Lawn Tractor vs Zero Turn

[RSKY]

I am repeating a story here that I have posted several times before. Just not on this thread.

When I bought my Bad Boy mower I first ordered one with a Kohler engine and the 60" deck which was the widest possible on that frame. As I was walking to my truck the dealer's daughter stopped me. She had graduated High School with my youngest, was on the yearbook staff with her, and spent a night or two at our house with the rest of the yearbook staff. She was the dealership's secretary.

Anyway.

She told me to not get the 60" deck but to get the 54". Said that everybody who got the 60" on that frame complained about the mower scalping their yard at every uneven spot. She explained that the deck stuck out too far on the left side. And, she said, take the money you save by getting the narrower deck and get the Kawasaki engine instead of the Kohler. It will burn less gas and, she looked over both shoulders to make sure nobody was listening, we don't know how to work on them because we never have to work on them.

I changed the order to what she said.

Couple years later a friend me that he had traded his Bad Boy mower off because he was continuously scalping his yard. I asked and sure enough he had the same frame but the 60" deck. I have owned mine now for about twelve years?? or so. At one time I was mowing five or six yards a week for a total of about eight acres. Now I'm down to just my one acre. Have been completely pleased with the mower.

Points of this story, first, don't get the widest deck available on a particular frame, you will end up scalping your yard if it is very rough. Second, get the Kawasaki engine. Third, when you are in your late fifties and a drop dead gorgeous blonde twenty something gives you advice you take it.

RSKY

 

[Yander]

No disagreement on the diesel lasting longer. A diesel will outast most of the components on the mower.

Which is why I prefer gas, you're not paying for something that you're not going to even utilize. Unless you want to rebuild the mower around the diesel engine which is certainly feasible.

For this OP diesel is way out of his price range.

 

[Yander]

I am repeating a story here that I have posted several times before. Just not on this thread.

When I bought my Bad Boy mower I first ordered one with a Kohler engine and the 60" deck which was the widest possible on that frame. As I was walking to my truck the dealer's daughter stopped me. She had graduated High School with my youngest, was on the yearbook staff with her, and spent a night or two at our house with the rest of the yearbook staff. She was the dealership's secretary.

Anyway.

She told me to not get the 60" deck but to get the 54". Said that everybody who got the 60" on that frame complained about the mower scalping their yard at every uneven spot. She explained that the deck stuck out too far on the left side. And, she said, take the money you save by getting the narrower deck and get the Kawasaki engine instead of the Kohler. It will burn less gas and, she looked over both shoulders to make sure nobody was listening, we don't know how to work on them because we never have to work on them.

I changed the order to what she said.

Couple years later a friend me that he had traded his Bad Boy mower off because he was continuously scalping his yard. I asked and sure enough he had the same frame but the 60" deck. I have owned mine now for about twelve years?? or so. At one time I was mowing five or six yards a week for a total of about eight acres. Now I'm down to just my one acre. Have been completely pleased with the mower.

Points of this story, first, don't get the widest deck available on a particular frame, you will end up scalping your yard if it is very rough. Second, get the Kawasaki engine. Third, when you are in your late fifties and a drop dead gorgeous blonde twenty something gives you advice you take it.

RSKY

Funny, good story I agree on the Kawasaki.

Here's my Kawasaki experience we bought a little John Deere 170 in early 1990s. Had the 14 horse Kawasaki. I mowed my two and a half acres loaned it to my pastor who mowed his 3 acres many times mowed several Church yards with it.

It didn't have an hour meter but I sold it in 2000 with countless hundreds and probably thousand hours plus. Never had a minutes trouble from it and it still ran like a top when I sold it because I needed something bigger for my five acres.

A JD 170 is a lawn tractor but I used it all those years as a garden tractor.

My neighbor had an exmark with the commercial Kohler on it. I mowed with it a handful of times while he was unable to. I could tell a difference in the less torque and performance from my Kawasaki ZTR I was mowing with at the time. Though the Kohler was quieter

 

[zzvyb6]

My F-935 JD front mower has features of both: Front deck, side and rear discharge decks, can run other attachments (broom, snow blower, plow, leaf blower, PTO generator, etc). It has a steering wheel, goes fast, diesel. My 76" offset deck sneaks under my pine trees so I don't get my glasses swiped off. Hooks up to my Woods Vac trailer when I use the 72" side discharge deck. Sips fuel and is quiet. Many tire tread varieties for hills and traction. Mine is 2wd, but an 1145 is 4wd. Used ones around here go for about $2500 to $3500, depending in version (# of fuel tanks, 1 vs. 2 hydraulic outlets, gas or diesel, 60, 72, 76" deck). Easy to do maintenance on. My twin-post lift makes blade sharpening easy plus it also serves as storage up in the air when not in use. It's pto speed is 2200 and with a deck mounted gearbox reducer with a 540 spindle on it, I run a Winco house generator and a water pump when necessary.

 

[Duds13]

I am repeating a story here that I have posted several times before. Just not on this thread.

When I bought my Bad Boy mower I first ordered one with a Kohler engine and the 60" deck which was the widest possible on that frame. As I was walking to my truck the dealer's daughter stopped me. She had graduated High School with my youngest, was on the yearbook staff with her, and spent a night or two at our house with the rest of the yearbook staff. She was the dealership's secretary.

Anyway.

She told me to not get the 60" deck but to get the 54". Said that everybody who got the 60" on that frame complained about the mower scalping their yard at every uneven spot. She explained that the deck stuck out too far on the left side. And, she said, take the money you save by getting the narrower deck and get the Kawasaki engine instead of the Kohler. It will burn less gas and, she looked over both shoulders to make sure nobody was listening, we don't know how to work on them because we never have to work on them.

