Air conditioned cabs

[check 6]

Every time I go to the local Kubota dealer my eye goes to the air conditioned cabs on the small tractors ( I have a B 2920) but I never got one as I use a hand hose and nozzle on my sprayer a lot. That said I wish I did have a cab on my zero turn mower as here in Texas this time of year it is hot and when mowing you raise lots of dust. Anyone seen or built a cab for a zero turn, I know logistically there is a problem because of the steering arms being wide in the park position. I have seen a new item at my dealer, a topper (sun Shade) with a fan built in that blow directly downward which may keep the dust away. Anyone tried that?

 

[MF283]

Neat idea if you don't have trees. I'd like to have one directed at the grass chute during windy conditions to keep the clippings & dust from blowing on me.

Ronnie

 

[EddieWalker]

What blades are you using on your zero turn mower? I switched from the factory blades on my Scag zero turn to Gator high lift bahia blades that where much more aggressive. Those blades made it impossible to breath any time I went over bare dirt, the dust cloud they created was unbearable. It was even worse when there was some build up of grass on the underside of the mower deck. Keeping that clean helped, but it wasn't ideal. I also found out that there is an adjustable angle iron bar on the front of the deck where you can't see it, but after cleaning the grass off a few times, I noticed the bolts there. On my mower, it was set at the highest position. I lowered it to the lowest position and that also stopped a lot of the dust coming out the front of my mower deck. Just this year I went back to factory blades and that pretty much solved all my dust problems.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I have seen a few mowers with a protection cab (golf courses) but not an AC. I doubt that the engine would be strong enough to run an AC compressor AND mow heavy grass at the same time. Even if you could fab a cab large enough, then you would need to up the HP by about 5-10 HP to run the compressor without compromising your mowing ability. It would likely be much cheaper to just hire someone to mow your lawn.

 

[check 6]

I do use the factory blades, its just here in Texas with little rain there is lots of dust.The A/C idea was dreaming, but I do like the idea of a sun cover with a large fan built in that blows down right on your head to keep you cool, discourage bugs and the airstream produced should keep most of the dust away.

 

[TractorGuy]

I use factory blades on my Craftsman 7500 ZTS and it blows so much dirt out the front I am filthy from the knees down after mowing. I recently made an air dam out of Lexan that is just an inch off the ground that helped a lot but it also catches on any bump or high spot.

One of these days I am going to make some flat blades like the ones I made for my home made ground powered mower. I just cut to length some 1/4" thick by 2" wide flat bar and bored the center hole on the mill for precision. Sharpened about 6" from the tip on both sides. Those blades have been on since the mower was built 18 years ago but I haven't used it much in the last few years. Of course I made that an open rear discharge and it's behind whatever I tow it with so dust isn't an issue. Come to think of it I need to put that mower back in service and use the zero for trimming.

 

[TheMadOne]

Not technically a full zero turn, but:

1585 | Front Rotary Mowers | John Deere INT

It does have air!

 

[TractorGuy]

Yeah I need me a 45 grand mower.

http://www.dms.myflorida.com/conten...e/John Deere Group 21_C15_20140630_8-7-14.pdf

Not technically a full zero turn, but:

1585 | Front Rotary Mowers | John Deere INT

It does have air!

 

[Maxify55]

I have a Z and a CUT.
I only use the Z any more for trim work around building and fence posts.
For mowing I use the 72" PTO mower behind the LS.

That said: I pondered the order of a MMM on the LS when I purchased it and found it lacking in ground speed.
Years ago when the Mrs. and I were shopping for a Z for our church.
They already had an old Kubota L series 2WD with an aging Woods MMM 60".

The wise old salesman gave us some sage advise.
If you want to cut grass, get a dedicated grass cutter...the Z.
A tractor can do many things, and some/most quite well, but for cutting grass?
Nothing beats the efficiency and cut quality of a well maintained commercial ZTR.

From there we can talk further about operator comfort features across the various brands out there.
Does it get hot in July? You bet!
Aside from getting a $40K Toro Grounds Master with an array rotary or reel hydro decks that lift at the flick of your pinky?
Yeah, I'd like Santa to drop one on me someday.
Along with a service contract to fix all the hydraulic leaks and general PM that needs to take place.
Just maintaining my Ferris gets tedious sometimes but Hey!
She's 13 yrs old now. So I cut her some slack.

 

[GoldenCityMuse]

Well, I don't cut grass, but I SURE DO LIKE my cab on my Cabela's tractor. It will sure be nice in 30 years when I am 80 working around the property.