New 2024 Cub Cadet Ultima ZTXS5 54

   / New 2024 Cub Cadet Ultima ZTXS5 54
  • Thread Starter
#81  
Cub Cadet, built by MTD (More Tools Desired)....lol

Wife has one with the steering wheel as well and I bought it used from my Kubota dealer who also sells MTD stuff, used, for a grand. No ZTR rides good that I know of and why I sold my MTD/Cub M60 Tank and bought a Kubota F series front mount diesel powered mower. It actually has a nice ride, not a kidney bruiser. We mow not only the farm property but 3 rentals as well.
Every machine has compromises. I know you don't bag grass/leaves, but sometimes I do and I can put a bagger on the CC when I need it. Can't really do that with a front mower. Also, ZTR is smaller/more maneuverable in tight spaces (which I have) than a front mower.

Would be nice to have one of each!
 
   / New 2024 Cub Cadet Ultima ZTXS5 54
  • Thread Starter
#82  
ZTXS5 54 Mulch Kit description, install and use evaluation and final thoughts on the Triple Bagger :
Yesterday was my final leaf cleanup for 2024 so I used the triple bagger attachment to clean up the back yard and front yard, then, installed the mulch kit for the remaining side yard area.

The mulch kit consists of three steel baffles held on by 13 carriage bolts which fasten through pre-punched holes in the baffles and the deck (no drilling required). The kit also includes three Cub Cadet mulching blades and instructions.
IMG_7797.JPG

Like all CC instructions I've seen so far, they at first seem a little bewildering, but after studying them, they are both accurate and adequate for the job. Read them CLOSELY and things go together exactly as intended.

I spent about an hour installing the kit (including switching out the blades). Not difficult, just lots of wrenching on bolts. You can't get to anything with an impact gun and many of the nuts need to be tightened with a ratcheting box-end due to limited space. Here is the kit installed on the mower:
IMG_7812.JPG

IMG_7813.JPG

Mulch Kit performance: The kit does a decent job of mulching leaves, provided the leaves are close enough to the blades. This means you need to have the deck set close to the top of the grass/leaves. The problem is, if you have some areas where the grass isn't growing as fast as others, you would need to lower the deck to keep it close to the leaves. I typically mow my Fescue at 4.5 inches, but have some thin areas so this is a little bit of a problem for me.

The bigger problem I noticed is that the machine seemed to struggle to keep up mulching in taller grass and I had to slow down significantly for good results. I don't think this is a problem with the mulch kit so much as a shortage of horsepower. I said before and will say again that I think the 24 HP Kawasaki engine is barely adequate for this machine with the 54" mower deck. I don't know how it works with the 60".

I initially gave some thought to running the mulch kit year-round, but given the difficulty in handing even slightly tall grass that's already been through some freeze cycles, there is NO WAY this setup could handle mowing the 8" to 10" tall grass I deal with in the spring/summer. I would have to mow three times per week to use this kit during the summer.

So, after struggling through the yard with the final mow of the season, I will say that I think this kit works, but not for me. I will probably just go back to my normal procedures from before buying the ZTXS5, i.e., pick up the leaves with the bagger in the "nice areas" (front and back yard) and just mow over them everywhere else (possibly using the set of Oregon Gator blades I bought last summer).

First pass along drive with bagger.
IMG_7798.JPG

Second pass with Mulch Kit.
IMG_7814.JPG

Making the leaf handoff to the 2520 for transport to the compost pile.
IMG_7803.JPG

Another shot, first pass with bagger.
IMG_7802.JPG

Some final results.
IMG_7806.JPG

IMG_7799.JPG

Final thoughts on the CC ZTXS5 54 bagger:

Thrilled is probably too strong a word, but I will say I'm very happy with this bagger. I was a little apprehensive at first, given that bagging grass isn't normally a big priority for ZTR type mowers. This one is easy to install, does a GREAT job of collecting leaves (and an even better job at collecting grass). The only problem I have is a little blowout from the left front of the mower that sometimes requires a second pass.

Someone on here posted that there is an anti-blowout baffle available but I have searched the CC web site and am unable to find it. The only other issue I have with the bagger is that it is very hard for me to tell when it's full. It's just something you need to develop a "sixth sense" about I guess....
 
   / New 2024 Cub Cadet Ultima ZTXS5 54 #84  
I've had pretty good luck just mowing over the leaves a bunch of times to mulch them enough that they'll break down relatively quickly. And this is with so many leaves (my back yard has a large # of trees in it) that I end up pushing a big pile in front of the tractor as I go.

