Zanon ZCR 800 lawn mower

[Jens767]

Hi - and a happy New Year

Since a few month, my 2016 mowing season is over, and I have added another 29 hours on my Zanon mower. This was my fourth season with this mower, and it now has a total of 139 hours. The tractor/mower setup was the same as for the 2015 season, and it has worked just fine.

I find it hard to believe that I should be the only member of this great forum who has a Zanon ZCR, but considering the lack of replies to this thread, that might be the case. I would very much like to hear from members who have experience themselves with this lawn mower.

As I do not have much to add to my previous comments this year, I can offer a few photos of the mower in action instead.


Best regards

Jens

 

[NibbanaFarm]

Some great shots there Jens. Looks like you have quite a bit to mow. And a nice property. You must have to empty that bagger quite frequently though? I thought I read somewhere that it was better to let the clippings stay on the lawn rather than collect them?

As for myself, I'm going to keep my Cub Cadet lawn tractor going as long as possible. As much as I dislike it. When it does eventually retire, I'm not at all sure what I will replace it with. The price is definitely right on a mower for the BCS. What I am worried about is that I have a lot of obstacles to mow around and so would probably be better served by something with a hydrostatic drive.

 

[joecoin]

I have a Zanon ZRA800 on my Grillo 107d.

What I like; it cuts very nicely.

What I don't like; it is noisy and the height adjusters are a bad design.

 

[Jens767]

Hi NibbanaFarm - and thank you for your nice comments

My lawn is around 1,700 square meters, or around 18,000 square feet. Depending of course on the weather and thereby on the growth, I try to mow around once a week during the season. I usually spend 1 1/2 hour or a little less mowing the entire lawn then. I am glad, that the 3 photos above does not show the normal growth in a week, because then you would be right - then I really had a lot to mow

I took the photos in the summer of 2013 after coming home from a 2 1/2-week vacation, in which time the weather at home had been warm and rainy, and the lawn had grown to around 30 cm (1 foot), as mentioned in the first post in this thread. I normally always mow in third gear, but due to the large amount of clippings then, I spent 6 hours mowing in first gear! The mowing of course took longer driving in first gear, but as you rightly indicate, emptying the bag took forever.

Whether to leave the clippings on the lawn or to collect them depends on several factors: if you mow often, and thereby have a small amount of short clippings, you can easily leave the clippings, and they will dry and disappear into the lawn itself. This is what they often do on golf courses, especially by warm and dry weather. At the same time, you need a mower that will distribute the clippings evenly, preventing lumps of clipping rotting on the lawn. This is not possible with the ZCR, because without the bag, it throws the clippings in front of itself, often in lumps, especially with the amount seen on my photos. That day I think I spent twice as much time emptying the bag, than on actual mowing. When mowing normally around once a week, emptying the bag is not that big a deal, if you can empty it close by.

A lawn tractor - or a 2-wheel tractor - with a hydrostatic transmission, is probably always the best you can get, especially if you have a lot of obstacles. Although I have the impression, that such tractors are often at the top end of the range, and therefore very expensive.

As I mentioned in my first post in this thread, the overall length of a 2-wheel tractor/mower combination, is a disadvantage compared to many other types of more dedicated mowers. That said, with practice, it is not that bad a compromise. What is important I have found, is to find a path around your lawn, where you have to turn - or even worse - change into reverse, as little as possible. I fought my tractor to much in the beginning, but after a while, I found a path where I hardly ever have to go into reverse, and where I turn as little as possible.


Hi joecoin

I fully agree with you on the noise issue! My Zanon is also very noisy, and it especially has a high frequency noise, that I thing comes from the fast rotating bevel gears. The transmission is rather complicated, as the driveline changes direction twice after the PTO-shaft. As the 3 bevel gears also are of the simple straight type, they are prone to be noisy. The more complicated, but also more expensive spiral bevel gear would reduce that problem.


Best regards

Jens

 

[bjc68speed]

Hi Jens, I don't post often but have followed this thread from the beginning. I hope to purchase a two wheel tractor this spring and am leaning heavily towards the Grillo G110. I followed your thread because it seemed you had corrected the nits shortcomings. I have heard that Earth tools does not sell the unit you have as there was a lot of dissatisfaction. I just looked on the Zannon website and don't see your unit shown anymore. Happy New Year!

