Does anyone on here use a Bob-Cat ZTR???

[SMB]

I have seen lots of disscussions on eXmark, Toro, Dixie Chopper, Scag, etc. but hardly any posts or anything on Bob-Cat ZTRs. In my opinion, our Textron Bob-Cat ZT219 ain't half bad! We've only had this machine since August and 76 hours, so what do we look out for failing on this machine?
Generally, my threads only get about 2 replys, so I'd be delighted to get 5!

[brandy]

Great machine 1650 hours two flat tires and one belt replaced. Bet you guys with the dixie choppers and exmarts can't compare to that!!!!!

[HOMER]

I bet we can--and in that same 1650 hrs we have cut twice the amount of grass!

:p

[Dave]

Originally posted by HOMER
I bet we can--and in that same 1650 hrs we have cut twice the amount of grass!

:p
I always thought 1650 hrs on a machine was 1650 hours I kinda dout you could cut twice the amount of grass in the same time,esp,if your machine had a 25 hp command.lets get real now

[jeffyr]

2 of them for sale on ebay right now !!!

[Greenman2ooo]

We have outdone ourselves since I am the sixth post to this thread.:)

I have never owner a Bobcat, but have heard nothing but good about them. I too wonder how one mower with 60" cut traveling at X miles an hour cuts twice as much as another brand 60" at that same speed?

I see most manufacturers have blade tip speeds above 18,000 fpm and DC is 19,000. Does a 3-4% increase in blade tip speed make a world of difference in finished cut and cutting speed? I felt the Exmark and Toro did as nice a job as the DC and were equally productive. Maybe I missed something when I demoed the DC the first time???



[Edited by Greenman2ooo on 01-19-2001 at 08:40 PM]

[HOMER]

Could have!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Try it again.

[Ocutter]

I was wondering about Bobcats too. Not the factthat they are great machines but what others here use them. Round here theres at least 1 bobcat on everyones trailer

[SMB]

YAHOO! 7 replies! :D I think that the blade speed is about 16500 FPM on our ZT219. This thing's heavy, too! I have it jacked up (to change a tire) with a scissor jack from a Tieyotee (Toyota) Camry and I had an awful time turning the crank on the jack! (Of course that's jacking up the whole side of the Bobcat.) In the manual it says it weighs 1025 with the 25 Kohler and 61" deck, so mine prob. weighs about 950.

[JML]

i have a zt219 with about 800 hours on it, excellent machine..

[John DiMartino]

Every trailer around here has t least one too.A dixie cant cut twice the grass,the DC is a 60",the ransomes a 61" the top speed is within 1 mph-the diffeence is there,but very,very small.The ransomes is definetely built heavier duty than my DC,no question about it.The rear is also boxed,so if you back into something,or something hits it on the trailer,it wont break the intake off the engine or damage the muffler,nice extra thought.I broke the intake right off my 50"DC,very easily.

[SMB]

The Bobcats definately have a rugged cage on the back. Also, the price tag is much lower than a Dixie or Scag. ANY ZTR is very rare around here, we live in John Deere territory! I can't believe it, 10 replies! ;)

[Greenman2ooo]

I have Toro, Exmark, and Dixie Chopper dealers in my area. All of them have the fastest mower with the best finish cut, if you ask them. I may make every last one of them run their equipment to prove it to me!

I am guessing that John is onto something. If the machines deliver equal cutting quality at equal speed, there is no difference in production.

I have not heard anyone say they bought a Dixie Chopper and cut their time in half over a zero turning radius mid-mount ZTR of another brand. I don't feel front mounts and three wheel riders are fair comparisons to a DC since we already know that they are slightly less productive, if for no other reason than they have slower top speeds and less maneuverability.

I'm not saying it isn't possible a DC is faster than some competitors mid-mounts, just that when I hear productivity comparisons, they are generally not comparing machines with the same horsepower and top speeds.

