New Branson 3520H

[Gafn]

ning
Mostly PTO work, finish cut mower, tiller, Log Splitting (run at PTO speed for GPH to drive splitter), some non pto speed work with bucket, and forks.
Never seen the light during operations... so not sure if they are working, would have expected to see the light at least once. I normally mow 4.5 acres at a shot, so she gets up to operating temp. I am sure of that.

 

[ning]

ning
Mostly PTO work, finish cut mower, tiller, Log Splitting (run at PTO speed for GPH to drive splitter), some non pto speed work with bucket, and forks.
Never seen the light during operations... so not sure if they are working, would have expected to see the light at least once. I normally mow 4.5 acres at a shot, so she gets up to operating temp. I am sure of that.

"Mostly PTO work" = more than likely plenty of heat in the exhaust for the low-temp DPF system to keep itself clean.

I do mostly lower-temp stuff (lighter loader work, forks moving brush piles, etc) - and often not in the PTO RPM range, and while my light hasn't come on, I did see some extra smoke for about 30 seconds one day when hauling something heavy up a steep hill. My guess is that there was a bit of soot that got cooked off right then, but it passed before the temps likely came back down.
My guess is that the system tolerates intermittent hot work well. If how I'm using mine proves to be too much for the cooker, I'll either try running it hotter more, or I'll swap the cooker - TBH I'm not sure how much hotter 2200rpm is than 1500rpm with low load.

 

[ChrisRyan]

Hey - reviving an old thread.... this is a 2015 3520H

Well it has been a workhorse for me, I am guessing about 500 hours on the clock...
however...
- It has never had a regen cycle - I do mostly PTO work, tiller, mower, etc, so I am not sure if it actually is working
- The gas gauge failed, while under warranty - the dealer basically did not give a chit... (he no longer owns the dealership)
- The Dash itself - failed - the hour meter resets often, so yo never know when my tractor will have Zero hours on it (Failed after warranty ran out)
- The primary hydro line between the pump and the pedal block blew - covered under warranty, but took 6 weeks to get a dang hose

So now the dealership sent out a flyer - under new ownership...
I reach out to the new service writer and tell him of my troubles, he calls Branson, and they tell him - repair the tractor under warranty
So, Branson is standing behind their product even if the previous dealership owner did not give a dang about services
The new owner is determined to have a good service shop, and actually have parts on hand, or at least next day shipping

I am currently waiting to get her back and see how the repairs went... but I say Great Job Branson - way to stand by your gear

Hey Gafn,
I'm currently in Blairsville GA and about to pull the trigger on a Branson 3520CH. Curious about which dealership you're working with and how have they been since this post and now. There's a couple within an hour from me that I'm talking with about the purchase. Any insights are helpful.

 

[Gafn]

Hey Gafn,
I'm currently in Blairsville GA and about to pull the trigger on a Branson 3520CH. Curious about which dealership you're working with and how have they been since this post and now. There's a couple within an hour from me that I'm talking with about the purchase. Any insights are helpful.

Chris

I changed my dealership after an incident....
I now have a 2019 Branson 3520R...
I just picked it up from Mathis in Rome GA last week. Interaction with this dealer is simply put - the BEST dealer interaction I have ever experienced in my life!
Robert and Sabrina Mathis, they have my business for life. It is well worth the drive.

Mathis has a Tractor Dyno, and actually pre-tests every aspect of your tractor - including PTO power prior to you taking delivery... consider that.

I would offer you this advise... as a person who wanted and lived with a 3520H for 4 years..... DONT BUY AN "H" - period - end of story...
Now there was nothing wrong with the "H" until I drove the "R".
The power - seat of the pants feeling - is no comparison... IMHO - now.... Hydrostatic crap needs to remain on grass cutters - not real tractors.
Case in point - my previous 3520H vs my current 3520R

Mowing - PTO power appears much lower on the "H" - my finish cut mower is providing a much better cut now - so much so that the wife even stated that the yard looks MUCH better, it appears that the speed of the blades has increased - generating much more lift.

Hill, general driving - on the "H" with the engine at 2250 and a Finish cut mower on the back - the hills in my yard would cause a 300 - 400 RPM loss, with the "R" that is less than 50 RPM. This RPM loss would cause the mower blades to slow way down, and cutting would look nasty. With the "R" you get 3 gear ranges (low 1, med 2, high 3) and 4 gears for each - giving you 12 selections to find the proper speed for your task.
On the "H" - if you don't use the cruse control - you have to keep you right foot smashed on the go button - ALL THE TIME, many years ago I broke that foot, and well the first day driving the "R" was a huge pain relief.

Rear Locking Diff - should you ever need to use this... OMFG the engineer is an absolute moron... the pedal to engage the diff lock, is behind your right heel, and the go pedal is in front of your right toe. This makes you need to be a contortionist and get both feet onto the right side to engage the diff pedal and the go button.

Bottom line - I wish I had bought a "R" the first time! - this is just my opinion, but things you will have to live with.

 

[Aquamoose]

No need to mislead the gentleman about how hydrostatic belongs on grass cutters and not “real” tractors.

I own a 3520H and it suits my needs because I don’t farm or make straight runs from point A to point B as part of working the tractor. Some of us require frequent forward & aft movements such as brush clearing, snow plowing, moving logs, etc. Using a geared tractor would have been frustrating like my Kubota but I’m well aware that I simply have the wrong tractor for the job. If I was farming, I would have kept the Kubota and respected the hydrostatics.

