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 Time for a new mower. Opinions? 
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Post Time for a new mower. Opinions?
Getting a new ZTR, not fixing the 15 year old one anymore. Not going to spend on a commercial, and not terribly interested in someone else's lemon, but will be perusing the local used options just in case I get lucky. With that said, opinions welcome on what to shop for new with a 54-60 inch deck. Dont just list your brand preference, be specific on the mower and why, if you'd be so kind.

Thanks

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Sun May 19, 2019 6:10 pm
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Post Re: Time for a new mower. Opinions?
not sure how much grass u cut. my yard is a little over 5 acres, and I use a commercial grade 60'' zero turn. all of the high end zero turns are good mowers these days.

i don't think much of the home owner grade zero turns, as i do not think they would hold up to the abuse mine takes.

mines a exmark lazer z, and it's been a good one for 8 or 9 years now.


Sun May 19, 2019 6:47 pm
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Post Re: Time for a new mower. Opinions?
6 acres total. But this 15 year old mower that's getting retired was a residential husqvarna with a 24. So either I'm not that rough on it or the abuse it suffers isn't significant enough to tear up a less than high end mower. That's why I'm not worried about needing a 10 or 15 thousand dollar high end version. I dont want to purchase junk, either, so I figured I'd ask yall for some legitimate opinions and a bit of the entertaining trolling that occurs too.

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Sun May 19, 2019 7:08 pm
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Post Re: Time for a new mower. Opinions?
I bought a used scag tiger cub with 300hrs,best 3k I ever spent including 3 mud boats,2 ski boats and way to many cars to count oh and starting a blow boat build now.Now isn't the best time to buy though with the season in all kinda like buying mud boat in September.Good luck on your search.


Sun May 19, 2019 7:22 pm
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Post Re: Time for a new mower. Opinions?
The timing is shitty, for sure. Cant help it. This thing has probably somewhere around 1200 bucks that needs to go into it in parts to make it serviceable, and then I wouldn't be able to sell it for 600, so just gonna eat the timing. exmark (and cub cadet) isn't on the list because the local service place isn't exactly flush with glowing reviews, but gravely, scag, spartan, husqvarna, john deere, bad boy, and Toro are until I hear a valid reason one of them shouldn't be. Just doing my internet research and gonna start looking tomorrow. Maybe catch some sort of luck on a memorial day sale or find a low hour used one floating around over the next 2 or 3 weeks.

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Sun May 19, 2019 7:32 pm
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Post Re: Time for a new mower. Opinions?
Plus, new zero turn. Why not lol

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Sun May 19, 2019 7:35 pm
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Post Re: Time for a new mower. Opinions?
I agree with DA.

I have an Exmark Lazer Z 60" commercial grade mower.
I cut 10 acres with it.
Best mower I've ever owned so far. I don't abuse it by any means, but its stout. Warranty is hard to beat too.

If you aren't wanting to pay for commercial grade, Exmark offers a Radius model. Its got the welded commercial deck, but its considered residential. The price is nice for those.

I originally bought the 72" model. Went to pick it up when it came in, and my trailer was not wide enough to fit the mower. So I got the 60".

You would be very happy with an exmark.

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Mon May 20, 2019 5:26 am
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Post Re: Time for a new mower. Opinions?
I agree that it’s hard to get a bad commercial mower today. I got a John Deere residential this year, I mow around 2.5 acres. I am able to get JD at cost, so that made the decision pretty easy for me. My neighbor got a used ex mark at the same time, it’s also pretty nice. I wouldn’t have hesitated to get one of those if I couldn’t get the JD.

Things I like about the Deere- flat top deck that doesn’t collect grass and dirt, while it’s not fabricated like a commercial mower it’s pretty thick and is reinforced. The spindle covers have springs, so it’s easy to clean those out after each use. It cuts well fast. Access for oil changes and maintenance is good. Parts are cheap and readily available locally.

Things I don’t like- because mine is a residential model it doesn’t have a foot operated deck lift, some of the residential models do though. The transmissions on all the residential mowers are made by 2 companies, and are generally sealed units. So if the hydros start to go they aren’t as easy to service as the commercial models. The warranty on mine is 120 hours/2 years - that’s less than exmark, gravely, bad boy, etc.

I don’t baby my stuff, but I don’t abuse it either. I mow mostly flat areas and a long ditch that tore up the transmission in a cub Cadet rider. Time will tell if residential ZTR will be enough.


Mon May 20, 2019 6:26 am
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Post Re: Time for a new mower. Opinions?
I got a new Cub Cadet ZT2 at the beginning of mowing season and love it, less than $4K. I looked at everything available around me and ended up driving 80 miles to get this one. It's labeled as residential but is built extremely well. The engine is easily accessible, the deck folds up to get to the belt. They really did a fantastic job making it servicable. The transmissions are servicable on the ZT2 and not the "throw away" kind normally found on a residential.

