zero turn mower

[amosfella]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

I didn't see the OP mention a budget, that might cut the options down significantly. A $15k budget is far more limiting that a $25k budget.

Willing to go up to $15k, but trying to keep it under $10k. $15k will make things tight till the insurance company starts paying out for the fire. Heaven knows when that will be.

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by amosfella

Willing to go up to $15k, but trying to keep it under $10k. $15k will make things tight till the insurance company starts paying out for the fire. Heaven knows when that will be.

There are a few JD 740 units listed online, in central Alberta, some under 100 hours, in the $12k range. Some still have some warranty. There are also some used 900 series around for under $15k.

[WV911]

Originally Posted by amosfella

I'm going to add this about the transaction as it's too late for me to edit. Every time I mentioned something of concern, the seller wanted us to pay for the machine, then he'd take it to the dealer, get it looked at, then deliver it to us. He was rather insistent about that even though I kept saying that if I pay for it, it goes on the trailer with me after payment.

But if we didn't pay him for it, he wasn't going to get it fixed.

I found that very odd....

In my landscaping business I have used Ferris, Yazoo, and John Deere.

When the Ferris's first came to Canada the 3 wheel turn model was what everyone jumped on. They were good machines for the first year or 2 then problems started surfacing, lots of electrical problems being the most frequent. Not a huge dealer network for parts or service.

Yazoo i wont even talk about.

Lots of people are happy with Kubota and I know its probably a great mower but I have always used John Deere because of a great Dealer I did business with and never had any problems with the 3 Z920's Ive had. Parts and service are available everywhere but I have hardly needed it. Other than filter changes and blades they have been zero issues.
As far as running over stuff, the blades and deck are pretty much indestructible within reason. Short of firewood I don't pick up branches, I just run them over and never have a issue and have cut vacant property you would think needs a bush hog.

But like trucks, boats etc, everyone has their own opinion.

[KC1]

Brand new JD z720 is about $11000
Will do the job and probably last you for many years.

[amosfella]

Originally Posted by KC1

Brand new JD z720 is about $11000
Will do the job and probably last you for many years.

I'd maybe be interested, but the local John Deere dealerships have not been fun to deal with. Farm got rid of all it's JD equipment because of that. A number of John Deere die hards locally have gone to Case/Agco since the new owners took over the dealership.

Kubota might be an option, as is Gravely right now. Got a number for a guy with Country clipper as well.

[M.Ote]

Ive been running deines mowers now for 20 plus years and just upgraded to a newer one. Not big HP at only 18-20 hp, but has 60" deck. The beauty of this is not like most decks that sit under your feet this one sits up front. Tried out some deere mowers, and wasnt able to trim under spruce and around trunks like mine without getting scratched up. The dines will reach under and around. I never use a trimmer, or clean up device on my farm yard and have chewed through some tall thick stuff with it. A clean deck cuts better and these lift and lock at 90 degrees in front so sharpening, cleaning, and servicing is all done without ramps or other means. Cleaning takes 5 minutes. I have an older one for sale currently. New are around 18k but they are super simple and easy to fix or maintain. Heavy gauge welded deck and not a stamped thin version like you will see on most mowers. Not pretty to look at but dont spend long on it compared to other mowers. Good support company as well.

http://lairdmowers.ca/mowers.html

[IL Bar]

Originally Posted by amosfella

I'd maybe be interested, but the local John Deere dealerships have not been fun to deal with. Farm got rid of all it's JD equipment because of that. A number of John Deere die hards locally have gone to Case/Agco since the new owners took over the dealership.

Kubota might be an option, as is Gravely right now. Got a number for a guy with Country clipper as well.

I have had 3 Deere commercial zero turns here. All have been bulletproof. Currently running a Z950M with a 72” deck and a Z810A with a 54” deck.

I agree about the new dealership group ruining Deere for everyone even the diehards. Battle River Implements has a really good turf guy if you are willing to drive to buy a new one.

