Why a Zero Turn?

[Rams]

OK, I know they maneuver quickly and seem to be faster but, is the extra cost worth it?

I'm in the process of buying a mower for my daughter who is purchasing her first home (with my help).    Of course, she's a "country girl" and has to have a few acres, all of which is going to have to be mowed.    So, she wants a big Zero Turn Mower.   

My current lawn tractor is a 46" cut rider.    I take care of it and for it's six years of use, it doing a wonderful job, I have no idea why many of my neighbors need a new mower every two or three years.    Heck, my mower still has it's original battery.

Regardless, after looking at the prices of the 54 to 60 inch Zero Turn Mowers and comparing to similar rider mowers, I don't see the advantages being worth the additional costs.     I'm also told that the Zero Turn Mowers are less reliable and have more expensive drive trains when repairs are needed.     

I hate to let my baby girl down but, I don't see a Zero Turn Mower in her garage this time.     Next mower, she can get what ever she wants.     It is, what it is.    I don't see the Zero Turn as being worth almost twice the price for the same size cutting deck.

Anyone want to try and change my mind?    I'm very willing to listen.

[3fan4life]

A friend of mine has one and likes it.

I don't see it either, other than being faster there aren't any advantages that I can see.

For the money I'd rather have a garden tractor with more horsepower and the ability to use attachments.

[Joevalk]

I had a conventional riding mower before my zero turn. A world of difference. Yes it was double the price, but when you buy a $1600 mower from home depot and you have to spend $200- $400 every season to keep it running. Well no brainer there. I went with a Hustler brand. It makes short work out of 2 acres

[Jack B]

 I have both the lawn tractor does a better job of cutting but the zero turn does in half the time.

[wiggydotcom]

Nope, not gonna try to change your mind. I have the John Deere Z425 and it's been a good mower. It has some good and some bad.
It has a 46 inch deck and replaced a John Deere 175 tractor that only had a 38 inch deck. I can cut my grass in one hour with the zero turn whereas it used to take 2 with the tractor. Of course, part of that is because of the extra 8 inches on every swath, but the Zero turn is just plain faster.

Most any good tractor/zero turn uses hydrostatics nowadays. In my five years of having the zero turn, it's had no issues with the hydrostatic pumps, etc.

Now, the bad....My zero turn is basically made up of a tubular frame. Although it has a powerful motor at 23HP, it is not designed to pull a lawn roller or do much heavy work besides mowing.

The other issue is that it's easy to tear up a yard if you mow and the grass is wet. To avoid it, you have to keep both wheels moving on wet grass. A successful turn is when one wheel turns faster than the other on wet grass.

If you are already biased against zero turns because of cost or whatever, you probably shouldn't buy one. There are lawn tractors nowadays that have very tight turning radiuses.

[BF]

Why a Zero Turn? 

Because advertising says they're cool.   

[da prez]

 Base it on the type of lawn structure. If there is no fancy landscape or maze , then ,back to basics.
 If you are buying the mower , then it is a gift , and she will have to learn to make do. If she wishes to upgrade , then so be it on how she uses her nickel.

                              da prez

[hairyteeth]

If all you want to do is mow lawn get a zero turn. I have an 830 Deere and it will mow as fast as I can stand to drive it. The downside is it's not so handy for other jobs like pulling a trailer, roller, blade work. The one caution I have to offer is around the edge of ponds or water, it seems to attract them like a magnet...don't ask me how I know! HT

[Spirited-6]

Ron, check out the mowers at Central Equip. in Lexington. They have many models. I bought a 61" there two years ago and love it. I mow about 2 1/2 ac in a hour and half. Great for cutting around trees, ect.  Wife is better on this than old mower.   Service is a factor, need a large trailer to haul for service. Central serviced mine last fall in my drive for $189.00.
Good luck.
Don.  

Oh, and I do pull spreader,  sprayer, works well.

[Rams]

I had a conventional riding mower before my zero turn. A world of difference. Yes it was double the price, but when you buy a $1600 mower from home depot and you have to spend $200- $400 every season to keep it running. Well no brainer there. I went with a Hustler brand. It makes short work out of 2 acres

Joe,
I'm not trying to be a smart ass or jerk when I ask this but, what the heck cost $200 to $400 every season.    Other than oil changes and sharpening blades a squirt of grease here and there (and of course gas).    My mowers typically don't cost me $50 a season to maintain.     The dollars are only that high because I use synthetic oil in my mower.    I do all the maintenance myself but lordy, that seems like a lot of maintenance costs.     What brand mower was it anyway.