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Mon May 20, 2019 6:48 am
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Post Re: Time for a new mower. Opinions?
I wanted a Spartan because of the receiver hitch in the back and I thought they looked good in general. Only problem was it’s was a new brand and the closest dealer was two hours away from me. I didn’t know much about them, or if they were crap. That’s the only reason I didn’t buy one. I’ve been running a Grasshopper for years so I went back with what I knew. Haven’t been disappointed


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Mon May 20, 2019 7:00 am
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Post Re: Time for a new mower. Opinions?
Scag or hustler if you are discharging, gravely or exmark for mulching.

If you cut any more than 7 days apart you definitely want the scag or hustler, night and day difference in discharge volume over the rest.

I manage a 7 acre property that gets finish cut weekly. We had scag, hustler, gravely, exmark and dixie chopper come out for demos and the scag and hustler blew away the rest for 1 pass quality. We ended up with scag only because it was a couple grand cheaper, but I think the hustler had a slight edge.

I went from spending close to 6 hours a week on a 72" with a 30 hp to right at 3 with a 61" with 36hp. If I get to a 10+ day stretch of not cutting, I can still knock the whole property out with a double cut in a little over 6 hours with minimal clip build up, instead of 2 days and still be pushing clippings back and forth.

Dont know how much you are looking to spend, but these things are cheap. You're looking at the cost of a new MM. Which makes me wonder, how do you get an entire lawnmower thats way more intricate, and has the same powerhead as a MM, for the same price as a MM? Absolutely crazy.


Mon May 20, 2019 10:47 am
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Post Re: Time for a new mower. Opinions?
Your comparison of a mower to a MM, I agree and another one that grinds my gears is a MM exhaust price versus a truck exhaust... Insane

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Mon May 20, 2019 12:29 pm
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Post Re: Time for a new mower. Opinions?

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Mon May 20, 2019 2:10 pm
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Post Re: Time for a new mower. Opinions?
my dad has 5 acres to cut and runs a gravely zero turn. he had a commercial one and has just bought a residential grade one this summer. he says that the property is a lot smoother than it used to be and he should be fine with the lighter machine. we will see. lol


Mon May 20, 2019 7:16 pm
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Post Re: Time for a new mower. Opinions?
I have a Kubota zero turn that really is bad ass,Take the money and go get a Kubota and I promise you will never need to buy another mower

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Tue May 21, 2019 6:34 am
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Post Re: Time for a new mower. Opinions?


Tue May 21, 2019 8:44 am
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Post Re: Time for a new mower. Opinions?
When I lived up in MS, I demo’d practically every brand available.

The ExMark was the one that I was most impressed with. It had a lower center of gravity than all the others and the fuel cell was more centered giving an even weight distribution.

The Kubota had a unique feature compared to everybody else’s...offset deck...was beneficial in some aspects. Probably has the highest RPM blade spin of all the ones I ran. Thing sounded like a jet engine when you engaged the PTO. But, it was a diesel and heavy.

The Scag...don’t recall the model...was another good one. It had an engine that did not bog down no matter what I put it through.

But, hands down, the ExMark had the best finished cut, had less loss of traction on the hillside, less scalping....just the one that impressed me the most.


Tue May 21, 2019 8:56 am
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Post Re: Time for a new mower. Opinions?

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Tue May 21, 2019 11:26 am
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Post Re: Time for a new mower. Opinions?
I know I trim my live oak trees a couple times a year and if I can cut it with my loppers, I run over it with the lawnmower and mulch it up. I've killed the engine a couple times getting greedy with it. lol it keeps under the deck good and clean. lol


Tue May 21, 2019 2:46 pm
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Post Re: Time for a new mower. Opinions?
I have Toro that I love. I'd get the newer Toro with the better seat system.

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Fri May 24, 2019 4:50 am
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Post Re: Time for a new mower. Opinions?
You guys are doing this all wrong... the right answer is to hire Juan or Pedro to come mow your lawn so you can go fishing instead.



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Fri May 24, 2019 6:15 am
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Post Re: Time for a new mower. Opinions?
Bought a gravely hd. Other place tried to talk me into more than I wanted to spend on the skag.

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Fri May 24, 2019 12:40 pm
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Post Re: Time for a new mower. Opinions?
gravely HD is a great machine. you will enjoy it!!


Mon May 27, 2019 7:36 pm
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Post Re: Time for a new mower. Opinions?
You’ll like that gravely. I have the same rig.


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Mon May 27, 2019 7:40 pm
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Post Re: Time for a new mower. Opinions?
I like how the handles flip up out of the way instead of the whole levers flipping out. An hour into it, no disappointment or buyers remorse. Though mowing with a 60" vs the former 42", there's a huge difference in the stuff I now have the thread the needle to get past instead of just rolling right between.

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Mon May 27, 2019 8:13 pm
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Post Re: Time for a new mower. Opinions?


Wed May 29, 2019 2:01 pm
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Post Re: Time for a new mower. Opinions?
Junk!!

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Thu May 30, 2019 6:19 pm
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Post Re: Time for a new mower. Opinions?
Says the guy that thinks mowers last forever if it's got the name kubota on it.

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Thu May 30, 2019 6:37 pm
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Post Re: Time for a new mower. Opinions?
Bought a 60 inch Ferris for my guy with back problems. He said it is great. He also has a 60 inch Hustler that seems to mow faster than the Ferris, just not as comfortable.

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Thu Jun 06, 2019 2:05 pm
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