Zero Turn Recommendations

[JuncleJohn]

Contemplating buying a new machine. I mow 2+ acres and my older 48” Scag Tiger Cub (Commercial grade) with a 21 hp Kawasaki is starting to be less reliable. The Scag has been good, but just seeking opinions from those that mow a couple acres or more.

Dependability is most important.

John

 

[kabinenroller]

I have been using a Grasshopper for decades. Mine has a 23hp Kohler, grass catching attachment, and a hydraulic deck lift. With the deck out front it mows under trees easily.

 

[jade97]

Kubota

 

[Max93]

I recently bought a Gravely zt hd and I like it, but I have only used it 3 times. From what I could see, most brands at similar price points use many of the same engines and transaxle

 

[Hephaestus29]

Why not put a little money back into the scag?

 

[JeepYJ]

Deere Z9xx. Or Z7xx. I would choose the Kaw over the Kohler.

 

[mitusa]

I mow about 4 acres with a hustler Z. 60 inch deck and a 23 horse kawasaki.
The mower has around 650 hrs. I bought it from someone who didn't know what was wrong with it and let it sit for around 10 years. It's a 2000 model.
I put on new tires and repaired the problem.
It's been a real good deal for me!!
I also recommend the kawasaki engine!

 

[gizardlizard]

I love Ferris mowers with the Kawasaki motor as well. For the really big stuff, they use caterpillar engines.

 

[Firebrick43]

Scag is at the top of the heap.

I own a ferris and an exmark. I have spent quite a few hours on my elderly neighbors turf tiger 2 when he has heart spell (pretty much all last summer) and I maintain it for him. No way would I go from a Scag to a Ferris, Mid series grasshopper or gravely. An Exmark maybe. I am not complaining about the ferris as its an ok mower but it doesn't cut as well and the suspension makes engine maintenance a pain in the ****. And a suspension seat on a scag rides better than the Ferris wheel suspension.

The cut on an exmark is slightly better, especially if its wet. Both are heavy duty. They have different ideas about spindle design, the scag is very strong and greasable tapered rollers but large stones can bend the deck shell because the spindles themselves are so strong.

Exmark makes their housing out of aluminum and non greaseable bearings, treating them as a fusible link to break instead of bending the deck shell. If you live in a rock free yard I wouldnt worry about it..

Walker front mount mowers are really nice, the advantages like a grasshopper but built much heavier like a scag and without the abortion of wheel drives that grasshopper uses.

John deeres with the 7 iron decks are good as well.

Good dealer support located nearby is probably what to look for the most.

What is wrong with your scag?

If its an engine I would put a new one in. You have individual pumps and wheel motors on your scag?

 

[Firebrick43]

I love Ferris mowers with the Kawasaki motor as well. For the really big stuff, they use caterpillar engines.

Those yellow cat engines in them are perkins 400 series engines. Cat bought them over 2 decades ago and they are made in perkins plants and you can buy them in perkins white, perkins blue, or cat yellow with cat badges.

 

[CraigStu]

Just a counter point on engines. I only mow about an acre but 7 yrs ago I bought a Husqvarna tractor mower w/ 48" deck. I would have preferred a Kawasaki engine but the model I wanted had a Kohler. It has been 100% trouble free. Change the oil, oil filter, and air filter once/year and it just keeps on going.

 

[kingcobb]

Ive used 4 different zero turns. A cheap cub cadet, a bad boy, a gravely zthd, and my father in laws gravley pro. Gravelys are awesome is all I'll say. The zthd fir my budget but that pro is awesome. The bad boy had me breathing too much grass clippings vs the gravelys.

 

[Cheesy1]

I bought a used 2003 54” Exmark from a buddy retiring from mowing business back in 2010. 700 hours then. I mow a couple acres a week. I’ve beat the ever living **** out of it. Treated it like a bush hog in the brush. It just keeps going. I’ve replaced a spindle here and there, an idle pulley, ignition switch. But nothing on it can’t be easily repaired if broken.

I’d assume your Scag has to be the same. But never let that keep you from buying new, simply because “it’s time” and you want to.

My dad and uncle share a heavier built Bad Boy. Their houses are a few hundred yards from each other on same farm, each mow a couple acres. They’re 10 years in on it with no major issues with the mower. The Kohler engine itself is in for a rebuild at the moment, but mower is still solid.

 

[astrohip]

I have a Bad Boy with the Kawasaki engine. Going on 11 years now, and it's a workhorse. My exact model is no longer made, but from what I hear, they're still rock solid.

I've done nothing other than routine maintenance. Had a belt break once (the one that drives the blades). That's about it.