 

[Jens767]

Hi bjc68speed

Thank you very much for your post.

I have not been on the Zanon homepage for a while, but it looks like you are right. I can only find the FALK and the ZRA now, which might indicate that the ZCR in no longer produced.

As I was looking for a lawn mower implement to my BCS 740 4-5 years ago, I spent a lot of time on research without finding much. As I am away from home a lot, and cannot mow on a regular basis, I wanted a mower with a bag. As I recall, I only found two mowers to choose between: the BCS, and the Zanon. In the end, I decided to go for the ZCR, primarily based on the positive impression I got on the Earth Tools homepage regarding the other Zanon products. Especially the heavy-duty qualities were important to me, as my lawn is far from a manicured British one.

In order to try to provide others in the same situation with more information than I had available at the time, I decided to share my experiences in this forum. I had hoped that others would do the same, but perhaps I am the only one here who uses the ZCR. I have tried to be as objective as possible, to help others in their decision-making.

Reading your post, I get the impression that you are perhaps also considering a lawn mower for your future 2-wheel tractor? If so, it would be interesting to hear about your considerations and your decision.


Best regards

Jens

 

[NibbanaFarm]

You make some very good points Jens. It might take a little extra walking, but if thought out well, a lot of stop-go-reverse action could be avoided. And, as I recall the price of these things is on the order of $2000 USD. That's cheap for a good mower. For a quality hydrostatic, I think it's probably more like $5000-10,000 depending on where it's made. Big bucks. I won't rule these out when I'm in the market. I paid almost $4000 for my CC 8 years ago. I've been making it work but it doesn't cut that well at all. And it's very difficult to work on. A disappointment.

 

[bjc68speed]

I was considering the CZR based on your post. I only have an acre of grass and really wanted the ability to bag the clippings. I currently have a 1999 Exmark Metro commercial mower which has a great cut and with an aftermarket grass catcher does a pretty good job of collecting clippings. I was leaning heavily towards the Grillo G110 with the diesel but may have to reconsider the BCS. I am curious as to how well the ZRA THROWS clippings with the deflector removed and wether an aftermarket catcher could be fitted. I usually only collect the clippings around my pool but could probably get away without it. Definitely looking forward to only having to maintain one motor and a little more storage space. Regards

 

[Jens767]

Hi NibbanaFarm

When I began mowing with my Zanon in spring 2013, I tried to mow straight up and down my lawn with a 180-degree turn at either end, as I had done before with my more traditional lawn mower. It did not work that well I think

As the BCS does not have a live PTO, the power to an implement is disconnected every time the clutch is disengaged, either to change gear or direction. This is no big deal with low-torque implements like my sweeper, but with a high-torque mower like the Zanon, you cannot just let go of the clutch, but have to engage it with ease in order not to overstress the powertrain. This is my main reason for trying to avoid too many changes of direction while mowing. - And the extra walking is good for me, my doctor says

I do not know about the prices in the US, but I paid €1645.42 ($1747.19) for my ZCR in November 2012.


Hi bjc68speed

You say that you "only have an acre of grass" to mow. To me that sounds like quit a lot, compared to my 18,000 square feet. Depending of course on how often you are able to mow, you might expect to spend quite some time mowing and emptying the bag. My lawn is less than 1/2 the size of yours, and I spend around 1 1/2 hour on average mowing it.

I have the impression, that there are very few lawn mowers with bags for 2-wheel tractors on the market. Only the BCS models perhaps, if the ZCR is no longer produced?


Best regards

Jens

 

[bjc68speed]

Jens, thanks for all your input. The videos I've watched of the ZRA shows tall heavy grass balling up as it exits the deck, it appears if the deflector were removed the grass would be broadcast more evenly. I could live with that and just double cut my lawn as I do know when the grass is really growing heavy. I also have not looked into which are the deck will discharge on. I have not seen a ZRA on a Grillo. All the other videos show it to the left. Hopefully there'll be a replacement for the ZCR by spring.

Regards, Brian