Gravely ZT XL48 or eXmark Quest

[Justwookin]

I am a homeowner with about 2/3 of an acre (with hills) looking to buy a nice homeowner level ZTR mower. My budget is about $4000 max. The local dealer that I want to work with recommends either the Gravely ZT XL48 or the eXmark quest s series with the 50" deck. They both are at the same price point and I would greatly appreciate anyone's input.

Comparisons from what I can tell:
Both have a similarly fabricated deck with 3 blades.
Both have the ZT-2800 drive train.
Both have similar Kawa engines although the gravely has slightly more hp.

Differences:
The gravely has slightly more hp.
The eXmark however has higher blade tip speed. It's blade speed is 18,500fpm while the Gravely's is 16,800fpm.

I am split. What would you recommend? Thanks in advance.

 

[djdicetn]

I am a homeowner with about 2/3 of an acre (with hills) looking to buy a nice homeowner level ZTR mower. My budget is about $4000 max. The local dealer that I want to work with recommends either the Gravely ZT XL48 or the eXmark quest s series with the 50" deck. They both are at the same price point and I would greatly appreciate anyone's input.

Comparisons from what I can tell:
Both have a similarly fabricated deck with 3 blades.
Both have the ZT-2800 drive train.
Both have similar Kawa engines although the gravely has slightly more hp.

Differences:
The gravely has slightly more hp.
The eXmark however has higher blade tip speed. It's blade speed is 18,500fpm while the Gravely's is 16,800fpm.

I am split. What would you recommend? Thanks in advance.

Justwookin,

Justcurious here, where did you get that blade tip speed info on the Gravely?? As you can tell by my avatar i might be a "little biased" towards a gravely, but it's your money. I don't know Ex-Marks, but you should compare those two mowers to a Toro Titan ZX4820 if you have a nearby Toro dealer(ZT-2800 trannies) or even the step up to the Titan MX4880(with the ZT-3100 trannies and full suspension seat) that may not be much more and within your budget. The Toro Titans are very good residential mowers. On the Graveley's, regardless of blade tip speed, I believe you won't be disappointed. There is more to cut quality than blade tip speed although that was a tech spec I looked at as well. You may also want to add the Cub Cadet Z-Force series 48" to your look at list. There are SO MANY good mowers out there(ones mentioned plus Dixie Chopper, Big Dog, Hustler, etc.) you most likely will experiencing your head spinning the more makes/models you look at, at least I was:0)
Good luck narrowing your choices down to a couple and picking the right one for your needs)!! Also, reply back with exactly where you got that blade tip speed on the Gravely.

 

[Justwookin]

Justwookin,

Justcurious here, where did you get that blade tip speed info on the Gravely?? As you can tell by my avatar i might be a "little biased" towards a gravely, but it's your money. I don't know Ex-Marks, but you should compare those two mowers to a Toro Titan ZX4820 if you have a nearby Toro dealer(ZT-2800 trannies) or even the step up to the Titan MX4880(with the ZT-3100 trannies and full suspension seat) that may not be much more and within your budget. The Toro Titans are very good residential mowers. On the Graveley's, regardless of blade tip speed, I believe you won't be disappointed. There is more to cut quality than blade tip speed although that was a tech spec I looked at as well. You may also want to add the Cub Cadet Z-Force series 48" to your look at list. There are SO MANY good mowers out there(ones mentioned plus Dixie Chopper, Big Dog, Hustler, etc.) you most likely will experiencing your head spinning the more makes/models you look at, at least I was:0)
Good luck narrowing your choices down to a couple and picking the right one for your needs)!! Also, reply back with exactly where you got that blade tip speed on the Gravely.

djdicetn, thanks for the reply. I got the blade tip speed from various spec sheets found on the web pages of dealers. Here is one of them, but they are all similar.

2013 Gravely ZT XL 48 915162

It appears that the blade speed for the gravely zt xl 48 is only 16,800 fpm, however it jumps up to 18,000 fpm in the zt hd series. I really do like the gravely xl, but that is my only concern. My fear is that will affect the cut quality. I do realize that stepping up to commercial grade would give me the best of both worlds, but for just over a half an acre, I am truly having trouble justifying going to a upper grade residential ZTR. I feel that the lower grade ZTRs would do the job, but I worry about their durability especially with the hills. (Actually, the whole yard is on one huge slope). Am I wrong to worry about the blade tip speed of the gravely xl?

Thanks.

 

[djdicetn]

djdicetn, thanks for the reply. I got the blade tip speed from various spec sheets found on the web pages of dealers. Here is one of them, but they are all similar.

2013 Gravely ZT XL 48 915162

It appears that the blade speed for the gravely zt xl 48 is only 16,800 fpm, however it jumps up to 18,000 fpm in the zt hd series. I really do like the gravely xl, but that is my only concern. My fear is that will affect the cut quality. I do realize that stepping up to commercial grade would give me the best of both worlds, but for just over a half an acre, I am truly having trouble justifying going to a upper grade residential ZTR. I feel that the lower grade ZTRs would do the job, but I worry about their durability especially with the hills. (Actually, the whole yard is on one huge slope). Am I wrong to worry about the blade tip speed of the gravely xl?

