Why zero-turn mowers?

[diyDave]

There are those out there that time does not matter much to, but for me, a zero turn is a must. I mow professionally, and time is money. I got a 60 " Dixie chopper with the Kohler 28 hp EFI engine. This machine will do 15 mph at wide open throttle! Not that you could mow that fast, but it saves travel time at jobsites. An average 2 acre lawn with about 12 trees, well, and a couple of other obstacles can be cut in about 50 minutes! That includes weedwhacking! Reminds me of the old joke about the farmer who is holding his pig up to the apple tree, to eat the apples off the tree, when a city slicker asks him wouldn't it save time to shake the tree, and let the pig pick up the apples at his own pace? Farmer replied-



























What's time to a pig?

 

[RayCo]

For professional mowing, it makes perfect sense. I don't think that I'd try professionally mowing with my 36" deck chain-store John Deere.

 

[Wesdor]

I've been looking at ZTRs for the past several weeks. Salesmen tell me that time is the big factor. In fact I thought I should share what one saleseman told me. First he started by saying that they claim a 40% decrease in time. I responded that I had usually heard 50%.

Then he told me of a recent customer that went from 8 hours mowing with his old mower to less than 2 hours with the 60" ZTR. I was a bit amazed (can I also say doubtful) about that claim.

He then grinned and said, the guy went from a 20" push mower to a 60" ZTR. I guess if that is your case, you can expect to save lots of time.

 

[Jason B]

Hi

I will also defend the old conventional way too. I have an Agco Allis 1614H, Agco Allis 1920H & John Deere 455 AWS. The 455 & 1614H are 12 years old. Sure they might not be brand new but they get the job done. I love my 455AWS the best, as you can really manuver around objects not to mention you can basically eliminate stoping to back up and the ends of the lawn, where you can just simply steer right back into it. Next year the 455 will be 13years old, but it is still a young tractor in my area compared to some mowers that are 20+ years old going strong. Know of several 317's, 420's & 430's going strong. Best thing about the 455 is the Yanmar Diesel! Plenty of power and it is amazing on fuel. I can cut grass that is up to 4 -5 inches in high and it you can't tell that the engine is being worked. Very impressed. I heard other 455 owners say the same thing, had to try it for myself. I also cut grass commerically and have found the 455 AWS to be very productive and notice a big improvement over the 2WS Agco's. I have driven Zero turns as well, and while they really cut grass fast, I have never been impressed with the quality of cut. I know my customers really like a great cut and they have been very impressed with the quality of the job that my 455 does. My 455 may be 12 years old, but with proper maintence and TLC that Yanmar should be purring past the 20 year mark. If the 430 Diesel Garden tractors can reach 20+ years then a well taken care of 455 should be able to do the same. I am looking forward to the many years of work ahead with my 455. I also found the 455 to be more stable on hillsides and I feel more comfortable driving a tractor then a zero turn, which is another reason why I won't switch to a Zero turn. Take Care Jason B

 

[Fast Eddie]

In my previous house we had about 2 acres - but on a significant hill. Using my push mower was out of the question (I did try), so I bought a JD L110 42" riding mower. Great Machine. Not only did the mowing time get cut from over a period of several days to about 2 hours, but I could do the whole yard drinking a Dr Pepper having a ball.

But last Summer we moved to a house in town with 7.5 acres (almost all has to be mowed), so on the recommendation of my son in law I bought an Exmark. This yard would be impossible with the JD L110, I would be permanantly on the L110. I can do it in about 6 hrs on the Exmark over 3 days. The Exmark is amazing - extremely fast and essentially eliminates trimming.

My most recent addition to my motorized stable is my beloved JD 790 tractor. I really am enjoying it and this past Friday I bought my first implements (5' box blade and a spreader). I will probably continue to mow the yard with the Exmark because a finishing mower attachment cost $$$$, and the JD would probably not be as fast as the Exmark ZTR.

My 2 cents.

 

[morpheus]

I had a one acre yard that had some wide open space and some spaces that were tight to maneuver. I bought a 42" ZTR and was able to mow spaces that I used to have to mow with a walk-behind. I had a Honda tractor that had a 46" cut but the maneuverability in small areas was not good I would spend so much time turning and shifting I could do it faster with the walk behind. When I got the Ztr the time was reduced to half. If you have wide open spaces or have no problem with the time spent, then a ZTR which are expensive, are a bad investment. In my case, I had small spaces and many trees. The trees are very easy to mow around with a ZTR. One problem I found with the ZTR is if your turf is not good and thick and you stop one wheel and spin the mower around, the tire that is not turning but is pivoting, will tear the grass. ZTRs are great machines and I would not be without one, but the traditional ways work well too. Morpheus

 

[Heywood Jannockitov]

One problem I found with the ZTR is if your turf is not good and thick and you stop one wheel and spin the mower around, the tire that is not turning but is pivoting, will tear the grass.

