So I bought a Deere zero turn mower

[IveBeenRued]

My new JD FR651V recommends 5w30 up to 104F and 5w40 over that. I've got 5w30 in it now and will go to the 5w40 next year.

Not according to Kawasaki.
https://kawasakienginesusa.com/engines/fr-series/fr651v

 

[SHOZ]

Not according to Kawasaki.

John Deere is the warranty provider. I ran 0w40 on my older Kawaaki motor for over 20 years. It was hard to start in the winter.

 

[SHOZ]

The 3 gallon gas tank will hold 3.5 gal. I made a funnel holder out of 1" sch 40 PVC . It fits perfect in the gas filler neck. Heated it up to get about a 30 degree bend and used a female NPT adapter to screw the funnel in. Now funnel sits level when filling.

The oil temp at 70F and an hour and a half mowing was 235F vs +250F at 80-90F.

Big difference between this mower, Z320 and the older F510 is the gas tank emissions venting and the almost no need for using the choke. The F510 almost always needed the choke unless hot. The new one if it's above 80F out doesn't need any choke. It has gas vapor hose that runs to the carb so should always have a rich vapor sitting there.

 

[SHOZ]

Pretty sure the hour meter is broke already, stuck at 37.7 hrs.. On my old F510 it never went past 50 hrs. Time for the cheap replacement I guess. Put one of theses on the F510. As simple as wrapping a wire around a spark plug wire and mounting with double stick tape.

 

[SHOZ]

Going to a Zero Turn 42" from a front mow 38" there really is not a lot of time difference. Use to take me about 1:40 minutes. Now it's hour and a half.

Very consistent too as I keep a stopwatch going when I mow. 5 out of 6 times it's been 1:27 with the sixth 1:28.

 

[4WD]

Going to a Zero Turn 42" from a front mow 38" there really is not a lot of time difference. Use to take me about 1:40 minutes. Now it's hour and a half.

Very consistent too as I keep a stopwatch going when I mow. 5 out of 6 times it's been 1:27 with the sixth 1:28.

You have to be willing to alternate the direction of discharge - and I don’t want to do that … LT42 is way less money too …

 

[SHOZ]

You have to be willing to alternate the direction of discharge - and I don’t want to do that … LT42 is way less money too …

I use a mulcher attachment so the discharge is closed off. Though tend to hug the right discharge side.

 

[SHOZ]

I mow at 4" and mulch too. When there are leaves a lot will fly out of the left front corner of the deck, from the 8 to 11 o'clock positions. Last year I put some lawn edging on with some beam clamps. That worked pretty good but took away the ability to get close to the deck. Also it would sang in the rear when reversing, sometimes folding over too on a sharp left turn.

The other day I tried some of the lawn edging with the bead up. Then ran a piece 1/4 rod though the bead and curved it all to the shape of the deck. Then clamped the rod down on each end. This snugs right into the rolled edge on the deck. There's even one hole that I used a bolt and fender washer to hold the back end down.

Trimmed of about half the 4" height of the edging leaving about 2" from the ground but is still flexible enough to bend when compressed. Haven't used it yet though.

 

[SHOZ]

Mowed yesterday and that spoiler worked great.

 

[JavierH19]

I run 15w-40 in my briggs, honda, and kohler. I never run any of them below 60f and run them hard in 100f+ temps.

 

[97prizm]

I’m picking up a Deere z330m zero turn mower this week.

I’m going to run it for a season but I’m not going to winterize it in the late fall. I’d rather just start it up and run it hard 3-4 times a month.

Question I have is Deere (as Deere always does) recommends turf gard 10w-30 in the zero turn owners manual.

John Deere oil is good stuff but the Kawasaki engine it has recommends 10w-40 in the Kawasaki FR691v owners manual as the go to oil and even 20w-50 in some climates.

Just curious, are there any benefit running a 10w-40 over 10w-30 on an air cooled Kawasaki?

John Deere’s turf gard only comes in 5w or 10w-30

Definitely buy a few cans of deck undercoating spray (Arnold makes one). It makes a huge difference in keeping the underside clean and not letting grass build up and stick. It made a big difference on my push mower.

 

[brandon9715]

I have a John Deere 757 with the Kawasaki engine and am running 10w30 in it for the foreseeable future. I have no other reason than I have 14 quarts of Amsoil ASE 10w30 to use in it and other OPE. I think either viscosity will realistically be adequate as long as a quality oil is used. Once I use up the 10w30 I will go to the Amsoil ASF 10w40 in the mower.

 

[SHOZ]

Compared to my front mower F510 I used for +24 years to mow, the new Z320M constantly does the job 20 -15 minutes faster. I've been running a stopwatch when mowing and it has been within 2 minutes of 1:17 minutes every time. F510 was anywhere from 1:30 for short mows and 2 hrs for the whole thing and extra.

 

[nwjones18]

And I hate the gas tank on the JD Z320. It's clear so they say no need for a gas gauge. But it's under the seat. And an 'easy fill' gas filler that is only easy fill with a spout. It's angled so a funnel doesn't sit on it. When filling in the shed I have to put a flashlight on top of the tank shining down to see the level. Maybe if I dyed the gas.....

And it's 3 gallon. Who has 3 gallon gas cans????

Could be a Z255 that doesn't even have a clear spot to look at. Only way to tell my JD is low on gas is when it runs out...

 

[SHOZ]

The filling too is very slow due to the tank design for emissions I suppose. Tempted to dill a vent in the tank. All designed to work with the crappy fuel containers they have now.