Obviously, you can mow more grass at 12 mph than at 10 mph. But, if you are comparing a DC Model that does 10 mph to another brand capable of cutting at that speed, there would be little or no difference in production, other than a difference in operators.

Are manufacturers being dishonest about their machine's top speeds or are some people comparing apples and oranges??? I think the DC's have many other reasons that they are great machines, I just wonder if increased production is one of the reasons?

[HOMER]

I own a 48" Scag SST, this is the model before the Turf Tiger. I also own a 50" Chopper. Sure the Chopper has a faster top end, but beyond that I can out cut the Scag because of the smoother ride and the speed from 0 to whatever the terrain allows me to go. The terrain on my Scag, if rough, will beat the living daylights out of you where the Chopper won't resulting in higher productivity. The width of cut is only 2" more on the Chopper but I will not hesitate to put them side by side and make a comparison. The Choppers gonna win even if I could make the Scag run as fast or the Chopper slow down to equal the speed of the Chopper. Blade tip speed is important in my book because you don't want your travel speed to outrun your blades ability to cut the grass. I used to say there was no way a mower could cut grass at 10mph, I have since realized that one can cut at 13-14-or even 15 depending on the condition of the grass your mowing. I could speed my Scag up to 10mph and miss half of what I ran over because the blade tip speed isn't fast enough. The travel speed for that machine is correct for the blade tip speed. I think it's around 6.8 mph, pretty slow. So put 2 football fields side by side with perfect mowing conditions and I will have one finished and travel over to the other one and help the Scag rider finish it..............there is a difference.

[Eric ELM]

The first time a saw someone cutting with a Dixie Chopper I thought, what the heck is that idiot trying to do? There is now way you can cut going that fast.

After stopping and talking to this guy and watching it cut up close, I ended up getting one, with 3 more to follow. As Homer said, it's blade tip speed and you have to keep the blades sharp to mow at high speeds to have a good cut. I always have 2 sets of sharp blades in the truck if I need them.

Will they cut twice as much as a Lazer or what ever brand, NO. I have noticed with my 2 Choppers, one does go 2 MPH faster than the other and that 2 MPH makes a difference. If you have a big lawn where you are mowing for 1 hour, you can cut an extra 2 mile long strip (in my case 60" wide) which is an extra acre of cutting just because it's 2 MPH faster. I realize you can't always mow as fast as they will go, but areas where you can, a faster mower will shine. If 2 MPH makes this much difference, you can imagine how much 3 to 5 MPH makes.

It's all in what you like. We all think the mowers we own are the best, just like our trucks and other equipment. I know I have the best. :)

[Greenman2ooo]

Now I think I have a grasp on various mowers'production rates as well as how they relate to one another.

The only large property I currently maintain is almost impossible to measure accurately due to it's extremely irregular layout. That combined with the fact it is made up of several dozen small tracts of adjoining land and a couple of wide open areas. Also, the property has drainage ditches that are 1.5-2 acres, a pond, embankments and mowing along another drainage ditch that leads to the pond. Even more difficult, then, is trying to figure out what kind of production I would get in a wide open setting.

I need to have a little faith in the numbers I compute and keep my projected production rates conservative enough to allow for any unforseeable losses in production.

In the future, I will time myself under various conditions, make note of those conditions and keep those figures for personal use.

Also, Eric I do acknowledge the fact that even a 1 mph gain in production is significant. If I can gain 2 mph, that is approximately an acre per hour more production on a 60" ZTR. Also, DC absolutely has longevity enhancing features such as the Amsoil 1 micron filter and Donaldson air filter.

However, if we are talking 10 mph machine to 10 mph machine, I can buy a number of ZTR's at a more reasonable price and replace the engines for half the difference in price that the longevity enhancing features add to the cost of the machine. At least that is a different way I have seen of looking at it.

Now the value that the faster Dixie Choppers add in production is a different story once again, if they are able to mow at 12-15 mph! That is worth paying a couple extra thousand dollars for!