New member seeking honest input on the john deee z910

[Jimslawncareservice]

Originally Posted by Ridin' Green

Does to me.

They already have a ton of parts inventory to support a unit with that engine. I think it'd sell well, especially with the downgrade in HP rating numbers on gassers. That 18 HP diesel would be perfect with the 48" deck, and run the 54'' probably just about as well. Can you imagine the fuel economy if they made the thing around 1000-1100 lbs?

It wouldn't use hardly any. My 1445 with a 60" goes around 15 hours without filling up.

What I meant was it sounds simple, until you get the lousy people at deere and other brands to make and release a mower like that. I just don't get the mentality of the mower manufactures these days.

Build a 2,000lb mower. Make it ride rough as Hell. And it uses 2 gallons of gas per hour. Having a diesel like the one you mentioned, would save us 50%-75% in fuel savings.
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[Ridin' Green]

....and, it wasn't that much heavier than the Kawi LQ gas engine of equal HP they used in the later 335/345 series.


I knew that was what you meant Jim. I was just expanding on it a bit.

[LawnCareNoobie]

Originally Posted by Jimslawncareservice

But they don't make that frame anymore. I know of 2 companies ran between 6-8 each of the 717's. Not sure what they have now. I just don't understand why manufactures need to make a weigh 1500lbs and rising.
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I'm aware of that. It's too bad really. I don't know why these machines are getting heavier either. But I can see where some of it is coming from. I think the frame of the new Deere is lighter weight, but it's the cast iron castor arms/forks and that heavy bumper on the back that gives it a lot of extra weight. Solid castor tires vs pneumatic.Then you have 11 gallons of fuel which adds around another 66 lbs (approx 6lbs gal), then the operators own weight on top. There's also the ROPs which wasn't standard on machines back in the day. Add it up and you get a much heavier machine.

[Ridin' Green]

Originally Posted by LawnCareNoobie

I'm aware of that. It's too bad really. I don't know why these machines are getting heavier either. But I can see where some of it is coming from. I think the frame of the new Deere is lighter weight, but it's the cast iron castor arms/forks and that heavy bumper on the back that gives it a lot of extra weight. Solid castor tires vs pneumatic.Then you have 11 gallons of fuel which adds around another 66 lbs (approx 6lbs gal), then the operators own weight on top. There's also the ROPs which wasn't standard on machines back in the day. Add it up and you get a much heavier machine.

Glad to see you posting again LCN

I agree with most of what you just said except for the part about the frame. The C channel frame is really quite massive/heavy duty on both the 700 and 900 series (same exact frame inspite of what deere says in its literature. I have owned each and compared and measured them SXS. I'd bet good money that it actually weighs more than the smaller boxed frames on the earlier 700's.

[LawnCareNoobie]

Originally Posted by Ridin' Green

Glad to see you posting again LCN

I agree with most of what you just said except for the part about the frame. The C channel frame is really quite massive/heavy duty on both the 700 and 900 series (same exact frame inspite of what deere says in its literature. I have owned each and compared and measured them SXS. I'd bet good money that it actually weighs more than the smaller boxed frames on the earlier 700's.

Thanks, Glad to be back. Good to know that the newer frame is heavier. Too me, it just doesn't look that way. I thought maybe they made a lighter frame that's just as strong if not stronger. I'm just used to seeing the regular square tube style frames. lol

[Ridin' Green]

Originally Posted by LawnCareNoobie

Thanks, Glad to be back. Good to know that the newer frame is heavier. Too me, it just doesn't look that way. I thought maybe they made a lighter frame that's just as strong if not stronger. I'm just used to seeing the regular square tube style frames. lol

The steel C channel is about a 1/4" thick, and it is about 8" tall, growing in size to about 10"- maybe 12" tall at the rear. It's definately stout and stiff.

Go to this link and and scroll down towards the middle of the page and look at the "tour" of the 900. Click on the dot at the bottom below the picture 7th from the left and take a look at the frame itself-

http://www.deere.com/wps/dcom/en_US/...00_series.page

[LawnCareNoobie]

Originally Posted by Ridin' Green

The steel C channel is about a 1/4" thick, and it is about 8" tall, growing in size to about 10"- maybe 12" tall at the rear. It's definately stout and stiff.

Go to this link and and scroll down towards the middle of the page and look at the "tour" of the 900. Click on the dot at the bottom below the picture 7th from the left and take a look at the frame itself-

http://www.deere.com/wps/dcom/en_US/...00_series.page

Yes, I've seen it on the website. Don't forget I own a 925A. I have no doubt about it's strength. I don't think that Deere would make a frame that's weaker than prior models and it's competition. I just thought it would be lighter in weight that's all.

[Ridin' Green]

See what happens when you stop posting for a while? I end up forgetting all that info? LOL

Actually, I didn't remember that you had a 900 mower. I thought that you had run only the previous 700 series mowers for someone, somewhere, for a living for a while, and still owned one of them.

[LawnCareNoobie]

Originally Posted by Ridin' Green

See what happens when you stop posting for a while? I end up forgetting all that info? LOL

Actually, I didn't remember that you had a 900 mower. I thought that you had run only the previous 700 series mowers for someone, somewhere, for a living for a while, and still owned one of them.

I have two 727A's and a 925A. I used to have a 757 but I traded that in for the 925. I have a picture of my 925A in another thread. Don't remember which one but here it is. I also run an 820A at work (groundskeeper). So a bit of experience on different models.

[Ridin' Green]

Originally Posted by LawnCareNoobie

I have two 727A's and a 925A. I used to have a 757 but I traded that in for the 925. I have a picture of my 925A in another thread. Don't remember which one but here it is. I also run an 820A at work (groundskeeper). So a bit of experience on different models.

I remembered that pic as soon as I saw it. I also commented in your thread how it looked so nice and new. See what happens when you get older? You get a severe case of CRS.