Zero turn recommendations.

   / Zero turn recommendations. #41  
I would have really, really liked a Diesel engine with my choice but, I opted for a Cub Cadet Pro Z 560 S KW. I needed a larger fuel tank and the Pro Z can carry up to 15 gallons.

It’s very comfortable to operate and it’s great on my slopes and steep hills on my property. Plus, it’s built like a tank. I’m very happy with it.

Mike
 
   / Zero turn recommendations. #42  
I have a Scag Wildcat with a Kawasaki 26hp engine that has a 60 inch cut. The seat is super comfortable and when it's running, it's amazing. I bought it brand new and for the first couple of years, it was flawless. Super easy to change the blades, plenty of power and the cut was perfect.

Then I started having issues with the safety switches and not being able to start it. I wasted way too much time trying to figure out which one wasn't working and eventually, just bypassed all of them. I've also had to bypass the key, so now I turn the key to start and touch two wires together to get it to start.

I'm lucky if a battery lasts 2 years. I store it under a lean to next to my shop, so it's protected from the rain and sun, but it's out in the elements for the heat and cold. I've never had a mower go through batteries like this before. I've tried everything from cheap ones from Atwood's to the best Napa has to offer. Two years is it.

Two years ago the belt started jumping the pullies when I first engaged the blades. I keep a breaker bar with a half inch extension on it next to where I park the mower because I expect to have to put the belts back on every time I start mowing. It only happens the first time I engage the blades, and not every time, but often enough to be a pain. I replace the blades 3 times a year with factory Scag blades, and I've replaced both belts. I'm gonna try replacing the springs next.

My original dealer stopped selling Scag a year after I bought it. He said that they pulled the brand from him because he didn't sell enough of them. He also sells chainsaws and other lawn care products. Scag then went to the Ace Hardware store that was a few miles out of Tyler. They went out of business a couple years later when the owner passed away. I went in there one time to buy blades from them and they didn't have any. It made no sense why they where being sold there. I asked where if they did repairs and he said that they didn't. I would have to go to a dealer in the DFW area if I wanted it worked on. Now there are two different outdoor lawn care type companies that sell Scag. once is closer to me then the original one that is really nice. The other is outside of town and not as nice. I always wonder how long it will be until there isn't a dealer in my area? I just don't trust them to be around as long as I have the mower.

I see a lot of pros using Scag, and it might just be that I have the odd one with issues, but I cannot recommend it to anybody else because of my issues with it. Since I spent so much money on it, I'm stuck with dealing with it for all eternity.
 
   / Zero turn recommendations. #43  
EddieWalker said:
Two years ago the belt started jumping the pullies when I first engaged the blades. I keep a breaker bar with a half inch extension on it next to where I park the mower because I expect to have to put the belts back on every time I start mowing. It only happens the first time I engage the blades, and not every time, but often enough to be a pain. I replace the blades 3 times a year with factory Scag blades, and I've replaced both belts. I'm gonna try replacing the springs next.
Click to expand...

You replace blades several times a year?? Why? Do they get damaged because of the conditions you mow in? I had original blades on my Deere 345 lawn tractor for 20 years I owned it, sharpening them once or twice a year.

Rob
 
   / Zero turn recommendations. #44  
BigBlue1 said:
You replace blades several times a year?? Why? Do they get damaged because of the conditions you mow in? I had original blades on my Deere 345 lawn tractor for 20 years I owned it, sharpening them once or twice a year.

Rob
Click to expand...
Every two months they are so worn down that they start to leave rows of grass that isn't cut quite as low as the rest of the grass. My good grass is Bermuda and it cuts cleanly and easily. My bad grass is Bahia, and it has a woody stalk that wears out the metal on my blades very quickly. I've tried specially designed blades for Bahia, but the metal wears away on them faster then the factory Scag blades. I read on another forum specifically for lawn care that the factory Scag blades are made of a special metal that lasts longer then any of the after market blades. After trying a variety of blades, I believe that they are correct.
 
   / Zero turn recommendations. #45  
That's crazy that your grass can cause that much wear.
 
   / Zero turn recommendations. #46  
EddieWalker said:
Every two months they are so worn down that they start to leave rows of grass that isn't cut quite as low as the rest of the grass. My good grass is Bermuda and it cuts cleanly and easily. My bad grass is Bahia, and it has a woody stalk that wears out the metal on my blades very quickly. I've tried specially designed blades for Bahia, but the metal wears away on them faster then the factory Scag blades. I read on another forum specifically for lawn care that the factory Scag blades are made of a special metal that lasts longer then any of the after market blades. After trying a variety of blades, I believe that they are correct.
Click to expand...

Maybe it isn't the grass but maybe you have sandy soil and the sand will take out your blades fast.
 
   / Zero turn recommendations. #47  
EddieWalker said:
I'm lucky if a battery lasts 2 years. I store it under a lean to next to my shop, so it's protected from the rain and sun, but it's out in the elements for the heat and cold. I've never had a mower go through batteries like this before. I've tried everything from cheap ones from Atwood's to the best Napa has to offer. Two years is it.

.
Click to expand...

The problem with the battery could be caused by small leakage current from the battery to something in the tractor.

This happened to me, several years ago, my tractor battery would always be drained of voltage enough so that it would not crank the engine. I could not understand how that could happen. So, with all switches turned off, I removed the positive battery cable from the battery. Then I inserted a meter set to current measurement. I started out with the current meter set to high current, it my case, that was 10amps.

After not seeing any current, I kept reducing the current level on the meter and when I got down to the Millampe range, I could see about 10 to 20 MA drain out of the battery. After more searching to see were the current was going, I found that my starter relay was the culprit. It was on of those metal jobs. I could have just bought a new one, but being the penny pincher that I am, I thought that I should try to fix it first.

I removed the relay from the tractor and pried the metal cap off the end. Then put it in my oven at about 150 degs and let it dry out for most of a day.

Next I filled all the open spaces in the relay with RTV and then put the metal cover back on. I have not had trouble with it since.

Richard
 
   / Zero turn recommendations. #48  
Richard001 said:
Maybe it isn't the grass but maybe you have sandy soil and the sand will take out your blades fast.
Click to expand...
Why do you think I have sandy soil? It's all very hard packed red clay here. In summer, it will get so hard that my full sized backhoe will have trouble getting through it. My first dozer was a Deere 450G and it couldn't get through it, so I bought a Case 1550, which can. 80 hp compared to 170 hp.
 
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