Been looking at a ZT for a few years and it looks like I will be pulling the trigger this month. There are two reasons we have decided on the Country Clipper. First is the joy stick controller...my fiancé loved the test drive and found it much easier to use than the steering bars. The second feature favoring the CC is the flip up deck. It makes blade changes and cleaning easy.
Will be mowing two acres of grass in rural MI. There are two dozen trees, a pond, small fence line, and a patio to maneuver around. Ground is flat with a few undulations but no slopes, ditches or depressions to deal with. The mower will be used to mulch leaves in the fall. I will be having Gator blades installed by the dealer. I use them on my current rider and they do a good enough job.
There is only a $200 price difference between the 54" and 60" deck. Which would you recommend and why? The model I am looking at is the Boulevard ($4800 for 54") and it has a Kohler engine with ZT 2800 drive system. To upgrade to a Kawasaki engine and ZT-3100 drive system will cost an additional $1700. I am 70 years old so upgrading does not seem to make sense. I am surrounded by forest so mowing more acreage is not going to happen. I mow the lawn in just under 2 hours with a 48" Husqvarna rider and cut/mulch about 25 times a year so 50 hours a year. I assume that will be reduced to 25 hours a year with the ZT. Dealer tells me the Kohler engine should last over 1000 hours...so 40 years life on the "cheap" option.
One last thing. The dealer is Amish and has a very good reputation. He strongly recommends using ethanol free fuel and that it is better than adding Stabil or SeaFoam to regular gas. Any thoughts on that?
Thanks in advance for any insights. This will be our first (and hopefully last) ZT.