my 1850 experience and ?'s

[dcbx1]

I have had my 1850 for about 4 months and have had no problems since the first week bugs were worked out.. It mows my lawn in half the time as my old toro, and uses far less fuel.. I have had the recall for the seat and my hour meter did stop working, these are being fixed as I write this . I do have a couple of ?'s to ask those of you with more experience than myself... 1. Should I do my own 50 hr service? 2. Should I use Super UDT, I live in NH and it gets cold in Winter. 3. Does the mower deck come off easily? 4. Has anyone had experience with snow removal with the FEL? 5. I am thinking of getting an extra set of mower blades, does anyone use Gator Blades on there Kubota mower decks.......... than ks for your help

 

[coveredbridge]

I have had my 1850 for about 4 months and have had no problems since the first week bugs were worked out.. It mows my lawn in half the time as my old toro, and uses far less fuel.. I have had the recall for the seat and my hour meter did stop working, these are being fixed as I write this . I do have a couple of ?'s to ask those of you with more experience than myself... 1. Should I do my own 50 hr service? 2. Should I use Super UDT, I live in NH and it gets cold in Winter. 3. Does the mower deck come off easily? 4. Has anyone had experience with snow removal with the FEL? 5. I am thinking of getting an extra set of mower blades, does anyone use Gator Blades on there Kubota mower decks.......... than ks for your help

I have a little over 200 hrs on my bx1500. If you consider that close enough, here are my responses.

1. If you have the time (2 - 4 hrs), basic tools, basic skills, and are so inclined, I see no reason not to do the 50 hr service yourself. It's a good way to get really familiar with your machine.

2. I would recommend Super UDT, if you can get it. For some reason, it seems many dealers have no interest in selling it.

3. It takes a little practice, but after a few times, removing and installing the deck becomes a fairly simple procedure that can be performed in a few minutes. I think removing and installing the pto shaft is the most awkward step. Just make sure the collar locks when you install on the pto. Give it a few good pulls.

4. I was pleasantly surprised with how well the FEL works for snow removal. I would definitely try it before buying a separate blade or blower attachment.

5. Can't help with that. I will say though, that clippings seem especially prone to sticking to the deck. I have to scrape the deck nearly everytime I mow.

 

[escavader]

I have had my 1850 for about 4 months and have had no problems since the first week bugs were worked out.. It mows my lawn in half the time as my old toro, and uses far less fuel.. I have had the recall for the seat and my hour meter did stop working, these are being fixed as I write this . I do have a couple of ?'s to ask those of you with more experience than myself... 1. Should I do my own 50 hr service? 2. Should I use Super UDT, I live in NH and it gets cold in Winter. 3. Does the mower deck come off easily? 4. Has anyone had experience with snow removal with the FEL? 5. I am thinking of getting an extra set of mower blades, does anyone use Gator Blades on there Kubota mower decks.......... than ks for your help

HELLO
1 YES,save yourself some bucks its easy we will guide you ha ha
2 YES i live next to you in MAINE,and my dealer said you ought to cause of the cold weather
3 cant answer,no mower
4 YES id rather use a plow or snow blower.too much foward and reversing using fel[ok for small drive]Your fel is great for pushing up or back bankings.
5 sorry again no mower on my rig
NOW MY QUESTION: WHERES THE PICTURES?
ALAN

 

[Botabill]

1. Should I do my own 50 hr service? Yes! Get to know your baby.

2. Should I use Super UDT, I live in NH and it gets cold in Winter. Yes if you can get it. Dealers near me haven't even heard of Super UDT and tell me Case Hi-Tran is the best to use.

3. Does the mower deck come off easily? Yes... however putting it back on can be a pain. Be very careful that the attachment to the mid mount power take off is locked in. If it isn't it will spin off when you start the mower up and potentially do over $1000 in damage. I got off lightly. Only cost me $300.

4. Has anyone had experience with snow removal with the FEL? Lots of it. Works fine in fact I like it better than a scraper blade as you can put snow where you want it out of the way. I also have a walk behind snow blow that still gets used sometimes though.

5. I am thinking of getting an extra set of mower blades, does anyone use Gator Blades on there Kubota mower decks........ I still have the original set of stock blades I got with the machine 3 years ago. I sharpenned them once and have shown no mercy in the way I ab-use them.

 

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

Check this thread out for Gator Blades
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/kubota-owning-operating/85723-gator-blades-bx-decks.html?highlight=gator+blades

The hole is too big and you need a bushing. This site has the blades for $9.43 each Dallas Mower Parts plus 6.50 for shipping total of $34.79 , cheaper then the OEM blades!

 

[HappyHillFarmer]

I've had my BX1850 for 4 months as well and have had no problems. Just did my 50 hour service a week ago. I don't know why you wouldn't do it yourself, it's really quite easy. The fluid quantities are relatively small and a regular car oil drain pan can be used. The only trick is that the 54" deck I have is a little to wide to fit between the wheels. What I did was spin the anti-scalp wheels 90 degrees and adjust them for the upper pin hole, remove the deck from the tractor then slowly back onto a 2X6 and roll it out. Sooner or later you'll need to figure out how to remove and reconnect the deck, might as well do it sooner. That was the only "tricky" part and as long as your ready for it, it only takes an extra minute. Putting it back on was no problem, the deck is quite easy to move around.

As for the super udt delema, I'm in Wisconsin and also wondered about using it. My local dealer doesn't carry it and told me the standard transhydrolic fluid (FarmOyl) they carry is what they recommend and wouldn't effect the warrenty. I use Mystik JT5 in my gear transmission M5700 and have never noticed a difference from what the tractor came with new, even in the middle of winter. This being said, after looking at the specs and price for super udt, Mystic and JD HyGuard - the 3 I could find within 50 miles, I went with the super udt given the hydro transmission. Only one of the 3 Kubota dealers within 50 miles of me had it. (Had to go 35 miles farther one way to get it!) Given that you only need 3 gallons, I felt it was worth it @ $15 a gal.

I've been doing my snow removal with a FEL for years and am happy with it. That said, I've got a 6" bucket on a larger tractor that I use. A lot will depend on how big an area you want to remove snow from. Definately give it a try, you can always get a rear blade if you don't like the results.