Belly mower to zero turn time savings?

[Brian Elfert]

I cut grass on a large fairgrounds for about five years in the early 90s. We used Toro Groundsmaster riding mowers. They had front mount decks, but they didn't cut all that well in wet weather. They would clog pretty bad with wet grass. If the grass started to get ahead of us the boss would make us mow even in the rain. The only time we would stop would be if it there was lightning.

I see commercial services cut in the rain at time. I would upset if a service cut my lawn in the rain as I doubt I would get a good job. (I cut my own grass.)

[Matt Meiser]

I doubt I'd use it in the rain, but being able to do it first thing in the morning would be great during the dog days of summer.

[Ron Natalie]

We've got nearly seven acres of runway adjacent to my house. We use a zero turn mower with a "side car" additional cutting deck to do most of it (turning isn't so much an issue on the bulk of it, you're going 3000', turn around and come back and mow another 3000' row). We uncouple the side car and do around the runway lights and other things on the sides.

[Larry Edgerton]

I have a John Deere 4 wheel steer and a commercial Cub Cadet zero turn.

At my old house with the perfect lawn and a lot of landscaping the zero turn was the ticket. At my new house out in the country it is a little rougher, and I have no intention of creating another lawn monster, and in the rough the JD wins hands down. The zero turn beats you to death on rough terrain and is much harder to control.

I would say if your lawn is a work of art, go zero turn. If it is a bit rough the smooth ride of the tractor is much nicer on old bones. [Mine, not yours!]

Larry

[Jerome Stanek]

Have the dealer bring both of them out so you can try them on your place. You can't get a good feel for them just running them around the dealership.

[Matt Meiser]

I've had the 4110 for almost 8-1/2 years now. Probably 20+ mowings a season over 7 seasons, I'm WELL versed in its performance.

I am going to try the loaner unit from the dealer when its available. Hoping to get it over a weekend or something like that so I can spend some time getting to know its operation before I start mowing so I can get a decent test of its speed. Also that way my wife can try it out.

What I'm looking at is pretty much the top end commercial unit. The operator platform has a lot of rubber isolators, then there's a suspension seat. Hopefully that would reduce some of the roughness. Its not cheap at all--talking pretty decent used car prices--but comparing to the next step down its so much more heavily built there's no question in my mind whether its worth it. But it will probably be a purchase in a year or two due to some other things we need to get done.

[Jim Becker]

Matt, three years ago I bought a Scag ZTR to "replace" the 60" belly mower that came with my Kubota BX22. I don't miss the belly mower in any way, shape or form...and sold it to the farm where we board our horses to replace the one they, um...destroyed. The ZTR cuts like a dream. As good as the cut was with the orange deck, the higher blade speed and "designed for the purpose" ZTR is even better. There was a small learning curve to driving it, of course, and it's easier to get stuck than my heavy tractor with bar tires, but I'm exceedingly pleased with the investment. And I don't have to continually remove the back hoe and loader when it's time to mow.

[Art Mulder]

Seems pretty unanimous to me, Matt...

I'm curious though... I've seen some commercial services with stand-up ZTR mowers. (ie: the operator is standing on a platform at the back, not sitting down on the mower.) They looked even more compact than the regular ZTR units. But I've never seen them in stores. Anyone ever used those?

...art

ps: My buddy also went from regular to ZTR on his 4 acres and he also reports that it cuts "much" faster. His lot is SERIOUSLY treed, so doding obstacles is a big deal to them also.

[Dave Lehnert]

Seems pretty unanimous to me, Matt...

I'm curious though... I've seen some commercial services with stand-up ZTR mowers. (ie: the operator is standing on a platform at the back, not sitting down on the mower.) They looked even more compact than the regular ZTR units. But I've never seen them in stores. Anyone ever used those?

...art

ps: My buddy also went from regular to ZTR on his 4 acres and he also reports that it cuts "much" faster. His lot is SERIOUSLY treed, so doding obstacles is a big deal to them also.

I looked at a Toro Grandstand. Looked like a very well built mower.
Just FYI- Toro owns Exmark . When I purchased my ZTR 4 or 5 years ago the Toro was made better and cheaper. So shop around.

[Matt Meiser]

Matt, three years ago I bought a Scag ZTR to "replace" the 60" belly mower that came with my Kubota BX22.

Jim, that's VERY comparable to the switch I'm looking at. How much do you mow and what time difference did it make?

[Jim Becker]

Matt, we have about 2 of our four acres as "grass" and there are a lot of trees. It would be hard to say what the actual time savings is, but it's noticeable when I can move at "full speed"...slower mowing in the spring like now due to very fast growth, so I slow down a little "just because" and zipping along in mid-summer when it's hotter and drier. And, of course, there is no time changing over the "tool" from a "digging" configuration to mowing. Removing/installing the FEL and BH is actually pretty quick on my Kubota, but the heavy mower deck was a pain in the butt to deal with, especially since I had no concrete/paved area to do it.

[Eddie Watkins]

It used to take me about 3.5 hours to mow 2 acres with a belly mower on a JD 4300 tractor. Like Jim, I got tired of taking things on and off and bought a Grasshoper 722D with a 61" deck. It now takes me about 3 hours to mow 5 acres. The diesel engine is a Kubota 22 hp and I can get about twice the hours per gallon my neighbor gets with a 25 hp Kawasaki gas engine. I had a mulching kit on the mower when I first got it and had to slow down if I let the grass get too tall before mowing. I took the mullching kit off and can pretty much mow at full speed most of the time. THe deck really shoots the grass out and seems to get it discharged damp. I have never mowed when it was really wet so I can't speak to that. The downside to not having the mulching kit on the mower is that I have to mow with the wind on a windy day or the grass gets all over me. The time saved by being able to mow faster is worth the trade-off in my opinion. Also, the mower does cut cleaner if I slow down a little but I probable still mow at about 8 mph.

[Jim Becker]

FYI, it took me just over an hour yesterday to mow our approximately 2 acres of lawn-ish places. I was going a little faster than I normally do because I needed to get out and pick up Alesya from the barn and then cook dinner at a reasonable time, but not so quick that I missed anything.

[Tom Green]

Matt, I switched from a Husqvarna "belly mower" to an articulating Husqy "rider 155" in 2005 and easily cut my mowing time in half. The old mower had a clutch and gears, the new one is hydrostatic drive. One pedal is forward and the other is back. As with you, we have lots of trees throughout the landscaping and the near zero turn and seldom having to back up is the major time saver. I don't think I drive it any faster than I did the belly mower. I'm driving 9 hours round trip (california smog laws suck) next week to pick up a new Husqvarna R 220T that is the replacement for my Rider 155 (still runs). Needless to say I'm sold on these mowers.

[Matt Meiser]

I'm tentatively scheduled to get the demo unit on Friday to try in my yard. Should be interesting.