New Zero Turn Mower

[Outnumbered]

I have a commercial Husqvarna PTZ54 thats about 8 years old. Rock sold to date, just changed the blades and serviced it this weekend to get in front of the grass season. I have a 6' finish mower on the Kubota that addresses the larger areas but the Husqvarna takes care of the yard and all of the tight spaces around trees and fences.

 

[RCW]

That Gravely is a great looking ZT !

Bet it will serve you well!

 

[mikester]

yeesh, $11000 Canucks for a lawn mower !! You must have a LOT of grass to cut !!

Try pricing out a new ZD, now north of CDN$20K

Recently saw my 13 year old ZD326 with higher hours at the dealership selling for more than I paid for mine in 2010.

 

[Tornado]

Try pricing out a new ZD, now north of CDN$20K

Recently saw my 13 year old ZD326 with higher hours at the dealership selling for more than I paid for mine in 2010.

Yea mower prices have really went up lately. I didnt do myself any favors waiting 3 years. Everything has went up though since covid.

 

[lugbolt]

Scag

they build a great mower but the product support SUCKS. The distributor for them in our area is in Texas (TOP) and they handle all of the warranty stuff too. I sold serviced and supported them for 3 years, 98-01. Obvious warranty repairs such as poor welds or harnesses that didn't have wires pushed fully into the connectors, all kinds of stuff, they would kick them back. And of course, we (dealer) were obligated to let the customer have their product back without issue, so we the dealer ate a LOT of warranty costs. Hundreds of thousands of dollars, which was not reinbursed by top. Last week we had the discussion at work (i'm at a different dealer now) about scag. I told em scag comes from top. Boss stopped me right there and said nope we aren't doing that. Apparently they sold handheld equipment, also came from top, same issues. It's sad because the mowers (and the equipment that they used to sell) were great quality. Obviously not perfect but none of them are which is why a warranty exists.

I have no knowledge of gravely. They don't sell well here. You see Deere and Kubota, that covers 82% of the market share in this area. Exmark has a few out there. And grasshopper, those round out the top 98 percent. Exmark isn't a bad mower, just get the kawasaki or kohler or briggs--NOT the toro (708cc) engine. it's not that bad either but it's also not a briggs kohler or kawasaki. Exmark decks run VERY smooth which I like. A lot. Smoother than deere and kubota by far. We sold/serviced grasshopper for a while. Tanks. But they were STUCK on that front wheel drive design, with the casters on the deck and rear wheels, and they dig. Gets stuck easy and I never could mow with one without tearing up the grass. And you can't see behind you very well so it's easy to knock the back of it against a tree. But....rare to have issues out of them. They're simple and built very well. Then you have the cheap brands such as craftsman yard man mtd murray etc. They sell on price but people have gotten wind of why they sell cheaply--because they're cheap built. They don't sell many here. But I work on a bunch of them since nobody else does.

 

[mikester]

Scag

they build a great mower but the product support SUCKS. The distributor for them in our area is in Texas (TOP) and they handle all of the warranty stuff too. I sold serviced and supported them for 3 years, 98-01. Obvious warranty repairs such as poor welds or harnesses that didn't have wires pushed fully into the connectors, all kinds of stuff, they would kick them back. And of course, we (dealer) were obligated to let the customer have their product back without issue, so we the dealer ate a LOT of warranty costs. Hundreds of thousands of dollars, which was not reinbursed by top. Last week we had the discussion at work (i'm at a different dealer now) about scag. I told em scag comes from top. Boss stopped me right there and said nope we aren't doing that. Apparently they sold handheld equipment, also came from top, same issues. It's sad because the mowers (and the equipment that they used to sell) were great quality. Obviously not perfect but none of them are which is why a warranty exists.