[MarkT]

I'd like to have one just because it's a cool toy.  But not really a wise or rational purchase for me.  I have 3 1/2 acres here, but mow less than half of it and leave the rest as raw prairie for the deer and other wildlife.  I bought a Honda Harmony 2013, standard gas 38" lawn tractor 16 years ago for about $1500.  Five gears, belt driven, 390cc, single cylinder.  Maintenance consists mostly of oil and blade changes.  Sometimes replace the tires after the rubber breaks down and they won't hold air anymore even with Slime in them.  Such tires are cheap on ebay.  The tractor has been EOL'd by Honda but I can still find parts on ebay or partzilla.  I did replace the ignition system and the key switch on it, and bought a carburator just in case.  Put in a Dan-Marc so I don't have to use the fuel switch.  Replaced the belt drive just last year.  Also welded the split-pulley "clutch" a while back when it was slipping too much.  Welded a ball hitch on it, and haul trailers around the ranch.  The damn thing just won't break - I'd like to get maybe a bigger one for moving snow on the drive, but can't justify it.  Seems like it will last at least as long as my Valkyrie.  I'd guess I have maybe $400 in repairs and maintenance on it, in 16 years.  

So I'd say, zero turns are nice toys.  And faster to use.  Maybe a good idea if your time is really valuable, or you are paying a landscaper by the hour to mow, and/or have a lot of landscape features that can't be trimmed around easily with a std garden tractor design.  But very expensive to buy and maintain, so the numbers might not work out. And if you do other stuff - like move snow, pull trailers or carts around, not a good choice.

[Rams]

Ron, check out the mowers at Central Equip. in Lexington. They have many models. I bought a 61" there two years ago and love it. I mow about 2 1/2 ac in a hour and half. Great for cutting around trees, ect.  Wife is better on this than old mower.   Service is a factor, need a large trailer to haul for service. Central serviced mine last fall in my drive for $189.00.
Good luck.
Don.  

Oh, and I do pull spreader,  sprayer, works well.

Don, appreciate the advice.    If you had ever been to my place, you'd know transporting with trailers is not an issue.  But unfortunately, my daughter lives near Hattiesburg, MS.    I'll be transporting the mower I buy to her.    Then, as much as I hate to say it, it's on her nickel.

BTW, you know you're welcome over here any time.    Come on over and we'll have a cool one.    Iced tea that is.  

[Rams]

If you are already biased against zero turns because of cost or whatever, you probably shouldn't buy one. There are lawn tractors nowadays that have very tight turning radiuses.

Wiggy,

Well, I really think I went into this pretty open minded.    I was actually trying to buy a Zero Turn Mower because, that's what she wanted.    Steered away from them (no pun intended) because I just couldn't see a huge advantage other than the advertised speed.    The two mowers I was comparing side by side, both were 54" decks.   Additionally, I took the time this morning to watch a commercial mowing crew work a very large lawn.   There were three Zero Turn Mowers and a couple of guys with weed/grass trimmers.    They were going to town on that grass like it was Saturday night and they all had hot dates  but, as I watched, one of the Zero Turns was going back over the spots where the "speedy" zero turns had bounced (due to speed bumps probably) and left tufts of grass.    The more I looked, the more I saw.    Obviously, this crew was mowing as fast as they could but, being an old auto crosser the old saying of faster isn't always quicker kept coming back to me.     Yes the Zero Turn will cut a quicker corner and mow faster but, is twice as fast worth twice as much?     Not for me in a mower.    Motorcycles maybe but not something that does what God intended goats to do.  

[Patrick]

Well, they are latest and the greatest, so, they must be the best.

I have been looking at them for past couple years. Why I don't know. I need a new mower like I need another hole in my head. But, I've been looking anyway.

It seems to me that for large areas and commercial use, they are the way to go if only mowing is the task. They certainly are faster.

I use a little Kubota tractor that I bought new 40 years ago. As for mowing with it, I use a 3 point Woods. Both have been pretty trouble free. Since this was bought during the dark ages before hydraulics were discovered it is kind of slow. [ 3 speed w hi/lo] . I bought all the attachments so its pretty versatile and serves me well.

I mow 4.5 acres of which 1 hour is by hand mower.

If I break down and get one, it'll probably be a Kubota. They are some kind of expensive, so, I hope I just keep looking and not buying.

