2515 HP Gain

[Cablefed]

Long time looker, first time posting. I have been a Branson owner for 5 years. Sold my 2400H for a 2515H. The 2400H handled my 60 inch finish mower and 4 ft brush hog just fine in high gear. I bought this 2515h as an upgrade for more lifting capacity and stability. When I use the finish mower or brush hog in midrange it really works the motor all over the place causing the RPM's to move from 1800-2300 depending on the grass thickness. In low gear everything seems fine, low gear is seems really slow to be mowing in. My feeling the power to weight ratio and or gearing is to blame.

My question is has anyone toyed with these motors yet to get any HP gains? I've heard there is a possible adjustment screw to turn the fuel up as well as messing with the throttle linkage to gain more RPM's. i have not seen, yes I did search, any actual posts relating to this topic, just meantion of it in other posts.

I'm so disappointed in the PTO power in the 2415H, I'm about ready to trade it in for something with more HP. Any info and or direction would be greatly appreciated.

 

[ptsg]

Welcome to the forum.

Keep in mind that you went from a 1800 lbs bare tractor to a 3000 lbs bare tractor while keeping the same HP, only a bit more displacement, so yes it may struggle a bit, even more being HST.

Supposedly it's possible to increase the HP slightly by adjusting the fuel screw or by adjusting the max RPM stop, however, this later one will cause it to overspeed the PTO because the PTO is geared of the 2200/2300 engine RPM on the 2515, compared to the 2600 engine RPM on the other models. Both ways will void the warranty right away though.

I, honestly, think you're better off just trading for a 3515. Skip the 3015 and go straight for the 35HP one. Sure, you'll have the emissions to deal with but it's not as bad as it once was, plus it's a an easy "fix" on the Bransons.

I have the European version of the 3515R and I do think it's minimum HP I would want on a tractor this size and this heavy. I've always been a bit skeptical about the 2515 and 3015. It just looks to little HP for these size and weight of tractor, at least for PTO work. For loader work, it good enough.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

Welcome to TBN.

I have no idea if your old 2400H fell into the recall or not. But they had a recall on those in a certain Mfg. date range to bring them in and turn down the hp, because they actually exceeded their hp rating on paper enough that it was a Tier IV compliance issue. So maybe your old 2400 was a "hotrod", and your new 2515 is actually pulling it's rated hp?

But I agree with ptsg about the bigger tractor's weight is probably what's making the most difference there. Mowing in low range doesn't work the engine as hard as the lower gear doesn't take away as much hp.

I can tell you that mowing with a 6 foot brush hog and my 32 pto hp works very well. Unless the grass is taller than my hood and really thick, I can go at whatever speed is comfortable dependent on how rough the ground is. I'm almost always in M range (3 range hydro) unless it's very steep ground, then it's L range and 4wd with the rear diff locked.

 

[Cablefed]

PTSG, thanks for the reply. I agree going up in weight requires more HP to get the Hydrostat drive working and takes away from the PTO output when using both. I guess my expectations were about the same with the 2400H. I totally get the warranty thing too. I have tried to follow up with other users of the 2515H that use their tractor as a finish mower also complain of the same issues, but they just deal with it. I clock over 150hrs a year with my tractor and I don't think I can just settle.

I am at 66 hours right now. My local dealer offered to give me 2K more than I paid for my tractor, paid 18K they offered my 20K, move my 3rd function and rear remotes over to a 4815R for $500. The 4815R is $23,900, used with 49 hours. I really don't want the shuttle and have become used to the hydro. There have not been any 3515H tractors at this dealer in over a year due to availability, that's what the dealer told me anyways. the 4815H is $25,900. Another dealer 2 Hours away just raised their 2515H prices to $23,499. Less than 6 months ago you could pick one up for 18K and a 3515H for $23,500. Its amazing what you pay for just a few more ponies and how fast these prices are increasing.

I feel like its a good tractor, other than button placement, short 3 point handle, and lack of PTO power, I just don't understand why they would release a tractor that can not handle something as simple as mowing with a mower that is the same width of or less than the rear tires. Looking at the CK3510SE, however seems like they are having all kinds of issues sending them out the door to fast and a butt load of electronics on the motor. Frustrating to say the least.

 

[Cablefed]

I did get the memo from Branson for the 2400H and talked to the dealer. Dealer told me to leave it alone as it would detune my motor. I will say it was a beast of a little tractor. I'd probably still have it if it didn't have a pin on bucket and didn't cost an arm and a leg to convert to a quick attach oh and the crappy turn buckles.

