Dealer & Mower Recomendations

[Shughes717]

[video=youtube;pxmVdUNADc4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=pxmVdUNADc4[/video]

Lol, that's the one Ric.:laughing:

 

[Ric]

Lol, that's the one Ric.:laughing:

Yeah Dixie Chopper :laughing: Worlds fastest alright. I thought it was really cute when they pulled it from the last race, they must have been :ashamed:

 

[Shughes717]

Yeah Dixie Chopper :laughing: Worlds fastest alright. I thought it was really cute when they pulled it from the last race, they must have been :ashamed:

I guess they didn't want to pour salt in an open wound.

 

[bertsmobile1]

Dixie chopper's claim to be the worlds fastest mower is totally false. Pull up zero turn mower race 2011 and watch dixie chopper come in last place. First place hustler super z, second scag cheetah. John Deere and xmark are pretty close together, but the " worlds fastest mower" gets smoked. Besides non of that really matters much anyway. All of them have a similar blade tip speed, and if you go much faster than 10 mph while mowing it's going to look horrible. Dixie chopper has one mower that has two engines on it that has a transport speed of 25mph, but that thing cost as much as a new car and won't mow any faster than the others. The rest of dixie's line is no faster than any other brand. Not saying they aren't well made, but their claim to be the fastest is just false.

The ones I service supposedly have a ground speed of 16 mph weather one uses that speed is another question.
At the time they were made it was the fastest ground speed available AFAIK.
The Danes I service are good for 7 but they are several generations older.
Nice little video by the way, you did notice that the driver that was popping the monos & slides came out on top.
As for blade tip speed, that is regulated and was dropped 1200 ft/min a while back so you are right, most will have the same blade speed so cutting speed will have a lot more to do with efficient deck design than absolute land speed.

 

[Shughes717]

The ones I service supposedly have a ground speed of 16 mph weather one uses that speed is another question.
At the time they were made it was the fastest ground speed available AFAIK.
The Danes I service are good for 7 but they are several generations older.
Nice little video by the way, you did notice that the driver that was popping the monos & slides came out on top.
As for blade tip speed, that is regulated and was dropped 1200 ft/min a while back so you are right, most will have the same blade speed so cutting speed will have a lot more to do with efficient deck design than absolute land speed.

Most commercial mowers travel anywhere from 10mph to 16 mph. If a mower has zt5400 hydros (like mine) you can flip a lever on the hydros to put them in transport gear and it will go up to 16 mph. The hustler super z has Parker wheel motors with separate pumps and has a speed up to 16 mph. As far as blade tip speed you are way off. The average blade tip speed for most commercial mowers is 18000 to 19000 rotations per minute.

 

[jloktalGst]

Most commercial mowers travel anywhere from 10mph to 16 mph. If a mower has zt5400 hydros (like mine) you can flip a lever on the hydros to put them in transport gear and it will go up to 16 mph. The hustler super z has Parker wheel motors with separate pumps and has a speed up to 16 mph. As far as blade tip speed you are way off. The average blade tip speed for most commercial mowers is 18000 to 19000 rotations per minute.

I want to thank everyone for their input and advice, so I thought I'd follow up and let you know what I bought and why. I did not want a B&S engine, and generally had a leaning for a Kawasaki. I had to have a welded deck, and I thought I would eventually get front suspension, so wanted that option. Contacted a bunch of dealers, and ended up going with one a little further out, but they offered me the best overall deal. So the answer is the Hustler Raptor SD in 54". I went with that size deck because it is the easiest to get through my gates, and around my property in general. The speed discussion for me is a bit of a moot point since my yard is less like a golf course, and more like a dirt track after a rainstorm, my kidneys can only take so much bounce! For those wondering if the front suspension is worth the money, two things, the dealer gave me about $100 off which helps, but they were not in stock the 1st couple of times I used the mower, so after I put them on and doing a comparison, there is a big difference. Think bed of a pick up truck to the front seat kind of difference, (remember my yard description). Also, Hustler was offering to extend the warranty to 4 years. So, a fair price, (better than other brands in the price category IMHO), free delivery, free first oil change at my home, (read this as a great dealer experience so far), extended warranty, Kawasaki engine, and front suspension. 5 hours on the clock and zero disappointments.

