Quality overall zero turn?

nwjones18 said:
Its funny how times change.. When I was growing up I mowed 2.5 acres with a 14hp 42in Murray for 10yrs before it konked out.. (transaxle died). Now I have a 48in zero turn for my .5 acre.. haha

One thing I've noticed with my residential grade John Deere zero turn is that it will not cut dandelions or bahia unless the blades are super sharp. As in I have to sharpen new blades before install to get an acceptable cut. I never had to do this with any of my other lawn tractors.
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What blades are you using? I had a few customers with this issue on residential grade ZTRs and riding tractors and switching to Oregon Gator blades fixed it. I think the reason for this is that commercial machines have higher blade tip speeds.
 
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I just finished mowing my 2.5+ acres. I edged the drive and used the weed eater before firing up the mower. All total 4.5 hours. Those 4.5 hours also included blowing off the mower and hosing out the underside of the deck. Now, that was with two breaks and lunch. The grass was wet and the yard is a little bumpy. So, I had to slow my ground speed. My yard is a mix of Bermuda, St. Augustine, Centipede and Bahia. It’s tough cutting. I like high lift blades in the spring and summer. I’m experimenting with blades. I currently have Sunbelt XHT blades on my 54” Toro. They are doing a real good job.
 
nwjones18 said:
Its funny how times change.. When I was growing up I mowed 2.5 acres with a 14hp 42in Murray for 10yrs before it konked out.. (transaxle died). Now I have a 48in zero turn for my .5 acre.. haha

One thing I've noticed with my residential grade John Deere zero turn is that it will not cut dandelions or bahia unless the blades are super sharp. As in I have to sharpen new blades before install to get an acceptable cut. I never had to do this with any of my other lawn tractors.
Click to expand...
See if you can increase the engine rpm to 3600. I bet it is low like 2800 or so. Residential grade has a lower bladetip speed. I did this to my cub cadet with kohler 19 horse Courage engine and it cuts great now. Yes, I know the courage is sure to blow. 10 years old now. Secret is pre-fill the oil filter.

Rod
 
jeepman3071 said:
What blades are you using? I had a few customers with this issue on residential grade ZTRs and riding tractors and switching to Oregon Gator blades fixed it. I think the reason for this is that commercial machines have higher blade tip speeds.
Click to expand...

I've actually got Gator's on it now. When I initially got it I put on a set of stock blades and the cut on perfect centipede was fine, but on any 'tough stuff' I'd have to make several passes to knock it down. Then I tried the gators, and they were better, but still not great, so I took them off sharpened them and tried again and that got it up to what I consider pretty good.. I suspect ragtoplvr said that my bladetip speed just isn't fast enough for some reason. I'm not really sure how to speed up the engine? I'd need a tac to run on it as well.. Every other cheap riding mower I've had cuts fine with new blades no sharpening required.
 
After a certain price point they're all mostly good.
Look for a commercial grade two stage air cleaner and you're probably set for decades of residential service.
As far as brands go I'm looking for a low hour Grasshopper. See a lot of them being used by city crews, commercial operators, also on golf courses.
 
jeepman3071 said:
What blades are you using? I had a few customers with this issue on residential grade ZTRs and riding tractors and switching to Oregon Gator blades fixed it. I think the reason for this is that commercial machines have higher blade tip speeds.
Click to expand...

I run the toro factory blades in summer. In the fall I put on the Oregon gator fusion blades. The fusion blades have a hardened tungsten edge. Also, with the higher blade speeds, the factory blades tend to blow the leaves out rather than chop them up.
The Oregon blades are offset for my mower and cut 1/2 lower at the highest setting. So I put the gator blades on in fall and leave them on for the first couple of mows in the spring, to get the rest of the leaves.
Then I put the toro blades back on for taller grass through the summer.
 
Go to a couple dealers. Shop them out. Ask what they recommend for your property

That’s what I did. Ended up with a toro. 0% at the purchase time and an excellent parts department (plus previous toro purchases from them) sealed the deal.

No upsell on anything I have bought from them just “this is what you need” attitude

Would have been just as happy with a Deere or Gravely I suspect as well
 
What your guys’ fuel consumption in relation to how much you mow?

With my little rider, I can get around 3.5 acres mowed with 2 gallons of diesel fuel. Diesel zero turns are $$$ though. Lol
 
derweed said:
I bought a Scag Freedom Z about four years ago and it has been trouble free. It has a Kawasaki engine which I preferred. Cost was a little over 4K. They have more expensive commercial mowers depending on your budget but I cut 2 to 3 acres and have been happy with it
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This. I have a Scag Liberty Z 48" deck with a Kawasaki engine. Although this is their entry level mower it is built like a tank, much better than the big box store mowers. The hyrdro transmissions are serviceable and have twin screw on filters, unlike most box store zero turns. Scag and ExMark having been trading places the past few years as the top rated zero turn mowers made. ExMark is more spendy though. My Scag has a 5 year/500 hour consumer warranty which you won't find on any other mower I know of. After 3 years I just reached 100 hours mowing my 1 acre yard and my mother's 1 acre.
 
nwjones18 said:
I've actually got Gator's on it now. When I initially got it I put on a set of stock blades and the cut on perfect centipede was fine, but on any 'tough stuff' I'd have to make several passes to knock it down. Then I tried the gators, and they were better, but still not great, so I took them off sharpened them and tried again and that got it up to what I consider pretty good.. I suspect ragtoplvr said that my bladetip speed just isn't fast enough for some reason. I'm not really sure how to speed up the engine? I'd need a tac to run on it as well.. Every other cheap riding mower I've had cuts fine with new blades no sharpening required.
Click to expand...

I have Gators on my Deere, which is a G110 with 54" deck. Basically a garden tractor version they sold at Home Depot but only for 2 years. The deck cut is okay, but like you said the blade tip speed isn't fast enough. Sharp Gators seem to be the best, and I've tried a lot of blades from the factory ones to other aftermarket brands. I mulch, and the Gators have proven to be superior for that which is why I use them, especially for leaves. I actually have a Deere tricycler mulching kit that I ground a bit off underneath so I could use the Gators. Initially there wasn't enough room and the Gator "wings" on the blades would contact the "ramps" on the kit. This combo absolutely destroys leaves down into little pieces. I haven't used my bagging system since.
 
spasm3 said:
I run the toro factory blades in summer. In the fall I put on the Oregon gator fusion blades. The fusion blades have a hardened tungsten edge. Also, with the higher blade speeds, the factory blades tend to blow the leaves out rather than chop them up.
The Oregon blades are offset for my mower and cut 1/2 lower at the highest setting. So I put the gator blades on in fall and leave them on for the first couple of mows in the spring, to get the rest of the leaves.
Then I put the toro blades back on for taller grass through the summer.
Click to expand...


Toro blades are actually pretty good. I have a Super Recycler I use on my front yard, and prefer Toro blades for that mower over anything else. For other brands I tend to use Gators.
 
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