Which one would you choose?

[MapleLeafFarmer]

So I need a new zero turn lawn mower. Stopped my my local Stihl dealer and had a heart attack!

Which one would you choose?

26hp Kawasaki gas engine - $14,000

or the Same model but battery vs. gas
Stihl RZA 760 - $30,400

I guess the battery tractors are going to be more the 2X the price as well.

 

[85Hokie]

How about this one?

https://www.kubotausa.com/products/mowers/zero-turn-mowers/z242kw-48

true - it s only 48"

 

[GreensvilleJay]

neither but then I don't have 5 acres of grass to cut...
if you have 'more money than brains', you buy the battery version to save the world.....just be prepared to buy new $$$$$$ batteries every 4-5 years( check battery warranty..not all are the same...). Also watch your hydro meter spin for HOURS while they recharge....and you twiddle your thumbs and someone wants to know WHY the grass still isn't cut....
Cub Cadet ( at local Kubota dealer...) have them gas or battery and being a 'numbers guy' did the 'math' based on 15 years ownership.Factored in the normal stuff..purchase price,filters,gas, electricity, batteries,etc.I could buy TWO gassers and still have money in my wallet instead of a dead battery machine.
So what's wrong with your current zero turn, how old, specs ? How many acres do you cut, how often, do you like to cut grass ? Anyone else going to use the machine ?
I've had 3 zeroturns, one Kubota powered(72" Toro).I didn't like any of them for many reasons.
One of those 'to each his own' deals I suppose....

 

[MapleLeafFarmer]

So what's wrong with your current zero turn, how old, specs ? How many acres do you cut, how often, do you like to cut grass ? Anyone else going to use the machine ?
I've had 3 zeroturns, one Kubota powered(72" Toro).I didn't like any of them for many reasons.
One of those 'to each his own' deals I suppose....

- time to donate it to the next in line in the family
- 31 acres to finish cut
- it gets cut weekly, a little more in late spring and little less in fall
- I never cut it myself, my job is to provide the equipment, the younger generation can make the work. I think thats a fair trade.


I have a strong hankering to embrace the Lightning (ford lariat electric truck), electric chain saws, electric mower, etc.... but dam at 2x the price and range / workload limitations, slow charge times, etc... I am starting to struggle with this transition.

 

[Jchonline]

We have 2 JD ZTs they have held up well also. Mow 2 acres at least every week in the green season.

 

[jyoutz]

So I need a new zero turn lawn mower. Stopped my my local Stihl dealer and had a heart attack!

Which one would you choose?

26hp Kawasaki gas engine - $14,000
View attachment 122824



or the Same model but battery vs. gas
Stihl RZA 760 - $30,400
View attachment 122825


I guess the battery tractors are going to be more the 2X the price as well.

I have the Stihl 52” zero turn and am quite happy with it. It has the Briggs v-twin commercial engine and works very well. Parts are easier to get than the Kawasaki engine, and the commercial grade Briggs are good engines. $6000 last May. I really like the 4 wheel suspension on the Stihl. You’re looking at very high end commercial models.

 

[GrizBota]

- time to donate it to the next in line in the family
- 31 acres to finish cut
- it gets cut weekly, a little more in late spring and little less in fall
- I never cut it myself, my job is to provide the equipment, the younger generation can make the work. I think thats a fair trade.


I have a strong hankering to embrace the Lightning (ford lariat electric truck), electric chain saws, electric mower, etc.... but dam at 2x the price and range / workload limitations, slow charge times, etc... I am starting to struggle with this transition.

31 acres. How long does that take? How many times would the battery mower have to be charged? At how long per charge (overnight)?

Sounds like nearly a part time job mowing 31 acres with any kind of a finish mower. Maybe a couple mowers gets it done in a day? Or one mower on glass smooth turf with no obstructions running wide open for a day?

The EPA says a gallon of gas has about 34 kW-hrs of energy. Assume the gas mower burns about a gallon an hour and the entire 31 acres takes 8 hours to mow, that’s about 270 kW-hrs. Presuming an electric motor is twice as efficient as a gas engine, than you’d need about a 135 kW-hr battery to mow the whole 31 acres. The Stihl RZA-760 mower’s battery is rated at 24 kW-hr.

I think the electric mower just turned a one long day job into about 2 or 3 days of 4 to 6 sessions of mowing with 3 to 5 charge period wait times of about 8 hours each (120 volt charger). I think folks really would not like that expensive battery mower when it wears out before they do and they aren’t even a third of the way done.

