Z Force 50 First Impression / Review

[Sigma]

I just bought a Z Force 50, my first ZTR mower.

As I've read, I knocked my mowing time (approx. 1.5 acres) down from 2 hrs 15 min. (42" cut Wheel Horse) down to 1 hr. 15 min.

I assume I'll be able to shave some time off as I gain experience with it.

The rear tires spun alot during U-turns, however the grass was a little wet, and the tires had too much pressure. I'm curious to see how drier ground and less pressure affects the turning .... along with practice.

Overall I'm pleased with the purchase, everything worked proper and the cut of the grass looked very good. The deck floated well over areas that I was concerned over scalping.

I'm impressed with the ZF50 after 1 cutting, we will see how it does as it gains hours.

Greg
Indiana

 

[Spiffy]

Congrats, glad to hear you're enjoying your machine!

If it's slippery, it may not have made a difference, but try keeping both wheels moving on turns; for a sharp turn, run the inside one backward while the outside runs forward.

Have fun! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[Sigma]

I was trying to run the inside backwards. There were times I looked down and it was spinning backwards, since it was so slick.

One more comment:

Electric PTO: I had read this but hadn't any experience with an electric PTO / clutch. It worked very smooth. Especially when moving in Reverse, where the blades would stop, then restart when moving forward.

Like everything else, I expect it to run smooth now, only time will tell how the quality holds up.

 

[swiftboot]

Thanks for the review of the ZF. I plan to get one this season as well so i will be looking forward to your posts as your experience grows. I wasnt aware that the blades stopped in reverse, is there a way to override or jury-rig it so that doesnt happen? (jus in case someone may want to do that) Thanks,

 

[gamble77]

Well "just in case" someone wanted to override the reverse kill on the Z-Force machines I have "heard" there is a way to do this...but that's just what a little bird told me! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[MooreSites]

Hey, I just got my Z-Force 50 about a month ago and am loving it. I'm mowing over 4 acres and have cut my time drastically. As soon as I get a chance, I'll give my opinion of the mower and it's highs and lows as this website has really helped me in finding the right mower. So far, so good, Cub Cadet.

Lance Moore
MooreSites

 

[saspaul]

Hey, gents, do either of you ZForce owners have hilly lots? I'd like to hear how they do on traverses. Thanks.

 

[Sigma]

A few more thoughts / comments:

1.) I'd seen and read some ZTR mowers have dual fuel tanks. I didn't look close at first, but the ZF50 actually only has one fuel tank on the left hand side. The right side is made of the same material, same size, only has a cup holder and a small open storage area. I can't imagine a drink or anything riding there very well while you're mowing at full speed. I'm just not sure why this wasn't used as a fuel tank as well. I'm only mowing a little over an hour at a time, so I'm sure the single 5 gal. tank will be sufficient. I guess the fuel tank looking cupholder is to give the ZF more of a commercial look?????

2.) As for the hills. My yard is very rolling. I'm not sure of the exact grade, but I would guess it is steeper than the reccommended grade. In general, I would try to mow straight up and down the hills and not along the side of them, but I did mow along the side of some, and never felt threatened of tipping over. However, as the grass was a little slick I felt it was a little harder holding a straight line along the side of a hill. But, I'm guessing I'll get better with that with practice.

3.) I haven't decided about the deck washing system yet. I'll have to do some reading, and experimenting before deciding if that will be in the usual routine .... or never again.

 

[MooreSites]

I have a large, bumpy hill in front of my house (just built, not great terrain yet). I tried some of it with no trouble. I'll be mowing it this week, so I'll post again if there's any trouble.

FYI - I have a review up here .

Lance Moore
MooreSites.com

 

[Sigma]

I'm still waiting on the perfect mowing conditions. Last week, even saving an hour on my mowing time, I still got caught in the rain.

1.) Mowed wet thick grass and the deck discharge deflector only clogged a few times. I didn't think that was too bad considering it was wet, thick grass that I was probably mowing a little too low.

2.) The deck height adjustment is a little unclear (at least to me) as to exactly which mark (no labels, just lines) it is set on.

3.) Deck wash system. I tried it, and wasn't impressed. Still seemed like there was grass under the deck. Maybe if you washed after every mowing, it would work well. But, I can't imagine having time to wash after every mowing. I'm doing good to run the weed eater.


Hopefully this week it will be dry and no rain!

 

[diesel_nut]

Tried one out in a parking lot of the dealer. Was not impressed with top speed. I wasn't impressed with the top speed of any of the tractors either.

 

[Sigma]

Rarely can I mow full speed due to the bouncing on the bumps my yard, but I couldn't with my Wheel horse either. So the top speed really doesn't affect me. It was the same issue when I borrowed an Kubota ZTR mower and mowed my yard. It was a large commercial version, and I still bounced around too much to go very fast.

 

[Sigma]

Additional thoughts:

1.) Changed the oil for the first time ... very easy access. I routed the drain tube down threw the hole in the where the muffler went through the plate the engine sits on. The oil drained easily ... no mess. As instructed, I filled the oil filter up to the threads, waited a few minutes for it to soak into the filter, laid a rag down and spun it on ... no mess there either.

2.) After mowing for over a month I decided I was tired of the safety switch killing the mower PTO when in reverse, so I disabled that.

3.) Still pleased with the purchase.

 

[Sigma]

Additional thoughts:

1.) Changed the oil for the first time ... very easy access. I routed the drain tube down threw the hole in the where the muffler went through the plate the engine sits on. The oil drained easily ... no mess. As instructed, I filled the oil filter up to the threads, waited a few minutes for it to soak into the filter, laid a rag down and spun it on ... no mess there either.

2.) After mowing for over a month I decided I was tired of the safety switch killing the mower PTO when in reverse, so I disabled that.

3.) Still pleased with the purchase.

 

[colepc]

Additional thoughts:

...

2.) After mowing for over a month I decided I was tired of the safety switch killing the mower PTO when in reverse, so I disabled that.

...

Please provide details about how you disabled the safety switch in order to keep the blades spinning while in reverse.

Thanks!

 

[john_bud]

Additional thoughts:

...

2.) After mowing for over a month I decided I was tired of the safety switch killing the mower PTO when in reverse, so I disabled that.

...

Please provide details about how you disabled the safety switch in order to keep the blades spinning while in reverse.

Thanks!

Removing safety switches is dangerous so nobody will tell you to crawl under and look up at the peddle to locate the switch and unplug it. That would be wrong as you would have to use caution when mowing and backing up.

jb

 

[colepc]

Removing safety switches is dangerous so nobody will tell you to crawl under and look up at the peddle to locate the switch and unplug it. That would be wrong as you would have to use caution when mowing and backing up.

jb

The ZF50 doesn't have any pedals (except for the deck-height adjustment). Just left and right controls that move each side forward and reverse independently of each other. When both are moved past neutral (towards reverse) at the same time, the clutch disengages and blades stop while that condition is true.