dragoneggs
Super Star Member
- Joined
- Jun 9, 2013
- Messages
- 13,627
- Location
- Seabeck, Washington
- Tractor
- Kubota BX-25D, Kubota Z122RKW-42
Get more grass
Does anyone have "zero turn regret"?
- Thread starter Dredwolf
- Start date
- Views: 72344
diesel_nut
Gold Member
Tested one in the dealers parking lot for like 3 turns and said... **** no, give me something with a steering wheel and one transmission!
DK35vince
Super Member
My wife hated my zero turn when I first got it.
She had some problems getting used to the steering sticks.
Now she loves it. Mows the lawn at full speed likes she's racing a go cart.
The thing will out mow my 35 HP tractor with an 84" rear mount mower by a good bit. It mows that fast.
Everyone always talks about the speed of a zeroturn. There is no reason a traditional tractor style couldn't be as fast or faster if designed for it, but the high end market wants a zeroturn. The reason the pros want them is they are manuverable enough for small jobs and fast enough for big jobs. Most large lawn residential types don't need the extreme manuverability. They just like the speed. I figure I have less than 20 mows on my lawn tractor before handing those duties off to the kids, so the cost penalty mmade it not worth even considering a ZTR.
I have a Timecutter SS5060 - I would never never never go back to my old tractor!
EddieWalker
Epic Contributor
After looking around at quite a few zero turns, and reading comments on here and other forums, I spent a little extra for the Skag zero turn. It has the water cooled 26 hp kawasaki engine that cuts 60 inches. It's a beast of a machine. Heavy, all steel and when working, truly amazing. My issue, and it's getting worse every year, are the electronics. Every safety sensor has given me problems to the point I've rewired my ignition switch to ignore them and now I use two wires to start the mower. Turn on the key, touch the wires, it fires up, and away I go.
A month ago I couldn't get the blades to stop spinning. There is a push/pull button to turn on the mower, and turn it off. Pull it out, the blades spin. Push it in, they stop. Except they didn't stop and I had to turn it off, wait, start it up again only to have it keep mowing. Finally after dozens of pushing and pulling of that button, they finally stopped. I replaced the button for $24 and it worked great for the last couple of weeks. But now it doesn't work again. It wont turn the blades on. I had been mowing just fine for an hour, then turned off the blades to go to another area, and nothing. I turned the engine off, and now it's totally dead and wont start. Battery is only three months old, so that's not it.
My new plan is to rip everything out relating to the electrical and rewire it like it was a car from the 70's with no safety features. Just an ignition to get it going and a hot wire to a switch to turn on the mower blades.
If I had to do it again, I do not think that I would buy Skag.
A month ago I couldn't get the blades to stop spinning. There is a push/pull button to turn on the mower, and turn it off. Pull it out, the blades spin. Push it in, they stop. Except they didn't stop and I had to turn it off, wait, start it up again only to have it keep mowing. Finally after dozens of pushing and pulling of that button, they finally stopped. I replaced the button for $24 and it worked great for the last couple of weeks. But now it doesn't work again. It wont turn the blades on. I had been mowing just fine for an hour, then turned off the blades to go to another area, and nothing. I turned the engine off, and now it's totally dead and wont start. Battery is only three months old, so that's not it.
My new plan is to rip everything out relating to the electrical and rewire it like it was a car from the 70's with no safety features. Just an ignition to get it going and a hot wire to a switch to turn on the mower blades.
If I had to do it again, I do not think that I would buy Skag.
JerryK
Elite Member
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2004
- Messages
- 3,240
- Location
- Vanderbilt, Michigan, USeh?
- Tractor
- Mahindra (2011)5035 HST TLB & (2016)2555 HST Cab & (2017)1526 HST(2018)Cub Cadet Pro Z 154L (1991) Caterpillar E70B
I hate my zero turn.... I mowed for over thirty years with a tractor type mower, and was quite happy with the process. A few years ago my Son got an older Toro Z-Max commercial unit with a house he bought. He had a little trouble with it, and decided to buy a new one that was more dependable... he spends most of his day driving to and from work, and working. So, I drug it up North here and fixed it up, and now I am spoiled... would have a hard time ever going back to a tractor type mowing experience.... kind of like rubbing two sticks together to start a fire. Works, but outdated... All my Son's fault..
Richard001
Veteran Member
The switch that you replaced, was it a factory replacement part? Or just some switch that fit the hole?
The PTO on/off switch has to handle a lot of current. If the correct part is not used, then the switch can over-heat and ether short on or open and to never work again. A easy way around this problem is to use a standard automotive relay to handle the PTO current and have the switch just control the relay.
Does the "no start" result of a dead battery or just not having the engine crank?
If dead battery, the fused PTO switch could be the problem as it will be draining the battery even when the unit is off.
Yep, that will work, but you still need some way to turn the PTO on and off. The relay is the best way to handle that.
Richard
Yourkie
Silver Member
Roy, I bought a used Deere z997 in 2006 for $10k with only 6 hrs on it from a local businessman who didn't like it. It was virtually new. 72 in deck and suspension seat. It was a beast that could really roll and cut the grass.
Except I didn't like it and after about a year sold it to a neighbor for what I paid for it. He loves it and still uses it. The thing weighed over a ton and turns had to be done smoothly or it would tear up sod. A lot of my slopes are steep and do not roll out to flat land. Deere had a weird ROPS that canted forward where it would snag limbs instead of deflecting them. One more thing I didn't like about zero turn was sitting low you often find yourself (depending on wind), sitting in the cut grass output. Believe it or not it can contain pesky little deer ticks in certain areas.
I still do most cutting with an almost 30 yr old 755.
Except I didn't like it and after about a year sold it to a neighbor for what I paid for it. He loves it and still uses it. The thing weighed over a ton and turns had to be done smoothly or it would tear up sod. A lot of my slopes are steep and do not roll out to flat land. Deere had a weird ROPS that canted forward where it would snag limbs instead of deflecting them. One more thing I didn't like about zero turn was sitting low you often find yourself (depending on wind), sitting in the cut grass output. Believe it or not it can contain pesky little deer ticks in certain areas.
I still do most cutting with an almost 30 yr old 755.
EddieWalker
Epic Contributor
Yes, it was the factory replacement switch from Skag. Off the top of my head, I believe there are seven wires going to it. Could be one of them is the problem. The mower has way too many wires!!!!