 

[Shughes717]

I want to thank everyone for their input and advice, so I thought I'd follow up and let you know what I bought and why. I did not want a B&S engine, and generally had a leaning for a Kawasaki. I had to have a welded deck, and I thought I would eventually get front suspension, so wanted that option. Contacted a bunch of dealers, and ended up going with one a little further out, but they offered me the best overall deal. So the answer is the Hustler Raptor SD in 54". I went with that size deck because it is the easiest to get through my gates, and around my property in general. The speed discussion for me is a bit of a moot point since my yard is less like a golf course, and more like a dirt track after a rainstorm, my kidneys can only take so much bounce! For those wondering if the front suspension is worth the money, two things, the dealer gave me about $100 off which helps, but they were not in stock the 1st couple of times I used the mower, so after I put them on and doing a comparison, there is a big difference. Think bed of a pick up truck to the front seat kind of difference, (remember my yard description). Also, Hustler was offering to extend the warranty to 4 years. So, a fair price, (better than other brands in the price category IMHO), free delivery, free first oil change at my home, (read this as a great dealer experience so far), extended warranty, Kawasaki engine, and front suspension. 5 hours on the clock and zero disappointments.

The raptor sd is a good choice for a lawn your size. I hope you get many years of service out of it.:thumbsup:

 

[bertsmobile1]

Hope you & your mower have many happy years together.
If you do not have an air compressor, get one and an 3" long air gun.
Use it to blow down the mower after every mow, particularly from around the deck pulleys and around the engine & hydros.
A second or third set of blades is also a good idea so you can swap then right away should they get damaged and always have a sharp set on hand.
Sharp blades will cut a lot faster & easier than dull blades so less time mowing.
If you spray around trees & under the fence line a 2 to 5 gallon sprayer works wonders and once you are at home with driving it you can then spray while you are mowing.
I have even seen a ROP with a bracket on it to hold a trimmer because the owner trims while on the mower, says it saves him hours.

 

[Shughes717]

Hope you & your mower have many happy years together.
If you do not have an air compressor, get one and an 3" long air gun.
Use it to blow down the mower after every mow, particularly from around the deck pulleys and around the engine & hydros.
A second or third set of blades is also a good idea so you can swap then right away should they get damaged and always have a sharp set on hand.
Sharp blades will cut a lot faster & easier than dull blades so less time mowing.
If you spray around trees & under the fence line a 2 to 5 gallon sprayer works wonders and once you are at home with driving it you can then spray while you are mowing.
I have even seen a ROP with a bracket on it to hold a trimmer because the owner trims while on the mower, says it saves him hours.

Blowing the grass off of the mower and deck after every use is very good advice. Having a second set of blades isn't a horrible idea, but the op isn't a lawn care proffessional. Take the blades off after you have mowed your lawn 4 or 5 times and sharpen them before mowing again and you should be fine. Try to avoid running over gravel and tree limbs and the blades will last much longer. I have over 100 hours on the set on my mower and they are still in good condition.

 

[Ric]

Blowing the grass off of the mower and deck after every use is very good advice. Having a second set of blades isn't a horrible idea, but the op isn't a lawn care professional. Take the blades off after you have mowed your lawn 4 or 5 times and sharpen them before mowing again and you should be fine. Try to avoid running over gravel and tree limbs and the blades will last much longer. I have over 100 hours on the set on my mower and they are still in good condition.

I blow off the mower after every lawn, that's any where for 10 to 15 times a day.:laughing: It keeps the mower clean but most importantly it minimizes the grass form being transported from one location to another. A good blower with 150mph works better than an air compressor for me.