Who Makes a Trouble-Free 60" Diesel Zero-Turn?

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

While we are talking about unicorn mowers...

Mine would be a 72" front deck zero turn with suspension. Throw about 30 diesel HP on that and it would be perfect.

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

I run my saws dry, I use non-ethanol gas, I use a real additive that is better than Sta-bil (which is no good for anything that doesn't sit still between uses), and sometimes I even buy that obscenely expensive premixed stuff from Home Depot. I still struggle with my saws all the time. A lot depends on how often saws are used, and year-round heat and humidity also make things much worse.

Also, fake gas rusts motorcycle gas tanks.

But at least crooked politicians are succeeding in buying votes in Iowa and Nebraska. That makes it all worth it.

 

[Raul-02]

I know I'm going to get flamed for this, but I have a John Deere 430 garden tractor with a 60" deck, and I am sick of it. It seems like I spend more time repairing it than using it, and John Deere is a real jerk about parts. My alternator is a great example. It looks like I need a new one, and they run about $500.

I don't need a garden tractor. I have a real tractor. I'm thinking I should dump the 430 on some sucker, I mean John Deere fan, and get a zero-turn.

So who makes a good diesel zero-turn that will last forever and give me 60" of width?

I can tell you some features I would like.

1. Not having to pay 5 times what parts are worth or dealing with a company that doesn't supply parts for older machines *cough cough John Deere*.

2. Oil changes that don't require removing an extremely stubborn 340-pound deck or dealing with a messy external oil-sucking machine.

3. Hydraulic cylinders, if any, that aren't welded shut like certain those made by *cough cough John Deere* certain companies.

4. Not needing 3 sizes of wrench to do simple things like adjusting a fan belt.

5. Not having to take the entire machine apart to change a fan belt.

6. A muffler that doesn't cost $250.

7. A total weight somewhere under 1500 pounds, unlike a certain garden tractor I have.

8. Blades that will cut bahia instead of just knocking it over so it can come back up after I pass.

9. Mulching that actually works. On live oak and water oak leaves. Not just on paper-thin leaves that blow away in a slight breeze.

10. Doesn't have the words "John" or "Deere" anywhere on it, nor any green paint.

If your blood runs green, don't bother telling me off. There is no point in making me suffer, because this tractor and the company that made it punish me more than you could every day.

My Ferris isn't diesel but it's been trouble-free (for the most part) for better than 10 years now.
A wire was worn by vibration and caused the voltage regulator to die.
I've thrown of couple of belts (my fault for mowing branches and sticks).

I pulled a rear drive wheel and saw the wheel was rubbing a hydro hose raw because (a) tire pressure too low and (b) Shitty assembly by the dealer, who let the hose hang out a little too far.

SCAGG is making a shaft-drive mower deck & that's gotta be way better than belts.
Scagg is a BEAST of a machine and it is the brand to buy if you are running a landscaping crew of heavy-handed morons.
If I were smart I'd have ordered the Propane fueled model. Propane never goes bad and burns very clean. Hydrogen is the cleanest no carbon, no nothing.

Blades that will cut Bahai. I have a post here on sharpening blades. Ya gotta sharpen 'em way more frequently than intervals suggessted by the so called experts who only cut well manicured monoculture lawns. Not the Real Life stick and rock-strewn rural weed plot lawns like mine.

sharpening mower blades

If you are like me you prefer sharp mower blades. I like to sharpen them with each mow. So I cycle three sets of blades for my Ferris zero turn. But it's still a massive $#$&@&$#*% PITA~!!!!!!!!! I got these great grinder disks from PFERD, They are fabulous I got them in 2019 for my large and...

www.tractorbynet.com

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

When I bought this thing, I looked up sharpening, and I read that you're supposed to leave the edges of blades flat. I guess that advice didn't come from a person who had bahia.

Maybe I should listen to you and actually sharpen the blades, but getting to them is not much fun. The deck weighs something like 340 pounds, and taking it off is very difficult.

 

[5030]

I run my saws dry, I use non-ethanol gas, I use a real additive that is better than Sta-bil (which is no good for anything that doesn't sit still between uses), and sometimes I even buy that obscenely expensive premixed stuff from Home Depot. I still struggle with my saws all the time. A lot depends on how often saws are used, and year-round heat and humidity also make things much worse.

Also, fake gas rusts motorcycle gas tanks.

But at least crooked politicians are succeeding in buying votes in Iowa and Nebraska. That makes it all worth it.

Dead wrong about Stabil. Not the red stinky stuff, the blue marine stabil. It prevents phase shift in weasel pee gas.

Actually, Stihl uses it in the pre mix bottles too.

The only time gas tanks rust is if partially full, not topped off.

Your issue is living in a constantly humid area more than anything else.

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

I would check out the blue Sta-bil, but I'm already using something that outperforms it.

Humidity is not the problem. The problem is a gas, ethanol, and water solution that can't tolerate humidity. Humidity was not an issue until we started using corn gas.

As for rust and tanks that are not full, gas tanks are almost always partially full. Gas should not make tanks rust.

 

[5030]

Thread drift. I'm done.

 

[workinonit]

Maybe I didn't word my last post well.

The Grasshopper deck tips (powers) up so you can stand in front of it to change blades or clean the underside of the deck. The underside of the deck faces you, so the underside is easy to work on.

SR

Oh, OK. Gotcha. I forgot the Grasshopper is a front deck. That makes sense now.

 

[Hay Dude]

While we are talking about unicorn mowers...

Mine would be a 72" front deck zero turn with suspension. Throw about 30 diesel HP on that and it would be perfect.

Ferris

 

[Hay Dude]

Scag and ferris are about the best in the zero turn market. Ex-mark are durable but ride rough. Scag cheetah imo is one of the best followed by ferris. I work for one of the big 3 engine suppliers for lawn so I get to field test everything out there. As far as diesel goes, Total waste of money in the 30-40hp range. Go gas. I'm not saying anyone of the big 3 are bad in any way as long as you are in the 850cc+ engine range. They all meet the durability tests for 1500 hrs..

If you mean ones recently produced with a DPF, yeah probably
On the older ones, like I have, oh heck no. They use less fuel. Off road diesel is comparable in price with regular gas. The fuel savings on a 30HP diesel versus gas is considerable.
The engine longevity with equal care is double.