Thanks.

Justwookin,
Blade tip speed, all other things considered, would not be a "show-stopper" for me, but I understand the concern. Thanks for the link, because you know....I didn't even consider blade tip speed of my Pro-Turn when I bought it(because I just figured it was a "Commercial" ZTR so it must be OK:0)
I was going to look it up on that website, but apparently that dealer doesn't sell anything above the ZT HD:0(
This is my first ZTR, so a more seasoned and savvy ZTR user will have to chime in and give you a sanity check on the importance/priority of blade tip speed. Heck, they don't even give blade tip speed on lawn tractors, best to my knowledge(and probably for good reason........I'd bet most lawn tractors are half of that Gravely XL). And you know, those lawn tractors don't have a "bad" cut quality so maybe it's not a big deal. I'll let a more knowledgable, experienced user elude to that.

 

[Old Goat]

It's on the sell sheet on the Gravely website.

If you are going to be mowing at faster speeds the faster blade tip speed will help to insure that all the grass is cut and not have any left un cut. IE; smaller clippings. The faster blade tip speed the better.

 

[djdicetn]

It's on the sell sheet on the Gravely website.

If you are going to be mowing at faster speeds the faster blade tip speed will help to insure that all the grass is cut and not have any left un cut. IE; smaller clippings. The faster blade tip speed the better.

Old Goat,
Thanks..after as many times as I have been on the Gravely website I never thought about clicking on "Downloads"......duhhhhhhh:0)
It appears that the Gravely's, from the ZT HD spec sheet you attached all the way up to the 400 series of the Pro-Turn Commercials all have 18,000fpm(including my 152). I would think that with the 400 Series costing from $10,199 up to $15,399 depending on the deck size that 18,000 fpm would be sufficient for a good cut. And the 16,800 that the OP posted for the XL isn't really that much less. So based upon your statement, at what point do you feel that the blade tip speed is "inadequate" for a professional cut??? 16,000....15,000...10,000? Do you have any idea what some of the high-end lawn tractor's blade tip speed is(I've never seen that spec on a lawn tractor)? I think the OP really needs a definitive answer as to whether a 16,800fpm is a "problem" or not. I, personally, can't answer that even though I completely agree with you....the higher the blade tip speed the better. And what "weight" on a purchase should blade tip speed be if a mower has many other features that may be better than another that has higher blade tip speed??? I don't have a clue.....sorry user Justwookin:0(

 

[Old Goat]

Old Goat,
Thanks..after as many times as I have been on the Gravely website I never thought about clicking on "Downloads"......duhhhhhhh:0)
It appears that the Gravely's, from the ZT HD spec sheet you attached all the way up to the 400 series of the Pro-Turn Commercials all have 18,000fpm(including my 152). I would think that with the 400 Series costing from $10,199 up to $15,399 depending on the deck size that 18,000 fpm would be sufficient for a good cut. And the 16,800 that the OP posted for the XL isn't really that much less. So based upon your statement, at what point do you feel that the blade tip speed is "inadequate" for a professional cut??? 16,000....15,000...10,000? Do you have any idea what some of the high-end lawn tractor's blade tip speed is(I've never seen that spec on a lawn tractor)? I think the OP really needs a definitive answer as to whether a 16,800fpm is a "problem" or not. I, personally, can't answer that even though I completely agree with you....the higher the blade tip speed the better. And what "weight" on a purchase should blade tip speed be if a mower has many other features that may be better than another that has higher blade tip speed??? I don't have a clue.....sorry user Justwookin:0(

I sure can't answer that definitively other than to say that to me it makes sense that the higher blade tip speed would equate to the blades taking a bite more times on the grass to equal smaller clippings therefore better cut.

Maybe someone who is in the "business" and has multiple machines with different speeds could answer that?

After fighting this "pasture grass" we still have in places, which left "hay", it was a factor in my research of ZTR purchase. I sure notice the "quality" of cut of the ZTR compared to the Lawn tractor, but time will tell when July & August get here and the "pasture grass" grows at 3" a day!

 

[djdicetn]

I sure can't answer that definitively other than to say that to me it makes sense that the higher blade tip speed would equate to the blades taking a bite more times on the grass to equal smaller clippings therefore better cut.

Maybe someone who is in the "business" and has multiple machines with different speeds could answer that?

After fighting this "pasture grass" we still have in places, which left "hay", it was a factor in my research of ZTR purchase. I sure notice the "quality" of cut of the ZTR compared to the Lawn tractor, but time will tell when July & August get here and the "pasture grass" grows at 3" a day!

Old Goat,
Yeah, my gut feeling is that anything between 15,000 and 18,000 will "git ur dun" but just don't know the minimum where the cut quality suffers. And most likely, as you eluded to, a lot of other factors(like fescue, bermuda, rye, etc.) figure in along with blade tip speed. There's more rocket science to cutting grass than I ever imagined before I began researching the purchase of a ZTR:0)

 

[Old Goat]

It will definitely tax your brains filing system, for sure!