[Valkjerk]

I gotta chime in here boys and girls. I am presently using a Kubota Zero turn that cost me $10k. Sure it's a fast and durable mower, probably of commercial quality and yearly maintenance cost of around $100 with me doing the maintenance myself but it has it's drawbacks. My main quarrel with 0-turn is they tend to wreak havoc on the lawn when you exercise their main attribute...0-turns. I have a rather large lawn and I can do it in 1 hour but it's chewed up where I have to make sharp turns around the pool, trees etc. IMHO I would say if you are cutting a large open yard, the 0-T is real fast but if you have a lot of details in the yard, you may be grinding up your lawn and a conventional lawn tractor would be better suited. My 2 cents.

[fudgie]

We have a 60" diesel grasshopper with the deck out front. Its great cause we have a lot of trees to mow around and under that a normal mower wont work. That's the only advantage. My new place that Im in the process of buying has a open yard so I will get a regular mower. If the 0 turn has the deck underneath then there is really no advantage from a regular mower.

[Jack B]

my Zero turn uses a lot more gas than my tractor but it's also more then twice as fast and cuts 10 inches wider.

[john]

I mow the mother-in-laws lawn now and then ....         
  consider ...
one thing I discovered is that the new Husqvarna zero turn will mow
the slope out back without any hesitation 
 the craftsman lawn tractor will not cover.
it , the craftsman , will just barely get up there (not with out a little coaxing) and then slides sideways down the slope .      ???
others will not even  attempt to mow the slope 
they think it's gonna flip over on'em                                                   $0.02   

[Jess Tolbirt]

there are differences in zero turns as there are in motorcycles, a commercial zero turn like i have will out cut any other riders 2 to 1,, a cheap ztr is no better than any other rider.. i have both and the craftsman with hydrostatic drive 42 inch cut hasnt been started in 2 years do to the yazoo/kees ZTR i have,, i mow 2 acres in about 30 minutes or so..

[Flrider]

IMHO a commercial mower is built better than a residential mower.
Compare the gauge of the steel used on the decks and you will find a huge difference between commercial and residential mowers.
Faster cutting time is a big for me because the least time I have to spend out in the Florida sun during the hot summer days is a plus. I now mow in half the time and I am also able to cut into taller grass better than a tractor which required a couple of passes at times.

I used to cut 4 acres up to a couple of years ago, I am now down to cutting 2 acres.
I did go through a couple of tractor mowers, crafstman and can't remember the brand of the other one, I finally decided to go for a commercial one and got a used Exmark Lazer Z 60" with a 25HP motor and I love that thing.
I did get it used with low hours and have had it for about 5 years with no issues at all, just regular maintenance and an ignition switch.
It has two pumps and I believe each one is between $350 to $450 and if I have to replace one every 6 or so years, then it is worth it to me.

Hope this helps some and good luck with your choice 

[Patrick]

We have a 60" diesel grasshopper with the deck out front. Its great cause we have a lot of trees to mow around and under that a normal mower wont work. That's the only advantage. My new place that Im in the process of buying has a open yard so I will get a regular mower. If the 0 turn has the deck underneath then there is really no advantage from a regular mower.

If I'm not mistaken I believe the Kubota 3 cylinder [750] series engine is used by Grasshopper [as well as other mower manufacturers].  Good engines, I have over 4K hours on mine.
A friend bought a flip front Grasshopper a couple years ago and likes it.

[Jess Tolbirt]

. If the 0 turn has the deck underneath then there is really no advantage from a regular mower.

i respectfully disagree, doesnt matter where the deck is, the heavier blades on the ZTR  cuts way down on grass skipping at faster mowing speeds,, i mow my yard at 22 MPH.. my rider will only run 7mph,,

[old2soon]

I've cut the church lot with both. With the trees and the soccer courts it's 10 hard hours with a 48" deck on the tractor. On the 60" zero turn with a 27 H P Kawasaki V-twin bout 4 and a 1/2 -5 hours does it ALL. With the tractor the trees needed some weed whacking. None needed with the zero turn. I've run the Z T wide open and walking speed-cuts good at all speeds. That's my .02 pennies and worth all you paid fer it  RIDE SAFE.

[pocobubba]

I bought a zero turn ,, wish I hadn't , it kills my back , slides all over if the grass is even a little damp , don't even think of cutting on a slant if the grass is damp , tears up the lawn on a sharp turn , but it is very fast . I think a Case riding mower with the extra tight turning radius would be better for me . Good luck

[Rams]

I sincerely appreciate all the words of experienced wisdom put in this thread.   I mean that.

If I could have afforded a commercial zero turn for my daughter, there's a small chance I'd have considered it but, I can't and I didn't see a huge advantage of the residential zero turn mowers (other than speed) over the lawn tractor type.    All things considered and since I'm the one putting out  the cash, I went with a 54" Lawn Tractor.    It's not what she wanted but, it's not the first time Dad didn't go her way.    She'll appreciate anything I do for her.    She was reared right.    I give her mom credit for that.    Thanks again.

