cyclone rake on B series?

[MattEffinCameron]

does anyone use a cyclone rake with a kubota B series? I have a 60" MMM and from what I have read the bagger system from kubota is not only lower capacity than a CR but probably more expensive and more difficult to quickly attach/detach (I assume based on what I have read about the kubota collection system..). just started poking around the CR website and they dont list B series tractors so im not sure if it would be compatible, also curious what peoples' experiences with the CR have been....would use mostly for collecting grass cliippings.

 

[4570Man]

I don't like my cyclone rake. My biggest complaint is the soft sides swell out around the frame making it difficult to dump. You have to manually rake out at least 20 percent before it will dump. Edit I just noticed you are bagging grass. My primary use is with leafs. Dumping green grass is about 10 times harder than leafs. Why do you want to catch grass? I would much prefer something with hard sides. I do have to admit the cyclone rake has held up to about 10 years of abuse sucking several hundred loads per season and it's still going strong. I'd love to have one of those that rides on the back of my F-series Kubota. I haven't looked at the price, but I'm sure Kubota is proud of them. I'd probably be better off to sell my machine and buy a used one that already has one.

 

[Baby Grand]

CR sells a 3 point hitch adapter - something to consider. We are using one that's about ten years old, too, and it's very well built. We use it to collect leaves in the Fall. The chopped up leaves make great compost for our garlic beds. We run ours behind a G5200 mower with 15HP & a 44" deck. 4570Man is correct about the collection bag - you have to work to empty it. We keep a cultivating fork slipped into the loops in the bag for this purpose. I never really thought about the issue of emptying the bag and how the bulging sides prevent the contents from coming out, but now I'm thinking a plywood box with a vented, fabric top may be on the build list, when it gets warmer.
-Jim

 

[KennyG]

Call the CR people directly. They are very helpful. I have a Cyclone Rake on my JD 2320. I have not experienced any dumping difficulties, either with leaves or grass, so mine seems very different from 4570Man. The CR 3 point adapter is set up for Cat 0. I just welded up the standard CR hitch to an adapter I could put on a drawbar/trailer receiver on my quick hitch. If you have access to basic welding or cutting/drilling capability, you can probably set up your own 3 point hitch easily. The CR hitch is only an L-shaped plate that needs to be attached to the tractor.

 

[oldballs]

This is the first year that I've owned the CR. I bought the biggest and best of all their models/accessories (Z-10). It works great on my Kubota B2620 using the 60 inch MMM. `I made a few minor adjustments for attaching the MDA (Mower Deck Adapter). The company was quite responsive to any customer service questions via phone or e-mail.

I use it mostly for collecting leaves, but have collected green grass. Unloading I don't view as a problem. Yes, it seems necessary to help the unload with some hand raking. But the leaf/grass gets spread around in the garden by hand anyway.

I can make the hook-up using their 3-point hardware or hook it to my Quick-Hitch/trailer receiver like KennyG above.

My unit is stored (assembled) in an outbuilding ready to go as needed. Although it is relatively expensive, I enjoy using it versus hiring the work out (Ain't That Rich!) as I take care of my 3 acres of tall pines, tall sycamores, tall oaks, big maples, large walnuts et al.

Cheers,
Mike

 

[4570Man]

Call the CR people directly. They are very helpful. I have a Cyclone Rake on my JD 2320. I have not experienced any dumping difficulties, either with leaves or grass, so mine seems very different from 4570Man. The CR 3 point adapter is set up for Cat 0. I just welded up the standard CR hitch to an adapter I could put on a drawbar/trailer receiver on my quick hitch. If you have access to basic welding or cutting/drilling capability, you can probably set up your own 3 point hitch easily. The CR hitch is only an L-shaped plate that needs to be attached to the tractor.

Have you tried green grass? Longer grass is even worse. If the leaves are spread out sparingly it seems they are harder to dump. If the leaves are heavy they don't seem to get mulched as fine and pack loser.

 

[pacer1980]

I also have the top of the line unit - for about 8 years it was attached to a big box Yard Man, then for the last couple been on a old G1900 with 48" deck, to say it performs well would be an understatement - it is amazing! I had fought pine straw clean up for years with several variations of cleaning it up with limited success, then I got the CR!!