Stihl claims it will run 8 hours and mow 21 acres. How? That’s 3 kW-hr/hr. Even if the electric motor was three times more efficient that a gas engine, that’s equivalent to a gas mower burning 1/4 gallon per hour, all the whole mowing 2.6 acres an hour. Not going to happen. Stihl suggests you’d get 2/3 done with you mowing. I think you’d be lucky to get a 1/4 of the way done prior to needing an 8 hour charge.

Buy the electric one if money is no object and taking two plus days with several breaks to do a formally one day job isn’t a concern. And you don’t like the people that have to do the mowing.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

OK, I have to know WHY would you cut 31 acres ??

 

[DustyRusty]

Buy a few goats and they will keep the grass cut and fertilized.

 

[mikester]

My dealer recently had a used 2010 ZD326 for sale for more than I paid for it new in 2010.

 

[GrassLakeRon]

Neither as well. Personally I don't care for zero turns. Last fall when my mower died folks pushed me into looking at them......So I bought my B8200. So if it came down to spending 17k on a piece of equipment to mow grass I would buy a BX or a nice used B or LX.

 

[lmpres]

I bought a Snapper Pro 150 with a Kawi 26 hp zero turn 23 years ago. Cut 4 acres every week (New England season/weather). Still going strong with only normal preventive maintenance.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

OK, 'silly' math time..
31 acres is 1,350,350 square feet ( 43,560 sqft/ac)
1,350,350 / 4 = 337.587' ( 4' wide mower deck )
so a perfect one pass,no overlaps 'strip' is 64 MILES long ( 337,587/5280 )
A 5' wide mower reduces distance to 52 miles.... (60" decks are common )
6' wide, 43 MILES (my Toro/Kubota sized machine..)

Now you can calculate time and gas,though I suspect lawn isn't smooth and flat.
Two things I know...
1) I ain't cutting 31 acres of grass
2) I ain't PAYING to have 31 acres cut once, let alone EVERY week

It would be nice to see someone carry on the 'simple' math with 'cost to cut' numbers.

 

[fried1765]

My dealer recently had a used 2010 ZD326 for sale for more than I paid for it new in 2010.

"Clown boy",...... does INFLATION too!

 

[skeets]

Why in the name of John Paul Jones would any one mow 31 acers? Unless of course you own a golf course, but the questions still stands. Fence it in get a dozen sheep, and come fall sell them off!

 

[John D 2]

Neither one. If I was in the market for a zero turn, I would stick with either Kubota or JD. My last zero turn was a green 915B.

In the 5 years I owned it, I was using it about an hour a week and the only thing I had to replace was the battery which cost me about $50.

 

[GrassLakeRon]

With 31 acres...... LX with and mid mower and a 3pt gang setup in the back.

 

[chim]

With 31 acres...... LX with and mid mower and a 3pt gang setup in the back.

That!

I only mow 3-1/2 acres and it takes a bit over an hour with a 7-1/2' RFM. 31 acres approaches a full work week at my speed. Don't believe the ZT acolytes when they claim they can do 31 acres in 6 hours

 

[MapleLeafFarmer]

OK, I have to know WHY would you cut 31 acres ??

why does it get cut?
- cause if I turn it into garden my wife would leave me as gardening is her job. we already grow enough veggies to feed all the extended family and then some in existing gardens and my cold room is already too big
- cause I like my place looking nice
- cause I be blessed with a nice piece of property and I want to maintain it nicely
- cause its good character building for the younger folks, beats having them sit in front of their nintendo or cell phones and into gods country building character and grit.
- graass attracts the deer, birds, etc.. as our native pine forests on sand base are pretty bare of wildlife and we like to see the little action it brings in.

How long does it take?
- my job is to supply the equipment. I don't make the work myself. It doesn't get cut in 1 shot usually I will guess maybe over 3 evenings or a morning + couple of evenings either my wife or younger family member will jump on a mower and make the work so maybe 12 hrs?? but could be a little more or less.

Why a zero turn?
- well my smallest tractor on site is a L3301 and I don't like lending out tractors as they seem to often come back in worse shape then I lend them out. More importantly those making the work a little to young for that responsibility.
- easy to find even youngest member of family (city folk) capable of running a zero turn. Having them tow my "classic" frontier finishing mower is a completely different set of potential problems including them having to remove a BH or logging winch which is normally on that tractor.
- tractor work is my job...grass work falls on younger kids. Its good training and work ethic building as they grow old enough and experienced enough to move up the food chain.

cheers

 

[GrassLakeRon]

That!

I only mow 3-1/2 acres and it takes a bit over an hour with a 7-1/2' RFM. 31 acres approaches a full work week at my speed. Don't believe the ZT acolytes when they claim they can do 31 acres in 6 hours

TDC Tri-Deck Finishing Mower - Bush Hog

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