Ordering a new B2650 - 60 or 72 MMM?

[Bevan175]

OK so I have come to the conclusion that the Kubota B2650 is the machine for me. 11 acres 5 wooded. so 6 groomed to cut with limited trees. Also a 1200' drive to plow and scrape. No hills, mostly poker table flat with some contouring. Will see loader work for rocks, dirt, gardening and fire wood. Turf tires

Question is are there any reasons to get the 60 MMM over the 72? I have no storage or parking limitations. I'm not worried about taking it on and off, I like working with my equipment/toys. Just about operation and cut quality. Also the local dealer said he swaps out the blades for the Zero turn blades. Anyone hear of this swap?

 

[GaBota]

Congratulations Bevan on your B2650, it is a great little tractor. I have the B2650 cab with 60" MMM. I like the cut it gives and yes you can use the ZT Blades on it. They seem to give a cleaner cut and cost less to replace.

 

[85Hokie]

OK so I have come to the conclusion that the Kubota B2650 is the machine for me. 11 acres 5 wooded. so 6 groomed to cut with limited trees. Also a 1200' drive to plow and scrape. No hills, mostly poker table flat with some contouring. Will see loader work for rocks, dirt, gardening and fire wood. Turf tires

Question is are there any reasons to get the 60 MMM over the 72? I have no storage or parking limitations. I'm not worried about taking it on and off, I like working with my equipment/toys. Just about operation and cut quality. Also the local dealer said he swaps out the blades for the Zero turn blades. Anyone hear of this swap?

HOW flat is your yard.....that to me would be the question, IF flat - go bigger and knock out cutting grass quicker. IF not so flat, the 60 will cut those "humps" a little better.

He is probably talking about high lift mulching blades..... cut the grass up a little better and shoot it out better.

 

[BAP]

I have a B2920 with a 60"mmm. I mow about 1-1/2 acres of lawn with many things to mow around but plenty of room. I wished I had gone with the 72" mower because then I could put on wheel spacers to widen the stance for hills. The 60" won't allow spacers to be used. The tractor has plenty of power for the bigger mower.

 

[D2Cat]

85Hokie, he said, "...mostly poker table flat." Can you get it flatter then that?

 

[85Hokie]

85Hokie, he said, "...mostly poker table flat." Can you get it flatter then that?

I didn't know it got that flat up yonder!

 

[chim]

Not MMM's, but whether it's under you or behind you, width is a larger factor than you'd think. I only had one MMM for a couple years right after we built, and have been using RFM's since 1992. Going from a 5 foot deck to a 6 foot deck reduced the mowing time from about 33 minutes per acre to 22.

 

[Missouribound]

Since you plan on using a loader why not get a rear finish mower instead of the belly mount? I can't imagine having to worry about the belly mount when using my loader. Seems like you would have double work clearing a path for the mower instead of just the width of the loader. A finish mower cuts every bit as smooth as a belly mount, it's quieter for you and there are no wind rows.....not to mention when cutting on windy days there is little to no grass blowing back in your face.
And it's much faster to remove the 3 pt mower than the belly mount.....maybe 2-3 min if you take your time.

 

[BAP]

Since you plan on using a loader why not get a rear finish mower instead of the belly mount? I can't imagine having to worry about the belly mount when using my loader. Seems like you would have double work clearing a path for the mower instead of just the width of the loader. A finish mower cuts every bit as smooth as a belly mount, it's quieter for you and there are no wind rows.....not to mention when cutting on windy days there is little to no grass blowing back in your face.
And it's much faster to remove the 3 pt mower than the belly mount.....maybe 2-3 min if you take your time.

I can have my mid mount mower off in 2 minutes and back on in about 3 minutes. MMM is much easier to see what's going on and there is no wagging the tail.

 

[rkidd]

I can have my mid mount mower off in 2 minutes and back on in about 3 minutes. MMM is much easier to see what's going on and there is no wagging the tail.

Same time frame here with my mmm. Love it. And I also have a land pride 72' rfm so I have plenty of experience with both.

 

[Bevan175]

Thanks for the input. First time back to a large property in 20 yrs.

 

[Oliver]

I wished I had gone with the 72" mower because then I could put on wheel spacers to widen the stance for hills. The 60" won't allow spacers to be used. The tractor has plenty of power for the bigger mower.

I don't believe spacers work with the 72" deck.
My B2650 powers the 72" deck just fine and with 4 swivel casters it pulls right out after raising the front with the FEL.

 

[NoJacketRequired]

A couple of comments from a fellow Ontarian...
1) Don't worry about power - you'll have lots for either deck. For comparison purposes our B7510 (17 pto HP) has no trouble with a 60" triple blade MMM except mowing grass which really should be called "hay".

2) Previous posts about a 3pt hitch finishing mower are pretty much right on with my experience, with a big caveat. One needs to buy a decent finishing mower. If you can, get one with rear discharge and very robust castoring wheels. I've bent the wheel brackets more than once on a less-than-robust mower.

3) What part of the province at you in? If you get much snow at all, plowing it will quickly be revealed as a total waist of time. Several threads on this forum last winter attested to the satisfaction of snow blower owners, including me. For a long lane, go with a front-mount blower. This will likely mean you can't have the front mount blower frame and FEL in place at the same time. I take our FEL off and park it for the winter. The front-mount blower is the best thing since sliced bread - easy on the body (no more sore neck), quick enough, and it eliminates those horrid windrows on each side of the lane which, in the presence of a little wind, results in your lane drifting full of snow again.

4) I wish you much enjoyment of your rural property!