Comparison BX vs GC vs LS J-series SCUTs

[IslandTractor]

What makes a zero turn faster is maneuverability. Every turn is instant, on the spot. No need to do a three point turn, or go around the circle to avoid turning... That's where you save all if your time.

Before my current 66" Hustler Z diesel, I had a Ford 72" commercial front deck mower. It was "near" zero turn, but still not the same. Open runs, I could now just as fast as my Hustler, but in the end, my zero turn mowed circles around it because of the expedient turns.

I would imagine that zero turns excel in quarter to half acre suburban lawn situations where there are relatively short straight runs and multiple obstacles to mow around. I don't see much benefit for mowing larger open tracts so long as you don't object to the mowing pattern one gets with circle route rather than up and back route mowing. Certainly in open fields/pastures there would be little if any advantage for the zero turn. Two acres of lawn is certainly going to have quite a bit of open space so any "rule of thumb" that says zero turns are twice as fast really doesn't hold up.

 

[TSO]

I would imagine that zero turns excel in quarter to half acre suburban lawn situations where there are relatively short straight runs and multiple obstacles to mow around. I don't see much benefit for mowing larger open tracts so long as you don't object to the mowing pattern one gets with circle route rather than up and back route mowing. Certainly in open fields/pastures there would be little if any advantage for the zero turn. Two acres of lawn is certainly going to have quite a bit of open space so any "rule of thumb" that says zero turns are twice as fast really doesn't hold up.

Well, I mow my own property, which includes a 3 acre field, a solid acre thru and around trees, and another 1-2 acres around my house, garden, etc. I also use it commercially, cutting anything from 1/2 acre and up, one of my accounts last year was about 6.5 acres.

Do you KNOW that the "rule of thumb" doesn't hold up? Or are you guessing again just to start another silly argument?

I have an 8 foot brush hog that can make a halfway respectable finish cut, and I tried using it on my open 3 acre rectangular field, thinking that it might be faster than my 66" zero turn. Nope. Slower. This was due to maneuverability, widened turns, backing up, all of those things that go with a pull behind mower, and which are not present with a zero turn.

I was skeptical about zero turn efficiency until I finally bought one.

 

[Olympus]

Just take a look at the world around you. Everyone is my neighborhood has a minimum of 3 acres. I have 6. The ratio of ZTRs to tractor style mowers is probably 10 to 1, with those using tractor style mowers doing so because of price. Look at the crews who maintain city parks, all ztrs where I live. City maintenance crews all use ZTRs. Public schools all use ZTRs for their properties, football fields, baseball fields. Toro ztrs are the most popular machine for golf courses in the US.

If they weren't so much faster, why would all of these people spend more money for one? You can argue semantics all day long, but the proof is in the pudding. Just take a look around you.

 

[2210ower]

my choices are getting slimmer and perhaps dimmer... M

 

[2210ower]

I guess what I should be comparing is the newer 1023E to current competitive models... M

 

[IslandTractor]

I have no trouble understanding why commercial mowers and schools etc use ZTRs. They are clearly more flexible and when maneuvering around obstacles is involved are much faster. If you need to mow both around buildings and do a precise pattern on a ballfield they reign supreme. No debate. I just don't see that they have any advantage for field mowing. If they did, we'd see farmers out there mowing their pastures with ZTRs. I've never seen one used that way.

If someone needs a SCUT and has lawn mowing tasks too, it just seems reasonable to consider how much time that ZTR is really going to save you as it is a $5000-10000 purchase compared to a $1500-2000 purchase for a RFM/MMM or flail. And, it is another engine to maintain. Again, no issue with commercial operators as they clearly benefit from the flexibility and speed of the ZTR but I didn't get the impression that the OP was starting a landscaping business.

 

[Olympus]

So we're only talking about fields now? Farmers don't mow fields as frequently as someone would a yard. 3 times a year with a brush hog is a LOT different then 0.75 to 1 times a week for a yard.

I started out using a rear finish mower when I first bought my place. It only took me a summer to realize that method was for the birds. It just depends on how much your time is worth. Mine is worth enough that I bought a commercial grade diesel ZTR mower along with my CUT tractor. It literally cut my mowing time in half. My mower is bigger and nicer than most commercial mowers, but that was by choice. I didn't need a commercial grade ZTR, but I wanted something nice.

 

[IslandTractor]

So we're only talking about fields now?

Read my original post. What do you call two acres? A football field is three quarters of an acre. I doubt a ZTR would mow a football field twice as fast as a MMM. Faster, yes but not twice as fast unless you insist on straight back and forth mowing. Mowing pattern seems to be a big deal to some people and not to others. Fenway Park has a fancy ZTR groomed mowing pattern, my lawn is just cut and I don't care if I use a circle technique or back and forth but circle is faster when using traditional equipment.

 

[GManBart]

Mike - the J series LS is NOT a scut size. It is a CUT size and will be a larger machine than any SCUTon the market.

This is an opinion, not a fact. There are no standards for what constitutes a SCUT or a CUT. LS calls this series a "small chassis compact tractor" on the U.S. website, but when you look on their global site, they list it under Sub-Compact tractors, and then describe it as a small chassis compact. New Holland calls it a SCUT in some places, and a CUT in other places in similar fashion to LS. In other words, it's far from clearly defined.

In reality, this series is either the largest of the SCUTs or smallest of the CUTs....in the end, it really doesn't make a difference.

I tend to think anything with a 2-range transmission that is light enough that many standard CUTs can lift one with their FEL makes it a SCUT, but others will think differently. Some folks who own them seemed offended that others call them SCUTs....but the size is what it is.

 

[The Suburban Farmer]

If someone needs a SCUT and has lawn mowing tasks too, it just seems reasonable to consider how much time that ZTR is really going to save you as it is a $5000-10000 purchase compared to a $1500-2000 purchase for a RFM/MMM or flail. And, it is another engine to maintain. Again, no issue with commercial operators as they clearly benefit from the flexibility and speed of the ZTR but I didn't get the impression that the OP was starting a landscaping business.

The zero-turn mower I used in my earlier post comparing mowing with my 2320 with MMM to a ZT mower was using my neighbor's Troy-Bilt Mustang 50", which retails for $2,600. Not a professional machine by any stretch of the imagination, and definitely not one of the $5-10K ZTs. Even with that -- and a smaller cut width -- my mowing time was cut in half, and the price is just a little bit above what my Deere 62D MMM retails for. True, the "hassle" of dealing with another engine is a theoretical problem that could come up, but I still would trade my MMM for one of these machines in a heartbeat on an even trade.

I would bet that many, many people on TBN (not all, but many) are more "yard" than "field" in their mowing. FOR THOSE PEOPLE, I think it is a fair statement to say that -- based on the experiences of those of us that have actually done it both ways -- a ZT is a MUCH better use of your money, and 2 machines are better than one.

Field mowers are for fields and MMM's are for lawns. At the end of the day, many people believe that a ZT is a better use of $2-3K over a dedicated MMM. I don't consider my field and my lawn to be anywhere near the same thing and would not use the same mower to do both. It's a practicality thing - cutting my field is 1-2x per month, but my lawn work is weekly, if not more frequent. Plus, the few times I tried to cut my fields with my MMM, I ended up having to resharpen the blades before going back to my lawn, or I would get a cut that was too rough for my personal taste.

To be fair, if my only option was to go with one of the $5-10K commercial quality ZT's, then I wouldn't do it -- the pain versus tradeoff just isn't THAT high. But, I would gladly do an even trade with my neighbor and take his Troy-Bilt if he'd take my 62D.