New "ride" for the farm

[440Magnum]

I've got a piece of land that I lease out partially for agriculture. The rest requires mowing, and right now I don't have a tenant to do that (plan in the works for fall and beyond... fingers crossed... I seriously do not want to have to sell this place, it means a lot to me to keep it intact and if it sold it would be instantly subdivided into tract houses.) Anyway, the beat-do-death JD lawn tractor that has been the main tool for around 15 years was overmatched by the job, and it was time for a replacement. The Kohler engine on the JD could probably keep going for another 10 years- doesn't miss a beat or drink a drop of oil after 15 years of HARD use. But the tractor is just about done, and parts are drying up- its really a "homweowner" grade JD and not up to this kind of work.

I did quite a bit of research and decided to pony up for something that would a) last under hard use possibly by people not as careful as me (the tenant I'm praying for...), and b) be fast enough for me to mow the place myself in less than 2 full days since I don't get out there every week.

Anyway, back to the machine... Here's what I got:

The thing mows like stink. A person could probably mow the entire place in 4-5 hours with it. Why these haven't totally displaced conventional garden tractors is a mystery to me. Ferris is a brand I'd never heard of- its an old New York based company that Briggs & Stratton acquired most likely because it defaulted on payments for engines, just like Murray did. Right now they have a lot of features that Deere, Scag, Toro, and the others don't have at all, let alone for the price- the fully sprung suspension being one of them. Its run by twin hydraulic integrated pump/motor units mounted right on the rear axles- no hydro lines at all. The hydro stuff uses 20w50 engine oil, of all things.

Anyway, I've gotten to use it once so far… and after getting used to steering with levers and doing nothing at all with feet it works very well. Briggs 28 horsepower Commercial Turf twin- 810cc. The other option was a Kawasaki. I'd have picked Kohler, but they didn't offer it. Frankly I'm surprised they offer Kawasaki being a Briggs subsidiary.

 

[JHZR2]

neat!!

 

[mount]

The motor oil for hydraulics is easy to believe. Some of the Toro greens reel mowers at golf courses would say to use 10W-40 for the hydraulics. That was if you were to cheap to use bio-based vegetable oil or what not. The greens didn't like when you sprung a leak of motor oil everywhere.

I'm glad to see a B&S in a a Zero Turn. I prefer B&S especially for push mowers, but don't see them in as many riders. I've used Kawasaki engines before, and the few I've used have been in Zero-turns and I was near deaf after a 3 hour mow. Never been on mowers so loud. My experience may have been specific to that model however. The really loud one was on a JD nonetheless.

 

[JTK]

Can't see what drive system Ferris uses per their website, but I assume they're HydroGear ZT3100s.

Nice looking machine! Lots of available deck travel and those shocks have to give it a nice ride.

 

[Rob_Roy]

Very nice machine, I demo'd one three years ago before I bought my Deere. I ended up buying the JD because of the deck design and quality of cut, but the Ferris was much easier on my back. I told JD as much when they sent me a customer survey, and now I see that they have a simple suspension setup on the front wheels. You would think they would send me a free upgrade kit for pointing out such an important detail.

I think Ferris calls for Mobil 1 15w-50 in the hydro system...check the manual to be sure.

By the way, the Kawi engines are excellent.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

Congratulations. The zero turns, especially the commercial grade, are great for mowing. I've had my 757 for 4 years now and I'd never go back to a regular garden tractor for mowing.

 

[440Magnum]

Originally Posted By: mount

I'm glad to see a B&S in a a Zero Turn. I prefer B&S especially for push mowers, but don't see them in as many riders. I've used Kawasaki engines before, and the few I've used have been in Zero-turns and I was near deaf after a 3 hour mow. Never been on mowers so loud. My experience may have been specific to that model however. The really loud one was on a JD nonetheless.


Funny you say that, because that's my impression of certain Honda push mower engines: loud. I tested a couple of Kawasakis and didn't notice any particular high noise levels with them, but its sometimes hard to tell in a quick test. I didn't have a super strong preference once Kohler was out of the running- I know Kawasaki has a good reputation for lawn machinery engines. But in the end, Briggs and Kohler have neither let me down and I've never owned a Kawasaki. Didn't want to change too many variables at once. This Briggs is pretty quiet, actually quieter than the 15-horse Kohler on the old Deere. And very smooth, also.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
Why these haven't totally displaced conventional garden tractors is a mystery to me.


The price may be a clue.

You bought a seriously nice machine, and it likely cost double or more over a lesser quality lawn or garden tractor.

 

[440Magnum]

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
Why these haven't totally displaced conventional garden tractors is a mystery to me.


The price may be a clue.

You bought a seriously nice machine, and it likely cost double or more over a lesser quality lawn or garden tractor.


Agreed- I had to get off the high breakage/repair spin cycle and (hopefully) lower costs long-term, but there are "consumer" grade ZTRs for similar prices to consumer-grade tractors. And so few people use a lawn tractor in "tractor" mode- hauling carts, plowing the garden, etc. I guess its a question of familiarity.

One thing I kept doing with the ZTR was mowing close to low-hanging limbs and reflexively reaching out with one hand to push them aside as I did on the tractor.... which is a big mistake on a ZTR since it spins you straight into the limbs you were trying to avoid

 

[mount]

Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
Originally Posted By: mount

I'm glad to see a B&S in a a Zero Turn. I prefer B&S especially for push mowers, but don't see them in as many riders. I've used Kawasaki engines before, and the few I've used have been in Zero-turns and I was near deaf after a 3 hour mow. Never been on mowers so loud. My experience may have been specific to that model however. The really loud one was on a JD nonetheless.


Funny you say that, because that's my impression of certain Honda push mower engines: loud. I tested a couple of Kawasakis and didn't notice any particular high noise levels with them, but its sometimes hard to tell in a quick test. I didn't have a super strong preference once Kohler was out of the running- I know Kawasaki has a good reputation for lawn machinery engines. But in the end, Briggs and Kohler have neither let me down and I've never owned a Kawasaki. Didn't want to change too many variables at once. This Briggs is pretty quiet, actually quieter than the 15-horse Kohler on the old Deere. And very smooth, also.


Its probably not specific to the kawasaki engine. I'm not used to the standard 4-wheeled ZTR form where the engine sits exposed on the back. It didn't help either that I slouch back with my head over the engine while I mow. The Kawasakis have plenty of power though.

 

[440Magnum]

I notice NO ONE has commented on the oil cooler visible above the oil filter in the last picture

After a mow, the air coming off that cooler is quite warm, its obviously helping shed a lot of heat. There's a cutout in the air shroud behind where it mounts so it gets its own supply of cool air from the main flywheel fan. Neat feature that I've never had on a lawn power engine before.

 

[WMSmotorhead]

I switch from a 50" Tractor to a 46" ZeroTurn and I'm done in half the time. ZT Mowers are great!