New 2016 Kubota ZD Mowers

[yabb]

I would never own another side discharge deck again..my F3680 with rear discharge leaves the cut area much cleaner and mows as good as any side discharge mower i've ever had!!

 

[LPSteinmetz]

I am pretty convinced that I want a rear discharge but Kubota is making the decision very difficult by not having any available yet in their 2016 models. My local dealer is having a hard time getting any information out of corporate as far as when they will be available.

On another note...Kubota is showing on their website that their 2016 line-up includes a ZD1500 mower but my dealer was told that it won't be available until later this year (by later it sounded like after the summer). Not real certain why it would be called a 2016 if it is vapor ware most of the year...unless my dealer is getting bad info from whoever it is he talks to.

 

[MessickFarmEqu]

On another note...Kubota is showing on their website that their 2016 line-up includes a ZD1500 mower but my dealer was told that it won't be available until later this year (by later it sounded like after the summer). Not real certain why it would be called a 2016 if it is vapor ware most of the year...unless my dealer is getting bad info from whoever it is he talks to.

funny. never seen vaporware used in the context of tractors!

 

[LPSteinmetz]

funny. never seen vaporware used in the context of tractors!

Couldn't think of anything else to call it so stuck with that!

 

[timswi]

I guess I'm the contrarian here..I like the side discharge on my ZD724, it fires the grass out with such force that I get no windrows at all..Guess if the wind is blowing right you can get a little blowback but it hasn't bothered me as of yet.

 

[LPSteinmetz]

I guess I'm the contrarian here..I like the side discharge on my ZD724, it fires the grass out with such force that I get no windrows at all..Guess if the wind is blowing right you can get a little blowback but it hasn't bothered me as of yet.

I'm not the expert here as I have only been shopping for a zero-turn for about 4 months so not certain if you are a contrarian or not or if rear or side discharge is the absolute best way for me to go. I will say that when I told my local Kubota dealer that I wanted to buy a rear discharge he told me that he recalled ordering only one for a customer in the last 20 years...guess that might make ME the contrarian!

 

[timswi]

I'm not the expert here as I have only been shopping for a zero-turn for about 4 months so not certain if you are a contrarian or not or if rear or side discharge is the absolute best way for me to go. I will say that when I told my local Kubota dealer that I wanted to buy a rear discharge he told me that he recalled ordering only one for a customer in the last 20 years...guess that might make ME the contrarian!

Just for my own curiosity, what is pointing you to rear discharge? Never had one, but I think that would lead to some degree of clumping due to the narrowed rear output pattern caused by the tire spacing (might be way wrong here).

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

Just for my own curiosity, what is pointing you to rear discharge? Never had one, but I think that would lead to some degree of clumping due to the narrowed rear output pattern caused by the tire spacing (might be way wrong here).

You are way wrong unless the grass is way high then it will clump just like the side discharge when it's really high. The side discharge has a more open path to discharge so it can cut a bit higher grass than the Rear discharge before clumping as long as the pattern of mowing is adhered to. With rear discharge one doesn't have to have a pattern. One can mow like a schizophrenic around and around and back and forth and backward, forward and in circle with no concern with making rows where it gathers on two or three or more passes going in the same direction. The rear discharge cuts and recuts more times than the side discharge so the grass is cut into smaller pieces and laid down on the ground under/behind the mower. One can mow up against objects on either side without worrying about chute hitting anything on where the cut discharging grass is going. Ever mow with your grandchild standing near you and knowing something could shoot out the side and hit them? No worry with the rear discharge because nothing shots out of the side, only down on the ground and some what slightly to the rear but directed down and not straight out. For me after many, many years of owning and using both there is no choice to be made, it's rear discharge only if one is made for the machine.
I'm a high grass cutter which is not the Zs best type user but mine does great but lays some slight clumps in real heavy thick grass but not as bad as the side discharge in the same situation unless I keep going in the same direction and work the cut rows building up to go on the edge of the yard where piles of rotting grass isn't an issue and a side discharge won't do this if one likes to do this.
Yes I like rear discharge and hate side discharge and have owned many of both of them and still own one small Z with side discharge because it doesn't come in rear discharge and it's my wife's anyway.

 

[timswi]

You are way wrong unless the grass is way high then it will clump just like the side discharge when it's really high. The side discharge has a more open path to discharge so it can cut a bit higher grass than the Rear discharge before clumping as long as the pattern of mowing is adhered to. With rear discharge one doesn't have to have a pattern. One can mow like a schizophrenic around and around and back and forth and backward, forward and in circle with no concern with making rows where it gathers on two or three or more passes going in the same direction. The rear discharge cuts and recuts more times than the side discharge so the grass is cut into smaller pieces and laid down on the ground under/behind the mower. One can mow up against objects on either side without worrying about chute hitting anything on where the cut discharging grass is going. Ever mow with your grandchild standing near you and knowing something could shoot out the side and hit them? No worry with the rear discharge because nothing shots out of the side, only down on the ground and some what slightly to the rear but directed down and not straight out. For me after many, many years of owning and using both there is no choice to be made, it's rear discharge only if one is made for the machine.
I'm a high grass cutter which is not the Zs best type user but mine does great but lays some slight clumps in real heavy thick grass but not as bad as the side discharge in the same situation unless I keep going in the same direction and work the cut rows building up to go on the edge of the yard where piles of rotting grass isn't an issue and a side discharge won't do this if one likes to do this.
Yes I like rear discharge and hate side discharge and have owned many of both of them and still own one small Z with side discharge because it doesn't come in rear discharge and it's my wife's anyway.

Agree to disagree on this I guess. I cut my lawn methodically at 3.5" without allowing it to grow out of control so the "all over the place" cutting really doesn't apply to me. I don't cut grass with people standing around, so that one doesn't apply either. Mine sprays grass out the side enough that it disappears with no need to 2nd pass it.

I also stripe mine so zig zagging all over the place isn't really an option..The only advantage for me of a rear discharge would be near flower beds, I just aim the chute away and that pretty much handles that. Kubota has a chute block that can be dropped for this issue but I really don't need it. All of the landscaper/grass cutters I know run side discharges, never seen one of them with a rear discharge. Availability maybe.

 

[davesl708]

I opt for the side discharge due to the large volume of leaves I need to mulch. I throw them to the inside of my pattern to be recut. A rear discharge would require cutting the area twice.

I just wish a three blade could be a true mulcher and not need the discharge chute at all.