 

[Pen & Wrench]

I bought a new Grasshopper 725 DT6 front deck mower new in 2014, with the Kubota diesel engine. 14 years later, 1,205 hours, the only breakdown happened last week, the front jackshaft bearing hanger broke and I ended up replacing both bearings and the shaft. I mow 3 and a half acres a week, sometimes about 6, and it has treated me very well.

 

[Overboost44]

Another vote for the JD Z7. I have a 60" with the 7iron deck from 2003. Got it from my brother for next to nothing. Change the oil and hydraulic fluid. Keep the fittings greased. My only problem was that the clutch went up. Got a replacement from Amazon. Can't remember the brand but it has been great ever since.

 

[usa#1]

I have a 60" Exmark Lazer Z and a 72" Scag Turf Tiger. Both are excellent commercial mowers. For 2 acres no question I would get a 72" mower. You will cut your mowing time significantly. The 72" Scag cuts and stripes great.

 

[JeepYJ]

For 2 acres no question I would get a 72" mower.

He needs to consider any gates or openings he needs to get through. Also storage space in garage of barn with a 72” deck is a lot more than a smaller size.

 

[willf650]

I only mow an acre and bought a 54” hustler in 2016. It’s yet to have an issue and still even has the original battery. Never even drained the fuel from it before winter and it’s started up every year. This past spring I thought I needed a new battery finally but I put the Noco charger on it and it worked its magic and it started and the battery hasn’t skipped a beat since.

That being said I think I only have about 200-250 hours on it so that probably not a real test. It has a Kawasaki motor and serviceable hydrostatic units.

When I looked at mowers they basically all had the same engines and drive trains in a comparable price class. I guess pick your favorite color. I picked the hustler because it had a heavier built deck than an exmark in the same price range.

Aside from a set of belts, blades and a couple oil changes it’s still running well with no issues but I’m mowing a larger suburban lawn, nothing spectacular.

 

[Renegade1LI]

I think you should be looking at who will give you the best deal, price. Cutting 2 acres of grass, almost any name brand will hold up with basic maintenance.

 

[Hohn]

He needs to consider any gates or openings he needs to get through. Also storage space in garage of barn with a 72” deck is a lot more than a smaller size.

This.

For two acres, ground speed and ride can mostly offset the extra foot of cutting deck width. The problem with 72" decks is that they never get smaller. You'll fight that width every time its stored or trailered.

Many higher end mowers are capable of higher ground speed than you can often use when you account for ride quality and cutting ability in marginal conditions (heavy/wet).

Personally, even at 2 acres I'd consider going as small as 48" if the mower had a high ground speed. Mowers are intermittent use items, and living with them the 99% of the time you aren't using them is often as important as how they work the 1% of the time you need them.

 

[karoc]

While I like my Spartan, I wouldn’t recommend it.

 

[Snapped-off]

My Grasshopper 321D is at 2050 hours with basic maintenance.

I'd be looking at a 400 or 700 series if I had more grass to mow.

 

[Kurt4440]

I think you should be looking at who will give you the best deal, price. Cutting 2 acres of grass, almost any name brand will hold up with basic maintenance.

I agree.
Two acres on a zero turn in Omaha Nebraska should require less than 35 hours per year of total mowing time. Considering a descent residential mower should last 1000 hours with proper maintenance, we are looking at using the machine for the next 3 decades.

That being said, I would put money into the Scag.
I still use my 30 year old Great Dane stand on mower. Commercial machines have serviceable hydraulic systems and are built to take abuse.

 

[neblinc]

Your budget is the deciding factor.
You are going to pay big bucks for a Grasshopper or Scag.
I am a fan of the Bad Boy mowers, lots of features for the price.

 

[Hooked]

My wife loves our Exmark Lazer Z 60", with around 1500 hours. She, exclusively, mows our 4 acre 'yard' and I handle the maintenance. If this one ever craps out we'll get another for sure. I put a mulching kit on when we bought and will say I'm glad I did. The only time you'll any clippings is when we can't mow for a couple weeks and it leaves an occasional lump.
Having said that, I think I'd spend a few bucks on the Scag and use it another 10 years or so.

 

[JuncleJohn]

I appreciate all of your comments and opinions. I don’t have the time or energy to fix the Scag myself, so in the shop it goes. In the mean time, I haven’t ruled out buying another Scag to take care of the lawn while waiting for the fix. The shop is telling me 5-6 weeks as this is their busy time of year.

The determining factor about buying another will be price. I figure I can buy a home owner quality machine to fill in until my Tiger Cub is ready to go. The reviews on the Scag Liberty Z are looking pretty decent, so if the price is acceptable I might go that route.

Thanks again.

