Rollerman 290 #1 Posted July 20, 2017 What I've been mowing with since July 5th. I've never much cared for Z turn mowers. They ride ruff, tires leave spinouts in the grass, no reach under bushes.... As I mentioned in TMO's thread about his newfound Farmall Cub, I was mowing my back acre with a 68 IH Cub & around the house & side yard with one of the Horse's. It seemed like it took hours & I wasn't happy with the Cub's cut. I ended up trading it for this Grasshopper 718 with 52" deck. She's seen some use, but still very solid. It rides much better than my in-laws Bad Boy, I like the floating deck & ability to stuff it under bushes. I can actually mow my whole yard, a good portion of my in-laws & neighbors yard in the same amount of time it took to use the Horse & Cub. Plus I enjoy using it.....so much that I just cut my yard for the 5th time since getting it. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elcamino/wheelhorse 9,297 #2 Posted July 21, 2017 Well I can say that is the first one of those I have ever seen . Interesting mower. What HP engine is on it ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WHX?? 48,814 #3 Posted July 21, 2017 I've never been a big fan of z's either but then don't listen to me as I have never owned one or had the need for one. My 520 with the 48" handles my 2 acres with ease. My buddy has a 6k Dixon but he has 6+ acres to cut and it is all fairly smooth so the rough ride is not to much of an issue. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cschannuth 3,816 #4 Posted July 21, 2017 I love my Horses but I mow with a Husqvarna ZT. It makes the lawn smooth as glass at 10 mph. It mows my 2 ac in less than an hour which gives me more time to play with my red tractors. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rollerman 290 #5 Posted July 21, 2017 23 minutes ago, elcamino/wheelhorse said: Well I can say that is the first one of those I have ever seen . Interesting mower. What HP engine is on it ? 18HP Briggs Vanguard. 24 minutes ago, WHX11 said: I've never been a big fan of z's either but then don't listen to me as I have never owned one or had the need for one. My 520 with the 48" handles my 2 acres with ease. My buddy has a 6k Dixon but he has 6+ acres to cut and it is all fairly smooth so the rough ride is not to much of an issue. We are on 1 & 1/2 acres, but my in-laws yard ties in with ours & is 6 acres all together. 520's are nice, I've had a few....not really an Onan fan. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elcamino/wheelhorse 9,297 #6 Posted July 21, 2017 1 hour ago, cschannuth said: I love my Horses but I mow with a Husqvarna ZT. It makes the lawn smooth as glass at 10 mph. It mows my 2 ac in less than an hour which gives me more time to play with my red tractors. Around here Dixie Choppers are popular Zero turn units for large grass areas. Don't know anything about except they are fast. Of course with no rain in 13 plus days you don't worry about cutting the grass. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,496 #7 Posted July 21, 2017 Grasshoppers are great mowers, commercial grade. That one that Stephen has is actually a front mower, which Grasshopper are famous for. On some of their models, you can get a front snow blade or a snow blower for them. And on some of their front mowers, the deck flips up for easy access to the underside of the deck. http://www.grasshoppermower.com/ 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WHX?? 48,814 #8 Posted July 21, 2017 12 hours ago, Rollerman said: not really an Onan fan. Understood ... it's a love/hate kinda thing My buddies Dixon during one of those high speed turns. I keep telling him he needs better maintenance.... he is a little hard on equipment. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rollerman 290 #9 Posted July 21, 2017 9 hours ago, WHX11 said: Understood ... it's a love/hate kinda thing My buddies Dixon during one of those high speed turns. I keep telling him he needs better maintenance.... he is a little hard on equipment. Interesting....that looks just like my in-laws Bad Boy 60" Z turn. Only blue instead of orange. By the looks of the skid marks, he went into the turn pretty hot. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WHX?? 48,814 #10 Posted July 22, 2017 My buddies a hot rodder at heart... I'm sure there was no letting off on the throttle! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rjg854 11,360 #11 Posted July 22, 2017 gotta check them there lug nuts every once in a while, just sayin' 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakota8338 115 #12 Posted July 25, 2017 You can't beat a Zero Turn for mowing speed. I have mowed with Murray (A REAL POC), Craftsman, MTD, Wizard (Western Auto), Toro, Cub Cadet & John Deere in addition to my two Wheel Horse's. The John Deere probably mowed the fastest of any of the ones mentioned. I have a 61 inch Scag Turf Tiger and a 52 inch Scag Wildcat and they are both swift. The seat sets low on the Scag mowers and I have factory weights on the front of both mowers. They ride s-m-o-o-t-h! In the 80's & 90's I and my son principally mowed the church yard each week. One of the MTD's I have used and the John Deere, were the church's mowers. I haven't mowed at the church but just as a fill in since having my heart-attack. The church has a new Lazer-Z ExMart zero turn now. The first time I filled in for someone, that Lazer-Z almost beat me to death. The seat is high, and there are no weights to hold the front end down, and it has fairly narrow rear tires (maybe eight inches wide) whereas my Scags have fourteen inch wide tires. There is a big difference in various manufacturers, so I strongly suggest doing a test mow with anything you are considering purchasing, at what the zero turns cost. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sarge 3,463 #13 Posted August 6, 2017 I honestly don't thing anyone has beaten Grasshopper at the mowing game yet - friend of mine has owned their brand for over 20yrs and they do an amazing job - really fast and smooth . He recently traded/upgraded to their big diesel 3cyl model with a 72" deck and it never even hits the governor despite mowing at 12+mph - the results even in overly deep grass is almost disgusting . Need to get some time to get over there and help him assemble and mount the new blower unit/grass catcher for it still sitting in the boxes - that vac system is by far the best I've seen yet out of any brand . The diesel is pretty quiet and runs on a tank forever , the ride is amazingly smooth even on rough ground and it can disperse clippings so well you can't find them - it's just the price tag that hurts . This one was nearly $18k total new....ouch . He's got 6 acres here in town and some of it is pretty rough with some hills - the whole property always looks perfect and he does in it less than half a day....ugh . It takes me around just over an hour to mow this place right at one acre - he's done the same place for me a few times - in 20 minutes . Makes me want to use him for target practice....lol . Sarge 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
