3/4 acre new mower ZT , what Brand to go with?

[solman]

Hi All,
New to this forum and figure to get some intelligent input. I am looking to replace my tired Craftsman rider with a new mower. Was thinking zero turn as I want to make fast work of it and have some tight and tricky spaces as well. I thought of the Cub Cadet RZT S42n. I checked it out and it looked good to me. I have heard from some reviews of lots of problems with CC lately and best to avoid it. I was wondering what else to look at. Don't want to spend commercial grade money for a small lawn and was thinking of staying at 42 inch deck size. I have always bagged my clippings and was wondering if I still need to bag with a zero turn style mower?
Thanks to all,

 

[Ric]

Hi All,
New to this forum and figure to get some intelligent input. I am looking to replace my tired Craftsman rider with a new mower. Was thinking zero turn as I want to make fast work of it and have some tight and tricky spaces as well. I thought of the Cub Cadet RZT S42n. I checked it out and it looked good to me. I have heard from some reviews of lots of problems with CC lately and best to avoid it. I was wondering what else to look at. Don't want to spend commercial grade money for a small lawn and was thinking of staying at 42 inch deck size. I have always bagged my clippings and was wondering if I still need to bag with a zero turn style mower?
Thanks to all,

I wouldn't avoid the Cub Cadet RZT S42, that mower IMO would do everything you're wanting to do and more. The problems with the RZT is they often over power them with an engine that's not compatible with the EZT transmissions. The Cub Cadet RZT S42 is a set up right, the HP ratings for the EZT Transmission is 18 to 22 HP so the EZT shouldn't have a problem and the Kohler Courage 22 will last you forever.

 

[Parkmower]

If you don't want to spend the extra money. I bought a rzt 42 with a bagger for under $3k. And everything going good. It has the 22 hp and the bagger works great.

 

[txzrider]

I have to agree with the other 2 replies... The RZT 42 series should do everything you need. the non S model is cheaper and if your not trying to mow a slope, probably a better choice. I do question your comment about bagging vs mulching... it does not matter which type of mower you have zt or lt... the decision to mulch is exclusive of mower type. You do have to remember that bagging on a zt will cause it to take up more room to manuver, how much depending on the design of the bagger. I switched to mulching years ago and would never go back.

 

[solman]

Thanks for replies.
I guess I never thought of mulching cause my craftsman did a messy job of it. Is the CC a good mulcher or are their better choices for a mulching mower?

 

[Rivets]

Before you buy, take a look at the Toro SS3200 and SS4200. Prices range from $2400 to $2800 depending on if you add accessories like mulching kit. Toro has on of the better nil hers on the market.

 

[txzrider]

Mulching well depends on many things, deck design, blade design, grass height and so on... my 33inch snapper mulched well as long as I did not let the grass get too tall. I also thought the Ninja blades did a great job. My new (to me) country clipper had a fabricated and baffled deck that I added their mulch kit to, it came with "gator" style mulching blades and a endcap baffle assy to enclose the deck. so far it is doing as well or better, we had a rough summer in tx last year and my lawn has not totally recovered so it really has not had a propper test yet. I tooked at both the toro and Cub cadet mowers before the country clipper, I ended up buying it for a different reason, which is the easy to maintain deck... it slides out from under the mower to service it! No more driving the mower up on ramps so I could lay in the dirt to get the baldes off and on or work on the belts!! So far it has exceeded my expectations. Take a look at both of the mowers recommended with an eye towards mulching and bagging. Buy the one that gives you the warm and fuzzy's. you might also query your local dealer to see what kind of service issues either mower has...

 

[Ric]

Before you buy, take a look at the Toro SS3200 and SS4200. Prices range from $2400 to $2800 depending on if you add accessories like mulching kit. Toro has on of the better nil hers on the market.

Personally the Cub Cadet is a lot nicer and better mower for the money than the Toro. That Toro ss3200 is only a 16 hp motor and a single blade mower, the 4200 is a 20 hp single cylinder twin blade. Either one of the CC mowers come with a 22 HP V-Twin professional-grade Kohler Courage motor, both are twin blade with a better drives. $2499 for the lap bar model and $2699 for the S model. No comparisons between the Toro and Cub Cadet.

 

[txzrider]

ric you make some good points, I would be interested in seeing the blade speeds on both mowers. I had a single 33" blade on my old snapper which I liked for simplicity's sake, however I was always convinced I had to go slower mowing because the blade speed was slower... Which I always attributed to the size of the blade.

 

[Ric]

ric you make some good points, I would be interested in seeing the blade speeds on both mowers. I had a single 33" blade on my old snapper which I liked for simplicity's sake, however I was always convinced I had to go slower mowing because the blade speed was slower... Which I always attributed to the size of the blade.

I don't know what the blades speed difference would be but I'm assuming that the CC would be or have a significantly faster blade speed than either of the toros especially the single blade.