Help me understand the Bs (educate a city boy: what's the diff between 23/26/29 hp)

[dochockin]

Hi folks,

I asked a related question about SCUT/CUT sizes on the general forum, but I wanted to explore the issue in more depth as it relates to Kubota B series tractors. I have 5 acres, most of which is old horse pasture. I'd like a small machine for maintenance and projects: flail mowing the pasture (there is little lawn to mow, I can do it with my walk behind in 30 min), fixing the driveway, digging post holes, moving materials (dirt/gravel/compost), digging trenches for utility lines and drainage (with a FEL and attachments, NO BACKHOE!), tilling new gardens, etc...

I have no experience with tractors, being a city boy that's recently relocated to the country. This means I have no frame of reference for judging what the subtle differences between CUTs actually means, on the ground. I am cognizant, and somewhat concerned, with buying too big a tractor and compacting soils or not being able to fit into smaller spots. Eventually we hope to develop the pasture into some form of silvopasture system (trees mixed with pasture) for mixed use. I envision harvesting firewood, raising a few hogs supplemented on nuts (chestnuts/walnuts). Obviously this will take years, but I'd prefer to buy one tractor that will last and be useful now and in the future.

For example: The local dealer sells B2320s for ~$16000 and B2620s for ~$18000. How much difference in capability will an extra $2000 make?

Another specific question is in regards to the mid-PTO; The B3300s don't have one, while the rest of the Bs do. As far as I can tell, mid-PTOs are for rotary mowers and snow blowers, neither of which I need. Seeing as Kubota lists the B2920 and the B3300 for roughly the same price, what's the advantage of the B2920 besides the mid-PTO?

Beyond the specific questions above, could you just educate me on how much difference there is between the Bs? How much changes as you jump from 2320 to 2620 to 2920?

Cheers!

 

[bcp]

I don't think you will be able to notice a 3hp difference on the same frame/tractor size, but if the +3hp tractor is a step up to bigger and heavier, the weight will allow more work to be done with those 3hp.

Bruce

 

[newbury]

Ah - To B or not 2 B that is the question.

5 acres with trees would tax my B7610 when it got to harvesting trees. Unless you have some CRITICAL DIMENSION try and go 30 HP or bigger. When I got my B7610 I had 2 critical dimensions, the size of my gate and the size of my wallet. But I bought used, if you are buying NEW for that NEW tractor smell they just basically ratchet up in horsepower.

I Blieve all the straight B's are Cat 1, (BX's may go smaller ?) so if money is critical think about buying a slightly larger used one rather than a new one.

Make a complete list of tasks and again look for critical points.

Do you need to lift a hog of certain size? Might want to go big.

Do you need to be able to drive it into a barn with a 7' tall doorway? Might want to be small.

Often anything you can do with a bigger tractor a small one will do but take longer, but some things are just not possible. My B7610 cannot lift my 1300lb planer.

Good luck

 

[dochockin]

Thanks for the responses! (Love the hamlet!).

The B2620 is +3hp and + 75 pounds... is that going to make a difference? Or does the weight difference need to be a few hundred pounds to make a difference?

As for used tractors, well... I'd love to buy a used one, but they are as rare as an honest politician in these parts. I live on Vancouver Island (bigger than Vermont, population 1/2 million people), mostly mountains and trees. I've been watching for a used tractor for about 6 months, and very few appear. Even the local dealer has few, and a mid-80s Kubota sells for ~$10,000... at that price I might as well by new (at least I can be confident about resale value). So it's not about the smell, it's about value for money. Which is where I'm stumped, how much extra value can I expect when jumping up the B series levels?

 

[bcp]

The B2620 is +3hp and + 75 pounds... is that going to make a difference? Or does the weight difference need to be a few hundred pounds to make a difference?

Not $2000 worth of difference. You can easily add 75lbs to the lighter tractor.

Bruce

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

MMM is a mid mount mower. A rotary (bush hog) mower is a rear rough cut mower for big weeds and little trees. Takes a bit more HP to run a rear rotary mower (bush hog) than MMM or rear finish mower.
I don't do snow blowers so don't know but under stand they require a bit more HP. I've had a B2320, B3200, B7800 and currently have a B2620, in between with 26 HP. The B3200 and B3300, I believe are on a bigger frame than the B2320, B2620 and B2920.
Ground clearance is another factor which if needed will move you from the SCUTs (BXs) to the CUT (Bs). with the B3300 and B3200 having the highest ground clearance in the B series, I believe.
Very little difference on most jobs between the B2320, B2620 and B2920. Rear Tiller should be about the same size for any of the B23/26/2920s and the HP need is doable with any of them because the tiller will quit turning if ground to hard with slip clutch so more HP won't do much difference. May have a few more pounds lift in FEL with a bit more HP but probably rarely will it be noticed.
Some people can't sleep if they don't have the higher HP, bigger, heavier model so if your one of those go for the B3200/B3300 and regret that you didn't move on up to the L or M series. If you don't have to have the fastest, biggest, heaviest machine and can be happy with what will do the job then any of them will work OK. If money is a bit of a factor then maybe get the lower or mid HP and spend the savings on implements because that's where the real value and use of a tractor starts to shine, stuff on the front and or back of that machine, which has to have at least a FEL. :thumbsup:

