Help me choose a zero turn.

Not a Protero bagger. It is the 2 bin Ariens/Gravely. The dealer is not interested in helping me. He is only interested in turning a profit.
 
Not a Protero bagger. It is the 2 bin Ariens/Gravely. The dealer is not interested in helping me. He is only interested in turning a profit.
I’m sorry that you are having the problems. I evidently have a better dealer than you. I will tell you that Ariens and many other companies want you to go through a servicing dealer for warranty repairs. Paper trail. I hope there is another Ariens/Gravely dealer close to you that you can try.
Try removing the bagger attachment and the belt powering the bagger unit and see if the vibration goes away.
 
I just cannot see spending that kind of money on lawn mower for 1 acre. Maybe if you were in the business.
Yes, that makes a lot of sense. Everybody's situation is different. I hate spending money as much as the next guy. For me, the primary driver was time savings. Mowing is totally wasted time for me, I wanted to minimize it.
I do not trust anybody to do my maintenance for me, so hiring it out was out.

Buying a zero turn was a death by a thousand cuts. First I convinced myself I wanted serviceable hydros. so Ok, zt-2800.
Then I realized I had to step up to the 3100 hydros to get any actual time savings, plus I have a tow behind aerator, so needed the bigger hydros to tow that as well. Then I needed a solution to deal with the leaves in the fall...hence a power bagger. One thing after another...next thing I know we are talking real money. It just so happened I had a little bit extra at the time, so I got carried away. Easy to do.
 
I used to bag leaves . Now I just mulch them up . My neighbors Sycamore tree has leaves the size of my hand and end up in my yard , but after a couple of passes , they're gone .
 
Yes, that makes a lot of sense. Everybody's situation is different. I hate spending money as much as the next guy. For me, the primary driver was time savings. Mowing is totally wasted time for me, I wanted to minimize it.
I do not trust anybody to do my maintenance for me, so hiring it out was out.

Buying a zero turn was a death by a thousand cuts. First I convinced myself I wanted serviceable hydros. so Ok, zt-2800.
Then I realized I had to step up to the 3100 hydros to get any actual time savings, plus I have a tow behind aerator, so needed the bigger hydros to tow that as well. Then I needed a solution to deal with the leaves in the fall...hence a power bagger. One thing after another...next thing I know we are talking real money. It just so happened I had a little bit extra at the time, so I got carried away. Easy to do.
I am still using a used Husqvarna riding mower I picked up used for $400 or $500. That was 10 years ago. Put $100 into it to replace worn steering. And a few tires and blades. If I have time I use the Toro Timemaster and walk behind (need the exercise).

I am spending about what you are spending for a new zero-turn to get the outdrive for my boat rebuilt. But its a fun toy.
 
Good thread, congrats on the purchase.

I have been looking at mowers lately and think I settled on Grasshopper. I really like the quality, can get with a diesel and some attachment options. I will need to mortgage my house to buy one however. :)
My neighbor down the road has one with a 21 hp diesel Kubota engine. 60” deck. It’s the tradional Grasshopper style with the turning wheels in the back and the deck up front. The deck has an electric motor/ hydraulic pump for raising the deck to either clean it or service the blades. I thought that was a pretty neat feature. Sips fuel too.

We have a Grasshopper dealer basically right down the road from us. Didn’t know that until he told me. Their inventory is pretty bare though.
 
I am still using a used Husqvarna riding mower I picked up used for $400 or $500. That was 10 years ago. Put $100 into it to replace worn steering. And a few tires and blades. If I have time I use the Toro Timemaster and walk behind (need the exercise).

I am spending about what you are spending for a new zero-turn to get the outdrive for my boat rebuilt. But its a fun toy.
Yikes. Just like the old saying: BOAT - Bust Out Another Thousand!
 
The latest development in the Ariens deck vibration saga:
Support says engineering is working on a solution, but have not reached a conclusion as of yet. Which is why they cannot send me a new belt.
The support guy at least gave me an explicit permission to put on a shorter aftermarket belt, and stated that this will not invalidate my warranty.

He acknowledged that he has the same model mower he is experimenting with, which has the same problem as mine, so the issue is well known to them.

I have just ordered a 127" 5/8 belt (one inch shorter than the current)
will try that this weekend. I am putting the tensioning pulley back in the original factory position. Now that I thought about it, I think that "shorter arm" actually results in "more tensioning force force" at the pulley.
Given the spring force the length of the arm where the spring is attached, the available moment for tensioning the belt is ( F * L)
==> i.e Spring Force, times the length of arm to the point of spring attachment.

