Bought a new toy

[safecracker]

It was time. My old lawn mower was 15 years old. Still works ok. My wife was not real kean on the idea, but i bought a new zero turn mower. This is my first zero turn. I practiced in my driveway yesterday morning. It will take some practice. I went from a 42" deck to a 54" deck. I was going to purchase a Dixie Chopper. My local BRP dealer was not selling them this year. So i bought a Husqvarna, Z254F. I have about 3 acreas to mow. Hopefully, i can cut my mowing time down from 4 hours to 2-3 hours. This will give me more time for ryding the Spyder. Oh yeah, saw my first Spyder on the road Saturday. Did i do ok by purchasing a Husky? Bruce

[pegasus1300]

Husky has always had a reputation for building quality stuff.

[Snakeyes]

You did good!

[h0gr1der]

We switched to a zero turn a couple of years ago. The wife was very much against it, said they were weird. She does the grass cutting. I played in the yard with it, mowed some grass. Once she got on it and learned how intuitive it was to use she took off, won't ever go back. We cut about 3-1/2 acres, used to take 4 to 4-1/2 hours, now takes about 2-1/2 hours. Very much worth the switch.

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

It was time. My old lawn mower was 15 years old. Still works ok. My wife was not real kean on the idea, but i bought a new zero turn mower. This is my first zero turn. I practiced in my driveway yesterday morning. It will take some practice. I went from a 42" deck to a 54" deck. I was going to purchase a Dixie Chopper. My local BRP dealer was not selling them this year. So i bought a Husqvarna, Z254F. I have about 3 acreas to mow. Hopefully, i can cut my mowing time down from 4 hours to 2-3 hours. This will give me more time for ryding the Spyder. Oh yeah, saw my first Spyder on the road Saturday. Did i do ok by purchasing a Husky? Bruce

All I know is I don't see very many, if any, commercial lawn care people riding Husky's. Husqvarna owns probably about 60% of the lawn care equipment business under several brands like MTD. I bought a Hustler ZTR 3 or 4 years ago to replace the Crapsman riding mower I had. All I can say is a ZTR goes a long way toward transforming a chore into fun!

[Eviltwin]

I switched to one about 2 years ago. I had an older Scotts (orange JD) that was going on about 20 years old and I got tired of having to patch it up every few months so after a bit of research we went and got an Ariens Ikon 52. It didn't take any time to get familiar with it except to be mindful that it doesn't do as well on any sort of hills and that it can loose traction on parts of the ground that tend to stay wet (We live on a tidal creek that can and does flood).

I have no experience with the Huskys, but they looked to be pretty good as well. That was as HD. The other brand that Lowes was pushing at the time was Hustler. With any of the non commercial zero turn machines you have to be kind to the transmissions, they dont tend to take that much abuse, so limit how much of a load you try to tow with them. On my old tractor, I used it to move a boat trailer and pull plants out of the ground. I wouldn't dare take that chance with this new zero.

[Saluda]

Enjoy it !

[blacklightning]

I have a husky 42", but I only have about 3/4 acre to mow. I was considering getting a zero turn to mow the 2 acres that I have at another house in Roxboro. But I found a local guy who mows it for $60. Considering I would have to drive 1 hour each way, and then mow the 2 acres, it didn't make sense to not take my buddy up on his offer. He weedeats and everything.

[ARtraveler]

Sounds like you bought a good one. I look forward to my weekly grass cutting. Gives me some nice "think" time.

[Rogue Hawk]

turbo v8?

[RICZ]

My lawn mower is 45 years old Lawn Boy and still going strong. I call it "Old Smokey" cuz it has a two-stoke engine. It's just a push type, which suffices as we don't have a lot of grass to mow.
Maybe I should donate it to a museum and get one of them new fangled battery electrics.

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

With any of the non commercial zero turn machines you have to be kind to the transmissions, they dont tend to take that much abuse, so limit how much of a load you try to tow with them.

From what I could find I think all the consumer versions of ZTR use the same hydrostatic drive units. What's interesting is that when I was looking to buy one, Hustler was the only one that flat out advertised you can do sidehill mowing, up to 15° I think. About 1/2 of my 1/4 acre yard is sidehill. I don't know if the drive units in the Hustler are beefier than others,or if that was just a marketing ploy. But it works pretty decently on the sidehill I have.

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

Maybe I should donate it to a museum and get one of them new fangled battery electrics.

A friend of mine bought the Lowes branded one a year or so ago. He's really happy with how well it works.

If you ever experience chest pains while mowing, even if it's just walking behind a self-propelled one so you're not stressing yourself, get to the doc or ER. It could be a sign of angina and eventual heart attack. Ask me how I know!

[Joe T.]

We bought a Bad Boy 60" ZTR in May 2011. I have about 280 hours on it to date. I use it at my shop. It has to mow ~3 acres with two buildings and several power poles. It takes about 2.5 hrs. per mow.

I have had two issues that are not due to Bad Boy's product, but they are the result of poor quality control of two items selected by Bad Boy. First, my Kohler 725cc 27hp V-Twin motor leaks oil from on of the valve covers. Second, one of the two Hydro-Gear ZT-3100 transaxles leaks hydro fluid (actually, motor oil). Both are due to quality control at the respective factories.

I don't think I would buy another Bad By. But, I love ZTR mowers!!!

I have been looking at a Hustler Raptor Limited for our house's lawn.

Regards,
Joe T.

[Rogue Hawk]

Oh yeah

https://www.news.com.au/technology/i...ef733e348a05d9

[carbonation]

My lawn mower is 45 years old Lawn Boy and still going strong. I call it "Old Smokey" cuz it has a two-stoke engine. It's just a push type, which suffices as we don't have a lot of grass to mow.
Maybe I should donate it to a museum and get one of them new fangled battery electrics.

Nope, that is likely worth more now than when new to a collector.
And yes, old LB mowers are collectible.