Zero turn experiences?

[92saturnsl2]

My 2000-era Craftsman "garden tractor" is getting long in the tooth and I am getting tired of spending 4+ hours mowing my 2 acres. What has been your experience going from an old school riding mower to a zero turn? Does it save a lot of time? A good friend put it to me this way: a new mower might cost a lot, but what is your time worth? The older I get, the more that's starting to sink in. I'd be looking for something $5K or less, but would be really interested in something with EFI if it even exists in that price range.

 

[55hambone]

I've had my zero turn mower for about 12 years. It cut the mowing time in half.

 

[MParr]

You won’t get a zero turn with an EFI engine at that price. Those EFI engines are used on commercial mowers.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

+1 on cutting time in half. I mow just over 3 acres with plenty of detail work (trees, rock garden, etc) in less than 1 hr 40 mins. The time saved and ease of use is by far worth any reasonable penalty.

I’ve got a 60” Ariens Apex (a clone of the commercial-grade Gravely, other than orange paint) for mine, and that would end up probably around $6k now thanks to a certain someone’s fiscal recklessness. If you’re wanting to mow 4 acres, don’t go smaller than 60”, but moving up to 72” generally doubles the cost of the mower.

 

[oldcodger]

I have a 12 year old 42" Zero Turn and can mow my 2 acres in about 1.5 hours. If you hate mowing your lawn get a zero turn. It will be the best mowing experience you can ask for.

 

[spasm3]

Mowing is way faster. If you are mowing 2 acres, and its open and not hilly, get a 60-72 inch deck. If you have a lot of things to mow around, 50-60 inch deck.

 

[dnewton3]

I've mowed a lot of grass in my days on both riders and ZTs, and I can say for sure that a ZT is by far a quicker, more efficient way to do so.

Rather than buying new, I'd look for a decent older commercial grade mower; they are built to last. Unless you're mowing 20+ hours a week (doing commercial work), the EFI won't pay itself back in fuel savings, so don't focus on that.

 

[#18FAN]

I'd agree with cutting mowing time in half if I were to look at certain specs, I'd want serviceable hydro and quality spindles and probably be looking at a Kawasaki engine.

 

[Zee09]

I wouldn't buy anything but an EFI for my use but for 2 acres and the cost...no. I agree with @MParr .

You dont need a 60 or 72" You can mow up to 9 acres an hour with them if they are commercial grade.

Any quality 50" to 54" ZT would be enough for 2 acres and at that size you can get Exmark, Spartan, CC, Hustler, Bad Boy, and all the better grade mowers

And get around trees and decks etc far better

 

[92saturnsl2]

I wouldn't buy anything but an EFI for my use but for 2 acres and the cost...no. I agree with @MParr .

You dont need a 60 or 72" You can mow up to 9 acres an hour with them if they are commercial grade.

Any quality 50" to 54" ZT would be enough for 2 acres and at that size you can get Exmark, Spartan, CC, Hustler, Bad Boy, and all the better grade mowers

And get around trees and decks etc far better

I was just curious if EFI was even an option, I haven't done a lot of research. I know some of the mid-grade cub cadet riders come with EFI even in single cylinder guise, so thought it might be a thing in the ZT market. Guess not, but it's not a deal breaker.

 

[hemioiler]

If you want new, I've had a cub cadet for almost a decade and have had 0 issues with it. Something like this is close to your budget:

Cub Cadet Ultima ZT2 60 Zero-Turn Mower | Cub Cadet US

60" Heavy-duty 11-gauge fabricated deck, 24 hp 726cc Kawasaki® FR730 Series engine, lap bar-controlled dual-hydro transmissions, best-in-class limited warranty Order online. Choose Dealer Delivery or pick-up within one business day at your local dealer. Financing available.

www.cubcadet.com

 

[Zee09]

I was just curious if EFI was even an option, I haven't done a lot of research. I know some of the mid-grade cub cadet riders come with EFI even in single cylinder guise, so thought it might be a thing in the ZT market. Guess not, but it's not a deal breaker.

They are great. It may be worth coming up a bit $$$ wise.. you would need to do a quick search though.

 

[Zee09]

I'm seeing some places offering 0% interest for 48 months on the brands they carry..
That could help you get into an EFI

 

[skyactiv]

Keep in mind some of the residential ZT's are slow with a 6 MPH top speed. A 6 MPH ZT is slow.

 

[SHOZ]

Keep in mind some of the residential ZT's are slow with a 6 MPH top speed. A 6 MPH ZT is slow.

Mine is rated at 7.5 mph. Great for going down the road but I mow at half speed probably. I miss the one handed steering. And traction is not the best. Seem to leave skid marks real easy when doing the near zero turns.

I had a front mower before and a lot of trimming around trees. Still learning with the ZT as far as trimming but it does near as good a job. Left side is better for close work. I use the mulcher kits so don't have the discharge chute on. The front mower is good for getting under trees and up next to bushes.

 

[Rand]

You won’t get a zero turn with an EFI engine at that price. Those EFI engines are used on commercial mowers.

yeah its odd you can include it on a snowblower but it has to be a $10k commercial zero turn?

 

[thastinger]

My 2000-era Craftsman "garden tractor" is getting long in the tooth and I am getting tired of spending 4+ hours mowing my 2 acres. What has been your experience going from an old school riding mower to a zero turn? Does it save a lot of time? A good friend put it to me this way: a new mower might cost a lot, but what is your time worth? The older I get, the more that's starting to sink in. I'd be looking for something $5K or less, but would be really interested in something with EFI if it even exists in that price range.

Have a little over 8 acres to mow with 122 planted trees on it. When I first started mowing the property all I had was a John Deere 185 rider with a 48" deck, that thing used to beat me to death, it was like I only went there to mow grass because it would take me 8 hours to mow it out of the 36 hours I was on the property, it used around 7 gallons to do it as well. I did that for about 4 months and had enough.

So I called a local commercial equipment place and they brought me 3 different ZTRs to try out. I ended up buying the 61" cut Ferris that had the shocks. Now it takes me 1 hour and 50 minutes to cut it all and I burn just less than 2 gallons of gas. This was back in 2014, so the mower is 10 years old now but only has 217 hours on it. They cut grass so fast that you just don't rack up the hours on them.

 

[Zee09]

Have a little over 8 acres to mow with 122 planted trees on it. When I first started mowing the property all I had was a John Deere 185 rider with a 48" deck, that thing used to beat me to death, it was like I only went there to mow grass because it would take me 8 hours to mow it out of the 36 hours I was on the property, it used around 7 gallons to do it as well. I did that for about 4 months and had enough.

So I called a local commercial equipment place and they brought me 3 different ZTRs to try out. I ended up buying the 61" cut Ferris that had the shocks. Now it takes me 1 hour and 50 minutes to cut it all and I burn just less than 2 gallons of gas.

Yup...Great post.
I burn less than 1 gallon an hour with a 33 HP EFI on hilly terrain.

 

[nomas]

I bought a Bad Boy ZTR in 2017 . Two cylinder Kohler engine . To date all I have done is oil and air filter changes and a couple of sets of blades . After my first mowing session I wondered why I hadn't done this sooner .

 

[thastinger]

Yup...Great post.
I burn less than 1 gallon an hour with a 33 HP EFI on hilly terrain.

I have the 28HP 810cc B&S commercial turf engine, it is carb. I've never drained the fuel in the winter and I've always ran E10 pump gas in it, haven't had any carb issues yet and it is 10 years old now but it burns probably a bit over a gallon per hour in heavy grass.