New Purchase

[Cahaba Valley Farm]

Out putting it to use in the lower field area:
View attachment 743178

How is the mower performing? How is it handling the elevation on the property?

 

[blue9steel]

How is the mower performing? How is it handling the elevation on the property?

Mower is running great, it's a blast to drive. It handles most of the slope pretty well but there are definitely sections that are too dangerous for it. Over time I'll probably need to do some projects to:

1) Prune low branches so the mower can fit under all the trees
2) Install safety rails where sharp drop offs are present
3) Alter some slopes so that they're more mower friendly by adding material / grading them to be less steep
4) Remove grass in areas that are tough to reach with the mower and use barkdust or other materials
5) Get a brush hog for the tractor so I can deal with areas that are too overgrown for the mower
6) Add gravel or drainage to areas that are too muddy even when everything else is dry

You can't see it well in the picture but that lower field area isn't nearly as flat as it looks, definitely have to be careful and some parts may not be mowable at all. Started down there so I could figure out what I was doing before trying the house area. Turned out to be smart, the house area was more complicated and I would have run into or over things if I hadn't practiced first.

I'm not used to a mower with a 6.8 Gallon gas tank, so fuel transport and storage is a new wrinkle I hadn't really thought much about. I've got a 5 Gallon can for the generator so that worked ok for now. The tractor will be 11.1 gallons diesel and I haven't quite figured that part out yet.

 

[rbstern]

Mower is running great, it's a blast to drive. It handles most of the slope pretty well but there are definitely sections that are too dangerous for it. Over time I'll probably need to do some projects to:

Congrats on the new ride. Sounds like you are in for a lot of fun learning and worthwhile chores. Hope you enjoy it!

 

[JethroB]

Mower is running great, it's a blast to drive. It handles most of the slope pretty well but there are definitely sections that are too dangerous for it. Over time I'll probably need to do some projects to:

1) Prune low branches so the mower can fit under all the trees
2) Install safety rails where sharp drop offs are present
3) Alter some slopes so that they're more mower friendly by adding material / grading them to be less steep
4) Remove grass in areas that are tough to reach with the mower and use barkdust or other materials
5) Get a brush hog for the tractor so I can deal with areas that are too overgrown for the mower
6) Add gravel or drainage to areas that are too muddy even when everything else is dry

You can't see it well in the picture but that lower field area isn't nearly as flat as it looks, definitely have to be careful and some parts may not be mowable at all. Started down there so I could figure out what I was doing before trying the house area. Turned out to be smart, the house area was more complicated and I would have run into or over things if I hadn't practiced first.

I'm not used to a mower with a 6.8 Gallon gas tank, so fuel transport and storage is a new wrinkle I hadn't really thought much about. I've got a 5 Gallon can for the generator so that worked ok for now. The tractor will be 11.1 gallons diesel and I haven't quite figured that part out yet.

Sounds like your fun is really starting to happen. Congrats. On diesel fuel, if it isn’t too far to the gas station maybe just ‘road it’ for a while. A nice slow way to check out your neighbors as you putt-putt to town. 10 gallons = about 15 hours of seat time. About once a month trip for me.

 

[deezler]

I'm not used to a mower with a 6.8 Gallon gas tank, so fuel transport and storage is a new wrinkle I hadn't really thought much about. I've got a 5 Gallon can for the generator so that worked ok for now. The tractor will be 11.1 gallons diesel and I haven't quite figured that part out yet.

Congrats on the purchases, good choices I think.

A 5 gallon gas jug sounds perfect for keeping the mower topped off, can just pour in half a jug when you get down to a half tank or so.

Same for the tractor, frankly. Get 2 or 3 5-gallon diesel jugs, and when you get well below half tank, pour a full 5 gallons in. I have a similar diesel tank on my Kioti; I just pour half a 5-gallon jug in when I get to around half tank on my gauge. (Over filling and spilling SUCKS, don't push your luck and try to get it full to the brim). No need for a full tank, it will burn less than a gallon per hour for you; maybe even just half a gallon per hour if you're loafing around and not working hard.

 

[blue9steel]

Sounds like your fun is really starting to happen. Congrats. On diesel fuel, if it isn’t too far to the gas station maybe just ‘road it’ for a while. A nice slow way to check out your neighbors as you putt-putt to town. 10 gallons = about 15 hours of seat time. About once a month trip for me.

6 Mile trip to the gas station, I think that's an hour round trip on a tractor? Doesn't sound time efficient and I doubt my neighbors would appreciate me clogging up the two lane road for that long. Might be fun once just for the experience.

My gas can:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003FZB3N0/ref=dp_iou_view_item?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Apparently there is official color coding for flammables with Red for Gas and Yellow for Diesel. That's great because I was worried my wife or I might mix them up by accident. So I'm just going to buy of two of these for now:

Justrite 7250230 AccuFlow 5 Gallon, 11.75" OD x 17.50" H Galvanized Steel Type II Yellow Safety Can With 1" Flexible Spout: Lawn And Garden Tool Gas Cans: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

Justrite 7250230 AccuFlow 5 Gallon, 11.75" OD x 17.50" H Galvanized Steel Type II Yellow Safety Can With 1" Flexible Spout: Lawn And Garden Tool Gas Cans: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

www.amazon.com

Tractor bucket is supposed to arrive this week, we're waiting on the 3" spacers. I told them to hold off on delivery till the spacers get in for safety reasons, otherwise I could have had it last week with a temporary bucket.

