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Hello, all, I am a noobee researching and needing a mower as my old mower is toast.

I have decided on a zero turn,

I have demo a kubota kommander, and it was fine, it was the 48 in cut. for the price it seems welll built.

the dealer i usually deal with only sells toro( old mower died too soon-trannie) and husqvarna.

I will not give toro any additional money and it seems plenty of options from other companies.


This brings me to the m-zt 52 I have a pretty good price on one from him, where the kubota and ariens/gravley dealer will not move on pricing.

He does not have it an will need to order it so trying it is not an option.

Has anyone driven both the kubota kommander and the m.-zt52?

I know the trannie is better but how about the cut and overall finish, i have no experience with the Huskies...
My yard is not flat, and is 1.5 acres with trees and some hills, I slid the kubota into a pine tree, but I know I have a learning curve as to how to mow the banks, and such.

I have no big complaints with mine.
Adding a Kawi is the only way to make it better. It cuts very well, but motor gets boggy with grass 2" over cut height clogging the inlet air. I have a review of it further down this section. Fit and finish are standing up to the FL climate so far, but my use is about 20 min per cut.
Ask away if you want to know any specifics.

RatRacer said:

...I have a review of it further down this section...

Click to expand...

Here: http://www.lawnmowerforum.com/husqvarna-dixon-forum/16355-m-zt-52-review.html

RatRacer said:

I have no big complaints with mine.
Adding a Kawi is the only way to make it better. It cuts very well, but motor gets boggy with grass 2" over cut height clogging the inlet air. I have a review of it further down this section. Fit and finish are standing up to the FL climate so far, but my use is about 20 min per cut.
Ask away if you want to know any specifics.

Click to expand...

Do you think that is the motor or the deck not clearing?
Any scalping? Does the muffler burn the grass if you stop? ( i read that someplace)

Are the controls twitchy or nice and controllable?

Goddahavit said:

Do you think that is the motor or the deck not clearing?
Any scalping? Does the muffler burn the grass if you stop? ( i read that someplace)

Are the controls twitchy or nice and controllable?

Click to expand...

It's the deck, but also the grass I have here is a stout, broad leafed, dense centipede type creeper, seriously contributing to the issue. (disclaimer: this occurs only when I skip a week, and we get rain almost every day)
I have not experienced any scalping at all, especially in the areas my tractor regularly did. (swale tops)
The exhaust, not radiated muffler heat, does burn the grass if a stop is longer than a minute. I've contacted Flowmaster to construct a dual exhaust to remedy this
Controls are dampened, so they ease back and forth fluidly. Small corrections can make it feel twitchy sometimes, but use experience overcomes that.

RatRacer said:

It's the deck, but also the grass I have here is a stout, broad leafed, dense centipede type creeper, seriously contributing to the issue. (disclaimer: this occurs only when I skip a week, and we get rain almost every day)
I have not experienced any scalping at all, especially in the areas my tractor regularly did. (swale tops)
The exhaust, not radiated muffler heat, does burn the grass if a stop is longer than a minute. I've contacted Flowmaster to construct a dual exhaust to remedy this
Controls are dampened, so they ease back and forth fluidly. Small corrections can make it feel twitchy sometimes, but use experience overcomes that.

Click to expand...

Is their any shield that could stop the burning of the grass?

Goddahavit said:

Is their any shield that could stop the burning of the grass?

Click to expand...

I actually recall reading a thread some time ago about a ZTR that was burning the grass and the manufacturer indeed had a "muffler shield" that could be installed to correct that. I have yet to master the forum "search feature" to be able to locate that thread and I can't recall whether it was a Cub Cadet, Toro, Ariens etc. ZTR. Also......based upon the bang-for-the-buck, if Husqvarna had marketed the M-ZT52 in 2012, it would have been a very strong contender for my money should I have settled for a high-end residential ZTR versus an entry-level commercial. Thanks RatRacer for all of the honest user-experience feedback you are providing on this ZTR(it still sounds like a very good machine to me).

djdicetn said:

I actually recall reading a thread some time ago about a ZTR that was burning the grass and the manufacturer indeed had a "muffler shield" that could be installed to correct that. I have yet to master the forum "search feature" to be able to locate that thread and I can't recall whether it was a Cub Cadet, Toro, Ariens etc. ZTR. Also......based upon the bang-for-the-buck, if Husqvarna had marketed the M-ZT52 in 2012, it would have been a very strong contender for my money should I have settled for a high-end residential ZTR versus an entry-level commercial. Thanks RatRacer for all of the honest user-experience feedback you are providing on this ZTR(it still sounds like a very good machine to me).

Click to expand...

One of these threads?

