Kicking This Thread; like to hear feedback on these zero turns after the past 2 years pros/cons please. My 18 year old Ventrac 3000 is quickly dying, our replacement will be a grass cutting machine only. Thanks
I have a Gravely 60" with Kawasaki motor. I don't recall the model # but it's the mid-tier version, between the "homeowner" model and the commercial unit. I love it. Takes about 40 minutes to cut 2 acres. My old 46" Husqvarna rider was fine, but it took over 2 hours for the same yard.
Cost $6000 but it will last me quite a long time with basic maintenance, which so far has only been annual oil changes. In 3 years it shows I've only got 75 hours on it. I haven't even sharpened the blades.
I haven't even used it myself this year. I refuse to give my son, 12, an allowance for doing nothing but I pay him to cut the grass.
Last edited by Darth_Uno; 09-10-2019 at 09:03 AM.
A friend of mine sold his. He liked to use his lawn-mowing time to ruminate on things. He found that the zero-turn mower took more concentration to run then did a regular old lawn tractor. The zero-turn did a better job, but it wasn’t enjoyable.
YMMV.
If we have to march off into the next world, let us walk there on the bodies of our enemies.
I bought a cub cadet riding mower 5 years ago. It has the sealed transmission that failed right after the warranty expired. I can still use it if I keep adding fluid to the transmission. It’s a pain in the ass. The hub seals failed and the cub cadet leaks . Cub cadet built their reputation on international harvester built tractors. Right now I am using a John Deere x720 that came with my current house. It’s a beast. It remarkable what it will cut. The cons for my John Deere- it is slow, it takes too long to cut the lawn. (2.7 acres) and it doesn’t cut as nice as a zero turn. All my neighbors have zero turns. I plan on getting a zero turn but I am keeping the John Deere
My hand-me-down 20 yr old John Deere ran about 2 mph. It took 2 hours to cut 1.6 acres with a 36" deck. With my Z540M (48" deck) I am down to 47 minutes, with a best time of 44 minutes when I was racing around. I have no fast cars or motorcycles, this mower is my only v-twin... don't judge me.
And I need less weed wacking in general.
With respect to the mower, most folks agree that at the low/mid-range of mowers you want the Kawasaki v-twin engine. This drove me to a few specific models but having a local Deere dealer made me look in that direction. I found a lightly used (15.6 hours on the Hobbs) Z540M and it still has 3 more years of warranty. I came very close to running to Lowes for the Ariens 52" which was on sale. End of the day, the used mid-range Deere was within $100 of a new Ariens 52".
The 48" deck barely fit inside the 5x12 trailer. I drove a few hours into Virginia and knew it was going to be tight.
The "sealed" transmissions are maintenance free... although the manufacturers discuss oil service/changes in their manuals (Tuff Torq for me, Hydro Gear is another brand). Mobil 5w-50 is what I plan to use when I get to that point in hours.
There is big difference between the Kawasaki engine manual and John Deere manual with respect to maintenance like oil/filter intervals. Kawasaki is now recommending 40 weight (5w-40 is DELO XSP Synthetic is what I use since I am an oil snob) vice 30 weights for hot temps. John Deere still says 30 weights. I plan once a year engine oil/filter changes.
I took a bit of advise from a friend who mowed a lot of lawns: "If you're in it for the long haul, go commercial grade." Don't buy crap from the big boys. The thicker steel up front is worth it. I am very happy with my Hustler 56" Fastrak. It's the Korth of mowers. It can hit 11mph....which isn't a good idea. Plenty of fun and it gets the job done quickly.
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