This is not a shortcoming of the machine, but an operator technique issue. What people tend to do with HST front deck "tiller steer" machines, like my own F620, is "lock" the inside wheel when making a "zero turn".

Don't do this. What you actually need to do is reverse the inside tire while doing a tight turn, instead of holding it "braked" by the steering lever. This way you don't rip the grass. Think of pivoting on the centerline of the machine and you realize that the inside wheel needs to turn backwards.

Of course, it is best to avoid making these kinds of turns unless absolutely necessary.

Not all "ZTRs" are equal.
I guess everyone is assuming that when the OP means "ZTR" he means the front deck HSTs that you steer with levers that apply differential power/braking to the drive wheels. My BIL's Steiner with 72" front deck would be considered a zero turn machine, but has a steering wheel that turns the rear wheels. He can't apply torque to either drive wheel as needed like I can with my F620 in slippery conditions.

Also there are garden tractors with belly mowers and 4 wheel steer that I guess could be called ZTR. Never tried one of these, but the main reason I save so much time with the F620 over what I used previously is the ability to "sweep" the offset front deck under the spruce/pine/fir trees without damaging them or getting to cosy to the prickly bits.

The previous machine was a National 68" triplex gang reel mower, which cut wider and did a nice job, but couldn't cut in reverse, left dandelions standing, or it would gag on pine cones.

The only down side I can think of with HST tiller steer machines is it takes concentration to drive in a straight line, although I can drive it with one hand.

To answer the OP's question, it isn't so much the fact that you can turn the machine in its own length, an "almost zero-turn" would work for me, but it is more the quality of cut which is dictated more IMO by the deck design than anything else.

Some posters argue that they don't put a priority on saving time but enjoy the time spent sitting on their garden tractor cutting grass.

I enjoy the time spent as well, but what I don't like is wasting time and gas having to maneuver a cumbersome machine that requires a lot of driving over already cut areas just to turn around.

The overall time saved is variable depending on the condition of the terrain. I can't drive the F620 any faster than anything else on some parts of the yard due to lumpy ground. Where the smooth areas are though, I can really fly.

 

[inveresk]

Useful thread but any chance of posting some pics of some of the machines mentioned here? They might help me make a choice about which machine.

I've been trying to manage our lawn areas (a couple of acres, some of it kinda rough) with my L3130 Kub with a 72" rfm. The Kubota rear tires are water filled to counterbalance for the front loader and I really need the loader for year round jobs so can't remove it and drain the tires. If the lawn is even a little wet, or if I take anything but very broad sweeping turns (with Ag tires), I dig ruts. I hate the thought of parking a rfm only a couple seasons old but I've no choice. I need to migrate to a machine that can do the job fast and neat and not leave tire tracks that have to be sand filled in places.

 

[montanaman]

I have a freind that would disagree with this. He tried it and could not get traction up the grades.

Sorry I didn't see this for a long time! Think of it this way, a garden tractor is front engine, a zero turn is rear so you already have more weight over the drive wheels. A garden tractor has an open differential and if you are very lucky, a diff lock or turning brakes, but if not, you have one wheel drive. A zero turn has two wheel motors so good traction to BOTH rear wheels.

The simple math adds up that a zero turn should plow better than a garden tractor.

On the Dixie Chopper with the Turf Boss tires, I suggest switching the tires from side to side for the winter for better bite and filling them with washer fluid for better weight.

One of the dealers near me has been plowing his driveway with a Coatesville Classic for years and he tells me he cut the time it takes him in half and that is compared to an old school cast iron garden tractor that had wheel weights AND chains. Nothing on the Dixie but fluid in the tires!

Ken

 

[montanaman]

That's the another thing I wondered about that I forgot to mention. I have a few yard carts and things that I tow behind my little lawn tractor. I often cut the grass with a cart on the back, actually, so I can pick up tree debris as I'm cutting.

In addition to hauling hard carts, I've used my lawn tractor to move other tractors that weren't running at the time or other things that can be hooked up with a tow rope. My guess has always been that a zero-turn can't really (safely, at least) do these kinds of things. It just seemed to me that a zero-turn mower is just a very single-purpose machine - a grass cutter.

Also, it seems for what they cost, it'd actually be more effective to pay a landscaping guy to cut your grass every week!

You need to look at the towing specs, that's all. There a lot of brands out there not rated to tow much and I wouldn't hook anything up to the box store zero turns. The Dixie Choppers that I sell can all tow pretty good. The standard two pump units like the Silver Eagle can tow 1,000lbs and any of the quad loop mowers from the Coatesville Classic up are rated at 2,000lbs.

Ken