Big box store ZT's worth the money?

[gamecock66]

I have 11acres only 1.5 of it I have been cutting with a GT 2254 Husqvarna garden tractor. I have started planting a lot of trees, flower beds and am expanding my cutting to at least 2 acres. With all the new turns and obstacles in the yard as well as the tractor not mulching good and pilling the grass up in ugly mounds I am thinking about a ZT. Are the ones that lowes and HD sale worth the money? If so what brand.

Also, right now it takes me 1.5 hrs to cut my yard with the 54" deck. This is in 5th gear out of 6 and although it is not that fast it is leaving high spots even with a level deck and new blades. If I go with a ZT can I sacrifice cutting width but gain speed and cut quality?

Thanks
Wade

 

[possum]

Sounds like your grass is to tall and your speed to fast. Speed is not everything. Go find a ZTR to test. At least find a person who has one and will talk to you about it and or watch them use it.

 

[lawn mower fanatic]

I agree with possum. For the amount you will be mowing I wold think you should go to a dealer, due to the fact they service what they sell, but also because they have more commercial models. Home Depot only has these:

Zero Turn Riding Mowers - Riding Lawn Mowers - Lawn Mowers - Outdoor Power Equipment - Outdoors*at The Home Depot

 

[exotion]

I agree with possum. For the amount you will be mowing I wold think you should go to a dealer, due to the fact they service what they sell, but also because they have more commercial models. Home Depot only has these:

Zero Turn Riding Mowers - Riding Lawn Mowers - Lawn Mowers - Outdoor Power Equipment - Outdoors*at The Home Depot

I wouldn't buy a car at home depot why would I buy a large mower there.

 

[Ric]

I have 11acres only 1.5 of it I have been cutting with a GT 2254 Husqvarna garden tractor. I have started planting a lot of trees, flower beds and am expanding my cutting to at least 2 acres. With all the new turns and obstacles in the yard as well as the tractor not mulching good and pilling the grass up in ugly mounds I am thinking about a ZT. Are the ones that lowes and HD sale worth the money? If so what brand.

Also, right now it takes me 1.5 hrs to cut my yard with the 54" deck. This is in 5th gear out of 6 and although it is not that fast it is leaving high spots even with a level deck and new blades. If I go with a ZT can I sacrifice cutting width but gain speed and cut quality?

Thanks
Wade

With what you have to cut the ZT at Lowes and Home Depot I'm afraid wouldn't hold up well. The thing I would be afraid of would be the drive units in those machines are the EZT transmissions and although they are acceptable for home use there are meant for small yards not two acres. I would think one of the higher end residential units with at least a twenty to twenty three HP engine and 2800 drives would be more what you are looking for, maybe the Toro Titan or Cub Cadet Z Force these units are for two to three acres, and there are some other makes and models available through most manufacturers. The other thing I would suggest is buying from a dealer because when you buy from a dealer you'll have someone who will back the warranty and a service there department for the work. The other thing you may want to look at is buying a used ZT off Craigslist or the like, with the money you're wanting to spend on the home owner HD unit you could come up with a good used Commercial unit. Your answer to your second question about sacrificing cutting width but gaining speed and cut quality would be yes IMO Your top speed on the Husqvarna is like 5 mph, with the ZTR your talking about eight and nine mph machines with 18 to 18,500 Blade tip speed and my guess is you'll gain in both speed and cut quality.


http://www.toro.com/en-us/Homeowner/Mowers/Zero-Turn-Mowers/Pages/Model.aspx?pid=TITAN-ZX4820-74841


http://www.cubcadet.com/equipment/cubcadet/zero-turn-riding-mowers/z-force-riders

 

[exotion]

Plus you only mow 2 acres for now maybe at some point you want to expand more I mean you have 11 acres to play with you might want something more heavy duty to last a lot longer if you ever expand again

 

[gamecock66]

Thanks guys this is pretty much what I was thinking. I looked last week at the lowes ZT s and non of them look durable. My Husqvarna in 5th gear I doubt it is even hitting 5 mph now. It is 7 years old and. Has been a good durable mower but cut quality has always been so so. Even with the deck at the highest setting, deck wheels set correctly and tires full of air, I have always had issues with it cutting too low on the outside of turns or missing thin tall sprigs of grass.

Is there a good site to compare the better quality ZT s and rank them?


Thanks
Wade

 

[lawn mower fanatic]

...Is there a good site to compare the better quality ZT s and rank them?...

Yep here it is: Lawn Mower Forum - Popular Lawn Care & Equipment Community :laughing:

There really aren't other sites that rank them, but if you come up with a few mowers that you are thinking about, we can help you here. :smile:

 

[Ric]

Thanks guys this is pretty much what I was thinking. I looked last week at the lowes ZT s and non of them look durable. My Husqvarna in 5th gear I doubt it is even hitting 5 mph now. It is 7 years old and. Has been a good durable mower but cut quality has always been so so. Even with the deck at the highest setting, deck wheels set correctly and tires full of air, I have always had issues with it cutting too low on the outside of turns or missing thin tall sprigs of grass.

Is there a good site to compare the better quality ZT s and rank them?


Thanks
Wade

As far as ranking mowers goes it's really hard to do. There basically all standard and what you need to look at are things like different manufacturers of engines, what type of drives are they using, Hydrostatic or Hydraulic what gauge and types of decks are they using, things of that nature and what you yourself would prefer to have to do the job you want to do. The problem with trying to compare or rank mowers is everyone is going to have a different opinion on which is the best or best quality. The thing is if you try to compare quality between mowers you are going to be soooo confused you wont no which way is up. :smile:

 

[gamecock66]

I found this one. How would you all rate this mower with the assumption that everything works? What about the price, high, low, avg?

Toro Zero Turn 60"