We’re at the stage with our lawn care equipment that it is is ready to be retired. Our 40-year-old push mower died 10 days ago. This was used by my son to trim around our back yard cedar fence and flower bed edges after which I complete the mowing with my 25-year-old Craftsman tractor. We refer to that as “cutting in.” We are considering a zero turn mower hoping that it will replace the functions of both our two ancient machines. In addition to grass cutting, I also use the tractor with its grass catcher to pick up leaves that come down in the fall.
I’m asking anyone here if the zero turn idea will indeed replace the functions of our old machines. My property is mostly level although it does have some tricky slopes. We’d like to continue using a bagger to pick up leaves in the fall. To be clear, we’d prefer not to buy another push mower. So, I’d welcome your thoughts, especially from anyone who has made this kind of purchase.
Talk to some neighbors with zero turn and look closely at their yards. Some zero tuirn tear the grass when making that turn, eventually creating bald spots. To some extent it depends on how fast the mower is moving when making a zero turn, but with a true zero turn the inner wheel is spinning on the grass, tearing it.
I mow with a 48" commercial walk behind Snapper. The hydraulic drive makes it nimble and safe on grades as it will not roll back or accelerate down hill. I mow the lawn, and pastures with it, which is to say it finish mows and it suffices as a bush hog. I have no need for a "cut in" mower. My lawn is an acre with obstacles and it takes 1.15 hr to mow it.
I put the chute on in the fall and mow with chute to the inside, eventually blowing up a wind row of leaves that I rake onto a tarp and skid to the garden. Not as handy as bagging but I like its other features and don't like sitting on my butt to mow.
With practice, a zero-turn can do all the "cutting in" but I do need a weed whacker to trim the base of my trees. You can actually make them move sideways to mow between posts or the dual power pole anchor cables in my yard. They will cut your mowing time but can produce divots under the inside wheel on turns if that wheel remains stationary. Keep it moving forward or backward to minimize the damage. Zero-turns allow you to vary your mowing paths and prevent creating patterns in your lawn caused by the repeated circular paths of a tractor type mower. Grass catchers for these units are pricey, so hang on to your old tractor if possible. Just mow the leaves with the zero-turn and follow up with the tractor. Zero-turns do not work well on sharp downslopes but can mow up those same slopes without a problem.
I looked at the smaller zero turn and was put off by the rigid deck on many of them. Bought a 46" tractor mower with the foot operated hydrostatic. It's very nimble.
Several years ago the deck on my old push mower started to go bad. After using a riding tractor style mower at our river cottage, I decided to purchase a zero turn for home. As others have said, quick turns on soft turf can leave marks. This can be avoided by gaining experience with your machine, slowing down for turns, and using a 3-point turn maneuver keeping both rear wheels moving.
I still use a weed trimmer to get places my mowers can't cut but it's minimal and I get the job done much quicker than before. I read an article on zero turn mower choices before buying. The most important thing I got from it was you don't want anything smaller than a 42" if your yard has any steep slopes. My front yard has a decent slope from the road to the sidewalk but my 42" Cub Cadet ZT1 is stable no matter which way I mow. A 48" would work even better but it won't fit through the doorway of my shed.
Bill, my property is 75 x 135, with probably 35 to 40 percent occupied by structures. I’d say it’s a standard suburban size. If you’re close to me in age—I’m 84–I’d say you’re some kind of Superman. My son and I are having the discussion about a new mower right now and he’s inclined to not buy anything. We will see.
Thanks Don, Dave, Dick and David, for your replies. In various reviews of a few brands available I pretty well ruled out a 32” model by Toro. Leaning toward a 42” model. The slopes on both sides of my house make cutting these areas tricky but I’ve learned to deal with those areas with my tractor. Seems that Toro, John Deere, Huskvarna and Cub Cadet are the favored brands making homeowner styled units. We do use the battery powered string trimmer for finishing the job.
Either I'm mechanically dyslexic or those zero-turn machines are evilly counterintuitive. The first time I mowed with one, my steering instincts drove me and the mower into a split rail fence. I wore out three Deere riding mowers in 40 years in PA without incident. To me, if you want to avoid cutting in, landscape around everything so your tractor can get right up to the edge.