I changed the order to what she said.

Couple years later a friend me that he had traded his Bad Boy mower off because he was continuously scalping his yard. I asked and sure enough he had the same frame but the 60" deck. I have owned mine now for about twelve years?? or so. At one time I was mowing five or six yards a week for a total of about eight acres. Now I'm down to just my one acre. Have been completely pleased with the mower.

Points of this story, first, don't get the widest deck available on a particular frame, you will end up scalping your yard if it is very rough. Second, get the Kawasaki engine. Third, when you are in your late fifties and a drop dead gorgeous blonde twenty something gives you advice you take it.

RSKY

Good story! I disagree on the scalping part though. A 54" will scalp as easily as a 61" and if you are scalping your lawn you are mowing way too low. Mow high, mow often. Jut my opinion though

 

[nyone]

I am repeating a story here that I have posted several times before. Just not on this thread.

When I bought my Bad Boy mower I first ordered one with a Kohler engine and the 60" deck which was the widest possible on that frame. As I was walking to my truck the dealer's daughter stopped me. She had graduated High School with my youngest, was on the yearbook staff with her, and spent a night or two at our house with the rest of the yearbook staff. She was the dealership's secretary.

Anyway.

She told me to not get the 60" deck but to get the 54". Said that everybody who got the 60" on that frame complained about the mower scalping their yard at every uneven spot. She explained that the deck stuck out too far on the left side. And, she said, take the money you save by getting the narrower deck and get the Kawasaki engine instead of the Kohler. It will burn less gas and, she looked over both shoulders to make sure nobody was listening, we don't know how to work on them because we never have to work on them.

I changed the order to what she said.

Couple years later a friend me that he had traded his Bad Boy mower off because he was continuously scalping his yard. I asked and sure enough he had the same frame but the 60" deck. I have owned mine now for about twelve years?? or so. At one time I was mowing five or six yards a week for a total of about eight acres. Now I'm down to just my one acre. Have been completely pleased with the mower.

Points of this story, first, don't get the widest deck available on a particular frame, you will end up scalping your yard if it is very rough. Second, get the Kawasaki engine. Third, when you are in your late fifties and a drop dead gorgeous blonde twenty something gives you advice you take it.

RSKY

Everyone wants to get the widest mower they can but fail to realize this. Scalping and you my have to fir between things. My 48in hardly fits in between some things in my yard.

 

[5030]

None of the gas powered ones are even remotely fuel efficient from my personal experience (we have 2 zero turn mowers, one with the Kawasaki and one with the Kohler vertical V twins). Only way you'll get fuel efficiency is with a diesel unit. Our F20 Kubota front mount mower (very similar to a Grasshopper) runs and runs on a tank of diesel where as the gas powered ones suck it down.

I'm gonna sell one of the Z's simply because the F20 with it's front mount deck, you can mow under trees and fence lines but with a mid mount deck, that is an impossibility. No scalping issues here, flat as a board. The F20 has a 72" deck, 3 blade, drive shaft powered, so no belts to wear out either and like a Grasshopper, you can tilt the deck up almost vertical for blade changes and cleaning the wadded up grass off. Makes that a simple operation. leaving wadded up grass on the underside of any deck will eventually cause it to rust out. Finally, the F20 has a steering wheel and not the 2 'oars' which I also like better and you can get the F series Kubota in either 2wd or 4wd and they are hydro's. I got mine in 2wd as I don't need the 4wd at all for mowing.

They ain't cheap by a long shot but then no diesel powered anything is cheap today.

 

[CH4Ohio]

None of the gas powered ones are even remotely fuel efficient from my personal experience (we have 2 zero turn mowers, one with the Kawasaki and one with the Kohler vertical V twins). Only way you'll get fuel efficiency is with a diesel unit. Our F20 Kubota front mount mower (very similar to a Grasshopper) runs and runs on a tank of diesel where as the gas powered ones suck it down.

Agree! My gasoline mowers do use a lot of fuel. I also have a 72" belly mower on my Kubota B series and it will mow for days on a tank of diesel. Big difference.

 

[Yander]

Yes, this is exactly a concern of mine.

Right now my gf likes "mowing" the pasture, but she'll only do the flat parts of it, and at about 1mph . I then do the hilly/uneven/parts with trees.

I'm a "research first" type person to find the "optimal" set of choices to decide between in person, but you're right that it may simply come down to whether she's comfortable with a ZT vs a garden tractor.

My 78 year old MIL operates both our commercial Zs. One is an, out front deck, grasshopper 725Diesel and the other is a, mid-mount deck, bush hog with a big Kawasaki gas.

You can mow the 11 miles an hour with the Kawasaki (and I do). You can know about 7mph with the grasshopper. That isn't a limitation of the diesel engine but of the grasshopper ground speed.

MIL mows her 2 acres herself, most of the time, with one or the other.

@5030 is not wrong about the fuel efficiency of diesel over gas. However, the payback period to recover the $4,000 difference will buy you a LOT of gas.

 

[RjCorazza]

My 78 year old MIL operates both our commercial Zs. One is an, out front deck, grasshopper 725Diesel and the other is a, mid-mount deck, bush hog with a big Kawasaki gas.

You can mow the 11 miles an hour with the Kawasaki (and I do). You can know about 7mph with the grasshopper. That isn't a limitation of the diesel engine but of the grasshopper ground speed.

MIL mows her 2 acres herself, most of the time, with one or the other.

@5030 is not wrong about the fuel efficiency of diesel over gas. However, the payback period to recover the $4,000 difference will buy you a LOT of gas.

The fuel savings begins to be a factor in my light commercial use of 500 hours per year. Rough numbers, I'm saving about $1300 per year in fuel costs by running diesel mowers.