Would the mulching kit just cut them into smaller pieces? Or do it in fewer passes? I don't want to bag as I want the nutrients to stay with the trees/soil and them breaking down will inprove the clay soil around here.
 
   / New 2024 Cub Cadet Ultima ZTXS5 54
  • Thread Starter
#85  
   / New 2024 Cub Cadet Ultima ZTXS5 54
  • Thread Starter
#86  
I've had pretty good luck just mowing over the leaves a bunch of times to mulch them enough that they'll break down relatively quickly. And this is with so many leaves (my back yard has a large # of trees in it) that I end up pushing a big pile in front of the tractor as I go.

Would the mulching kit just cut them into smaller pieces? Or do it in fewer passes? I don't want to bag as I want the nutrients to stay with the trees/soil and them breaking down will inprove the clay soil around here.
Around here, it kind of depends on the leaves. Sweet Gum leaves are paper thin and disappear almost like snowflakes. Locust leaves are so small, they filter down into the grass and also disappear. The tougher leaves are pin oak and bradford pear which will hang around forever.

Yes, the idea of the mulching kit is to shred them smaller and it does work, but you need to have the deck pretty low to trap them in the chamber.

I think you are on the right track, just mow over them a couple of times and call it good. I've found that the best way to do that is let the grass grow kind of tall, then make one pass at my normal cut height (4.5") then make the second pass with the deck set lower, like about 3.5".

I'm thinking about as a compromise maybe just installing the outer baffle (which is the one that closes off the discharge chute) and installing the Gator blades to see what happens. That might be a decent compromise between spending time installing/removing the kit and yet still having a way to hold the leaves in the chamber a little longer for better shredding. Only problem with that is, one side of the outer baffle attaches to one of the inner baffles, so the right inner baffle kind of needs to be there. Might try making my own outer baffle that doesn't need the inner one to attach.

I will note that, when using the bagger with just the regular high-lift blades, the leaves that go into the bags appear to be shredded pretty well.

I think that, next year, I will just try using the Gators for any areas that don't get bagged and see how that works out.
 
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   / New 2024 Cub Cadet Ultima ZTXS5 54 #87  
On my view, leaves are just a temporary nuisance and Mother Nature deals with them for free, but then I'm NOT a 'Yardee' anyway. I have the grass here at the farm to deal with plus 3 rental yards and many trees in each of them that shed leaves every fall and it's much easier, saves expensive fuel and my precious time to let her handle that chore for me.

For me, mowing lawns is 100% work and zero percent enjoyment. Why I traded in my Zero Turn and purchased a Kubota front mount diesel powered F series mower. First off, it rides better (has an air ride seat) secondly, it's much more efficient of fuel and thirdly, with the deck out front, I can get under the tree branches and actually see what the deck is mowing and no more dealing with a gas guzzling Kawasaki or Kohler motor that has a finite life span that is tiny compared to a diesel engine. Diesel might cost a bit more but a diesel engine is light years more efficient than a gas motor.

Lets just say that I had to fill the gas mower every time I mowed. Now, I add diesel maybe every second time I mow and the diesel engine is much. much quieter than the gas motor ever was. No belts to deal with either. The front mount deck is drive shaft driven.

It cost a lot more than the gas zero turn did but for the long haul, I believe I'll come out on top.
 
   / New 2024 Cub Cadet Ultima ZTXS5 54 #88  
I am curious as to what all of you do with the leaves and clippings from the bagger...

You pile them up somewhere and let them stink (wet leaves always stink) in the corner of your property, or bag them up for the refuse collector or what?

Not something I consider to be ideal so I don't.

Our property as well as my rental properties are festooned with trees and they produce a lot of leaves in the fall and it's amazing how Mother Nature removes them for me with no input on my part, at all.
 
   / New 2024 Cub Cadet Ultima ZTXS5 54
  • Thread Starter
#89  
For me, mowing lawns is 100% work and zero percent enjoyment.
Total opposite for me. Mowing and taking care of this place is basically a hobby for me. If I didn't enjoy it, would just move back to a suburban lot.
 
   / New 2024 Cub Cadet Ultima ZTXS5 54 #90  
I mulch the leaves with Gator blades and collect them with the TracVac. Usually, 20-24 loads a season make a 16-yard pile that composts down to maybe 5-6 yards in two years. Then, I use that for top dressing the beds and yard.

Mostly red and white oak trees - big leaves that need to be shredded to compost - used to add 10-10-10 to increase the composting, but now its 20$ a 40Lb bag so dont do this anymore.
 

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