I have no knowledge of gravely. They don't sell well here. You see Deere and Kubota, that covers 82% of the market share in this area. Exmark has a few out there. And grasshopper, those round out the top 98 percent. Exmark isn't a bad mower, just get the kawasaki or kohler or briggs--NOT the toro (708cc) engine. it's not that bad either but it's also not a briggs kohler or kawasaki. Exmark decks run VERY smooth which I like. A lot. Smoother than deere and kubota by far. We sold/serviced grasshopper for a while. Tanks. But they were STUCK on that front wheel drive design, with the casters on the deck and rear wheels, and they dig. Gets stuck easy and I never could mow with one without tearing up the grass. And you can't see behind you very well so it's easy to knock the back of it against a tree. But....rare to have issues out of them. They're simple and built very well. Then you have the cheap brands such as craftsman yard man mtd murray etc. They sell on price but people have gotten wind of why they sell cheaply--because they're cheap built. They don't sell many here. But I work on a bunch of them since nobody else does.

I demoed an exmark with kubota diesel engine and a ZD331 with rear discharge before buying my ZD326 side discharge.

The exmark didn't impress me and it cost more than the kubotas did. Why spend more for a machine with manual deck lift when the ZD is hydraulic with quick on-the-go deck height adjustment?

Unfortunately I found the rear discharge left grass clumps like crazy. Good for cutting long grass but poor finish.

 

[Donystoy]

Bought a 60" Ariens a couple of years ago for around $6000 Can. Would have liked to buy the Ferris that has a good suspension system to save my back but just too costly. I cut probably around 7 acres so it sure speeds things up. Fed up installing and removing the deck on the B7200 I had. Didn't even consider getting a MMM for my new LX2610.

 

[fried1765]

Bought a 60" Ariens a couple of years ago for around $6000 Can. Would have liked to buy the Ferris that has a good suspension system to save my back but just too costly. I cut probably around 7 acres so it sure speeds things up. Fed up installing and removing the deck on the B7200 I had. Didn't even consider getting a MMM for my new LX2610.

Yup...
Mowers are for mowing!
Tractors are for tractoring!

 

[fried1765]

Scag

they build a great mower but the product support SUCKS. The distributor for them in our area is in Texas (TOP) and they handle all of the warranty stuff too. I sold serviced and supported them for 3 years, 98-01. Obvious warranty repairs such as poor welds or harnesses that didn't have wires pushed fully into the connectors, all kinds of stuff, they would kick them back. And of course, we (dealer) were obligated to let the customer have their product back without issue, so we the dealer ate a LOT of warranty costs. Hundreds of thousands of dollars, which was not reinbursed by top. Last week we had the discussion at work (i'm at a different dealer now) about scag. I told em scag comes from top. Boss stopped me right there and said nope we aren't doing that. Apparently they sold handheld equipment, also came from top, same issues. It's sad because the mowers (and the equipment that they used to sell) were great quality. Obviously not perfect but none of them are which is why a warranty exists.

I have no knowledge of gravely. They don't sell well here. You see Deere and Kubota, that covers 82% of the market share in this area. Exmark has a few out there. And grasshopper, those round out the top 98 percent. Exmark isn't a bad mower, just get the kawasaki or kohler or briggs--NOT the toro (708cc) engine. it's not that bad either but it's also not a briggs kohler or kawasaki. Exmark decks run VERY smooth which I like. A lot. Smoother than deere and kubota by far. We sold/serviced grasshopper for a while. Tanks. But they were STUCK on that front wheel drive design, with the casters on the deck and rear wheels, and they dig. Gets stuck easy and I never could mow with one without tearing up the grass. And you can't see behind you very well so it's easy to knock the back of it against a tree. But....rare to have issues out of them. They're simple and built very well. Then you have the cheap brands such as craftsman yard man mtd murray etc. They sell on price but people have gotten wind of why they sell cheaply--because they're cheap built. They don't sell many here. But I work on a bunch of them since nobody else does.

Different strokes for different folks.

My SCAG dealer (not Tx.) has been superb........so far.

