Anybody have a 72” zero turn?

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I’m looking at ZT’s as my 44” rider isn’t cutting it. Well, it cuts great, just takes forever. The main model I’m interested in is available with a 60” and 72” deck.

While the 60” would be more versatile, the 72” would cover more ground. My main concern is scalping as many areas of my yard are very uneven. 72” is a big mower.

Anybody have a 72” zero turn who can give some insight? Yay or nay?
 
@dlundblad
How big is your property? I cut around 3 acres, once a week. It’s pretty rough. I recently traded a 54” Toro Timecutter HD 54 for a Gravely ProTurn 160 (60”). The Gravely has reduced my cutting time and is more comfortable. It has a suspension seat. I finally have it dialed in and it does a good job. A 2 1/4” cut is as low as I dare to cut. You will likely get more scalping from a 72” mower deck. You are correct, a 60” deck would be more versatile. And, a 72” mower will scalp more in the rough areas. Whatever you decide, buy a commercial mower from a dealer. Residential mowers from big box stores will beat you to death. One more thing; do not buy a mower that has a fuel injected engine.
Do you have any gates? Gate size will determine your deck size.
 
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I have a Z950 John Deere with a 72" deck. My 4 acres is far from a golf course, and other than a few spots I have to mow a certain way - I have never wished the deck was smaller.

See if your local commercial dealership has any units you can demo. Mine was happy to let me try some out before making a decision.
 
I did a ton of research regarding mowers when I had my home built as I also have about 3 acres of grass to mow. You are better off standing.
The workflow is faster period. I have a Ferris stand on. If I did it over again, I'd buy a Wright.

Stand on mowers are becoming more popular with commercial users.


 
It's difficult to judge the nature of your mowed area by your statement "as many areas of my yard are very uneven." At my workplace where I mow about 2.5 acres, I actually went down to a 56 inch commercial Exmark with plenty of deck extension beyond the wheel (for close trimming) due to all the small nooks and crannies, flower beds, trees, etc. to trim around. With this mower, I was able to abandon my push mower 100% (trimming) and employ a weed trimmer VERY little. What I lost in deck width, I gained in accessibility. It's a bit lighter, which is good for the lawn. It might have a little less stability on slopes, but I'm not sure.

In my case, I would choose the narrower deck. On 3 acres, the time difference will probably be less than 20 minutes. They mow incredibly fast compared to anything else due to speed and maneuverability.
 
I managed a property in the past that had 4 acres to mow with a lot of obstacles and a 72" zero turn. We planned to keep the 72" for the flat areas and use the 60 in the areas the 72 would scalp. Ended up selling the 72" pretty quickly because nobody used it and the cut of the 60" was superior in every way, especially if the grass was damp.

The other bonus was that the 60" mower (a Hustler) cost less than half what the 72" cost (Deere).
 
I’d go with a 60” unless you have more than 5 acres to mow, especially with your concerns about scalping. I have a 52” Ferris walk behind and a very hilly yard and it’s great for the 2.5ish acres of grass I have. Very few commercial mowers here use anything bigger than a 52” and a few 60”. Once you get to 10+ acres they use wide area mowers or tractors.
 
Pond, many trees, and a steep hill from when pond was dug. The yard isn’t bad in most areas, but you can tell it wasn’t professionally done either. It can be very bumpy on my rider.

I have about 3.5 acres to mow with hopefully about 1.5 coming soon once I get the ground ready. (We had the pond dipped last summer and had them dump it in the field behind the hill. (16) 2 axle dump truck loads.) This area will also get many more trees.
 
I did a ton of research regarding mowers when I had my home built as I also have about 3 acres of grass to mow. You are better off standing.
The workflow is faster period. I have a Ferris stand on. If I did it over again, I'd buy a Wright.

Stand on mowers are becoming more popular with commercial users.



How much gas do you consume to mow your 3 acres?
 
@dlundblad
At a minimum, you will use one gallon per acre with a 54”-60” mower. This depends on type of grass, height of grass, water content of grass and your engine. Figure anywhere from 1 to 1.5 gallons per acre.
 
How much gas do you consume to mow your 3 acres?

I'm using ethanol free 90 octane and I can mow twice on one 5 gallon gas can if I don't let it get too tall between mowings.
I have a 52" Ferris with a Kaw. One thing the stand-on allows me to do is make the most use of deck. I don't overlap as much as someone on a sit down mower I would guess.

Being on a stand-on mower gives you a view like driving an F150 while being on a sit down zero turn gives you a view like your driving a Ford Fusion.
You guys like the forward view in a car or a truck?

Stand-on mowers are slowly becoming more popular. I can go full blast on mine and not get that jolt to my kidneys vs if it was a sit-down zero turn.


 
Complete overkill...
72" isn't needed for those kinds of acres at all. To me a 60 is overkill as well. Get a 54" as it makes it far easier to get around things.

Yes I do have a 54, 61 and 72 and seven more and even a 42....
 
I partly agree with @Zee09. A 72” isn’t needed. However, I recently traded a 54” for 60”. The 60” beats my old 54” all the way around.
 
and a steep hill from when pond was dug
Does that hill slope into the pond? Have you used a zero turn before? They can be a real pain on any kind of slope and I won't mow around our pond with any of our zero turns. I've made that mistake too many times before! Using a ZT on a yard with a lot of slopes can be misery if you're not able to mow up and down them instead of across them.
 
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I’m looking at ZT’s as my 44” rider isn’t cutting it. Well, it cuts great, just takes forever. The main model I’m interested in is available with a 60” and 72” deck.

While the 60” would be more versatile, the 72” would cover more ground. My main concern is scalping as many areas of my yard are very uneven. 72” is a big mower.

Anybody have a 72” zero turn who can give some insight? Yay or nay?
I have a 2018 Gravely ZT HD 52. My son is on his second Gravely. He traded in the previous model ZT HD 52 for the current ZT HD 60. I mow around 2 acres, and my son does at least double that. Trouble free so far. If it's absolute cut quality you're after, some pro's swear by the Exmark Lazer Z as the king. It's about twice the price of the Gravely.
 
I'm using ethanol free 90 octane and I can mow twice on one 5 gallon gas can if I don't let it get too tall between mowings.
I have a 52" Ferris with a Kaw. One thing the stand-on allows me to do is make the most use of deck. I don't overlap as much as someone on a sit down mower I would guess.

Being on a stand-on mower gives you a view like driving an F150 while being on a sit down zero turn gives you a view like your driving a Ford Fusion.
You guys like the forward view in a car or a truck?

Stand-on mowers are slowly becoming more popular. I can go full blast on mine and not get that jolt to my kidneys vs if it was a sit-down zero turn.



Those look pretty cool, but probably for young guys. I'm not sure worn knees will work with a stand up.
 
I mow about 6 acres now, and have a54” and 60” on my JD 425 and 455. I also have a 72” deck on my Deere compact tractor. My ground is some of everything, hilly, smooth, rough, flat, you get the idea. Long story short, I really don’t like the 72” deck. It cuts mowing time, but not as much as you might think when you factor in more time taken with obstacles.
ive found, unless your ground is flat, wide open spaces, a 72” is a waste. On open, flat ground, the bigger the better, on everything else it’s a big trade off.
A 60” is a great compromise deck. It mows a lot of grass and isn’t so big to be a hassle around trees and obstacles.
 
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