Buying a ZTR, what should I look for, or avoid?

[Suburban Plowboy]

No idea why you have so many fuel system issue.
My zero turns, pressure washer, push mower, walk behind rototiller, Etc. I run some Stabil threw the fuel system and park them for months through the winter.
I never have fuel system issues on any of them. Start right up and go in the spring.

I'm in Northern Florida, not Pennsylvania. The humidity is high, and there are often huge temperature swings between night and day. I am told this is why small engines have such problems here. I'm not the weak link, I can assure you of that. Additives, running saws dry...I've done it all. The simple fixes people claim work elsewhere are useless here. I have been told that running motor oil through small engines before storage really works, so I'm trying that. I also have a bunch of cordless tools to save me when the gas tools let me down.

I've bought two carbs (Chinese and OEM) for my E-Z-GO. A bunch of Chinese carbs for my smaller stuff. Now I buy rebuild kits. Right now, the E-Z-GO is dripping fuel, so the float is probably stuck again. I haven't installed the newest carb, because the Chinese one has worked well for a long time, and it's a pain getting to the carb to change it, but I think it's time.

I use ethanol-free gas with Biobor EB, but I still have issues sometimes.

If I were running my engines often, I'm sure I would be fine, but sometimes I go months without needing a chainsaw or the cart. When storms come, trees go down, and then I find out whether my saws will run.

Sta-bil is useless for engines that move around. It works by creating a thin water barrier on the surface of fuel. Any gas tank that moves will break the barrier over and over. At least that's the explanation I've been given. Some people say blue Sta-Bil actually works.

We were talking about Kawi V-twin 25 hp motors only. Not 35 hp motors, and not Briggs Vanguard.

I had the big ones in mind. I wouldn't try to take on this property with a 25-HP gas engine. The Tiger Cat II I looked at had a 35-HP engine.

 

[WinterDeere]

I had the big ones in mind. I wouldn't try to take on this property with a 25-HP gas engine. The Tiger Cat II I looked at had a 35-HP engine.

Depends on deck size. The 25 hp Kawi V-twin has been the standard engine on 60" machines for decades. The 35 hp machines are generally on machines with 72" decks, or in more recent years, those with 72" decks available. I suppose in your climate, with at least some warm-season turf grasses being thicker than our cool-season turf grasses, someone might be more likley to pair 35 hp with a 60" deck. Up here, that's not common at all.

 

[arrow]

That price is the cab only. Factor in the mower and installation and you are talking a $30,000 dollar lawn mower.

I can remember when one could purchase a brick 3 bedroom, 2 baths, kitchen, dining room, living room with fire place two vehicle garage and a full basement setting on a one acre lot for the high 20’s. Times sure have changed.

High 20’s can now buy you one Evinrude 300 hp engine.
Saw a 28’ center console today with 3 of those.

 

[wolc123]

High 20’s can now buy you one Evinrude 300 hp engine.
Saw a 28’ center console today with 3 of those.

Maybe a used one, but even a million dollars wouldn’t get you a new one, since they produced the last one about 5 years ago. Bombardier still supports the parts though, so maybe you could fully assemble one, with all new parts, for slightly less than that.

 

[Dftodd]

I am only as good as my search results. When I checked around, I saw big gas mower engines selling for over $4K. I mean the good ones, not the $3,000 Lowe's jobs. Far as I know, you have to go up a lot in horsepower in order to get a gas engine that will compete with a 25-HP diesel. Having used a 20-HP diesel and a 25-HP diesel, I know my yard requires a big engine and 60", so I would want 35 horsepower in a gas engine.

Right now, I am looking at an ad for a Kawasaki FX1000V for $3,500. I see a 36-HP Vanguard repower kit for $3,160. Labor isn't free, so that jacks up the cost by hundreds. Where I live, getting a mower to and from a dealer costs over $100 each way.

Is there really someone out there selling these for $1,700?

You rebuilt your engine at 1200 as a preventative measure. I don't think many diesel owners are doing that. I have 1200 hours on my 2000 tractor, and it has never occurred to me to rebuild the engine. At my current level of use, I don't expect to do it in my lifetime. My 1991 John Deere mower with the mystery hours has never been rebuilt.

A lot of residential users are mowing more than 70 hours per year, so longevity matters a lot to some people.

As for purchase price, because diesels are so reliable and last so long, the reasonable thing for a homeowner is to compare a used diesel to new gas mower. I would much rather put $8,000 into a used diesel than a Home Depot mower with a weak deck and all the problems associated with gas.

Where I live, keeping small gas engines running is a problem unless they are used very frequently. My E-Z-GO, all my chainsaws, all my blowers...it has been a time-consuming and annoying challenge. The Kubota and the John Deere have always fired right up. No running them dry. No running them periodically just to keep them going. No Sea Foam. No additives of any kind. Not one fuel system rebuild. If I had a gas mower, I know exactly what would probably happen every season when I tried to start it for the first time.

I should be able to get 7 mows out of this thing between refills. That's also a huge bonus. I hate driving to get gas and lugging cans around.

I run non ethanol gas in all my small gas engines. I haven't had to treat them with any stabil, or other fuel treatments. Just dump the gas in and go.

My mixed gas for my chainsaw was 4yrs old before I finished it off

My generator gets started about twice a year. But I do shut the fuel off on that and run it til it dies.

A couple cranks when I pull it out and it fires right up. It's had the gas in it for a year now

 

[arrow]

Maybe a used one, but even a million dollars wouldn’t get you a new one, since they produced the last one about 5 years ago. Bombardier still supports the parts though, so maybe you could fully assemble one, with all new parts, for slightly less than that.

I talked to the owner of this craft and he said what he paid for his Evinrudes. They were a mainstay in the business and wonder what did them in.
He stated a 30 footer with 3 Yamahas would cost over a million now.
What the he)) happened on this industry?
I would have guessed a boat like that would cost less than $250k

 

[WinterDeere]

How did we get from ZTR mowers to boats and outboard engines?

 

[arrow]

How did we get from ZTR mowers to boats and outboard engines?

Like with everything else, we travel and spout.
Plus it makes it easier to buy a ztr knowing you don’t have to spend $250k for one.
See how helpful that was!

 

[wolc123]

Speaking of outboards, I’m looking forward to some boat racing over this beautiful long holiday weekend. I just got my old, early 50’s Mercury K-5 tuned up. I can’t wait to see if that’s faster than my father in laws brand new Mercury/Tohatsu 5 hp 4-stroke.

There’s a 10 hp limit on the lake up there, so hopefully we don’t piss off the neighbors too bad, racing a few laps around the lake with the 5 hp outboards on 12 and 14 ft rowboats.

I knocked off our lawn with my lawn tractor yesterday and my parents with the new Husqvarna z-454 on Sunday, so no worries about that for a while. I’m ready for some fireworks and water sports now.

 

[tulenutn2o]

I look at the mower as an investment. I would have nothing but a diesel in my situation. 3-1 improvement on fuel usage is just one advantage. Commercial mower is much more robust. You don’t have to buy new to get into a good commercial mower either. Buy it once, cry once. In 40 years, I have amassed a mower graveyard of lesser mowers. Mostly big box crud, but some better wheel horse and cadets as well. I still have my first commercial grasshopper and 2 newer ones as well. Seat time went way down when I bought the first one. Went down even farther with the new one last year with the 72” deck….that one has the grammar seat too, which greatly helps with comfort. We pay house prices for cars that we don’t wear out, why not mowers? Bottom line, your money, so buy whatever suits YOU.