3pt finish mower

fatjay

Active member

Equipment
Kubota B8200, B7200, ZD21
Nov 12, 2016
314
147
43
Eastern PA, USA
I'm looking for a 3pt finish mower, since finding a belly mower for my B8200 will be next to impossible. It made me think though, can I even use a 3pt finish mower? I hooked up the rear blade from my '51 ferguson TO30, and when I lifted it, it came a half inch off the ground, it was just to big for my kubota. Will I experience the same thing with a finish mower?
 

Piker

Member

Equipment
2012 Kubota 2320, 2002 Honda Rubicon
Dec 1, 2010
164
0
11
Riverview, NB, Canada
Used a 4' finish mower & a 4' brush hog when I had a B7100 & both worked great. They were Cat 1 mowers & only required some fiddling with the length of the top link to get the correct mowing height & they lifted completely off the ground for transport.
 

fatjay

Active member

Equipment
Kubota B8200, B7200, ZD21
Nov 12, 2016
314
147
43
Eastern PA, USA
I'm looking at 6' mowers, but they're craigslist, and have a hard time figuring out if htey're cat 1 or cat 2. I thought my b8200 would be cat 2 since it's much larger than my father's b7200, sadly I don't think it's the case.

Still paying $2000 for a new one is a tough pill to swallow, when they're used for $400 in good shape. I guess I don't need it to lift to far up, or could just leave it down since the ones i'm shopping for are 4 wheel models.
 

Bulldog

Well-known member

Equipment
M 9000 DTC, L 3000 DT
Mar 30, 2010
5,440
78
48
Rocky Face, Georgia
It's common to have Cat1 all the way up to 40 or 50 hp machines.

A 6' mower will probably give your tractor a good workout. In heavy grass a 6' is a load on my L3000. Other than that it should lift fine. You'll also find most mowers will be Cat1 because they are really made for small tractors. I only have seem 1 being pulled behind a M series and that was where a man had plenty of money to throw away. I mean really, how many people mow their lawn with a 70 hp tractor.

Used or not, find out what the blade tip speed is. You need one that's 15,000 fpm or above if you want a quality cut. Most cheap mowers are slower and cut like crap. Learned that the hard way. Lots of quality mowers out there but you really get what you pay for.

Personally, I have a Bushhog brand that has been nothing but a great mower. Just finished it's 17th season and other than blades the only thing that failed has been the bushings in the wheels. I did the bearing upgrade so I don't expect any other problems with that.

My advise is start now and do brand research. Pick a few brands and study them. You have all winter so when one comes up for sale you'll already know all the specs and can make a smart purchase. It's way easier and cheaper to know what to buy than it is to search for parts and a way to fix it. Good luck, hope this helps. :D