Need to get up to speed on ZTs

[tradosaurus]

You shouldn't have to spend more than $10k for a good commercial zero turn. I have a Toro Titan HD2000 but there are other brands that can give you a heavy duty mower.

I would recommend trashing the turf tires and get you bar tires for your zero turn. Best investment I made.

 

[GrumpyJoe]

I've had my ZT2 50in cut for a few years now and really like it. Still use my tractor on the rougher fields with the 72in finish mower. But I can get more grass cut quicker on a Zero turn.

 

[tradosaurus]

This shows, for speed of mowing, you cannot beat a zero turn.

View attachment 692279

MoKelly

I have a 60" commercial style ZT and I probably get 1 acre an hr. I'm wondering how these estimates were calculated?

 

[MoKelly]

I have a 60" commercial style ZT and I probably get 1 acre an hr. I'm wondering how these estimates were calculated?

They estimated assuming (a) no obstacles like trees, bushes, flower beds (b) relatively flat ground w/o berms or hills and (c) grass height of 6 inches.

I also have a 60 inch commercial. I can get 3 acres/hour if I concentrate and don’t mess around. I do have some trees and berms to navigate.

MoKelly

 

[RjCorazza]

John Deere has an app that tracks mowing speed and acres via GPS. Across all of my lawns I average about 2 acres per hour. In my wide open 4 acre front yard I can easily knock it out in an hour.

 

[kthompson]

John Deere has an app that tracks mowing speed and acres via GPS. Across all of my lawns I average about 2 acres per hour. In my wide open 4 acre front yard I can easily knock it out in an hour.

My depth perception is not great. this gives me an issue with judging the over lap when mowing or spraying. Are you using the JD App and if so can you give me more info on it? Would be very interested in it. Thanks

 

[BigBlue1]

The John Deere Mower Plus app is available in the Google Play store for Android. I assume it is in the Apple app store too.

MowerPlus - Apps on Google Play

Set up, optimize, and maintain John Deere riding lawn equipment with MowerPlus

play.google.com

You install, launch, tell it what equipment you have and then start mowing. It uses GPS to track your routing and it keeps track of your speed and coverage. There probably are more Deere-specific features for newer equipment that might integrate. I think you can track maintenance items in it too.

Rob

 

[RjCorazza]

My depth perception is not great. this gives me an issue with judging the over lap when mowing or spraying. Are you using the JD App and if so can you give me more info on it? Would be very interested in it. Thanks

It's called MowerPlus, available free for Apple, likely Android but I'm not certain. It draws a very rough line where the mower has been, but not nearly accurately enough to use for spraying or mowing overlap.
It does tell you how many acres you've mowed, and an average speed. I mostly use it to get an idea of how long new lawns take to cut, as well a provide a visual image of my pattern for efficiency. I am a bit of a gadget guy.

 

[dieselscout80]

I used the JD MowerPlus app to calculate the correct speed for spreading fire ant bait (sub 2lbs per acre), so I need 5mph. It worked for determining how to set 5mph.

 

[N80]

I have also been around and around on this issue. I have a weekend cabin with 3-4 acres of grass/field/lawn that I mow with my 45hp Kubota with a 6' rotary cutter plus a push mower for around the cabin. I've been doing this for 16 years but its getting old. Mowing around trees etc with the tractor is time consuming and of course the finish on the grass of a rotary cutter is never all that good looking. And push mowing....well, its push mowing. Not fun in August in mid SC.

I almost pulled the trigger on a finish mower a year or so ago but decided in the end that was not the way to go. The grass would look better but all the other issues with the tractor/push mower would still apply.

So I'm looking at a ZT. Like the OP I just have no idea where to start. Not super concerned about time issues. Anything will be better than tractor + push mower. Have no idea what deck size. Have no idea what HP I need. Probably don't need a commercial model. It will get used hard but only 3-4 times a month at most during warm months.

Any ballpark suggestions on HP and deck width? It will probably need to be gas. Cannot afford a diesel at this point.