 

[ptsg]

I do like the simplicity of the Branson tractors and how heavily built they are. As little electronics as possible and the few electronics it has, won't prevent you from fixing it yourself and having to rely on a dealer to get it going. I also agree with the short 3 pt lever. I did make an extension for mine, along with adding a lever to the rear of the tractor to help when attaching implements. Awesome additions.

The tractor market is indeed really crazy. My tractor costs about $4,5k more than what I paid in 2017 and let's not even get in used tractor market asking more than a new tractor out of the lot.

That's a tempting offer from the dealer. To bad he doesn't really have the exact model you want. Maybe you could step up to about double the HP. That would really make a difference!

 

[Cablefed]

10-4 on the simplicity of these tractors. I drove a Kioti CK4010SE CAB the other day, nice tractor but something seemed off about the durability. Seems cheaply made compared to the Branson. Kioti at least has nice ergonomics and button placement.

I'd love to see how you setup your 3 point lever extension and the setup for the rear adjustment from the back.

 

[ptsg]

Absolutely.

Here are some pictures of the extension. I don't quite remember how long it is, but it's between 5 to 6" long. I angled it about 5 degrees to the right to clear the seat and about 20 or 25 to the front. On the Gear transmission, the angle towards the front is limited by the gear shifter in the 4rd gear position. On an HST, it has a lot more space to work with.

In the 3rd picture, you can compare it with the Draft control lever on the left, which sits about 1.5" lower than the position control level without the extension.

For the rear 3PT lever, it's just a clamp that clamps on the Position control lever, then a rod with a couple ball ends. The pivot mount clamps on the ROPS. Everything can revert back to stock in a couple of minutes without any trace of modifications.

 

[Cablefed]

Wow! Great work and detail. Does the extension handle slide over the existing 3 point handle and hold with a set screw?

 

[ptsg]

Wow! Great work and detail. Does the extension handle slide over the existing 3 point handle and hold with a set screw?

Thank you!. Yes, I machined a slot to fit the original handle and a single bolt holds it in place.

 

[Cablefed]

Let me ask this. I own a mobile home park with 10 acres. I use this tractor like a swiss army knife for many applications. The PTO is only used for finish mowing and brush hogging. Would switching to a flail mower help with my HP requirements vs. making a tractor change? I've read that a Flail mower requires less HP due to the amount of rotating mass that has be slung around by the gearbox on the mower itself.

 

[Jchonline]

Let me ask this. I own a mobile home park with 10 acres. I use this tractor like a swiss army knife for many applications. The PTO is only used for finish mowing and brush hogging. Would switching to a flail mower help with my HP requirements vs. making a tractor change? I've read that a Flail mower requires less HP due to the amount of rotating mass that has be slung around by the gearbox on the mower itself.

How big is the finish mower? How many acres do you mow? What about a Zero Turn mower?

 

[Cablefed]

I mow approx. 2 acres on one side and 6 acres on the other side. I hire a mowing service for most of the park but take care of the septic fields with the finish mower and brush hog. The finish mower is 60 inches and the brush hog is a 4 foot unit. I'd pay my mowing service to cut the septic fields but they are kinda ruff for a zero turn.

 

[ericm979]

Rotary cutters (rough and finish) have fairly low inertia. Flail mowers would have more. But that's only an issue when starting the mower turning. Once the mower is turning at full speed it does not matter.

Flails would take more hp per foot in the same grass than a brush hog since they recut the grass.

If you're mowing on a hill you could mow 2ft wide (or whatever lets you stay in middle range) when going up hill and cut the full width when going down.

 

[JonnyRed]

I bought a 2515H in January 2021. I put 180 hours on it in 8 months. I realized I had the wrong size tractor when I attempted to run a 5 foot tiller in the tough Georgia clay and the PTO HP deficiency raised its ugly head. It is possible that running 4 foot implements would have yielded a different result but I didn't want to do that. Also, the "C" or "High" range of the transmission is basically useless as I couldn't even muster enough power to start off from a standstill on flat ground in high road gear. If you are only running 4 foot implements or doing loader and box blade work then the 2515H is probably going to work for you. The loader is awesome with respect to lifting ability, especially with loaded tires and a heavy implement on the 3 point. I sold it and moved into a 4815H. The tractors looked almost identical but the "power" was very noticeably different. I could start off in high gear on a flat surface and go up a hill in medium gear without much groaning from the HST. A geared 4815R would be a little beast if you can talk yourself into a geared tractor. I sold the 4815H and currently own a 5835R, power is no longer any concern.