Yes, the differential pedal location was a head scratcher but that’s the only flaw and managed to work around with it and only very rarely.

 

[Gafn]

Well - no misleading ... as stated... This is my Opinion.... and my opinion means jack squat to anyone not me...

Again - My Opinion.... and only my opinion - the shuttle shift removes frustration - left foot operates a clutch - like in truck/car - I have not driven a stick shift in many years, and driving the "R" was like riding a bike - no frustrations at all, and I actually like the downhill drift just by holding the clutch in. Quickly picking up the strip of grass I just missed... lol

Again my opinion - and it is NEW NEW NEW - so I am going to be as biased as heck about it. I do a lot of firewood processing - 3PT mounted splitter, till an acre a few times a year, mow 5 acres weekly, box blade, bucket, and grapple work. I will admit F - R transition with the Hydro - is quicker, but I am not in so much of a hurry when I am using the tractor and now for me the "R" is the only wan to go - Once again - just the opinion of ME, and I have been called stupid on a few occasions in my life...

 

[ChrisRyan]

Well - no misleading ... as stated... This is my Opinion.... and my opinion means jack squat to anyone not me...

Again - My Opinion.... and only my opinion - the shuttle shift removes frustration - left foot operates a clutch - like in truck/car - I have not driven a stick shift in many years, and driving the "R" was like riding a bike - no frustrations at all, and I actually like the downhill drift just by holding the clutch in. Quickly picking up the strip of grass I just missed... lol

Again my opinion - and it is NEW NEW NEW - so I am going to be as biased as heck about it. I do a lot of firewood processing - 3PT mounted splitter, till an acre a few times a year, mow 5 acres weekly, box blade, bucket, and grapple work. I will admit F - R transition with the Hydro - is quicker, but I am not in so much of a hurry when I am using the tractor and now for me the "R" is the only wan to go - Once again - just the opinion of ME, and I have been called stupid on a few occasions in my life...

Thanks for the info! And I'm definitely going to talk with the folks in Rome GA.

Here's my concern with the Hydrostatic vs Shuttle Shift....and again, I'm very very new to this, I'm concerned with the idea of burning up the clutch. I read through other posts where this was a real problem with the Shuttle shift. Now, it might just have been user error, but its something I want to be aware of.

I'm very confident in driving a stick, its what I learned to drive on, but the difference in PTO power does concern me.
We're looking at adding a BH, forks, FEL, post hole digger and bush hog. I have 35 acres, but only about 10 will be bush hogged on a monthly basis. We use the zero turn for the yard areas.

Actually the tractor we're really considering is the 4720CH. But now you have me thinking about the shuttle shift instead. Not much of a difference in price, the H is about $2k more.

I guess anyone else that has an opinion either way would be nice to hear from also.

Thanks Everyone!

 

[ptsg]

Clutches can be burned really fast by improper use. Other than that, they are really reliable and will last long.

On this side of the pond, I've seen several tractors with dry clutches that have only been changed at around 5000 to 6000 hours due to wear. Some of them have loaders and are used and abused heavily on dairy farms. It's just a matter of taking care of the clutch as in, avoid slipping the clutch, not riding with the foot on the clutch pedal, and so on.

Although the hydrostatic transmissions are faster on switching between forward and reverse, once you get used to the tractor, the same change in direction with a shuttle tractor can be easily done in pretty much the same time as the hydro ones. These tractors come with a synchronized shuttle shift which makes it very easy to change directions, since you don't have to actually stop the tractor.

 

[ChrisRyan]

Clutches can be burned really fast by improper use. Other than that, they are really reliable and will last long.

On this side of the pond, I've seen several tractors with dry clutches that have only been changed at around 5000 to 6000 hours due to wear. Some of them have loaders and are used and abused heavily on dairy farms. It's just a matter of taking care of the clutch as in, avoid slipping the clutch, not riding with the foot on the clutch pedal, and so on.

Although the hydrostatic transmissions are faster on switching between forward and reverse, once you get used to the tractor, the same change in direction with a shuttle tractor can be easily done in pretty much the same time as the hydro ones. These tractors come with a synchronized shuttle shift which makes it very easy to change directions, since you don't have to actually stop the tractor.

Thanks for the reply ptsg! Is there a negative to the Hydrostatic in your opinion? Loss of Horse power? As of today, I'm leaning more towards the Hydrostatic. I really appreciate the feedback, it all goes in the sausage grinder and helps to make the best decision.

 

[ptsg]

Honestly, I can't really comment on HST. We don't get those here, unless it's special ordered, I think. Since they are sold on the Netherlands and Germany, it might be possible to get HST at a much higher price I would assume.

The major drawback to me would be the HP loss on the PTO, but that would also depends on what the owner will do with the tractor. It may or may not affect his tasks. My tractor can handle some heavy work using the 540E on the PTO, from overgrowth higher than the ROPS to till ground that hasn't been touched in over 10 years. It would be interesting to see if I could do the same thing with an HST version. I think I couldn't but I don't have a way to know it for sure.

Over here, we are used to manual transmissions and clutches since pretty much all we drive is manual transmissions, so it's not a big deal at all to handle a clutch. Now I understand that dealing with a clutch can get tricky for some since you are used to the automatic transmissions that are almost standard there, therefore a HST would be my choice. Also, some guys will have their wives drive the tractors and then again, the HST will make it much more easier.

In the end, I think it's a matter of personal preference and needs.

The best advice I can give to you, is to ask the dealer if you can drive both models around for a bit to see what you like more.