Zero turn mowers

5 posts
Fri, 08/21/2015 - 13:45 #1

Member for

9 years 4 months
Jwilson66
Last seen: 08/21/2015 - 13:45
Joined: 08/21/2015 - 13:39

Zero turn mowers

Hi, looking for advice regarding purchase of zero turn mowers to cover paddocks that are a bit uneven on a property approx 50 acres in total.  Ease of operation  and reliability are most important.  HAve a small cox ride on which i really like.  Probably mid range with a decent cut width, any advice from personal experience appreciated

Thanks

Jane

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Sun, 08/23/2015 - 12:51 #2
charlie
Last seen: 12/26/2018 - 09:21
Joined: 05/31/2011 - 09:44
Hi Jane
Welcome to the forum.
I would consider the John Deere Eztrack, word of caution I have not used or seem them operate on uneven ground. 
I was always of the opinion that zero turn mowers were double the price of a normal ride on, and hence I didn't ever look at them when i purchased my cox 42 inch. Recently a family member of mine purchased the john deere extrack 42 inch model, 20 horsepower for similar money to my cox ride on.
If you have a large area to cover have you considered a mower that can be towed behind a quad bike?
Regards,
Charlie
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Mon, 08/24/2015 - 10:05 #3
peter_marybank
Last seen: 03/08/2018 - 21:05
Joined: 02/26/2015 - 13:47

Hello Jane,

 

I own both a 42" Toro Z-turn and a 32 horse power J-Deer light farm tractor with a 60" undercarriage mower deck. We have about 2 ac of lawn area.

The Z-turn mowers are excellent and vastly superior to straight drive ride ons.

42" is ample unless you have a vast (> 1 ha) lawn area.  Either Toro or J-Deere are good brands. I would recomend 20 hp engine capacity for 42" cutting deck - this will give adequare power.

Safery features are good - for example the mower automatically stops if the cutting deck is engaged and you hop off the seat. 

Between $5 - $6K will purchase a 42" Toro off the shelf - but shop around.

You will also most likely need a small push mowere to clean up those hard to get to areas we all have.

We have a 4 stroke 18" honda - great little mower. 

 

Go slowly for a while if you get a Z-turn - they are different to a standard ride on - but easy to operate with a little practice.

 

Regards

 

Peter 

Marybank

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Sat, 08/29/2015 - 11:56 #4
Farsideb
Last seen: 03/08/2018 - 21:05
Joined: 05/16/2014 - 11:55

If you are talking about mowing your whole 50 acres you would be better off looking at a small tractor and slasher.  The slasher will be better than a mower over paddocks that are a bit uneven and have a bigger cutter deck so you would get through the work quicker.  Also a small tractor would be useful for other work around the 50 acres.  You might find you also need a mower for your house block.  Depending on the size you could get a normal hand mower or a self propelled one which would make the house block easier to handle as well, or get a small sit on for the house block. 

 

Just be aware to take regular breaks when doing the mowing.  I mowed our 3 acre paddock on a ride-on and slipped a disk in my back from all the shuddering around.  It took quite a number of hours to do 3 acres on a small ride on. 

 

We purchased a small tractor and opted for a finishing mower deck and wished that we had gotten a slasher, remember it's a paddock, not a lawn.  smiley

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Sun, 09/13/2015 - 17:55 #5
tredle
Last seen: 03/08/2018 - 21:05
Joined: 09/13/2015 - 17:27

Jane,

I have owned a John Deer Z225 for the past 7 years. Will we replace this with another zero turn when it finally dies. Yep.

It's had a very easy life only doing about 100 Hours per year, mowing our 1 Ha property. Apart from the normal servicing the only issue has been dirty fuel and the ocasional dead battery after the dry season, where it would sit idle for several months.(This was fixed by adding a socket and connecting a solar panel charger.) Once we purchased the Zero turn we also planned our garden to suit, making a small push mower redundant. After finishing the mowing all that was needed was some edging.

As for the uneven ground it all depends on what you mean by 'uneven'. I guess if a normal ride on mower is good the Zero turn will be good.  One 'issue' we found was that on a slope with damp grass the Z225 was reluctant (read: spinning tyres) to swing the deck up the slope when turning. But i suspect any ride on with grass tyres would have the same issue turning up-slope. As for doing 50 AC with a ride on , I'd recommend a small tractor with slasher and keep the Cox for around the house.

 

Eldert

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