[big d]

Ron, are you looking for a fire storm asking a question on this board. You know everyone will have an opinion. Good luck in figuring it out...

[Rams]

Ron, are you looking for a fire storm asking a question on this board. You know everyone will have an opinion. Good luck in figuring it out...

Who ME????   

 Never.   

[hairyteeth]

If your tearing up your lawn turning your zero turn your not doing it correctly. A proper turn will not damage your lawn. HT

[cookiedough]

I think you made the right choice and 54" is plenty wide enough, even 42" cut is plenty for 2 acres on a riding mower.  If a rider, I'd stick with John Deere, but that is just me.

Only time I would get a wider cut and a zero turn would be more than say 3 acres and if all flat land where you can cut a good clip doing 15 mph or so vs. 5 mph with a rider.    The person with the zero turn on here doing 22 mph cutting,  that I would like to see since that would be flying mowing. 

All that being said,  I only have a city lot 100x110' is all and use a 20 dollar 20" 3.5hp tecumseh push mower with a backup old 1980's toro 21" self propelled mostly used as a bagger for grass clippings for my garden during the summer months. 

I am the only one, besides an old retired farmer up the street who is a hard worker,  who used a push mower, the rest either hire out or use a rider.

I borrowed my neighbors basic home depot 42" cut L110 john deere with I think 17.5 hp kohler engine for my yard a few times and I spend almost as much time with rider as my push mower since then have to go over the tight corners and around bushes, trees, etc. with a push mower after the rider thus not saving much time at all.    It does save on excerise though, something I could use thus as long as my yards are under 1/2 acre, it will be push mower for me.

[cookiedough]

I think you made the right choice and 54" is plenty wide enough, even 42" cut is plenty for 2 acres on a riding mower.  If a rider, I'd stick with John Deere, but that is just me.

Only time I would get a wider cut and a zero turn would be more than say 3 acres and if all flat land where you can cut a good clip doing 15 mph or so vs. 5 mph with a rider.    The person with the zero turn on here doing 22 mph cutting,  that I would like to see since that would be flying mowing.  

All that being said,  I only have a city lot 100x110' is all and use a 20 dollar 20" 3.5hp tecumseh push mower with a backup old 1980's toro 21" self propelled mostly used as a bagger for grass clippings for my garden during the summer months.  

I am the only one, besides an old retired farmer up the street who is a hard worker,  who used a push mower, the rest either hire out or use a rider.

I borrowed my neighbors basic home depot 42" cut L110 john deere with I think 17.5 hp kohler engine for my yard a few times and I spend almost as much time with rider as my push mower since then have to go over the tight corners and around bushes, trees, etc. with a push mower after the rider thus not saving much time at all.    It does save on excerise though, something I could use thus as long as my yards are under 1/2 acre, it will be push mower for me.

[R J]

I have used John Deere Riders for many many moons now.

Currently have a Johnny Pop with a snow blower on the front and another one setting in the garage with a mower deck and a grass catcher hanging off the right side.

I've had both over 12 years and knock on wood, NO problems to date except for a thorn in one of the rear tires.

Threw some Slime in it, run it up and down the street about 6 times and it seems to have sealed it.

In fact just mowed today, due to not looking before I took off, I mowed the yard a 1/2" shorter than normal.

Changed that setting before mom saw it so my a*s is not in trouble, she can't prove it was set lower.

[Lazy]

223 Grasshopper brand 52" cut. Other than regular service, put 1 belt on it in 6 years. Good investment.

[Jess Tolbirt]

I think you made the right choice and 54" is plenty wide enough, even 42" cut is plenty for 2 acres on a riding mower.  If a rider, I'd stick with John Deere, but that is just me.

Only time I would get a wider cut and a zero turn would be more than say 3 acres and if all flat land where you can cut a good clip doing 15 mph or so vs. 5 mph with a rider.    The person with the zero turn on here doing 22 mph cutting,  that I would like to see since that would be flying mowing. 

All that being said,  I only have a city lot 100x110' is all and use a 20 dollar 20" 3.5hp tecumseh push mower with a backup old 1980's toro 21" self propelled mostly used as a bagger for grass clippings for my garden during the summer months. 

I am the only one, besides an old retired farmer up the street who is a hard worker,  who used a push mower, the rest either hire out or use a rider.

