Decisions, decisions

[Tiger Small Engine]

Don't forget all the massive rutting going on with those 2,000+ pound behemoths. Turf compaction every time you mow. Going over it again and again and again and again and again trying to get the clippings small enough to pass for a nice looking lawn. If you have hard pan clay soil like I do, a military tank 0-turn is not your friend. I'm trying to turn my soil around for the better.

Yes a 21" pusher gives the best cut out there. Much easier to work on. Cheaper to keep going. Less blades to sharpen and balance. Easier to store. Can load one in a pickup by myself with no silly ramps. Cheaper on fuel and oil. Just need one spark plug. I can bag with my pusher. I can mulch weeds if I want. I can side sling if I care. Just my opinion. Use what you want.

All those lawn services out there with 21” self-propelled mowers being super productive on acreage all day long, Not!
You change the mowing pattern every week with a zero turn. Zero turns range in weight from 800 pounds to 2200, with around 1100 being a good average. If the ground is really wet you can rut up the yard, but under normal conditions, no rutting occurs. You obviously just don’t like zero turns. It’s a pity you never really experienced the joy of mowing with a good mower.

 

[sMw]

Normally in OKC, we have a summer drought. Could be your grass is drying out letting the mower sink to the dirt resulting in a lower cut. Raise the deck if you want a taller cut.

I know what I said about drying out sounds weird. I have some Zoysia that FLOATS my entire mower with me on it. You feel like you are on a rug so to say. That grass is so dense and thick.....

If you are looking for a manicured lawn, 0 turns are terrible. You must have near flat ground and alternate cutting directions. If you have a 60" deck then you have a lot of grass to cut. Leveling the yard will help.

Trees are great and all, but, keep them away from your foundation. Didn't sound like you are doing this. Talking about roots getting into pipes. That is a never ending plumbers call LOL. More trees as you said will take more time to cut.

I use the air compressor to blow it off after each cutting and sometimes wipe it all down. There is an air filter with easy access that I also blow out regularly. No trees are going around the house and my choice of boxwood + juniper are limited to height. They will be planted closer to the road because they are to help soften the summer noise in front of a bedroom window. I've planted the tallest trees in the back field. I think that eventually I should just get the tractor style mower. They have them with much larger decks than they did 50 years ago. I guess it will all depend on how the trees do. I read a review on the difference between them and zero turns. The tractor mower is a slower, more comfortable, ride and zero turns are a more active ride and bouncy. I didn't mention that I have a lot of moles at the end of summer. The back field used to be a horse and cow pasture. The front side yard would need to be filled in to level it all. There is a lot of unevenness. I already go slow and take my time. That's why there are more hours on the zero turn after two years. What took my brother about 2.5 hrs takes me around 4.5 hrs. I also re-cut sometimes, and I have changed direction on each mow. Some parts are more difficult doing that because of the neighbor's chain link fence.