Mowing Mowing with B7610

[hagman]

Hello fellow TBN's,

Since I'm relatively new to tractor ownership I have a question to the more experienced members. I was not real impressed with the finished cut on my lawn with my B7610 and a 54" MMM. I added Gator Blades to it and they helped a lot but I still have not been impressed with the lawn after cutting it. I currently have R4's on the tractor and I am wondering if switching to turf tires will help to give me a better cut. The R4's do make for a far "bumpier" ride and I have to think that that is part of my problem. I realize that the B7610 won't cut like my former JDX585 but there is really a substantial difference between the two. If I can't get the 7610 to mow right should I consider trading for a BX series? I am on 3.5 acres with about 2 cleared and the rest wooded. I bought the 7610 with a FEL & box scraper to keep 500' of whiterock drive maintained and to clear some areas of brush out. If I traded for a BX series would one of them be able to meet my needs? I hope to hear from several of you as I value your input.

Hagman
B7610 w/FEL, MMM & Box Scraper

 

[hwew]

I owned a BX2200 with a floating deck 54 inch MMM and sold it for a B7500 and it has a floating deck 54 inch MMM just like the one on the BX2200 and from what I see they cut the same and they both leave a great cut.
Do you have the 54 inch floating deck or the 54 inch ground contact mower?
Another thing are you running the mower at full rpm's?

Please be more specific. What is the mower doing that you do not like. What does the cut look like.

Personaly I would not get rid of the B7610 for a BX series tractor.
I made the big mistake going for the BX series first and took a small beating moving up to the B series.
If you have the mower deck set up right it should do a nice cut.
Yes turf tires would help on a groomed lawn with soft soil.

You will loose GROUND CLEARANCE!!! with a BX series tractor.
And I can't count how many times I got the BX stuck by getting it hung up on the transaxle.
I can tell you I never got the B7500 stuck yet. (Knock on Wood)

There are pro's and con's with both. The B7610 is a fine tractor.

 

[hagman]

hwew,

Thanks for the reply. I have the ground contact mower. What it seems to be doing is leaving a trail behind from the discharge chute when I mow anything over 3 or so inches. I'm not talking about real tall grass just the normal mowing heigth. I run the motor at 2000-2200 when I mow. The Gator blades helped a lot as the stock Kubota blades were worthless but it still does not do what I would consider as a good job with the finish cut. It leaves too much behind that with most mower decks would be chopped up much better.

Hagman

 

[Rusty]

hwew,

What it seems to be doing is leaving a trail behind from the discharge chute when I mow anything over 3 or so inches... I run the motor at 2000-2200 when I mow... It leaves too much behind that with most mower decks would be chopped up much better.

Hagman

Hagman - I mow my 2 acre lawn with a B7500 and 60" ground contact MMM. I get the best cut by: 1) starting with a clean (underside) deck, 2) running high lift Kubota blades, 3) cutting at 3" height, 4) running engine at PTO speed (2,600 RPM), keeping ground speed a little slower than I would like to naturally run, 5) discharging clippings outward onto already-cut area, and 6) holding the discharge chute up with a bungee cord (need to be careful). I am satisfied with the cut that I get. When the lawn is very long, and/or wet, I either run back over any windrowing to disperse it, or pick it up with a pull-behind sweeper.

 

[botagreen]

I am also a recent 7610 buyer also and although I can't help with your particular set-up , I can tell you my experience with a SUSPENDED 54" deck on my tractor has been pretty good and it seems to provide a decent cut. I have not experienced any of the cut problems you have had, although I concur that it is definitely a bumpy ride on the R4's. However, I'm keeping the R4's cause I need the traction with my loader.

 

[hwew]

hwew,

What it seems to be doing is leaving a trail behind from the discharge chute when I mow anything over 3 or so inches.

Hagman

Oh I never use my discharge chutes in the down position when grass is tall. I have them bungied up like another member said.

Try running the rpm's at 2600 when mowing in tall grass. The little kubota engines like running at full rpm's. It will not hurt them. In short grass you can back off the rpm's a little like down to 2400. I feel 2000 to 2200 is too slow. It is best to run a diesel engine near it's designed rpm's. Running it too slow is not good for the engine. These little engines are designed to run get the rpm's up a bit.

 

[bigdad]

I agree with the fellas on the RPM issue. "Wide open!"

Bigdad with a 7510 w/Belly mower

 

[Raddad]

hwew,

it seems to be doing is leaving a trail behind from the discharge chute when I mow anything over 3 or so inches.
Hagman

I have the same setup in addition to the grass catcher. I use it on the property near the house and remove the bags on the rest. The blower scatters the clippings behind in a broad path. I mow at full throttle and at a faster ground speed on the thin grass and I slow down on the thick grass. The catcher is great on the leaves in the fall.

 

[Volfandt]

You get your best cut when the blade tip speed is operating where it's designed to be. For a MMM the mid pto has to be spinning at around 2000 rpm. I don't have a B7610 but I would imagine that the mid pto reaches it's working rpm (2000 rpm) at the same point where the rear pto does (540 rpm). Most tractor's tach's (or owners manual) will indicate where this is in regards to engine rpm. If the B7610's pto working speed is reached at 2600 rpm then your not giving your MMM enough rpm to properly to it's job. At working rpm a MMM will produce enough lift and discharge speed to work in conjunction with the decks design, hence produce it's best cut. Cut quality diminishes as pto speed decreases.

On my BX the MMM's working speed is reached when the BX's engine is producing around 3000 rpm. It is designed to run at this speed all day long for 1000's of hrs
The cut I get is as good or better than any of the previous JD, Craftsman and WheelHorse finish mowers I've previously owned.
I also added gatorblades and the cut improved even more.
Ground clearance isn't an issue so a BX23 was the best option for me.
Try upping your rpm to the rated pto working rpm and see if that will improve your cut.

In the normal scheme of things. The best mowers in order of performance are:
1) Zero turn finish mowers
2) suspended (floating) MMM's
3) ground contact mid and/or rear finish mowers.

The BX series and the B7510 Turf Special has suspended mowers.
Many posters have posted excellent cuts from all 3 types with some modifying their ground contact MMM so where the rear of the MMM is suspended via chains as opposed to the rear ground contact wheels leaving marks on their lawn. And their cut was improved.
In any case, all produce good cuts but have to be working at their rated rpm. Thats where all the parts were designed to work at their most efficient together.
Good luck

 

[hagman]

Thanks to all that replied. It would appear that I need to raise my rpm's next time I mow for a better finish. Maybe between that and adding turf tires at some point I'll get where I want to be.

Hagman