New to Lawns!!

[tommybo]

I am brand new to mowing tractors having grown up in the city and now I find myself having 1.5 acres of grass to mow....so my first though is to come here and see what the pros think!

The acreage is relatively flat with a couple areas of slopes. There are some things to maneuver around...septic, well fencing, etc.

I know I want a tractor...or a zero turn...I just have no idea what is a smart buy! There are so many different kinds! Zero turn, tractor, or commercial walk behind? For what I need to do, what should I look at?

I am currently looking Ferris, Hustler, J. Deere brands...but there are so many!

What are the suggestions...first for type...then for brands!

Thanks in advance.

[MILSINC]

You can do an awful lot of work in very little time with a zero turn.. i am new to the zero turn world myself, and i'm not looking back! The look of the cut is so much better as well.. with a tractor, it is more difficult and time consuming to stripe a lawn well.

[rainman14624]

I joined the ZTR crowd a few weeks ago, and I should have made this move a long time ago. I looked at a load of different machines to cut my 2.5 acres of mainly flat lawn. I opted for the Scag Freedom Z with the much-maligned Briggs ELS 26hp. Got it for $4,799 and I'm happy as can be. I talked to the main mechanic at the local equipment dealer where I bought it, and he said I shouldn't be afraid of the Briggs now that the air intake problem has been solved (new canister filter). I can tell you it has plenty of power. I can cut the tall, thick grass over my septic tank field lines without slowing up or the engine bogging down at all. It used to take me almost four hours to cut my yard on my 42-inch cut Craftsman lawn tractor. With the 48-inch cut Freedom Z, I can cut the entire 2.5 acres in an hour and 45 minutes.