 

[Tornado]

Scag

they build a great mower but the product support SUCKS. The distributor for them in our area is in Texas (TOP) and they handle all of the warranty stuff too. I sold serviced and supported them for 3 years, 98-01. Obvious warranty repairs such as poor welds or harnesses that didn't have wires pushed fully into the connectors, all kinds of stuff, they would kick them back. And of course, we (dealer) were obligated to let the customer have their product back without issue, so we the dealer ate a LOT of warranty costs. Hundreds of thousands of dollars, which was not reinbursed by top. Last week we had the discussion at work (i'm at a different dealer now) about scag. I told em scag comes from top. Boss stopped me right there and said nope we aren't doing that. Apparently they sold handheld equipment, also came from top, same issues. It's sad because the mowers (and the equipment that they used to sell) were great quality. Obviously not perfect but none of them are which is why a warranty exists.

I have no knowledge of gravely. They don't sell well here. You see Deere and Kubota, that covers 82% of the market share in this area. Exmark has a few out there. And grasshopper, those round out the top 98 percent. Exmark isn't a bad mower, just get the kawasaki or kohler or briggs--NOT the toro (708cc) engine. it's not that bad either but it's also not a briggs kohler or kawasaki. Exmark decks run VERY smooth which I like. A lot. Smoother than deere and kubota by far. We sold/serviced grasshopper for a while. Tanks. But they were STUCK on that front wheel drive design, with the casters on the deck and rear wheels, and they dig. Gets stuck easy and I never could mow with one without tearing up the grass. And you can't see behind you very well so it's easy to knock the back of it against a tree. But....rare to have issues out of them. They're simple and built very well. Then you have the cheap brands such as craftsman yard man mtd murray etc. They sell on price but people have gotten wind of why they sell cheaply--because they're cheap built. They don't sell many here. But I work on a bunch of them since nobody else does.

Grasshoper is very popular here in the south east. It was actually the mower I was looking to get 2-3 years ago. Then prices increased a lot, and the grasshoper that was 8,000 is now over 10,000. I just have no need or desire to spend over 10,000 on a lawn mower for my property. My yard is almost entirely in centipede grass, so you can honestly go 3 weeks between mowing, but 2 weeks easily. So I am mowing just once or twice per month about 7 or 8 months out the year. Just cant justify buying some big commercial mower for that. I also dont want another elcheapo box store mower. This "prosummer" level is where I think gravely is very strong. It has all the features that I find important, and nixes stuff I wouldnt need or care for, and puts it at a great price point. Grasshopper makes a good mower and everyone I know runs one it seems. I just didnt want to spend that much, and actually once I compared it vs the gravely I liked the gravely design better.

 

[D2Cat]

An option might be to find a used Grasshopper. Our first one had <400 hrs on it when the owner traded it in for a different style. He wanted the mid-mount deck and had the up front style. We needed something to cut back on weed-eating and able to mow under pine trees.

Since you notice a lot of that machine around you it tells me you have a good dealer nearby. Those machines are built in Moundridge, Ks. and, like any equipment, it's popularity has dealer support for it to be popular. They are built for commerical use and stand up to that use.

 

[Tornado]

Well I just had a really frustrating weekend with my first mowing on the new mower. At 2.8 hours on the hour meter the drive belt came off as I was mowing grass. For clarity this is the belt that drives the two zt3100 transaxles. It just came off - for no apparent reason. I crawled under the mower and got it back on after 30 minutes of wrestling with it. I made sure to put the belt on properly on the pulleys and make sure it wasnt twisted. The belt looked knicked up in several places though. Driving the mower back up to the house it was surging/ jerking rapidly in its movement almost shaking as it moved. I grew very concerned at that point. It threw the belt again, as I was just driving back up to the house. I put the belt on again and after cranking the mower for just a few seconds and shutting it down I noted the belt wanting to twist on its own. I called the dealer and they came and got it right away. I told them exactly what happened, and asked them to check the transaxles very closely. I just couldn't understand why the belt would throw for no reason and then all the weird behavior afterwards.