I borrowed my neighbors basic home depot 42" cut L110 john deere with I think 17.5 hp kohler engine for my yard a few times and I spend almost as much time with rider as my push mower since then have to go over the tight corners and around bushes, trees, etc. with a push mower after the rider thus not saving much time at all.    It does save on excerise though, something I could use thus as long as my yards are under 1/2 acre, it will be push mower for me.

i will be happy to show you, my blades turn at almost 9000rpm verses the 4000 on most of the others..in fact i would be willing to let you take it for a spin if you want,,come on down and I will put you up for the night and let you cut some grass and then i will show you some sights on the bikes...

[Rams]

Currently have a Johnny Pop with a snow blower on the front

RJ,

You actually got me to Google that.   I assumed you were indicating you had a John Deere mower with a snow blower attachment on the front but, Google was not helpful unless you meant their popcorn.    I'm sure that snow blower comes in handy but to be honest, I don't want to be in the position to need such a machine.   

[R J]

Yupper, if ya a country (farm) boy, that means John Deere.

The old farm tractor, 2 cylinder had kind of a pop pop to the exhaust.

POWERFUL unit for only 2 cylinders.

Grandpa was Green.     John Deere was Green.




Is a simular photo of mine.

[Gavin_Sons]

I have a cheap husquavarna from Lowes. It does ok for my little yard but my buddy has a 60" commercial john deer and it is awesome. What takes me an hour to do with mine only takes 20 minutes with his. And cuts 100x better at 3 times the speed. I agree that the cheap ones are no better than a tractor. If your not going to spend 6-10k on a 0 turn just buy a lawn tractor. I just say the more time it takes, the longer I have to drink beer.

[Spirited-6]

Back again ; No one has talked about how the yard looks after the cut ... Most might not care but I do. My yard looks better when cut with  0- turn. Double back on every cut leaves a nice pattern and little grass build up. Why ? you are cutting it twice !   

[MarkT]

I don't have any personal experience with the JD issue following, so I could be completely full of it.  But the story I got is, John Deere has a special marketing arrangement with Home Depot.  The garden tractors they make and sell at HD are dumbed-down JD's - just have the name and color, but not the quality.  Built for a price point. I was told this by a JD dealer (so take this with a grain of salt) but it was confirmed by a contractor friend who is very knowledgable on equipment sourcing. Come to find out, there are other companies with the same arrangement with Home Depot.  Lincoln welding to name one.  Thought I found a good deal on a brand-new Lincoln 180amp HD 240v MIG welder on CL.  Picked it up for $200 below list at a pawn shop - yep it was unused, never been plugged in, was bought by a man for a project he wanted to get into then he died and his wife sold the welder on consignment at the pawn shop.  Talked to my welding gas supplier, it turns out the "HD" designation was not "Heavy Duty".  It was for the model made just for Home Depot.  Turns out, it has stepwise settings on the volts rather than infinite adjust.  You can't fine-tune the power.  And it has LESS welding power than my 125amp 120v Lincoln MIG welder. If it burns out - and it needs a new motherboard - throw it away.  Replacing the dumbed-down motherboard is so expensive you are better off just replacing the unit. Not servicable on the main component. Went and looked at the same model at HD - yep I paid significantly less than the HD price, which is significantly less than similar-powered Lincoln MIG welders from welding stores.  The welder at HD, same stepwise voltage control.

I told the associate woman at Home Depot who was helping me, open the box to look at the welder - I wanted to confirm something - that I was concerned the model was dumbed-down and I want to check the voltage dial.  I told her the "HD" on the model name was not for "Heavy Duty" but was to indicate the dumbed-down Home Depot model - she laughed, thought I was joking.  I said unfortunately, no.  And there is a similar story on your John Deere's.  And I'll bet on other products too.  It was a lesson for her.  And she worked there.  I think I popped her niavete cherry.  She was no spring chicken either.  Probably 50.

Beware of what you buy, even name brands at Home Depot.  Or even other big box stores.  I'd bet Lowes has similar arrangements.  Check online, ask on specialty forums before you buy.

[hubcapsc]

"basically all" (never say never and all that) the mowers at the
big box store are made at the same place. That's why
there's $2000 zero-turns at home depot and $5000 ones
down at the farm store...

-Mike

[Jess from VA]

Same thing with a Jacuzzi I bought at Home Depot 20 years ago.

When I called Jacuzzi for parts, they wanted the serial no.  When I told them, the guy said it was one of their cheap POSs, they made only for Home Depot ($2K did not seem cheap to me).

I got tired of maintaining burners, PH and electricity costs, so now it just sits out on the deck keeping it from blowing away.  It is free to a good home, only a 4-man, but it won't fit on a bike.