John

 

[zimman]

I have a Bad Boy with the Kawasaki engine. Going on 11 years now, and it's a workhorse. My exact model is no longer made, but from what I hear, they're still rock solid.

I've done nothing other than routine maintenance. Had a belt break once (the one that drives the blades). That's about it.

Me to. I love mine
Zim

 

[giles45shop]

I appreciate all of your comments and opinions. I don’t have the time or energy to fix the Scag myself, so in the shop it goes. In the mean time, I haven’t ruled out buying another Scag to take care of the lawn while waiting for the fix. The shop is telling me 5-6 weeks as this is their busy time of year.

The determining factor about buying another will be price. I figure I can buy a home owner quality machine to fill in until my Tiger Cub is ready to go. The reviews on the Scag Liberty Z are looking pretty decent, so if the price is acceptable I might go that route.

Thanks again.

John

I would recommend just getting another Scag. For 2 acres, there no reason to go to a 72" deck, a 52 or 60 will be more than enough because you should easily be able to cut 2 acres in under an hour, even with a bunch of trees on it. I live on 4.5 acres and have been using a Scag 52" freedom Z that I bought new in 2007. It's been very reliable, the biggest maintenance item is pumping up the tires as it seems they leak down continuosly after they get some age on them. I keep meaning to replace the front caster wheels with solids and the rears have a couple plugs in them as those 2 ply tires don't resist punctures very well. Ive'been through 2 sets of tires because of the leaks. Other than that, it's been just basic maintenance, but I only have about 350 hours on it. We had livestock on a few of those acres for much of the last 15 years, so I was only mowing about 2 acres and the animals did the rest.

I think the Freedom is a step up from the Liberty, but below the Tiger in the Scag line-up, so it's kind of a pro-sumer version. Mine has the 27HP Briggs. Prior to the Freedom Z, we had a 61" Tricycle wheel Scag with the deck out front that my dad bought in the 80's and that lasted 20 years or so before I bought the Freedom Z, so a pretty long hostory with Scag mowers.

 

[ToolmanGary]

I cut over 5 acres and I’ve had a few zero turns, I have a 777 Deere, an Exmark Lazer Z and I have a Ferris IS3100Z. The Ferris has 4 wheel independent suspension and now I don’t want to use anything else, the suspension makes all the difference.
Ferris and Toro are owned by Brigg and Stratton.

 

[rossddvm]

I have a 54" Toro Time cutter with a 23 hp Kawasaki motor. It's been great. I have 2.5 acres that I mow and another 2 acres that I let grow. some of the un mown pasture had a lot of thistles and I decided to see if I could mow it. In many areas it was dense Reed's canary grass about 54 inches tall. It took several passes and I had to go slow , but the Toro did it like a champ. A big part of the reason I bought it was it was from a locally owned small engine shop and I would way rather support them than a big box store.

 

[niget2002]

I bought a 60" Bad Boy last year. I know I don't have a lot of hours on it, but it's handling my yard quite well. Sometimes I wish I had gotten a slightly smaller deck only because the wider deck scalps in some of the rougher parts of my yard (near the ditch).

 

[Barnabas]

For several years I have been cutting the one acre at my house as well as the two acres at my warehouse with a Greenworks 80v zero-turn mower. The one acre uses less than 4 of the 6 batteries.

At the warehouse I cut through tall weeds and saplings. I cut areas that were natural, and now are short green stuff, all volunteer grass and weeds.

I did have to replace a rear tire because of the rebar sticking out of the ground, but other than that, this mower has required no msintenance except for sharpening the two blades every year.

I also have 80v push mower, blower, string trimmer, and chainsaws. The batteries are interchangeable.

I am sold on the 80v Greenworks line.

 

[Spareparts]

Grasshoppers would be my choice for heavy mowing, I retired in 2011 and was driving my wife crazy, my son was the lead grounds keeper at the local Golf Course and with a few choice words from my loving wife he asked if I wanted to mow 3 days a week. I did and it ended up being full time in a couple weeks. I mowed the ruff, about 60 acres, every week, now that was at 3" took about 20 hours a week. The mowers were the Grasshoppers 329 2009 models 6' decks. Kabota 3 cyl gas. The only problem with them were the deck spindle bearings, rebuilt every year, new bearings and seals. The upper bearing was the failure point, The upper bearing even with constant greasing the grease would drop out of the upper bearing. After finding the problem I changed the upper bearing to a sealed one side bearing with the seal on the lower side so the grease would not drop out of the bearing, The new upgrade let the bearings last over 3 years. I worked there until I was 75 and loved it, money wasn't great but I enjoyed every day.

 

[Cougar]

Have had good luck with an Ariens commercial with 25hp Kohler.
Runs quieter and smoother than the Gravely with a Kawasaki we had.