They told me they would look at it first thing Saturday morning, as it was around 4:00pm when they picked it up on Friday. They failed to call me Saturday as they said they would, so I called them around 2:00pm.(Them not calling me back over things after they say they will is becoming a problem, but that's a separate issue.) "My tech is just now fixing to look at it, give me about an hour and Ill call you back. They close at 4:00 on Saturday and I really wanted the mower back Saturday if the only issue was that it needed a new drive belt. 1 hour passed so I went and unloaded a trailer and got it hooked up to my truck and pulled it around as I know there is no way they are delivering it back to me at this point. They called me back at 3:30 to tell me that they put a new drive belt on and it appears to be driving around just fine. They cant see any other issue. So, I say ok Ill be there in 20 minutes. I got there 5 minutes before closing to pick it up. Had I not proactively went and got my trailer in anticipation I wouldn't have gotten it back until today. That just irks me a little, as they were so adamant they would look at it first thing Saturday morning and call me asap with what they find. I feel like had I not called, they wouldn't have even called me.

I got the mower back and finished mowing my grass yesterday. I was paying very close attention to the transmissions. I got off the mower multiple times just to look at the new belt. Everything is running fine. I went from 2.8 hours and finished with 4.2 hours on the machine without another incident, so I am hoping its ok. Now I am left with the complete mystery of WHY did the drive belt get thrown the first time? I really cant figure it out. I was not driving up against any bushes. limbs, twigs, anything. I don't see how anything could have gotten into the belt. My only guess is that something was wrong with the belt from the factory, butt hat doesnt make a whole lot of sense either, because how did I make it 2.8 hours before it threw? Im just baffled. I have never had the drive belt thrown like this on a zero turn mower - not a single time. I have had deck belts thrown countless times, but never the drive belt.

Despite this issue, which I am praying is resolved, the mower really does mow well. It is a monster next to my old mower. So much more power and precision. Much more comfortable ride as well.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

One possible scenario...
The original belt could have been 'nicked' when it was put on and it took a little time to stretch and then come off.
Know of a guy replace his rider snowblower belt THREE times ( $60 a belt...) before he showed me the unit and HOW he put the belts on...1st was original,so 15 years old..fine with that, #2 and 3 he put on 'up and over' the pulleys...probably nicking them. His 4th belt I put on by releasing the tensioning pulley, carefully sliding it on, then adding tension. It ran fine......for years.

 

[D2Cat]

We purchased a B6100 many moons ago and the belt comes off the crankshaft at the front of the machine, goes down, crosses over and goes to the mower deck. After a brief time of mowing the belt did the same thing as your did. Called the dealer and he told me to come by (I wend by his place on way to work) and pick up another belt, which I did. A short time of mowing again, the same thing happened. I call the dealer and he told me the same thing. When I stopped in I asked why this is happening and he said they got a bad batch of belts and were going thru them with this problem.

I'm not really sure what the problem was, but I modified the two pulleys below the crankshaft pulley so I could use a "B" belt instead of an "A" belt. I still have a new 120" B belt hanging in my shop.

 

[Tornado]

One interesting thing I have noted on the gravely is that the transaxle fans are a little more exposed under the seat than my old mower. If any debris got flipped up and got behind the seat it could easily fall down and get into the belt I think, depending on how the debris fell. My Husqvarna was like totally covered above the transaxles. The gravely design no doubt has much better airflow onto the transaxles but does make the fans and belt more exposed I feel. I almost wish there was some kind of like hardware cloth or wire mesh over the fan just to prevent sticks or twigs from being able to fall down into there. Ill just have to be mindful of this in the future. Hopefully I have no further issues. Ill be watching this belt closely for a while, at least until It gives me some confidence that this issue was a one off.

