C3 C2 questions

[smallfarm]

I hate to display my ignorance on a open forum, but I is what I is.


1. Are the PTO pulleys the same for both mowers? Looking to buy a mower, but the seller has what I believe to be a large sickle bar pulley (roughly 4").

2. Do both mowers use the same mule?

3. Are the pulleys on the F cub mule the same as the Lowboy?

4. How does both mowers attach to the rear of a Lowboy?



Thanks

[tst]

#1 4'' is for sicklebar, c2&3 are 8"
#2yes but mules are different with a fast hitch
#3 they both used 4 & 6" pulley through the years
loboy bolts to the final drives with brackets that are loboy only, mule drive for a loboy is different that a regular cub

[smallfarm]

Kind of what I thought. I assume the 4"- 6" pulley difference could be made up with adjustments or is it a different belt lenght?????

Do the C3 and C2 use the same drive belt length??????

Are the Lowboy mower mounting brackets for the final drive the same on the C3 and C2????

Are they easy to find loose or and easy fab part (just a plate with a few holes??)

[Denny Clayton]

Are the Lowboy mower mounting brackets for the final drive the same on the C3 and C2????

I believe they are but not sure. Pictured below are the brackets for a C-3 and probably the C-2. I sold them long ago.

[pickerandsinger]

Reg cub.jpg (33.83 KiB) Viewed 439 times

lo-boy.jpg (37.53 KiB) Viewed 439 times

….Here's a C3 set up on my Lo-boy just a plate behind the main large pulley(PTO housing) and the two smaller pulleys attached constituting bull drive and a Reg Cub I am restoring with a Bull drive attached…( I haven't taken it of yet..LOL)…..Hope this help….Dave

[smallfarm]

So what I gather is that if I purchase a C3 mower for a lowboy I can use it with my C2 mule on my F cub, keep the lowboy mule pulleys for spares for my C2 / 3 mule. Then if I ever find a lowboy, I can make a couple of simple brackets to use the C3 on it. Then all I would be missing for having two complete mowers is a 8" PTO pulley. I guess the deal is looking a little less interesting.

If there is an error in my thinking it wouldn't be the first time. AND I know someone would just love to point it out to me.

Thanks to all so far.

[pickerandsinger]

I have a C2 mule on another tractor…I'll take a picture later today…The 4 inch sickle pulley is worth 75.00 or more ( I've seen them on ebay for 125), just for your info…Dave

[smallfarm]

I have a C2 mule and don't think I need a 4" for my sickle ( I have the smaller one, but I never used the mower for the light duty it is planned for with my tractor --Yellow cub years ago. I have both bar lengths and assume that with a strong running cub the small pulley will work for light duty on a lower HP older F cub. )

I guess my problem is matching the price to an incomplete mower setup. The lowboy mule doesn't deter me too much but I don't want more partial implements taking up the garage space I don't have for stuff I won't need until I retire.

I guess the big questions are

do the C2 and C3 use the same mule and belt
do I want a 4" pulley (just in case the tractor won't drive the smaller one)
since ALL I would get out of the deal that I need is a pretty good looking C3 deck what's it worth
do I want the hassle and expense of piecing missing parts together.


Thanks to all for the info so far

[John *.?-!.* cub owner]

doesn't the C3 (59 inch) use a 6 1/2 inch pulley rather than the 8 inch the C2 uses?

[offrink]

Yes c3 uses 6 1/2". I had to search for weeks to find the right size. eBay didn't even sell them.

[Radec Aksarben]

I don't understand your pulley question.
It should be easier for the engine to turn a small drive pulley rather than a large drive pulley. Do you already have an 8" pulley? Those are spendy as well.

[pickerandsinger]

I don't understand your pulley question.
It should be easier for the engine to turn a small drive pulley rather than a large drive pulley. Do you already have an 8" pulley? Those are spendy as well.

……Both my lo boy and the reg cub have 8inch….I use the lo-boy to mow 3 acres once or twice a week, with no problems…I just happen to have the mower set up on the other two minus the mowers….But they worked fine both with 8 inch pulleys…C2 and C3….Don't know what the book says as I never needed to look….Dave

[John *.?-!.* cub owner]

I don't understand your pulley question.
It should be easier for the engine to turn a small drive pulley rather than a large drive pulley. Do you already have an 8" pulley? Those are spendy as well.

Yes, it is easier to turn with the smaller pulley, but mowers are designed to run at certain speeds for the best cut. The optimum cut is determined by the travel speed (not rpm) of the ends of the blades, which is normally figured in inches /second, or feet / second. To get this it takes a combination of pto rpm, pto pulley size, and mower spindle size.

[tst]

C2 & C3 use 8" pulleys, woods used the 6.5 inch

[Radec Aksarben]

I don't understand your pulley question.
It should be easier for the engine to turn a small drive pulley rather than a large drive pulley. Do you already have an 8" pulley? Those are spendy as well.

Yes, it is easier to turn with the smaller pulley, but mowers are designed to run at certain speeds for the best cut. The optimum cut is determined by the travel speed (not rpm) of the ends of the blades, which is normally figured in inches /second, or feet / second. To get this it takes a combination of pto rpm, pto pulley size, and mower spindle size.

Blade distance from the center of rotation makes a difference too, of course.
Do you happen to know the optimum blade speed? It would be interesting to figure out the optimum ground speed and engine rpm from that.