ZT Question and Comments

[N80]

First a comment: I recently bought a Cub Cadet ZT2 54". I don't know if buying a Cub Cadet was the right move but buying a z-turn sure was. Getting the 3-4 acres done so fast and they look so good (compared to the 6' rotary cutter behind 45 hp tractor). If this particular model keeps doing what it is doing for a long time and proves reliable I will be more than satisfied. Having said that, knowing now how good a job it does I would probably have bitten the bullet and bought a 60" commercial model. But we'll see. If this one keeps chugging along all is good.

The question I have is about cut quality. When I mow the lawn around my cabin it does an excellent job. That grass is thick fairly healthy fescue.

However, when I mow the areas around the cabin that are closer to field than lawn, the cut quality is not as good. (Still worlds better than the rotary cutter of course). This is particularly noticeable with the tall seed stalks. They typically get bent over and not cut at all or cut so that they still stick up. I can go real slow, I mean crawling, and it will do a better job.

My sister-in-law has a top tier John Deere 54" rider and she says she has the same issue. She says she solves the problem by mowing more often to keep the seed stalks from ever coming up.

That is not an option for me. I make it down to the cabin every couple of weeks and mow when I can.

So several questions. 1). Is this just a fact of life or will better, more capable mowers do a better job? 2). Would different or better blades make a difference? I've always been skeptical about blade gimmicks but if there is a type or brand that would do a better job I'm game to try.

 

[YanmarFever]

I have the same mower, it only happens when I mow fast, try going a little slower and put the throttle all the way forward
good luck

 

[PuffyC]

It’s just a fact of life. If you want it to look nice you can always cut it twice, or go half speed, but once it gets so tall it’ll just push over the first time at normal speeds.

 

[stevem5215]

Some mower decks do that. They press the grass downward and it causes that to happen. I've used different models from different manufacturers that did this. Some like my current Simplicity Citation XL with a 61" fabricated deck work great with the factory mower blades. It's like they actually designed the mower blades to cut the grass at 11mph and it works well. But on this exact same mower I put on the Gator blades and they would do exactly as you mentioned. And I believe it's because the shape of those blades is such that it's trying to mulch and then press the grass clippings downward. Which causes grass cutting issues. It also as a byproduct clumped up the finer grass underneath the deck and would "clog" it up so that clumps of mulched grass would build up on the underside of the deck and come flying out at the most inopportune times. (like on the driveway when i shut the mower deck off) So, all that said you might want to try a set of blades from some other supplier. Like the Gator blades. See, on another Simplicity I own (Simplicity XT2500 with a 48" fab deck) those Gator blades worked FAR BETTER than the stock mower blades did. I know it's amazing that the same design and shapes would not work on one but on the other perfectly (and actually a better cut is achieved) So, there you have it. Try it like I did. You'll be amazed at the difference.

 

[N80]

Thanks guys. Good info. As long as it isn’t some sort of design flaw of my mower I can live with it. (This ZT has a fabricated deck by the way. )

And to clarify, it cuts my lawn just great even at near full speed. It’s the tall seed stalks that are the issue. And it’s not a big issue. If it bothers me I can go slow or re-mow.

I probably will experiment with different blades when it gets near time to replace the original ones.

 

[dieselscout80]

Maybe try cutting at the highest setting and then again lower, but cut it in a different direction the second time.

 

[Spike56]

First a comment: I recently bought a Cub Cadet ZT2 54". I don't know if buying a Cub Cadet was the right move but buying a z-turn sure was. Getting the 3-4 acres done so fast and they look so good (compared to the 6' rotary cutter behind 45 hp tractor). If this particular model keeps doing what it is doing for a long time and proves reliable I will be more than satisfied. Having said that, knowing now how good a job it does I would probably have bitten the bullet and bought a 60" commercial model. But we'll see. If this one keeps chugging along all is good.

The question I have is about cut quality. When I mow the lawn around my cabin it does an excellent job. That grass is thick fairly healthy fescue.

However, when I mow the areas around the cabin that are closer to field than lawn, the cut quality is not as good. (Still worlds better than the rotary cutter of course). This is particularly noticeable with the tall seed stalks. They typically get bent over and not cut at all or cut so that they still stick up. I can go real slow, I mean crawling, and it will do a better job.

My sister-in-law has a top tier John Deere 54" rider and she says she has the same issue. She says she solves the problem by mowing more often to keep the seed stalks from ever coming up.

That is not an option for me. I make it down to the cabin every couple of weeks and mow when I can.

So several questions. 1). Is this just a fact of life or will better, more capable mowers do a better job? 2). Would different or better blades make a difference? I've always been skeptical about blade gimmicks but if there is a type or brand that would do a better job I'm game to try.

I had the same issue mowing Bahia grass - tall tough stalks. Two things I did to resolve this (for the most part). First, I go a set of Gator blades. They do much better lifting / cutting tough stems. Secondly, maybe more important for the longer term, find out what type of grass plant is there, kill it and plant something else appropriate. Yes, this takes some time depending on how large an area, but is WELL worth it in the long run !!

 

[nyone]

Sounds like your letting the grass that's tall in the pasture area grow to long. It's not happening at the cabin because fescue dosnt really get thick stalks like a pasture grass would have. Less stalks means the mower suction under the deck can pull them up.

Have you tried mowing with the deflector up? Shoot output wide open and sharp blades?