Tractor, Mower, & Trailer Talk. Now with… Chippers!!! Links to parts websites in 1st post.

Who can explain the rise of residential zero turns?

I understand commercial zero turns for lawn care businesses or homeowners with smooth acreage, but what is the purpose of a residential zero turn vs a residential riding mower?

 

Personally I went with a dedicated mower as I didn’t need another tractor, already have a JD 3046R. Just needed a mower and the z turns are quick and do a great job. Plus I could get a 60” deck

 

Zero turns are so much quicker than a mower with a steering wheel. Our lives have gotten to where we want to do everything as quick as possible to get onto the next thing. Life changes I reckon.

 

Less time with the weed whacker as well.

 

Mowing my yard with a Snapper 42" hydro took me a bit over 2 hours. 52" ZT takes 45 minutes. A lot of stuff to mow around.

But the main reason is after my wife got over being intimidated by it, she now loves to mow.

 

Time. A ZT is SO much faster, more nimble, overall a time saver. Commercial or residential, doesn't matter, I'll never own a conventional rider again. Decreased my mowing aggravation (obstacles and such) immensely.

 

It takes me 70 minutes to mow my 3/4 acre with my hydraulic Case rider.

Even with shuttle shift, my ass is beat after all that steering wheel/shifter work. I like to spend an hour running the string trimmer the next day.

Now it takes me 25 minutes and I don't run the string trimmer but once a season.

 

Prices came down close enough to a standard mower that the average homeowner could afford them. They see ALL the lawn care companies using them and how quick they can finish a lawn and ask themselves, ''do I want to mow 1/2 the day or finish in an hour and go golfing.''

I bought one 18 years ago [Grasshopper] from a lawn company going out of business, I will NEVER look back at a ''ride and putt putt'' mower again.

My new one is orders of magnitude faster then my old one and my old one wasn't exactly slow.

 

My parents have about 5 acres of yard, they were wearing out a craftsman riding mower every 3-4 years. They’ve had their commercial zero turn for 16 years now and it’s still in great shape. I think they paid something like $12,000 for it in 2005. They’d have replaced at least 4 riding mowers by now. The end of their driveway has a couple of banks that you can’t mow with a riding mower, but the zero turn doesn’t have any trouble with it. They put fluid in the rear tires and it will slide sideways down that bank when it’s wet and doesn’t feel anywhere close to turning over. You could easily roll a rider on even the mild part of that bank. Factor in the time and fuel savings of the zero turn... why would you buy anything else?

 

Calling mower blade sages.

What size is this bolt and where do I find an 18" blade with this diameter?

The blade below has a hole diameter of .500"

I need a blade that is close to the bolt diameter.

The deck is an Exmark Quest, 52". I can't find the blades that use this bolt.

 

I found them all over on line.

Jacks small engines is a VG place to get parts from.

 

I'm guessing it's a 10mm. I've never come across blades with 10mm center holes.

The hunt continues.

 

Maybe......

Exmark 103-6382-S Solid BladeLazer Z AS Quest Turf Tracer Metro E S X Series

$33 Exmark 103-6382-S Solid Blade Lazer Z AS Quest Turf Tracer Metro E P S X Z Series

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TD2NZ58/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_Z46D7N3WRS869T0SD2PJ

 

Blades with 1/2" or 10mm?

 

10mm would be .393”, that’s closer to 13mm.

 

Where does it say the bolt hole diameter?

 

I can’t find that info on there but it does say quest. The hole looks like 5/8” to me though.

 

How do they center these blades?

The guy I bought the deck from kept the blades, so I have no idea what it uses with this queer bolt size.

 

I don’t know, I’ve never seen a blade for that big of a deck with less than a 5/8” bolt hole. If you had a bushing it would be tiny and thin.

 

Yes all day long, grind & grind, then make sure it balances out.