Yes, dumping it requires a little help only because unless the material is very dry or is a partial load, the tilting of it is very difficult, just too heavy! I just empty a bit out by hand taking 3-5 minutes then I can lift it to tilt mode and out it comes. Mind you, it requires moving the tractor forward a foot or so to let it all fall out.

Love my Cyclone Rake!!

 

[Couple of Achers]

I have had a CR for many years. I use it both for spring clean up and fall leave collection. We love it and would not want to be without it any longer. I ordered the 3pt hitch adapter for it and specified Cat 1. It came with the right size pins for the lift arms and top hitch. One thing I would suggest you do if you can. I ordered the deck adapter chute from Kubota. (see pic) It fits exactly and goes on with one thumb screw. It has an 8" discharge chute that fit perfectly in the 8" hose that came with the CR. It cost a little bit more than the deck adapter that you can buy from CR, but there is not cutting and trying to adapt it to your mower deck. The largest unit came with a 10" hose and I didn't want to get some adapter so I bought the next size down from the largest unit. As far as unloading goes, yes, it gets packed in there and gets rather heavy. But most of comes out on the initial dump, then I just pull ahead a little bit and shake the rest out. I found it not to be a big deal.
One other thing I would suggest is to upgrade to the dual wheels. When full of wet grass it gets mighty heavy.

 

[itsjustme]

I have had a CR for many years. I use it both for spring clean up and fall leave collection. We love it and would not want to be without it any longer. I ordered the 3pt hitch adapter for it and specified Cat 1. It came with the right size pins for the lift arms and top hitch. One thing I would suggest you do if you can. I ordered the deck adapter chute from Kubota. (see pic) It fits exactly and goes on with one thumb screw. It has an 8" discharge chute that fit perfectly in the 8" hose that came with the CR. It cost a little bit more than the deck adapter that you can buy from CR, but there is not cutting and trying to adapt it to your mower deck. The largest unit came with a 10" hose and I didn't want to get some adapter so I bought the next size down from the largest unit. As far as unloading goes, yes, it gets packed in there and gets rather heavy. But most of comes out on the initial dump, then I just pull ahead a little bit and shake the rest out. I found it not to be a big deal.View attachment 454889
One other thing I would suggest is to upgrade to the dual wheels. When full of wet grass it gets mighty heavy.

I have a BX1850 that I used a CR model XL-10 on and agree 100% with Couple of Archers.

Mine had the dual wheels and I used the Kubota boot also, I have a Handy Hitch and drilled two holes in it to mount the CR on.
Dumping is a LOT easier if you unzip the rear door, raise your hitch higher, unlatch the dump mechanism and pull forward.

 

[MattEffinCameron]

thanks for all the helpful responses!

Do any of you with Kubota BX/B feel like the added suction of the CR on the chute improved the cut at all? Was just wondering about that the other day since it would more "proactively" clean any cut grass out of the deck and maybe help (to some extent) light blades that are to be cut.

 

[Couple of Achers]

I can't say it has/will improve your cut. Sharp blades are the key to nice cut. I did put the high lift blades on my mower deck to create more lift on the grass and/or leaves as they are being cut. The combination between the high lift blades and the CR does a really nice job of clean up. Another tip for easier dumping is that I seldom run it long enough to pack it full. I can feel it behind me when it is getting heavy and I know it is time to dump it. It is kind of like the tail wagging the dog. (However, with the larger B series tractor, you may never feel it back there). Once I feel that, it is time to dump. Sometimes if the leaves are very dry, it will never get to that stage and will over fill. I have developed a good feel for how long to run it before dumping. But it depends on so many factors. Height of grass, amount of leaves, when the material is wet or dry. But over time you'll get a feel for it.

 

[4570Man]

I don't think it will help a bit with the cut quality. High lift blades and sharp blades will though. The faster the tip speed the better the cut quality, but you really can't change that. My finish mower cuts way better than my MMM. The finish mower had a tip speed of 26,000 FPM. The MMM is about half that fast.

 

[Evitin]

Hi Couple of Achers, I just bought Cyclone Rake for my Kubota B2620. I don't really like the fact that the mower deck adapter is smaller than the mower deck opening. CR said it's the biggest one they have. I just talked to Kubota dealer about it and he was confused of what I was talking about. He will probably email me later if he found more info. Is the Kubota's chute able to float up on terrain changes? How is it connected, rigidly or is it connected to the same connector used to connect grass deflector.

 

[oldballs]

Here's my hookup on the B2620 using the CR adapter.

