OT - Zero turn mowers???
 

Anybody got one and if so what kind is it?

I've got a 20acre horse farm to maintain and the bushhog doesn't make a pretty cut where I need one. I'm looking at a Dixie Chopper right now, but am open to suggestions.

Wildfire,

Long time no talk.

Funny you should post this subject. I just last week purchased a Snapper zero turn mower. Probably not big enough for what you're doing though. Only a 38" deck. I only mow about 1/2 acre. It's a residential unit. I like it though. Joystick instead of two opposing sticks to steer.

I can think of several brands that would serve you good.

Good luck.

Buck

I like the Grasshopper, just my opinion...

I've heard a lot of good things about the Dixie Chopper. I've got a GrassHopper with a 60" deck. We love the thing. We mow 4 acres.When we went to the Grasshopper we cut out mowing time in half from a 52" Cubcadet.
I liked the GrassHopper because of the deck clearance. I've got a splitrail fence and the deck nicely mows undeneith it.

I have a Walker. I currently co-own a company that manufactures equipment for the golf and turf industry (no mowers) and I feel the Walker is by far the best zero turn mower on the market. I have a 25 HP EFI with a 48" deck and oversized hopper and it is fabulous. You can drive these with your fingers! Check them out at walkermowers.com.

Scott ..
don't worry about the grass and bushes.. Get back to finishing the MAGNUM :D

I was in the landscape business for about 6 years. We used to mow about 150 acres or more a week. I've mowed with all sorts of stuff.

I had about 5-6 commercial mowers at one point, 2 of them were X-Mark Lazers. They are Zero turn riders. I sold one, kept one for personal use. It's a great piece of equipment.

It is 60". YOu need to get ATELAST a 25hp motor with a 60" deck. Trust me. Infact, Kawasaki now makes a 27 hp water cooled. I have 25hp Kohlers (air cooled). I know very little about Dixie Chopper. I would suggest however buying an X-MArk or a Scag. I have tried out a bunch of zero turn mowers and these two are by far the best in my opinion. Snapper makes good walk behinds, but I do not like their riders.

I would buy new. Most of these guys don't service the mowers they way they should. They get abused by kids making $6/hour. They get beat worse than any car, unless they are cared for. Having said that, if you are using for residential use you will probably NEVER have to buy another mower because you wore that one out. YOu should be able to get 2K or so trouble free hours, with some minor repairs here and there, and then some after that. For home use, I would say 3k hours could be achieved with proper care. THATS ALOT OF GRASS!!!! (You need to factor in that you have 20 acres though)

I can cut grass @ 8mph. Clean, striaght and stripped to perfection. 13mph seems a little optimistic, but I have little info on Dixie Choppers. You will not find a better cutting mower than a Scag, but a VERY close second (as far as riders) is the X-mark, for about $1k less. Either one is an excellent choice though. Great Dane makes good stuff as well. I had Snapper hydro walk behinds and decided to keep a 52" one of those as well......what can I say, I like crap like this!!

Dean Scag was the engineering guru behind all of these "stripping" mowing decks. He worked for Snapper and X Mark, then ofcourse was the Scag in Scag. He also desinged the Great Dane mowers. They all have very similar cutting decks, infact, you can interchange blades between the 4 of these.

Just be sure to change the oil every 50 hours, keep the hydro fluid clean and the spindles lubed (unless they are sealed). Sharpen blades as often as necessary. If you learn how to use the mower correctly, you can stripe your yard and make it look like Wrigley Field......HeHehe...

We used to mow and trim a 60 acre cemetary with 2 60" riders and a52" walk behind (with a sulky) in about 8 hours. That was hauling the mail though, with a professional finish. Good luck, feel free to pm me with any questions. I have a pretty vast knowledge with this equipment.

Allan

WOW!!! Allan4, that was quite a response!! No wonder you're a NASCAR fan, mowing all that grass out in the sun has warped your brain!!!:D :D :D

I don't know if anyone else has one, but I like the John Deere "7-iron" zero turn mower. It is a commercial model that cut my mowing time in half from a grasshooper. If you keep the blades even halfway sharp, you can mow anything! I have to mow yucca plants (!) and it is not easy to cut them.
I have around 150 hours on it so far with ZERO problems. The hydrostat system is modeled after their combines and is the smoothest I have ever driven.
However, for my yard, I use a walker. Allan, pm me the tricks to a striped yard!!! That is always my goal! what can I say, I'm anal.

I recommend the "Lawn service proffessional" model #2003
Almost effortless
Cut my mowing time down to about as long as it takes to writ a check.

I recomend a herd of cattle. You can breed them for future cutting and eat the old ones. If you get enough you could have a 200" cutting deck.:D