Glad I bought my Raptor last year!

[Carscw]

Here's a funny...I have a 17 year old homelite weedeater I bought for $69. When we moved in the house all the plantings were new so I didn't want to wack the heck out of them. I screwed the idle adjust screw in till it was above idle just a bit and have used it that way ever since. Hardly evrr touch the throttle. My "theory" on the cheap homelite was I'd throw it away when a spark plug didn't fix it. Its still running perfect. I don't think there is a fan on it like a 4 stroke engine. I see the theory that the fan on the four stroke runs faster at full throttle....but all the moving parts are going faster too. Maybe I'm screwing up but I've never burned an engine up yet! I'll play with the thermometer some....but w/so little lawn its gonna be hard to run a comparison.

My wife never runs the trimmer full throttle.
One more thing on not running your mower full throttle.
You are running gator blades. The faster they spin the better job they do. They do have a minimum blade tip speed requirement.

I will put it this way. If you can hear the hydros whine then you need to bump the throttle up.

If you are happy with running 3/4 throttle then keep doing it.

I was not trying to criticize you. Was just saying what the manufacturers suggest.

 

[kraky]

10-4 on the hydro whine....that's like lugging the engine under load. I pulled the roller behind the raptor sd today. Just had to see how it would handle it in a real bad wet spot of the lawn. (Just got 2.5" on clay like soil). On dry ground it didn't seem to know it was back there.....when water flew I couldn't keep a straight line and I went from 6 MPH to 1 MPH a couple tines but never got stuck. And yes...I kept the throttle on full! Its not something I should have done but had to test the limits once. The roller kind of helps erase the tire tracks. The monster tires on the sd54 do well and was the reason I went that big. The deck packed up some but not as bad as I would have guessed. Love my harbor frt $90 hyd lift....had it scraped out in no time.
Overall I'm pretty darn happy w/this machine.

 

[Carscw]

10-4 on the hydro whine....that's like lugging the engine under load. I pulled the roller behind the raptor sd today. Just had to see how it would handle it in a real bad wet spot of the lawn. (Just got 2.5" on clay like soil). On dry ground it didn't seem to know it was back there.....when water flew I couldn't keep a straight line and I went from 6 MPH to 1 MPH a couple tines but never got stuck. And yes...I kept the throttle on full! Its not something I should have done but had to test the limits once. The roller kind of helps erase the tire tracks. The monster tires on the sd54 do well and was the reason I went that big. The deck packed up some but not as bad as I would have guessed. Love my harbor frt $90 hyd lift....had it scraped out in no time. Overall I'm pretty darn happy w/this machine.

Sounds like you had some fun.

Really been thinking about getting me one.
It's hard for me to switch brands. Been using toro and snapper for years.

 

[turboawd]

After 2 Kawasaki's both burning oil bad. Less then 400 hours.
I dropped down in hp from the 22hp Kawasaki to a 20hp kohler pro. Much more useable power.
And just as quiet.

what oil weight you use?

 

[bertsmobile1]

Throttle should always be WFO when the mower is being worked.
Everything on the mower has been designed to work at 3600 rpm or there abouts and running at a lower speed can do damage.
1) alternator will not be at full output so your battery will most likely run down over time.
2) blades are not traveling fast enough through the grass to cut properly although keeping them sharp will over come this some what.
3) hydro pumps never get up to full working pressure leading to higher point loading and premature wear.
4) ditto for the drive motors
5) oil pump will not be delivering full working pressure and may lead to premature big end wear
6) motor is balanced to full revs so running slower can cause premature fatigue cracking due to different vibration characteristics than designed for.

 

[Carscw]

what oil weight you use?

Kawasaki oil
With what the dealer puts in it.

 

[kraky]

Well, I think some of you guys were top fuel drag racers in a former life ....lol! I went to the hydro gear website and could not find a wot recommendation. Their spec sheet said the zt 2800 has an "operational input range" of 1800-3400 rpm. So from that I deduct its engineered to operate over a "range" of rpm. But to be totally sure I sent them an email describing my mowing and asking if i need to run wot.
Now on to the engine. One of the reasons I like 3/4 throttle on my often mowed, short grass, that looks impecable when done is on "my" unit that seems to be the sweet spot for vibration. The engine has to absorb vibration not just from within but also from what its driving. The crankshaft is directly coupled after all to the hydro's and the mower deck. And we've already established it makes full torque under less than wot. I have to think there's a reason it was engineered this way.....and perhaps its why the thing actually comes w/a throttle. Heck...I almost never hear the governor even "hint" at kicking in.
I'll report back when I hear from hydro gear....in the meantime I'll keep running it as smooth as I can and feel I'm doing the right thing.

 

[turboawd]

Kawasaki oil
With what the dealer puts in it.

you're in georgia where its real hot. i think a 30 weight is to thin. maybe you should use at least a 40 weight. i'm using 20w-50 which kawasaki even recomends for controlling oil consumption.

 

[turboawd]

Well, I think some of you guys were top fuel drag racers in a former life ....lol! I went to the hydro gear website and could not find a wot recommendation. Their spec sheet said the zt 2800 has an "operational input range" of 1800-3400 rpm. So from that I deduct its engineered to operate over a "range" of rpm. But to be totally sure I sent them an email describing my mowing and asking if i need to run wot.
Now on to the engine. One of the reasons I like 3/4 throttle on my often mowed, short grass, that looks impecable when done is on "my" unit that seems to be the sweet spot for vibration. The engine has to absorb vibration not just from within but also from what its driving. The crankshaft is directly coupled after all to the hydro's and the mower deck. And we've already established it makes full torque under less than wot. I have to think there's a reason it was engineered this way.....and perhaps its why the thing actually comes w/a throttle. Heck...I almost never hear the governor even "hint" at kicking in.
I'll report back when I hear from hydro gear....in the meantime I'll keep running it as smooth as I can and feel I'm doing the right thing.

i dont think you're doing much harm at 3/4 throttle, but if you were mowing less than that, i'd be concerned.

 

[kraky]

Did a little temping. Not a perfectly controlled experiment but like this. Got a buddy fighting cancer who lives 5 blocks away. I've been doing his mowing to help out. Drove the mower to his house...its a small but hilly lawn and grass was pretty thick. Mowed right next to wot and drove home when done at wot. When I pulled into my house I temped the block midway between the cyls. It was 190-194 on multiple readings. The hydros were 140. I left the machine parked w/engine at 3/4 throttle. The block temp dropped to 167-170. I revved it up to full throttle...5 mins later the temp was back to 190-194. Throttled back to 3/4....5 min later down to 170.
I realize the engine wasn't "working" but w/all that HP it isn't working when I mow less than wot either.
After paying more attn I think my most vibration free sweet spot is more like 85%. I think in my mind it puts to rest the gotta run wot to keep the engine cool idea.
That 140 degree hydro temp is almost a perfect match to the hydro in my little Deere 180 LT....it checked out 135 during normal mowing and about 140 pulling my roller but I keep ground speed about 2.5 MPH when rolling.
Finally I checked the hydro temps at the end of the engine testing....they'd gone up to 150.....not sure why...maybe a function of the muffler not having any air flow and warming em up? Kinda thinking the whole underneath of the unit sitting there things were getting warm...maybe even hydro fans were drawing some of the "pooled" warm air?
Btw,.....it was a nice cool dry wisconsin 65 degree day.....you guys in Texas n Florida might have different results......lol!