OT: Zero Turn Mowers

[Cat3roadracer]

Anyone use these? I have a smaller 42" deck Deere. I love the machine, but cannot figure how not to rip the grass when making a piviot. The tires are to full capacity, the grass is dry. What am I doing wrong?

[danl1]

Anyone use these? I have a smaller 42" deck Deere. I love the machine, but cannot figure how not to rip the grass when making a piviot. The tires are to full capacity, the grass is dry. What am I doing wrong?

I don't have one, so this is just blowing smoke. It seems like the problem would occur when one wheel wasn't rotating, and the other going around it. Logically, if the inside wheel was turning a bit - whether forward or reverse - you wouldn't have the problem, or at least not as much.

But, that'd mess with your cutting if you wanted even rows with minimal overlap. That is, if you were trying to do adjacent rows - and I suspect that's your problem. Most of the pros I see (and the instructions in my push manual) don't do back-and-forth rows. Instead, they do racetrack spirals inward, or straight rows off of opposing ends, or cross-cuts. In short, cutting patterns that don't use 180 deg pivot turns.

Just a thought though. Could be completely off base.

[shovelhd]

Slow down.

[gone]

Life is too short to give a **** what your lawn looks like. Seriously.

[cmbicycles]

Slow down.

This... you have to go slow when making turns until you develop a better feel for making sprint car style sliding turns. Or simply care not what happens to the grass, the more turf you tear up, the less you have to cut and the more time you can go ride. :bike:

[oliver1850]

Blades sharp? Deck clean? With mine, I think a lot of the problem is from the wheels in front of the deck mashing the grass down. There's not enough time for it to spring back up before it gets to the blades.

I do agree with Greg, mowing is a stupid waste of time and energy. I mowed 3 times last week. We should have fences and sheep.

[SamIAm]

Life is too short to give a **** what your lawn looks like. Seriously.

Wrong, a beautiful yard is one of life's joys.

http://i44.tinypic.com/34i1c07.jpg
http://i43.tinypic.com/35kj1gn.jpg

[OldCrank]

Do you have gauge wheels on the front corners of your deck?
If not, get `em put on.
If so, play with the height adjustment. It won't eliminate the turn-crescents but it should minimize them.
Better yet, think of them as art - I say they look like a seascape!

[ctcyclistbob]

Wrong, a beautiful yard is one of life's joys.

http://i44.tinypic.com/34i1c07.jpg
http://i43.tinypic.com/35kj1gn.jpg

Are you sure that's not Augusta National?

Beautiful, btw ...

[Mike748]

I have a Scag zero turn. Its a pretty heavy mower with really good traction. If I turn abruptly I can tear up the grass easily. Only solution I have found is to make slow turns.