[amosfella]

To bring a conclusion to this thread, the farm now owns a Cub Cadet Pro Z 560. Nice mower. Good suspension, and good comfortable seat. And a cupholder.

[waldedw]

Originally Posted by amosfella

To bring a conclusion to this thread, the farm now owns a Cub Cadet Pro Z 560. Nice mower. Good suspension, and good comfortable seat. And a cupholder.

You will be happy with it, out at the gun club we have a cub cadet 60" zero turn that we had all last year and again this year, It is a demo that is graciously supplied by a dealer in town in exchange for advertising, we have about 4 acres to cut every 10 days or so, no complaints at all.

[amosfella]

Originally Posted by waldedw

You will be happy with it, out at the gun club we have a cub cadet 60" zero turn that we had all last year and again this year, It is a demo that is graciously supplied by a dealer in town in exchange for advertising, we have about 4 acres to cut every 10 days or so, no complaints at all.

Did you get a pro model, or one of the other models?

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by waldedw

You will be happy with it, out at the gun club we have a cub cadet 60" zero turn that we had all last year and again this year, It is a demo that is graciously supplied by a dealer in town in exchange for advertising, we have about 4 acres to cut every 10 days or so, no complaints at all.

Our 54" Club Cadet is a residential model, and it lacks power, and plugs up in heavy grass, and I have replaced several parts. We have made it last 14 years, but our next mower will be a 60" commercial model, our conditions are just too tough for lighter duty mowers.

[elkhunter11]

With the new year upon us, we had our first range meeting of the year, and reviewed some major planned expenses for 2024. We decided that we need to replace our tired old residential zero turn mower, with a new commercial unit, so we did some shopping, and the price increases were even more than we had expected. Last year, our dealer offered us a new 60" JD Z950M for around $17k,but for 2024, the list price is well over $20k. Luckily our dealer did find us a new 2022 JD960M for $16.5k. After pricing out a new 2024 Z960M at over $22k, with the same options, we purchased the 2022 model. The dealer will hold the new unit until spring, and I look forward to being able to mow the ranges much quicker, and more comfortably.

[catnthehat]

We don't use zero turn mowers at our club, we have a New Holland tractor with a PTO 72" mower and 6 Troy Built 48" mowers.
Our club has found that they work excellent for what we need to do.
Cat

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by catnthehat

We don't use zero turn mowers at our club, we have a New Holland tractor with a PTO 72" mower and 6 Troy Built 48" mowers.
Our club has found that they work excellent for what we need to do.
Cat

We couldn't justify the expense of six lawn tractors with 48" mowers, and there is no way that we could find six volunteers to ride them every 10-14 days. So we chose to go with a 60" zero turn that will mow faster than two 48" tractor mowers, and requires only one operator. We had a lawn tractor with a 46" mower, and that took 6-7 hours to mow what I mow in 4 hours with the old 54" zero turn. The new 60" commercial unit can travel much faster while cutting, so I expect to get my mowing time down to under 3 hours. We also have a Kubota tractor with a 72" mower, to use on the wide open areas, but that will likely see less use, as the 60" zero turn, will mow pretty much as fast, and will be much easier to maneuver,

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

We couldn't justify the expense of six lawn tractors with 48" mowers, and there is no way that we could find six volunteers to ride them every 10-14 days. So we chose to go with a 60" zero turn that will mow faster than two 48" tractor mowers, and requires only one operator. We had a lawn tractor with a 46" mower, and that took 6-7 hours to mow what I mow in 4 hours with the old 54" zero turn. The new 60" commercial unit can travel much faster while cutting, so I expect to get my mowing time down to under 3 hours. We also have a Kubota tractor with a 72" mower, to use on the wide open areas, but that will likely see less use, as the 60" zero turn, will mow pretty much as fast, and will be much easier to maneuver,