It was my own adaptation to the materials provided by CR. Works okay for me.

Cheers,
Mike

P.S. Welcome to TBN, Evitin.

 

[Volfandt]

I've been using a CR behind my BX23 for 12 years now and it does the job I originally got it for. Someone asked why collect grass, one word, compost....
I mow 2 acres weekly during season and 2 other acres every 2 weeks. I mow (side discharge) in such a way as to make 8 windrows. I then quickly connect up the CR, pickup the windrows and dump them in a big compost pile. I'll do this every 3 or 4 mows. I turn the pile once every couple weeks with the FEL and by late spring I have fresh compost for the garden. I don't add any browns or any chemicals, just fresh cut grass.....I haven't had to use any fertilizer on the garden I use the compost in.
I find that as soon as I see the CR spitting grass out the side discharge ports and shut the blades off the CR won't be filled so tightly which makes it easier to dump.

I usually just mulch up the leaves and leave the bits and pieces lay. Most of my big leaf producing trees are getting killed off by the Emerald Ash borer so I don't have the leaves I used too.
I use gatorblades on my 60" MMM and slap a home made mulch plate over the discharge port which does somewhat OK on the leaves.

 

[Volfandt]

I've been using a CR behind my BX23 for 12 years now and it does the job I originally got it for. Someone asked why collect grass, one word, compost....
I mow 2 acres weekly during season and 2 other acres every 2 weeks. I mow (side discharge) in such a way as to make 8 windrows. I then quickly connect up the CR, pickup the windrows and dump them in a big compost pile. I'll do this every 3 or 4 mows. I turn the pile once every couple weeks with the FEL and by late spring I have fresh compost for the garden. I don't add any browns or any chemicals, just fresh cut grass.....I haven't had to use any fertilizer on the garden I use the compost in.
I find that as soon as I see the CR spitting grass out the side discharge ports and shut the blades off the CR won't be filled so tightly which makes it easier to dump.

I usually just mulch up the leaves and leave the bits and pieces lay. Most of my big leaf producing trees are getting killed off by the Emerald Ash borer so I don't have the leaves I used too.
I use gatorblades on my 60" MMM and slap a home made mulch plate over the discharge port which does somewhat OK on the leaves.

 

[Evitin]

Here's my hookup on the B2620 using the CR adapter.View attachment 570533View attachment 570534

It was my own adaptation to the materials provided by CR. Works okay for me.

Cheers,
Mike

P.S. Welcome to TBN, Evitin.

Hi Mike, thank you for the pics! Those really help! I wasn't convinced since the MDA was too small. Do you think it will be fine with my uneven terrain? Will it give a little if it got hit from the bottom? Is yours Z-10 or XL? Mine is XL. Did you use jigsaw to cut the hole?

 

[oldballs]

Hi Mike, thank you for the pics! Those really help! I wasn't convinced since the MDA was too small. Do you think it will be fine with my uneven terrain? Will it give a little if it got hit from the bottom? Is yours Z-10 or XL? Mine is XL. Did you use jigsaw to cut the hole?

Quite honestly, I don't remember ........but probably used my old Craftsman jig saw to cut the opening in the MDA. Not knowing how rugged your place is, I'd say the MMM will glide over the terrain as good as it usually does, even with the CR attached. I bought the Z-10. IIRC, the times that I need the CR people to assist me with questions or replacement parts that they were quite helpful.
Cheers,
Mike

 

[Evitin]

Thank you Mike, I will go ahead and cut the hole and make the connection. I have to buy jigsaw first. We live on a slope and there are 3 sinkholes (about one foot deep 10 feet wide) in the middle of the lawn but I will just avoid that when I have CR attached. I hope the XL is big enough for my mower otherwise Idk ... The CR lady that I chatted before I bought it, tried to sell me the XL bundle so I went down from Z10 to XL to save about $300. Well I will find out if I made wrong decision or not!

 

[Evitin]

Hi, I tried to order Kubota mower deck boot for my RCK60-29B but the Kubota dealer said it will only fit 7 3/4 inch hose. My Cyclone Rake is XL so it has 8 inches hose. If I use the rubber collar from Cyclone Rake (which I don't have right now because I ordered their MDA), do you think it will fit just fine? This Kubota boot costs $289 but if that fits better for my mower I would rather use it. Anyone would live to give me suggestions?