For real? Are fabricated decks better?

[meep]

I was able to pound the snot out of the lower leading edge today, which was the snag point, and bent downward. It took a lot of pounding but made a good difference. Mowed 1/2” higher too. I’ve got another one on order, but I’d like to try to ride this one a little longer if possible. it cut just fine. since nothing is yet torn, if there was a way to pull the bends out I’d be very interested in trying, but the hammer was totally ineffective there, and every winch/cable arrangement I can imagine just seems fit for a Darwin Award.

my local dealer said that they’d give me a trade on it (with the replacement deck) and they have a 42in with heavier construction, but I really like this little 34. It goes anywhere well.

 

[Creekside]

My parents have less than 200 hours on a newer JD ztr from Lowe’s. It’s on it’s 3rd deck. I have a 15ish year old JD 757 with 2600 hours on the original deck and bearings. It’s all in how you use them.

 

[MParr]

From the description of your mower, I take it that you have an Aries Zoom 34. That is an entry level homeowners model with a stamped deck. It’s a good mower for cutting well maintained lawns that are under 1 acre. Slow it down and look over where you are going to mow. If you are going to be mowing other people’s lawns, you need to step up to a commercial grade or residential estate grade mower with a fabricated deck.

 

[thastinger]

My Ferris has a fabricated deck, I can't imagine how one could bend it. The steel is at least 1/4 inch and it has a 3/8 steel strip all around the outer deck edge.

Try this, when I cut an unfamiliar high growth area, I will lower my deck to the height I'm going to cut with and drive around the suspect areas without the blades on.

 

[meep]

From the description of your mower, I take it that you have an Aries Zoom 34. That is an entry level homeowners model with a stamped deck. It’s a good mower for cutting well maintained lawns that are under 1 acre. Slow it down and look over where you are going to mow. If you are going to be mowing other people’s lawns, you need to step up to a commercial grade or residential estate grade mower with a fabricated deck.

you got it... zoom 34. I do like it a lot.

i picked up the replacement deck yesterday. the dealer walked me around the ariens icon xd model. It’s a 42 for $400 more than the zoom. There was no comparison in deck build. The deck itself on the zoom might weigh 25 lbs in its box with packing. It’s an easy if not awkward one man lift. The iconxd was a different animal entirely. Mower lust was strong for the 42 and he offered a modest trade, but I’ll stay with the 34 for now, as its small size is convenient for truck-bed transport.

 

[1978elcamino]

Ive been down the road of stamped deck mowers for years. Fab decks are the way to go for rural mowing.

 

[bchannell]

Yeah, it depends on the deck, as said those 7 iron decks are tough as all get out, which is a later version of the 60" JD commercial deck on my tractor. They're stamped decks, but I'm telling you, they are monsters. Fabbed decks are nice, but in my opinion, they have more right angles for grass clippings to stick to. Some aren't very bad, but my Husqvarna fabbed deck helf quite a bit more grass than my stamped JD. I'm constantly amazed how little grass sticks to it. I also think that stamped decks have much better air flow underneath and move grass clippings better. My deck when mowing tall grass is nothing short of amazing how much grass it can process and send out the chute.

 

[ragtoplvr]

I went from a square tube frame fiberglass body Dixon to a heavier Cub Cadet ZTR. My yard started getting ruts near the fence where you drive the same path over and over.

Too bad Dixon mowers like that are gone.

LIGHTER WEIGHT MOWERS RULE.



Rod