We would never be able to keep up with only one mower, and these little tractors are pretty much bullet proof so it works for our needs. We can normally get most of them manned once every couple of weeks .
A zero turn would be nice, but too much money for what we need.
Cat
Cat

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by catnthehat

We would never be able to keep up with only one mower, and these little tractors are pretty much bullet proof so it works for our needs. We can normally get most of them manned once every couple of weeks .
A zero turn would be nice, but too much money for what we need.
Cat
Cat

Truthfully, you could buy three residential grade zero turns for less than the cost of six tractors, and they would mow just as much with three operators. I didn't realize just how much faster a zero turn really is, until I used one. In our situation, manpower is the biggest issue, and storage and maintenance next, so we chose to go with one high capacity machine, that can do the work, of two or three less efficient machines, and we only have to store and maintain one machine.

[amosfella]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

We couldn't justify the expense of six lawn tractors with 48" mowers, and there is no way that we could find six volunteers to ride them every 10-14 days. So we chose to go with a 60" zero turn that will mow faster than two 48" tractor mowers, and requires only one operator. We had a lawn tractor with a 46" mower, and that took 6-7 hours to mow what I mow in 4 hours with the old 54" zero turn. The new 60" commercial unit can travel much faster while cutting, so I expect to get my mowing time down to under 3 hours. We also have a Kubota tractor with a 72" mower, to use on the wide open areas, but that will likely see less use, as the 60" zero turn, will mow pretty much as fast, and will be much easier to maneuver,

I found the best job gets done if I sharpen the blades after every other cut over the yard.

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by amosfella

I found the best job gets done if I sharpen the blades after every other cut over the yard.

We always have at least a couple of sets of extra blades on hand, and change them out when they don't cut as well. The blades take a terrible beating , grinding up clay target remains, and hitting some metal cartridge cases. When I put the last sharp blades on, I sharpen the rest.

[rjlester]

Bought our acreage 25 years ago. Has about an acre of grass to cut. Borrowed my dads rider mower with 42 inch cut. Was slow, and took about 1.5 hours to do it all. Found a Yazoo in the bargain finder, 60 inch cut. Was a dangerous machine to operate, but cut much faster, and I could do the whole lawn in about an hour or so. After more than ten years of use, I got tired of changing the mowing belts all the time, it had a strange pulley arrangement. Got a new JD Mower tractor, 42 inch cut. Back to the 1.5 hour thing. Had various other used rider mowers along with the JD for quite a few years.

Two years ago, I bought a 40 year old Toro Groundsmaster 72. I wanted a cab as I didn't want to get hit in the face with spruce tree branches anymore, almost lost my eye one time even with goggles on.

That is a great machine. I can cut everything and I'm done in 40 mins. It's a commercial unit, and is designed to run 10 hours a day 5 days a week. I barely put 10 hours on it per season.

[curtz]

I bought a Gravely from Equipment Guys in Calgary last fall. Seems to be very well built, Kawasaki engine. It was close to $8000 reg and I got a fall special $5500. Only got to use it a few times in the fall, very comfortable machine to operate, big difference from my almost 20 year old craftsman tractor.

[7magtime]

I’m running a 2018 Cub Cadet 54” similar to this one and now have approximately 150-160 hours on it with no complaints and no repairs so far.
It cut my mowing time by approximately 30-45% from my 48” lawn tractor, the steering wheel is a nice touch from levers…..

https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j...L&opi=89978449

[waldedw]

We run a zero turn Cub Cadet 60" at the gun club, they list out at $8,400 for the 25 HP gas engine, not the industrial model and the one with the steering wheel instead of the levers, I like it much better because I can have a coffee while I'm cutting grass out of the 8 acres we actually only cut about 4 so it's not getting a ton of use average 25 hrs per summer, but is a nice smooth unit and we have had no issues with it at all, I can cut the 4 acres in just over an hour without pushing it at all, just a steady pace and lock the cruse on and if I don't let the grass get away from me I never have to kick the cruse off.