 

[The Evil Twin]

There is a nice guy that runs a website and he sales upgrade kits for all the Kawasaki engines. Its basically the factory canister from Kawasaki with Donaldson filters (both inner and outter filter is included), and he fabricates the brackets then sales the whole thing in a package. He makes them for the Kawasaki FS and the FR line of engines. Its like a 5 minute installation. Super easy.

Here is the one I just bought last night, and it has already shipped this morning. https://powerequipmentman.com/products/air-filter-upgrade-kit

Well shoot. Found out over the weekend this kit will NOT work with the residential Cubs. The bar that goes over the engine is too low for clearance. The commercial models with the ROPS are not a problem as far as I can tell.
Real bummer because the stock filter location is great for getting jammed up with grass and debris.

 

[Tornado]

Well shoot. Found out over the weekend this kit will NOT work with the residential Cubs. The bar that goes over the engine is too low for clearance. The commercial models with the ROPS are not a problem as far as I can tell.
Real bummer because the stock filter location is great for getting jammed up with grass and debris.

Ah that sucks. you could probably modify the bracket somehow to make it work I would think. All you need is some way to secure the canister to the engine. Ive seen mowers with this bar over the engine and have never liked it personally. It just seems to serve no purpose.

 

[The Evil Twin]

Ah that sucks. you could probably modify the bracket somehow to make it work I would think. All you need is some way to secure the canister to the engine. Ive seen mowers with this bar over the engine and have never liked it personally. It just seems to serve no purpose.

The bar protects the engine in case of a roll over
I went round n round on how to affix the cannister. It would be fairly easy to do. I think I'm going to mount the plate to that bracket. Wall thickness seems enough to tap threads. Or I'll go all the way through if needed. Then, I'll extend the intake tube using an aluminum radiator hose coupling.
It'll either be a success or a fun waste of money

 

[Tornado]

The bar protects the engine in case of a roll over
I went round n round on how to affix the cannister. It would be fairly easy to do. I think I'm going to mount the plate to that bracket. Wall thickness seems enough to tap threads. Or I'll go all the way through if needed. Then, I'll extend the intake tube using an aluminum radiator hose coupling.
It'll either be a success or a fun waste of money

You could just go full redneck on it. get a new piece of hose to match the length, but then just zip tie the canister to your engine roll over bar

No dont do that. It would look so janky, but the engine wouldnt know; it would work just fine lol. In all seriousness I think you could easily build a different mounting plate. Just kinda figure out where you need the canister to be then find a way to get it there. Sounds like youre on that track. Good luck. I mowed the other day for the first time with mine installed. My mower is brand new, but I do love the much beefier air filter. It has probably 4 times the filter area, plust the added inner air filter which acts as a protector when you need to clean or replace the outter filter. I do this same thing on my L2501 tractor - it has a very similar canister filter set up, but kubota does not include the inner filter element on the lower model L series. I added it for $20. Its good insurance. My air intake is never exposed to the dirty air box. The inner filter on my kubota seems to never get dirty. the outter filter does 99% of the work.

 

[The Evil Twin]

You could just go full redneck on it. get a new piece of hose to match the length, but then just zip tie the canister to your engine roll over bar

No dont do that. It would look so janky, but the engine wouldnt know; it would work just fine lol. In all seriousness I think you could easily build a different mounting plate. Just kinda figure out where you need the canister to be then find a way to get it there. Sounds like youre on that track. Good luck. I mowed the other day for the first time with mine installed. My mower is brand new, but I do love the much beefier air filter. It has probably 4 times the filter area, plust the added inner air filter which acts as a protector when you need to clean or replace the outter filter. I do this same thing on my L2501 tractor - it has a very similar canister filter set up, but kubota does not include the inner filter element on the lower model L series. I added it for $20. Its good insurance. My air intake is never exposed to the dirty air box. The inner filter on my kubota seems to never get dirty. the outter filter does 99% of the work.

If I was going full redneck, I would just stick one of those cone filters right on top of the intake and add a No Fear Keychain