I started using a zero turn mower about 15 years ago, first a 52" Toro then soon after got a 60" Kubota diesel. I recently got a second Kubota and gave the Toro to a friend. I mow a lot here, I'm guessing 3-4 acres of yard, around fields, along drive and road frontage, maybe 12 acres when I mow the fields. I'd hate to maintain this place without the big mowers. I keep the older Kubota primarily for "bush hogging" in the wooded and rough areas - it's surprising the size of brush the thing will cut.
My older one:
A few points.
The zero turn mowers are much faster than my previous riding lawnmower, the Toro 4x faster and the Kubota 8x faster for the same area.
These machines are extremely maneuverable. The first time I got on one it the controls felt natural to me. Some I've let try said it would take them some practice.
You can in fact tear up the ground with sharp turns, soft or hard ground. This can be eliminated with experience.
Due to the low center of gravity the Kubotas are extremely stable going straight up or down or sideways on even a fairly steep slope. They are heavy.
You can get into trouble going down a hill and trying to maneuver, especially if the grass is even a tiny bit damp. It is easy to lose traction and slide. I won't let anyone else operate mine (except to test drive on flat ground) because of the potential to get into trouble without experience. (I have the same policy with other heavy equipment here - too easy to destroy something
These are harder to get close to things like fence posts and shrubs than a even a big mower you walk behind or stand behind mostly since the mower is more in the middle of the machine. It would be real easy to tear up plants. The newest Kubota is worse than the old one at this due to a design change. We use a little engineless push mower around the house and a weed whacker on occasion. Disclaimer: a precision manicured lawn is not a high priority for me.
Kubota makes a grass bagger for these but my trusted dealer refused to sell them. He said East TN is generally too hilly and while great on flat ground, they are dangerous on hills. He invites anyone who really wants one to buy elsewhere.
The 60" deck makes quick work of mowing but it is flat and not articulated so if the ground has significant humps and dips it won't follow the contours as well as a narrower deck. Hauling the mower requires a wide trailer.
Even with diesel more expensive than gasoline the diesel mower is cheaper to operate.
Some people complain about the suspension (or lack thereof) on zero turns. Feels fine to me. I slow down in bumpy areas.
I find the Kubotas extremely well built and mechanical issues are rare.
These things are not cheap. I haven't looked at new riding mowers and lawn tractors for decades so I don't know how they compare but my first, smaller gasoline zero turn was about $4000 and the most recent Kubota was about $14000.
Bottom line: I'd recommend finding one to try out for long enough to see if it will work for you.
A quick trip this morning to a local hardware/garden supply store resulted in what I think is a good decision for us this year. I never realized how nice the new mowers are and my son and I selected a 21” Honda with electric start and self propel. It’s the model GCV 170. It mulches and bags and will do very nice duty while I keep driving our old tractor until it drops. In short, it gives me more time to make a good decision about zero turn or other options.
Thanks for all your suggestions and help guys. And Ellis—I’m paying attention to your experience.
Around here, Flymos come up for sale now and again. They are great for cutting in. They are standard mowers in the UK, but over here I have only seen them on golf courses, where they can get them around bunkers and other improbably configurations. They are push, but there is very little weight to them and they move in any direction.
My lot is a half acre and I mow about 2/3 of that. I use a self propelled Honda (walking) mower with electric start and have it set just as fast as it will go.
A couple of years ago some kids came by and wanted to know if they could mow my yard. I told them that I need the exercise but when I get old maybe I will have them do the job. They said OK maybe they would come back.
I turned 84 in May and I am definitely not a superman. I don't even own a cape!
We have a Cub Cadet with the steering wheel, nice unit, doesn't turn as sharp as the stick steer types, 54" deck scalps a bit on rolling terrain, on a small yard I would stick to the 48" deck. Big warning, we bought the bagger, total waste of money, plugs constantly! The bagger might work if you lived in Arizona and only mowed when the grass was burned down to near death, or if you cut every day.