 

[Mac25]

My first/only/current tractor is a B2320. I went with the smaller one because I couldn't see a big HP difference in relation to the cost difference. I use mine for snow removal, driveway grading and odd and end jobs around the house, pulling shrubs, etc. I did get the LA 364 FEL instead of the standard LA 304 loader only because my dealer was having problems getting the 304 in stock and he ate the price difference. I don't mow with it so I opted for the R4 tires, which is my only regret because they are not very good in the snow. I also did not know the difference between the 1/4 inching valve and position control for the 3 pt hitch and can see where the position control would have it's advantages, but it's not a deal breaker for me. Overall, I am very happy with the 2320.

 

[MiserableOldFart]

It's a personal choice, but in a given frame size, I would always go with the maximum horsepower in that size if possible. Granted, 2 h.p. might not make much of a difference that you can see or feel, but put a RFM or snow thrower on the thing and you will. Depending on how much of an area you have snow to remove, the extra 2 h.p. would be nice to have. Of course, if you have a 20x50 driveway and you're going to use the loader to remove the snow, it won't make much difference. R4 tires are good in the snow, but chains over them are a lot better. There is also the option of screw-in studs that you can put in in fall and take off in spring.

2 h.p. in those little tractors probably translates to a 10% difference in PTO h.p. That's quite a bit for a blower, large RFM, bush hog, or chipper. I still believe that all the smaller h.p. models in any frame size are really superfluous and just confuse.

In my experience, finding a bargain used tractor is a matter of pure luck. You might do it, but then again, you might be hanging around waiting for someone to kick off and his wife be in a hurry to get rid of his stuff.. One of the places to look is Marshall Machinery - not because you necessarily want to buy there but because they always have lots of listings and I'm sure they know what to charge..

 

[tractchores]

I have the B2920. The reason to go with the higher horsepower is purely for PTO HP. The B2920 is also a little bit quieter as the engine revs a little less to get the power (at least to my ear having tried out the B2320 and B2920). It does make a small difference with other tasks, but you're generally traction limited VS HP limited except for PTO. In my case I want the extra PTO HP for a wood chipper and down the road if I want a snowblower, generator, mower or other powered implement more power is better (you can add weight etc, but not power). The B2320 came stock with a smaller less capable FEL than the B2920, while you can fit it to the B2320 they didn't generally come that way and you DO want the extra capability because you can use it. Mid PTO is useful for front implements (snow blower, sweeper) or a Mid mount mower. Having it may help with resale.

In terms of size and weight comparisons I'd look at the tightest job you have and size for that. You can add weight, but if it's an inch too wide or tall you cannot fix that. In my case The B2x20 is sized just right to fit under my deck to move wood and mulch, I also like the smaller / lighter frame for working in the woods and on my leach field. You can do a tremendous amount of work with a 'b' and all your jobs sound like good tasks for one. The only times I've wanted bigger is moving large rocks and I'd have to probably go to an L or M to get that kind of lift capacity, which wouldn't work for all the other jobs....

 

[newbury]

John brings up a VERY important point.

<snip> If money is a bit of a factor then maybe get the lower or mid HP and spend the savings on implements because that's where the real value and use of a tractor starts to shine, stuff on the front and or back of that machine, which has to have at least a FEL. :thumbsup:

When I STARTED seriously looking for a larger tractor to handle my logs SWMBO wanted an estimate of the cost. I gave her a SWAG of $15K, that was early 2012. Well life hands you changes. My son and his wife decided to make it three with a baby boy and they needed to move into a house I'd been renting by May 2013. Which required major cleanup of a half acre of land gone to woods and brush for 30 years.

Luckily I had got my M4700 for about $12K which left an easy $3K for implements. I'm really glad I did because they all came in REALLY handy cleaning up the house lot. I used the heck out of my pallet forks (poor man's grapple) and wood chipper. Getting an expensive tractor without major implements is penny wise and kilogram foolish.

Do you have any place you can rent a tractor similar to what your thinking of getting? A few hundred spent on rental may be well worth it if you find out it won't do what you want.