3 acres. Recommend a mower for new homeowner

[bubbatime]

I just bought a house in central Florida on 3 acres. The land is completely cleared with only a few trees and fences here and there. I am in the market for a new mower. I've heard of Dixie Chopper, Scag, exmark, and Bad Boy to name a few. What would you guys recommend for a first mower. I figure it will take about 2 hours per week during the summer and about 2 hours per month during the winter to mow. I realize that this is not much use for a machine and a commercial unit should last a long time with this much use. I am very good with maintenance. I have lots of tools and can do all the basic maintenance such as belts, blades, oil changes.

What would you guys recommend for my situation? I'm thinking a Scag Freedom Z or similiar would be the ticket.

I have also thought of doing a few residential accounts, maybe 5-10, for a few extra spending dollars. I have a good job and only work 14 days a month so I have a lot of days off.

[ed2hess]

I don't have one but I run Scag and that unit looks good enough to do the size yard you have. I am sure it will do fine if maintained.

[bren]

I really wanted to like the Freedom Z, but found the ergonomics to be terrible. I couldn't figure out where to put my feet, and couldn't get the seat in a comfortable spot so I could operate the foot pedal and the control levers full forward and reverse.

[Jayhox]

I have a 61" Ferris which I love.

My advice would be to have various dealers let you test drive different brands and deck widths. Do your homework on the specs, but then see which one you like best for the price. That's what I did, and I ended up buying a different one (Ferris) than I expected (I thought Ex-Mark was the one for me). You won't know that until you test drive it.

[IMAGE]

depends how much $$ your looking to spend, and if your stuck on needing new. A used commercial 60" ZTR for $3k... and you'll be done in an hour.