• http://www.lawnmowerforum.com/general-mower-discussion/9724-gravely-42zt-burns-grass.html
• http://www.lawnmowerforum.com/john-deere-forum/16737-z425-muffler-heat-shield-burnt-grass.html
• http://www.lawnmowerforum.com/small-engine-mower-repair/9150-rzt-s-46-cub-cadet.html

lawn mower fanatic said:

One of these threads?

• http://www.lawnmowerforum.com/general-mower-discussion/9724-gravely-42zt-burns-grass.html
• http://www.lawnmowerforum.com/john-deere-forum/16737-z425-muffler-heat-shield-burnt-grass.html
• http://www.lawnmowerforum.com/small-engine-mower-repair/9150-rzt-s-46-cub-cadet.html

Click to expand...

Thanks for looking that up lmf!!! Yeah, I remember reading the Cub Cadet thread, but the Gravely ZT 42 thread really caught my eye since I had just bought my Pro Turn 152. I checked mine out and it already had a shield on it. According to these threads there are several others(Toro's, Ariens, Ventrac) that have this problem. The Gravely ZT42 owner did get his fixed free by his Gravely dealer. It would be worth RatRacer contacting his dealer and/or Husqvarna to see if they have a heat shield for the M - ZT52 if he is having the same problem!!!

I got a M-ZT 61 several months ago and am totally thrilled with it. I have not noticed a problem with it burning the grass but then I or ally shut don if I am getting off for more than just a few seconds to move something. This mower is a total winner for me.

Devious6 said:

I got a M-ZT 61 several months ago and am totally thrilled with it. I have not noticed a problem with it burning the grass but then I or ally shut don if I am getting off for more than just a few seconds to move something. This mower is a total winner for me.

Click to expand...

Personally, I consider the Husqvarna M-ZT series as one of the best bang-for-your-buck high-end residential ZTR's available.

djdicetn said:

Personally, I consider the Husqvarna M-ZT series as one of the best bang-for-your-buck high-end residential ZTR's available.

Click to expand...

You wont get an argument from me on this. I find that I get better and better performance form the mower each time I cut with it - obviously I am getting better and more subtle in controlling it. It takes some time to understand how to turn most efficiently and without stopping one wheel to save on tearing up the turf. Accelerating on one side by slowing down on the other takes some practice.

I have had the MZ6128 with the briggs motor on it and mulch kit for 3 years now . it basically the same mower as the MZT series mowers now . it has 3400 hydro drive units on it , which i think are some of the best out there, and comes on much higher priced mowers . I have put mine though a lot in 3 years and i am very impressed with the engernerring and quality . I would buy another one in a heartbeat . the cut looks very good . and if you have leaves get a mulch kit and sell everything else that you bought to deal with leaves. Believe me I have an inground pool and lots of trees so dealing with trees is not an option , and I have tried everything . you will be impressed with the mower and more impressed with the mulch kit . I buy gator blades at Agri supply for 11.00 each for the 61inch mower .

djdicetn said:

Personally, I consider the Husqvarna M-ZT series as one of the best bang-for-your-buck high-end residential ZTR's available.

Click to expand...

Iam new to ZT Mowers and have been looking at everything out their and called about a Snapper Pro S50XT 48" 27HP Briggs went and looked at it, loved the size but the local dealer wont come off $4799 on the price. I then looked at the Ferris IS700 52" 28HP Briggs for about a grand more that may better suit some bigger lawns that I may be mowing next year, then seen these Husquarna M-ZT52 and got a shipped price of right at $4800 that is hard to beat for the money. My question is, and remember Iam just starting out but I want the bet bang for my buck, is this a deal I should jump on, does anyone in here have one of these that they swear by or know someone that does? Great Forum BTW!

d1live

Did you get a mower yet bud?
Tell us some news.
We want to kno0w...

Do these hold an slopes good? I used a zero turn for the first time yesterday, cut my time by a third although it was a larger cut but even with a the 52" I think I would still be close after getting more comfortable. Saw one of the MZT 52's on Craiglists for $4500 clearance priced.

4500 $ is a great deal..

serelaw said:

4500 $ is a great deal..

Click to expand...

Yes they are $5495 at a local dealer, he says he wants to move it so he does not keep it all winter. Wonder how much room he has to work with it? I would rather buy local, and would pay a little more but not a $1000 more.

tom-ky said:

Yes they are $5495 at a local dealer, he says he wants to move it so he does not keep it all winter. Wonder how much room he has to work with it? I would rather buy local, and would pay a little more but not a $1000 more.

Click to expand...

A savings of $1K on that ZTR is about as good as you can expect(if it is a 2013, new with no hours on it). What about that PZT-54??? Is it also a 2013 with no hours(I think you said he wanted $5,600 or so...$1,100 more than the MZT)??? If so, both are a good deal and that's a hard decision:0)