The pulley's F2 * L2 moment has to be equal to the above. If the L2 > L then F2 has to be < F. So moving the tensioning pulley further away from the pivot point (increasing the length of the arm) actually decreased the tensioning force at the pulley.
What u all think?
 
$5,000 for a 42" electric? And it only runs for "up to" 2 acres per charge without adding additional expensive batteries? Ouch. One can easily buy a Spartan for that money. Gasoline for a mower isn't that expensive...
 
@coder
Why don’t you start a new thread on this mower? I saw some of your posts on lawnmowerforum.com.
Doing so would get more attention and possibly gain some good input from our members.
Your adventure and experience really needs a stand alone thread.
 
My neighbor down the road has one with a 21 hp diesel Kubota engine. 60” deck. It’s the tradional Grasshopper style with the turning wheels in the back and the deck up front. The deck has an electric motor/ hydraulic pump for raising the deck to either clean it or service the blades. I thought that was a pretty neat feature. Sips fuel too.

We have a Grasshopper dealer basically right down the road from us. Didn’t know that until he told me. Their inventory is pretty bare though.
I just purchased a used Grasshopper 928D2. 500 hours on it, 72" deck, 28hp Kubota diesel. Also got a power broom and a front mount blower for it. Can't wait to try it out.

PXL_20210630_165517631.jpg

PXL_20210630_165400852.jpg
 
$5,000 for a 42" electric? And it only runs for "up to" 2 acres per charge without adding additional expensive batteries? Ouch. One can easily buy a Spartan for that money. Gasoline for a mower isn't that expensive...

to each their own.
some swear by Ego.
I have their 18” saw and love it.
 
to each their own.
some swear by Ego.
I have their 18” saw and love it.
Apples to oranges. I thought we were discussing zero turn mowers. I would agree that electric chainsaws have their perks in many (definitely not all) applications...
 
Apples to oranges. I thought we were discussing zero turn mowers. I would agree that electric chainsaws have their perks in many (definitely not all) applications...

you dismissed the zero turn I posted.
I simply stated they make quality products.
Your life will go on.
 
Looked at a few fully electric Zt mowers. The big box variants I see strike me as low end with their stamped decks, and light-duty deck suspension.
They also tend to have questionable, low end Li batteries. For example, the current crop of high capacity EGO batteries seem to have some problems. I have one that overheats and shuts down after a few minutes continuous use. Flashes red, and I have to wait for it to cool down before being able to use it again. So the first thing I would be scrutinizing is how heavy duty and robust the propulsion batteries are.

In theory, battery driven zt mowers dispense with all (most) of the belts, and the hydro-s, as they just have a direct drive electric motor for each spindle and wheel. Ideally about 5 separate direct drive brushless motors for anything that spins. It is obvious that is it easier to route electricity to each spinning part, than to route mechanical power through a system of Pto, belts and pulleys, all of which have inefficiencies and wear problems.

Gravely has a heavy duty, no compromises Electric Zt line, seems like priced in their Pro-Turn class. As robustly built as their pro turns, with rather promising heavy duty Li batteries. Up to 6 of 50 lbs batteries,
so these can run "all day".

All the advantages of a commercial zt, plus all the advantages of "electric" which eliminates a lot of the imperfections and maintenance needed for a gas powered zt (belts, hydros, oil changes...). Plus they run quiet and you do not have to inhale any exhaust. Lets not forget the pleasant torque of electric motors, on-tap from 0 rpm.

Driving up to hills, or towing something behind should not be a problem, because the main inefficiency (the hydros) are swapped out for electric motors that do not have any torque problems.

The Gravely is worth looking at as a baseline for what an
electric Zt mower should (could) be.

The only issue is, those are still pretty expensive. But they have potential.

I predict, these eventually will displace the gasoline powered machines,
just like electric Cars will displace ICE vehicles. It is just a superior, much simpler and lower maintenance technology.
In theory, as the production of these scale up, they will come down in price. Electric motors are a proven, inexpensive technology.
E.g: Less expensive and more robust than Hydros.
 
I just purchased a used Grasshopper 928D2. 500 hours on it, 72" deck, 28hp Kubota diesel. Also got a power broom and a front mount blower for it. Can't wait to try it out.

View attachment 62028
View attachment 62029
Nice. Don’t ever get rid of that thing. I believe that’s the same engine the ZT I’m currently demoing has. They just did something to keep it under the 26.5 hp for emissions. It creates 24.8.
 
you dismissed the zero turn I posted.
I simply stated they make quality products.
Your life will go on.
Sure. I never saw you type "they make quality products." Only "love it."

I wasn't trying to argue with you, but be that way. :rolleyes:
 
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