b2601 vs lx2610

[jyoutz]

That's opinion, and a valid one.

My opinion is that there's no real issue taking a MMM on and off, I do mine every couple weeks and it takes around a couple of minutes each way. A rear mower would take me as long. And I find a MMM much easier to use in many situations. There are also situations where a rear mower would be better (pushing it under things for example), it's very much horses for courses.

We did explicitly talk up thread about size of rotary cutter, and it doesn't sound like a big cutter is in the plans. So there isn't a lot of benefit to an L for the OP. And if he likes the comfort features of the LX, that's a reasonable choice too. If you used the loader a lot then loader stick position would be quite important.

One issue with a mmm is mowing dry native grass or weeds. All is good if you’re cutting them green, but when dry, the chaff tends to get blown up and clog the radiator screen often. I guess due to the closer proximity of the deck ejection to the radiator. With a 3ph mower, the chaff is ejected far enough to the rear that this issue is minimal.

 

[PaulL]

I did not enjoy taking off the MMM on my B2601. I got tired of doing it. Is it routine, yes. But, if you don’t have a completely flat and smooth surface, it can become a bit more of a chore. I much prefer having a dedicated mower. However, if you need a one machine solution, it is definitely the way to go!

Interesting. I usually take mine off on the lawn, which is only vaguely flat, and definitely not smooth. But it gives me no real issues, and 1:15 to take it off, 2:15 to put it on, without going particularly fast.

Taking off and putting on implements on a tractor is always work, and always involves pushing, kicking, lifting, tipping. But the MMM is probably my easiest implement to put on or remove, mostly because it's proprietary so it does some amount of self aligning.

 

[Rdrcr]

^^^^
Half of my issue was sheer laziness, lol. But, it really felt like a chore at times when I was performing multiple tractor tasks on the same day.
Perhaps if I didn’t have to deal with the mid-PTO driveshaft, pinning and placing ramps and MMM alignment (pushing, shoving & kicking) to remove and install the mower it would have been a more enjoyable chore.

I’ve grown accustomed to and rely heavily on my QA loader and 3pt Quick Hitch for fast and trouble free hookups to all my attachments and just hoping on my ZTR for mowing duties.
I’m definitely spoiled by these innovations and additional equipment.

Mike

 

[PaulL]

^^^^
Half of my issue was sheer laziness, lol. But, it really felt like a chore at times when I was performing multiple tractor tasks on the same day.
Perhaps if I didn’t have to deal with the mid-PTO driveshaft, pinning and placing ramps and MMM alignment (pushing, shoving & kicking) to remove and install the mower it would have been a more enjoyable chore.

I’ve grown accustomed to and rely heavily on my QA loader and 3pt Quick Hitch for fast and trouble free hookups to all my attachments and just hoping on my ZTR for mowing duties.
I’m definitely spoiled by these innovations and additional equipment.

Mike

Yeah, I worked out I was doing it wrong (hence the video). The mower self aligns if you put the arms down before you drive over. And you need to set the mower adjust to zero before reattaching. That eliminated all the pushing, pulling and lifting for me - drive over and it self aligns, flick the pins, then sit on the tractor and lift the arms a bit until they lock in. You have to rock the tractor back and forth a bit on the HST and lift the arms slowly. Then lift it a bit before attaching the drive shaft, which means you can easily rotate it (when the mower's hard on the grass the blades won't turn, so it's hard to align). Other people suggest putting the PTO in neutral so the PTO shaft on the tractor side will easily turn, I haven't needed to do that but it sounds like a reasonable option as well.

I'm now at a point where I quite enjoy taking the mower on and off - it's just another variant of playing with my tractor. It doesn't feel like a chore at all. Same with loader on and off - I've gotten a lot better at it. That definitely does require a hard flat surface (inside your shed on a concrete floor is ideal....).

 

[S-G-R]

One issue with a mmm is mowing dry native grass or weeds. All is good if you’re cutting them green, but when dry, the chaff tends to get blown up and clog the radiator screen often. I guess due to the closer proximity of the deck ejection to the radiator. With a 3ph mower, the chaff is ejected far enough to the rear that this issue is minimal.

Agreed. With my LX2610 w/mmm you had to keep an eye on the temp gauge. Lot of light debris would get sucked into the grill and under the hood. Since I moved on to the LX3310 and rear finish mower it's pretty rare that I get any substantial amount of crap in the grill or screens.

 

[GrizBota]

Agreed. With my LX2610 w/mmm you had to keep an eye on the temp gauge. Lot of light debris would get sucked into the grill and under the hood. Since I moved on to the LX3310 and rear finish mower it's pretty rare that I get any substantial amount of crap in the grill or screens.

Must be a situational thing.

I run my B with the MMM and my L with a three point brush hog. I clean the screens on both every time I’m done mowing. 1/2 hour or 6 hours. Obviously a greater run time results in more debris on the screens, but in either case the amount of material on the screens for either rig is comparable. For my normal 2 hour sessions, maybe 10 to 20% of the screen surface area has anything on it.

Once, early on, I overheated the L because I hadn’t cleaned the screen off for a couple tanks of fuel. It was packed full. That’s when I decided to clean it after every mowing session, regardless of how long. I also use a leaf blower to blow the radiator out from the engine side after every mowing session.

Both of them do get the majority of the front and side grill screen vent surface area covered in debris in about 2 hours. But it comes off very easily if I shut the engine off and wipe it with my hand.