tchixarro]

Hotwheels,

I originally was going to get the BX machine, but after using my buddy's B7500 I really started to wonder. I've been researching this for a long time before making my decision. My biggest concerns were price, performance, and how good of job it did with finish mowing. So far I'm very pleased with the overall package. After reading countless posts on this site I found numerous reasons to go with a B series. My own personal opinion on anything I buy is to get the biggest I can afford that will handle all my needs. Even if it's a little overkill. The last thing I want is to invest all that money and be dissappointed. Been there, Done that! Other factors in dicision which you'll find in other posts is performance, ground clearance, and power of the loader. I've already started using this thing for jobs aound the house that I didn't take into consideration. I'm glad I went with the bigger machine. Also if you do a search for posts you'll find a bunch of guys who wished they went bigger. If finish mowing is a huge factor for you I'm very pleased with the job this thing does. Sorry for the lenghty reply but, if you're in the market I would do your homework and if possible try to see different models in action. I know that the head splitting research I did paid off in my case.

 

[tchixarro]

Mike 4038,

The vac setup is a Trac-Vac model 660. I had a Peco trailer set-up on my old Wheel horse that worked great. I decided to go with this barrel set-up on my Kubota because it attaches to the 3-point hitch and the total package together isn't 30 feet long. This works great because I can manuver ten times better around obsticals and mow faster. It also takes up less space when I go to store it for the winter. The two barrels are plastic rubbermaid 44 gallon which will never rot and can be easily changed if damaged. I mow about three acres and If cut three inches I will have to dump it 3-4 times, but because with my new tractor I cut my original mowing time by almost 75% I mow more often and try not to let it get that high which in turn means less trips to dump.
It does not run off the PTO. It has it's own engine that powers the blower. If you are interested Trac-Vac makes a bunch of different models including PTO driven ones.

 

[dholly]

I have a tow-behind vac that works great with my smaller JD lawn tractor, but the hose is too short to hook to my B7610. If you can, I would be interested hearing how your TracVac/B7610 set up handles the leaf pickup chores this fall, particularly how fine it chops the leafs, the capacity and dumping frequency, etc. TIA.