looking for a zero turn 3.27 acres

[Parkmower]

BlackBart, put a monster 62/72" deck on a 7 series that makes about 9mph and I bet in the end its a draw between time against a zt, plus the tractor operator will be more relaxed-better hydrated-and you get to buy implements for the rest of your life-or better yet, you significant other gets to buy you neat stuff forever; think of how easy it would make the Holidays. :laughing:

Hogwash! Even with that big a deck the zt would still be done atleast half hour earlier. I do agree if you plan on using it for other than just mowing you want a gt. If you want the yard mowed FAST get a Zt!

 

[robert]

Park, going from a zt to the GT at our house has resulted in an insignificant increase in operating time and the few extra minutes are looked forward to as the tractor is 100% more comfortable than the zt. For the property the op described I still maintain it would be a wash.

Going zero turn was a very bad decision-for me and I suspect it is for the majority of people who purchase them.

BlackBart, sorry Bro but even a major maker says the design is prone to turf damage, but what do they know right?-is is impossible to make a true zero turn on turf without causing damage, near zero perhaps but zero, no way, no how.

 

[Parkmower]

Park, going from a zt to t

Going zero turn was a very bad decision-for me and I suspect it is for the majority of people who purchase them.


Don't believe that. Why do they still make them if they are such a bad decision for most people. And have you talked to most people who buy them? Your speaking on their behalf so I hope you did. You know what happens when you ASSume things.

I have no problem that you don't like zt's. But I don't care for the way you continually knock them and constantly try to sway people away from buying them.

And FYI I'm fairly new to zt's. And I love them. I have three 4wd front mounts and one zt to pick from everyday. I always choose the zt unless I mowing the hills. I mowed on front mounts for the past 15 years and zt for last two. This summer I purchased a small zt for home and have no regrets.

 

[robert]

Park-okedoke.

 

[Ric]

I settle on my house this Friday, 3 days !!!. Well I'm going to need a lawn mower. The property is 3.27 acres all open. There are 3 trees, 2 of which I will have to remove. The one tree is to close to the septic tank. The second being two close to the underground power lines... Idiot previous owners. Well I digress..

The yard is open virtually no grade, well a tiny one not enough to call it anything. I'm looking for a zero turn mower and can't figure out what I want. I have been looking online at scag, husqvarna, cub cadet and a few others I cant remember. Is there a guide one would follow to choose. What size deck do I want, how many ponies, diesel or Reg gas..

I look forward to a good discussion.

I already posted a guide on what size deck you should be looking for and personally I don't believe you need anything bigger than a 54" As far as engine size goes, I think you'll find that will pretty much be determined by the size of the deck you buy, not to say that you can't order the size engine you want. As far as fuel personally I'd go with the gas if you are only mowing the 3.27 but that's JMO.

The other thing I'd like to comment on is the ZT vs GT. I think everyone knows that a ZT is a faster cutting machine than a GT common sense would tell you that, not to say that the GT doesn't have it's uses. Everybody has different needs when it comes to mowers and equipment, I think that's why they're so many different manufacturers such a wide variety to choose from.:wink:

 

[mikdugal1]

Thanks for the reply guys.. I still haven't purchased a mower yet. I've had a company cut it last week for 75 bucks, pretty good deal if you ask me..

I still like the ztr not sure. The original home owner had a john deere 445 or 455 sorry not exact definitly one of them. He also had a 60" deck and said it took him almost 2 hours to mow.

 

[robert]

ric, the ztr is faster? from going back to a GT from a crappy new Quest I have to say: not enough to make any real difference. The crappy new Exmark Quest I had moved at a maximum of 7.0 mph-when it started, my great new Cub GT2000 has a top speed of 6.5. But more important than mph is whether or not the lay of the land will permit mowing at the top speed of the equipment you have-what good is a 10 mph machine when you have to mow a 4mph lot?(all while doing those special turns that Scag says is best with a ztr to avoid turf damage......yeah boys I know, Scag don't know jack)

My new Cub mows better than the crappy new Quest I had, I am far more comfortable on the Cub than I was on the crappy new Quest, the engine on the Cub is going to last longer than the engine on the crappy Quest-even Briggs says so-the transmission is alot heavier duty on the Cub than the crappy new Quest I had and I can pull more and do more on my new Cub than I could have on the crappy new Quest that I had.

Hell I wish it took twice as long to mow on the Cub than the crappy new Quest that I just got rid of, thats how much more I like the Cub :thumbsup:

mik, you raise an important point: at $75 bucks-this has to be the deal of the century- to mow your estate sized lawn it would take you alot of years to recover the cost of even a used good quality machine and many many years to recover the cost of a new quality machine. Let someone else do the work while you have a cold one and WATCH. Take your time and look for the killer deal-AND more importantly while you wait for dealers to bring by machines for you to demo.

Your MUST demo list:

JD 500/700 - cut and X445 ZT
Kubota ZG
Kubota GR

and of course the Cub GT2000 series

 

[Sammy the Red]

I have both Garden Tractors and Zero Turn mowers.
Mowing a lawn on one of my garden tractors will wear my back out after a certain amount of time. Mowing the same lawn with one of my zero turns is a breeze ! Back does not wear out at all.

 

[Ric]

Yes robert the ZTR is a faster machine without a doubt, the top speed on your tractor is 6.5 and the top speed of the Tank is 10mph heck my Z-Force 48 runs 8mph. The problem is that most people don't understand is that those speeds are used for transport, (deck all they up) it's not a mowing speed on any mower.

BlackBart, said put a monster 62/72" deck on a 7 series that makes about 9mph. Heck if you want mowing speed go down and buy the Hustler Hyper Drive, they have a 37hp Kawasaki and hustler claims 18mph mowing speeds, but it's all irrelevant when you don't and can't mow over 4 or 5 mph.

I ran a CC LT 1045 and it was a great mower but personally I'll never own a tractor style mower again, as far as I'm concerned there a waste for mowing, to much work and too time consuming.

You can talk about Scag, ExMark, Hustler and especially John Deere all you want, they're all good mowers but half of what you pay for is nothing more than the name, ones no better than the other.

 

[173abn]

I've got a CUT I used to mow with a finish mower,It would take 3+ hrs to mow around 3 acres.Bought a used 928d Grasshopper w/61" front mount deck and will never mow again w/ the tractor and finish mower.Just my preferance but I like diesel and it does'nt use the fuel like a gasser would.I would have to use a push mower to mow my ditch but w/the ZTR can do it.Takes a little more than an hr. now.Let us know what you decide to get..russ