[AT] OT(?) Cub Cadet 1812 Hydro question

[Stephen Offiler]

Thank you, Larry, and I greatly appreciate the input.

My primary concern is for how much of my free time is spent mowing.
I'll be happy to spend some money if I can significantly reduce the
time, because I just don't have that  much free time.  Also, my wife
has indicated a willingness to pitch in, so any piece of equipment
(either the CC 1812 we've been discussing, or perhaps a new ZTR if it
goes that way) will have to be something that she can/will operate.

I have roughly a couple acres I mow; some of it is true "lawn" nearer
to the house, and as you get away from the house, it's actually more
like old pasture that looks sort of lawn-ish if you keep it mowed.
Terrain is increasingly rough and uneven as you get farther away from
the house as well.  I've got gentle rolling slopes, ledge rock, and
lots of trees and perennial beds to maneuver around.  Right now using
a 17HP 42" gear-drive walk-behind, in the highest mowing gear (~2.5
mph), with very little overlap regardless of the quality of cut
produced, I am cutting for 4 - 4.5 hrs per session.  Actual time well
over 5 hrs because I need breaks, refueling, etc.  I'd like to get
that down under 3-ish hours give or take.  Then, for most of the
season anyway, it could be done in a single evening after work, and
never more than a couple evenings back to back.  As it is now, it's at
least two evenings and sometimes three.  Really hard to get that many
back-to-back given other commitments and the weather, and if a section
gets skipped, then it gets out of control and slows me down even more,
aaargh.

So right now the plan is to get the CC back in action, then give it a
whirl next time I need to mow (soon).  Also let my wife have at it and
see what she thinks.  Whatever we do for a mowing machine long-term,
it needs to be reliable so she doesn't have to futz around with
anything, just hop on and twist the key like it's the family car.

Steve O.


On Thu, Jun 4, 2009 at 12:05 PM, Larry Goss <rlgoss at insightbb.com> wrote:
> Steve, IMHO you should make a judgment made on the terrain of your lawn rather then the cutting speed of the equipment.  There is no doubt that you can cut faster with a ZTR than with a tractor-style mower, but if your lawn isn't really level, you will loose traction on the uphill wheel all the time and not be able to hold the cutting line on a slope.
>
> When I worked for a shop right after retirement at the university, we replaced the tires on a number of ZTR's so the owners had directional control on their lawns -- and all they were, were suburban lots with the building site raised a few feet above the street level.
>
> We replaced the turf tires with high-flotation, low-lug ag tires.
>
> Larry
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Stephen Offiler <soffiler at gmail.com>
> Date: Thursday, June 4, 2009 8:49
> Subject: Re: [AT] OT(?) Cub Cadet 1812 Hydro question
> To: Antique tractor email discussion group <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
>
>> Hi John:
>>
>> What model is your Cub Cadet Zero-Turn?  Reason I ask is
>> because I'm
>> thinking about one right now, specifically, a CC Enforcer
>> 44.   One of
>> my reasons for starting this thread originally was because I was
>> needing to fix up my old CC garden tractor to decide if it cuts fast
>> enough to keep, or if I need to let it go and spend some bucks
>> on the
>> ZTR.  Now I'm a bit wary of the hydro...
>>
>> Steve O.
>>
>> On Wed, Jun 3, 2009 at 10:55 PM, John Wilkens
>> <jwilkens at eoni.com> wrote:
>> > I got in on this string late but thought i'd throw in a little
>> tidbit> on hydrostatic drives.  My cub cadet has dual hydro
>> motors on each
>> > rear wheel for the zero-radius turning (really like it!), but
>> I have
>> > experienced one problem.  I got to working it pretty hard last week
>> > and experienced an increasingly loud growl (not the blades).
>>  It got
>> > worse and finally just wouldn't go.  The motors are sealed.  The
>> > problem was the hydraulic oil in the sealed units got so hat it
>> > started cavitating--fomed up).  I let it sit for a day to cool off
>> > and it was fine.  The mechanics had never experienced it
>> before.  I
>> > like the concept of zero-turn but if I had it to do over I'd
>> by a
>> > Toro zero mower.   JOhn W.
>> >
>>
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