Belly mower to zero turn time savings?

[John Ziebron]

Jim & Ken, it's called the Michigan seat model V5300 made by Milsco. I bought it from Northern Tool who I believe still has it on sale, but others sell it also. It's a great seat with fold-up arms, adjustable back angle and, my favorite, adjustable lumbar support. It includes a slide mechanism for forward/rearward positioning and a knob in front center on a sliding shaft to adjust for one's weight, up to 270 pounds. The suspension system puts this seat about 2 1/2 inches higher than your original one but that should not be a problem. In fact, it should help taller guys get a little more leg room. All the different reviews I've seen for this seat have been very good.

[Keith Outten]

Thanks John,

I'm going to look into the seat but I'm concerned about the additional height as my feet barely rest on the floorboard of my Dixie Chopper now.

[Robert Engel]

If you're only mowing 3 acres, the return on investment seems pretty low to me.

Here's my thought process on things like this:

Lets say at $100 per, how many times could I pay someone to mow vs. the capital machine cost, gas, maintenance and my time (I figure anything I work on around the house I wouldn't do for less than $20/hr.)

Where I live mowing season is from May-Sept. Twice a month in may and Sept + weekly June-Aug. Lets say 15 mowings/year. That mower + all the expenses put pencil to, but let say total $8000. Estimate break even 5-6 years, assuming no major repairs. After 5-6 years, the major repair odds increase.

I would have to conclude in the end, I'm mowing 3 acres of grass and saving an hour each time I mow.

Doesn't seem worth it to me, especially since I'm cutting my "tractor therapy" short LOL.

[Jim Becker]

Sometimes a purely financial analysis doesn't address the primary reason why many of us purchase a ZTR to mow...cut quality, speed and "fit for purpose"...or more importantly, "we want one".
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That seat sitting up higher wouldn't be an issue for me on the SCAG as the seating position is pretty low and my legs are barely bent. (5'11")

[Matt Meiser]

Plus, a homeowner should get way more than 5-6 trouble-free years out of a commercial machine. I'm putting the kind of hours per year on mine that the commercial guys put on them in a week and they last them years. When I lived on 10 acres, my neighbors were going through lawn tractors every few years. Total cost of ownership they were easily spending more.

You are correct that I could probably pay a lawn service to come out and do it for a similar overall cost on my small lot and I go back and forth on whether I wish I'd looked into that first. I don't believe that would have been true when I lived on a large lot. I would have automatically paid more due to the travel time since they wouldn't have been likely to be working down the street.

[Harry Hagan]

Have the dealer bring both of them out so you can try them on your place. You can't get a good feel for them just running them around the dealership.

Ditto on that!

[John Ziebron]

Ken, one can usually compensate for the additional seat seat height by moving it to a more forward position. If your feet barely rest on the floorboard now and your seat is in the most forward position then you could probably drill 4 new mounting holes more forward in your Dixie Choppers seat mounting plate. Realize too that this seat comes complete with it's own sliding mechanism and it may have more forward travel than your current seat.

I couldn't find any drawings on this seat that show that kind of detailed information, but if you like I can move mine to the most forward position and measure the front edge of the seat to the centerline of the forward mounting studs.

I'm only 5' 9"and I realize I have a different machine but I had both the original and this seat in the most rear position and did not really notice any difference except for the slight sensation of being up a little higher. I rest the bottom of my feet on the forward angle part of the floorboard. Hope this helps you.

[Keith Outten]

My floorboard is flat, it bends upward right at the front of the machine but that's way to far away from the seat. The existing seat doesn't move, its bolted to the sheet metal and this isn't any practical reason for it to move forward or back.
.

[Robert Engel]

You are correct that I could probably pay a lawn service to come out and do it for a similar overall cost on my small lot and I go back and forth on whether I wish I'd looked into that first. I don't believe that would have been true when I lived on a large lot. I would have automatically paid more due to the travel time since they wouldn't have been likely to be working down the street.

I was trying to be the dog on the other shoulder using pure logic, which, BTW, rarely governs any my own decisions concerning machines or equipment. LOL

[Art Mann]

If I ever start evaluating the financial benefits of owning woodworking tools, or lawn care equipment, or a travel trailer for that matter, I will sell everything. It is all about what I want to do. My yard is many, many times too large to mow with an electric mower but I own a Zero turn radius mower, a push mower and a gas powered string trimmer because I want to take care of my own yard.

[Jim Andrew]

My lot is 3 acres, plus my wife mows the highway right of way out front, which is a couple more acres, and she can mow the whole works in 2 1/2 hours with our Exmark mower. I bought it used about 10 years ago. And it is still hanging together, although it is getting to look a little used. It is 26hp and 72" cut.

[mark kosse]

Matt, learning curve is about 30 minutes and it becomes second nature. Zero turns make mowing fun.