 

[Cahaba Valley Farm]

Mower is running great, it's a blast to drive. It handles most of the slope pretty well but there are definitely sections that are too dangerous for it. Over time I'll probably need to do some projects to:

1) Prune low branches so the mower can fit under all the trees
2) Install safety rails where sharp drop offs are present
3) Alter some slopes so that they're more mower friendly by adding material / grading them to be less steep
4) Remove grass in areas that are tough to reach with the mower and use barkdust or other materials
5) Get a brush hog for the tractor so I can deal with areas that are too overgrown for the mower
6) Add gravel or drainage to areas that are too muddy even when everything else is dry

You can't see it well in the picture but that lower field area isn't nearly as flat as it looks, definitely have to be careful and some parts may not be mowable at all. Started down there so I could figure out what I was doing before trying the house area. Turned out to be smart, the house area was more complicated and I would have run into or over things if I hadn't practiced first.

I'm not used to a mower with a 6.8 Gallon gas tank, so fuel transport and storage is a new wrinkle I hadn't really thought much about. I've got a 5 Gallon can for the generator so that worked ok for now. The tractor will be 11.1 gallons diesel and I haven't quite figured that part out yet.

You're doing just fine. Those are great ideas. You will get a handle on it and maybe even teach some of us a thing or two.

 

[blue9steel]

Follow up posting as promised. The wheel spacers and cutting blade are still on backorder but the tractor with bucket and grading scraper was delivered yesterday:

I got the brief intro training and then delivery guy headed out. Parking it in the lean to in the back of the barn was more challenging than I expected due to height. With the ROPS up it was pretty tall, but by hugging the right side I was able to make it work. Originally I tried to fold down the ROPS, but apparently that process is designed to be difficult. Very soon now we'll try and get a dump truck load of gravel which I'll need to move around to muddy spots and then I'll also need to try and grade the driveway. We'll see how that goes.

 

[WVH1977]

Follow up posting as promised. The wheel spacers and cutting blade are still on backorder but the tractor with bucket and grading scraper was delivered yesterday:

View attachment 747625

I got the brief intro training and then delivery guy headed out. Parking it in the lean to in the back of the barn was more challenging than I expected due to height. With the ROPS up it was pretty tall, but by hugging the right side I was able to make it work. Originally I tried to fold down the ROPS, but apparently that process is designed to be difficult. Very soon now we'll try and get a dump truck load of gravel which I'll need to move around to muddy spots and then I'll also need to try and grade the driveway. We'll see how that goes.

Time to start having fun!!!! Congrats.

 

[rScotty]

Congratulations. I find that implements on the back take more learning time than the front bucket does. Mostly it is just experience. It doesn't hurt to chose an area to practice in that isn't too obvious.
rScotty

 

[dodge man]

Nice looking property and equipment. I think you chose wisely. One thing I’m not clear on, do you live on the property? I’m thinking no.

 

[blue9steel]

Nice looking property and equipment. I think you chose wisely. One thing I’m not clear on, do you live on the property? I’m thinking no.

Oh yes, we definitely live there.

 

[rbstern]

A belated Happy New Tractor Day!

Hope you have many happy, safe, productive hours aboard.

 

[MESSMAKER]

L is the minimum I'd go with.

Good point. It is hard to do tractor things without a bit of weight. Always buy one size bigger than you think you need.

 

[2manyrocks]

I agree that they evidently make folding the ROPS difficult to keep us from doing it, but that could be turned against them. By making it difficult, my argument would be that the end user is more likely to leave it down than put it back up when actually needed.

I'd suggest that you double check your fluid levels to be sure the dealer didn't overlook anything.

 

[blue9steel]

I agree that they evidently make folding the ROPS difficult to keep us from doing it, but that could be turned against them. By making it difficult, my argument would be that the end user is more likely to leave it down than put it back up when actually needed.

I'd suggest that you double check your fluid levels to be sure the dealer didn't overlook anything.

Yeah, I actually want the ROPS up the majority of the time but in the current configuration it's like a 10 min job to switch so if I took it down the temptation would always be "well, I'm not really doing that much maybe I don't need it this time". I'll have to think about swapping out the stock bolts so I can use a socket & impact driver to quickly change over.

Checking the fluid levels is a good idea, I'll do that.

 

[blue9steel]

Good point. It is hard to do tractor things without a bit of weight. Always buy one size bigger than you think you need.

You're a bit late on that comment but the good news is that I went with an L3302 so the advice was listened to.

 

[azbinder]

The "pivot" bolts may be too tight. The dealer installs the ROPS on the tractor. I would always install the two uprights snuggly and then set the top half in place, tightening the bolts to the spec provided in the assembly manual. Then torquing the uptight bolts while making sure that the upper half would pivot with out too much effort. It may take both hands to "fold" it, but you should NOT have to struggle to do it.

 

[blue9steel]

The "pivot" bolts may be too tight. The dealer installs the ROPS on the tractor. I would always install the two uprights snuggly and then set the top half in place, tightening the bolts to the spec provided in the assembly manual. Then torquing the uptight bolts while making sure that the upper half would pivot with out too much effort. It may take both hands to "fold" it, but you should NOT have to struggle to do it.

In this case it's not the pivot bolts, it's the ones that look like they're supposed to be "hand loosened". They're impossible to turn by hand and even with a large wrench were annoying to remove. I don't know, maybe I'm supposed to take them out and put 4in1 oil on them or something? With the finger knobs welded on top I can't even use a socket wrench.

 

[IndyJay]

In this case it's not the pivot bolts, it's the ones that look like they're supposed to be "hand loosened". They're impossible to turn by hand and even with a large wrench were annoying to remove. I don't know, maybe I'm supposed to take them out and put 4in1 oil on them or something? With the finger knobs welded on top I can't even use a socket wrench.

My tractor was delivered with the bolts and pins reversed. I had to swap them. Look to see if the nuts have nylon inserts. If so, they aren't meant to be craned tight. That way you just pull the pins and pivot the ROPS down and reinsert the pins for the down position.