Mowing Mowing with a B Series

[marxman]

All,

Currently I cut the grass around my house say... Just over 1 acre (i think) with a craftsman lawn tractor 42" deck. If I don't bag it takes about 2 - 2.5 hours. The lawn tractor is getting old and I would like a more efficient method (more fun) way to cut the grass.

Would people recommend the MMM say a 60" deck to mount to the B3200?
Does it do a good job of cutting? Is it worth the $2000 or so?
I like the idea of a zero turn, but without heading to a store like Sears and picking one up there a good one can be fairly expensive.

Also the area around the house is not a finely manicured lawn, it's just grass.

thanks

 

[OrangeRidge]

With a B3200 , you would go for a 72" . These are not cheap , because
they're machine model specific . Considered a rear attached deck ?
Easy to get secondhand , and sell on if you're not too happy.

 

[Lostalot]

I had for a week a bx2360 +60"mmm and as a mower it did a wonderful job on our hilly 3.5 acres, our new one is a yanmar ea2400 with a 60" rear mount and it did a great job in the trials and was abut $1500 cheaper than the mmm
version and I will be able to hang it over creek and drop off edges plus poke in under branch overhangs but you need to be wary and not forget it's out the back when turning. regards

 

[wcampbell47]

I have a B3200 with rear finish mower. I would prefer an MMM. While the LP 1648 does a good job of cutting I can not get into tight places. I would only go 60 inches wide on the MMM for getting into tight places. I think the B3200 would do awesome as a lawn tractor.

I have places I need to back over to mow and trees to mow around. Would prefer an MMM to mow around the trees. The MMM is going to be cheaper than a zero turn of comparable cutting width.

Kubota MMM's in my experience are not that easy to mount and dismount. Definitely look at the drive over model.

 

[AMR]

This is my 4th mowing season with my B3030 and I love it, couldn't be better, I mowed the 3 years before this with a BX23. I mow about 100,000 SF in 1 hour 20 minutes. I have a really nice lawn that I take pride in. I have a 60" deck on my 3030 and really wish I went with the 72" deck, oh well. It is plenty agile and even with loaded tires on a fairly wet site the worst it does is leave tracks in a couple spots that disappear. I love it for mowing.

In terms of taking the deck on and off, I have heard lots of folks say they have trouble with it, I don't see what the issue is. It goes on fast and with little trouble for me, much easier than my BX23 because there's way more room under there to hook up the PTO shaft. It goes on way easier and faster then my BH.

My neighbor mows with a zero turn Scag, it is much much faster but the cut quality is indistinguishable and the Scag doesn't have a very powerful BH or loader.

 

[maximus1277]

I would suggest a zero turn rider vs a b series tractor if mowing is your primary need for this machine. You can't beat the speed and maneuverability of a zero. Every time I use my b2320, I leave some sort of damage on the lawn. You can be more careful, but again your trade off is speed of getting the job done. If you decide on zero turn, you have several choices with various price points and features. I just picked up a 1 year old scag turf tiger with a 72 inch deck, which is bigger than I wanted, and my mowing time went from 1.5 - 2 hours to less than 30 minutes. Plus, these things are fun!

 

[AStanton]

If you have a septic system, I would think long and hard before mowing over it with a 1 ton plus tractor.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

If you have a septic system, I would think long and hard before mowing over it with a 1 ton plus tractor.

I have septic systems at home and 6 at my rental property. I wouldn't be concerned about driving anything over them if the ground isn't wet. I actually have driven very heavy equipment over them. No issues at all.

 

[easygo]

If you want to maintain a pretty lawn you might get frustrated mowing with the tractor. In sharper turns they do tend to leave some marks.
If you want to keep the grass in check and not worry about a blemish here and there the B's are an excellent tool. I cut 2 -tree riddled - acres with a 72" rear mower and I'm happy with the result. Keep in mind that I don't give the least manure if the tractor happens to mark up the grass. It never failed to grow back.

 

[TripleR]

When we had our septic system installed, we were told once it settled not to worry about driving/mowing over it; another one of those with varying opinion things.