RSKY
Veteran Member
- Joined
- Oct 5, 2003
- Messages
- 2,453
- Tractor
- Kioti CK20S
I have about the same situation as you do, 1.1 acres but without a pond. There are between 30 and 40 obstacles I must mow around including trees, buildings, flower beds, etc.. In the fall it is covered with many leaves. We had a tractor type rider that took 2:30 to mow. First ZTR had a 40" deck and cut the time to 1:30 at the most. New ZTR has ten more hp and a 54" deck and my wife can mow the entire yard, getting close around the obstacles, in 55 minutes. I take slightly longer. We have many leaves and the past two years a neighbor has used his yard vacuum to get them up and dump them in the back where I would burn them in a barrel. He is in bad health and didn't do it this year and I am glad. I purchased a set of Gator type blades and just mulched the leaves. Took less time to do that than burning them all. Since we are spending your money and everything I am going to make some suggestions based on our similar situations. What I have done has worked for me. I bought a Bad Boy mower with a Kawasaki engine. Originally it was supposed to have a Kohler and a 60" deck but the shop owner's very, very attractive blond daughter caught me when her dad wasn't around and gave me some good advice. (She graduated with the youngest daughter and has spent the night with her at our house. Guys in shop can't understand why she spends so much time talking to that old man.) She said to get the smaller deck and the Kawasaki because the wider deck stuck out past the wheels too far and tended to scalp the yards. And she said they never worked on the Kawasaki engines and, "all the high hour commercial users get them". The mower is now six or seven years old and I have replaced a started solenoid and a belt, broke a few things hitting objects, and bent blades hitting other things. I couldn't be more pleased with the performance of the mower. BUT, I would suggest you research what shops sell in your area and get what people seem to be using. All the big name brand mowers are good and having a good shop that stands behind the machine is more important that the brand. Besides the shop the main thing that sold me on the Bad Boy was the electric deck lift. my wife is short and had trouble raising the deck on the old, smaller ZTR. Now she just pushes a rocker switch. Something to consider as we all are getting older.
My father in law has a 'residential' type ZTR that he mows around three acres a week with. It is about ten years old and has had few problems but is getting close to being worn out. It also has a Kawasaki engine. My lower end commercial/high end residential mower mows from 1.1 to 12 acres a week depending on what the daughters/parents/friends need. I seem to be the go to person for help. It is much heavier built than the F-I-L's. It rides better, handles better, mows faster, doesn't slow down much in wet grass, and has much better traction. Ah yes, traction. The old mower had small tires on the drives wheels. It would get stuck on dew covered grass, would slide sideways on slopes, and rode rough. The new one has large tires and has none of those shortcomings.
After beating around the bush for all this typing I will get to the point. There is no need to get a huge $6000 commercial type mower for what you will be doing. That is just throwing money away for no good purpose. Get a higher end residential type or a smaller low end commercial type mower. $4-5000 at the most should get what you need. Don't get the widest deck available on that model. Get what will fit between your obstacles. Look for the biggest rear tires possible for traction and ride. Shop for a dealer that has been in business for a while. And get a Kawasaki engine if possible. Get a set of mulching blades and the mulching kit for your mower and forget about raking/blowing leaves. You might have to make three passes over the yard in a day to chop the leaves up but it works for me and we have many trees. And you will only use your trimmer once a month instead of each time you mow.
So, in conclusion, for between $3500 and $5000 you can get a ZTR with all the accessories you need that will last you for years until you are too old to mow. Well, my mother is 94 and mowed every week last year. Father in law is 91 and mowed his weekly until he hurt his back. But you understand what I am trying to say.
Good luck.
RSKY
My father in law has a 'residential' type ZTR that he mows around three acres a week with. It is about ten years old and has had few problems but is getting close to being worn out. It also has a Kawasaki engine. My lower end commercial/high end residential mower mows from 1.1 to 12 acres a week depending on what the daughters/parents/friends need. I seem to be the go to person for help. It is much heavier built than the F-I-L's. It rides better, handles better, mows faster, doesn't slow down much in wet grass, and has much better traction. Ah yes, traction. The old mower had small tires on the drives wheels. It would get stuck on dew covered grass, would slide sideways on slopes, and rode rough. The new one has large tires and has none of those shortcomings.
After beating around the bush for all this typing I will get to the point. There is no need to get a huge $6000 commercial type mower for what you will be doing. That is just throwing money away for no good purpose. Get a higher end residential type or a smaller low end commercial type mower. $4-5000 at the most should get what you need. Don't get the widest deck available on that model. Get what will fit between your obstacles. Look for the biggest rear tires possible for traction and ride. Shop for a dealer that has been in business for a while. And get a Kawasaki engine if possible. Get a set of mulching blades and the mulching kit for your mower and forget about raking/blowing leaves. You might have to make three passes over the yard in a day to chop the leaves up but it works for me and we have many trees. And you will only use your trimmer once a month instead of each time you mow.
So, in conclusion, for between $3500 and $5000 you can get a ZTR with all the accessories you need that will last you for years until you are too old to mow. Well, my mother is 94 and mowed every week last year. Father in law is 91 and mowed his weekly until he hurt his back. But you understand what I am trying to say.
Good luck.
RSKY
