MOWERS: The Big Zero

Paul Rauch readily attests that the advent of the commercial-grade zero-turn mower not only has been one of the most productive advancements in lawn maintenance technology, but it has had a significant impact on his mowing operations.
 
Three years ago, Rauch, the vice president of Wildrose Lawncare in Lutz, Fla., added a 60-inch zero-turn to his three-man mowing crew and the impact on jobsite efficiency was almost immediately noticeable.
 
“We tend to high-end residential clients,” Rauch says. “With the zero-turn we get the site cut quickly and have the freedom to make the property look really good for our client.”
 
Compared to the walk-behind mowers they previously used exclusively, the zero-turn was easy to drive and maneuver around a residential yard and it made a high-quality cut. Likewise, the machine’s speed and durability, along with its engine’s fuel efficiency, allowed for more consistent use and required less downtime throughout the day. But besides the mechanical advantages, the zero-turn mower was able to assist Rauch’s maintenance crew in building up a decisive advantage over mow-and-blow competitors. “It’s cut my mowing time in half,” he says. “I’m then able to spend more time on detail work, which is what distinguishes my company from the competition.”
 
On average, Rauch spends one hour on a residential jobsite. Prior to adding the zero-turn, mowing occupied upwards of 40 minutes of that time, with the rest devoted to pulling weeds and pruning. With the addition of the zero-turn, the average mowing time is now only 15 minutes, he says. “With the zero-turn I was able to switch to charging per labor hour instead of by square footage because my clients saw how much more they were getting from my crew in that hour we were on the site,” he says. “I was then able to increase my fees by 20 percent and my customers were OK with that because they see how much gets done in that hour.” 
 
Ask most contractors what they favor and they respond there’s not much not to like about zero-turn mowers?
 
Zero-turn mowers are true to their name. Pivoting on a single spot by a pair of levers that control turning, acceleration and breaking, zero-turn mowers can revolve 10 times before a standard mower can make a single revolution. Designed to be more maneuverable and faster than standard commercial cutters, and comparable in cost to the large walk-behind units, landscape contractors have come to rely on zero-turn technology to get their mowing jobs done faster, with less downtime and without sacrificing jobsite quality.
 
Mowing can be a cut-throat environment, and competition is one of the biggest obstacles a landscape contractor faces.
 
“In mowing, there’s always someone else out there who is willing to do the same job for less,” says Ken Raney, advertising manager for Hesston, Kan.-based Hustler Turf Equipment. “This challenge is for the contractor to figure out ways he can do the job for less, yet still be profitable. Most times this means finding a machine that will allow the contractor to be competitive, yet make him money. The zero-turn mower is that machine.”

ZERO HISTORY. Early versions of the zero-turn mower bear little resemblance to the modern-day machines zipping around commercial business parks and residential backyards.
 
Original models from the 1960s were chain-driven and, while effective in concept, they developed a reputation for poor reliability, high maintenance costs and being predominately a cutter for flat surfaces.
 
Manufacturers, seeing the untapped potential in the machines, began to focus zero-turn evolution on in-the-field performance. For example, the addition of independent suspension provided protection from abuse and increased contractor comfort.
 
Subsequent generations of zero-turn mowers featured models with lower centers of gravity and more even weight distribution. Both advancements proved to be key for the machine because operators could now attack hillside jobs more effectively and efficiently.
 
In additions, manufacturers began to turn toward diesel engines to provide users with greater fuel efficiency, durability and torque, which beefed up mowing and mulching in less-than-ideal conditions.
 
By the late 1980s, manufacturers cite the evolution towards an enclosed final drive as a distinct advancement in zero-turn mower technology. For landscape contractors, this advancement meant they no longer had to be concerned about chain adjustment because a connection exists from the drive to the transmission.
 
In terms of its development, the zero-turn mower is constantly changing. For example, the addition of liquid-cooled electronic fuel injection in some models – similar to engine technology in trucks and automobiles – provides contractors with a cooler-running machine that results in a longer-lasting, more fuel-efficient engine.
 
With recent generations of zero-turn mowers manufacturers have turned their attention towards durability to address contractor concerns about downtime. For example, many manufacturers began constructing zero-turn mowing decks with high-strength steel for less wear-and-tear.

TIME IS MONEY. Downtime is a landscape contractor’s biggest bane as they try to become more productive business owners. So how are zero-turn mowers increasing productivity and reducing downtime for contractors?
 
Joe Porta, vice president of sales at Canete Landscape & Garden in Wayne, N.J., says without zero-turn mowers, his maintenance crews could not compete against other outfits for the high-end commercial properties that they specialize in.
 
Each of Canete Landscape’s three-to-five-man commercial lawn maintenance crews is equipped with a 36-inch, a 48-inch and a 52-inch zero-turn mower. The company’s management philosophy is to equip each crew with the right tools for a variety of landscape challenges, Porta says.
 
For example, if a jobsite has a sloping area, a 36-inch zero-turn is the more feasible choice, Porta says. However, if a commercial property has fenced-in areas, than the smaller, 36-inch zero-turn is the more economical choice because it can more easily enter and exit these tight areas, he says. “It’s good to have variety to deal with the different cutting situations you’ll encounter,” he points out. “All together, these three are the right combination of tools to allow us to do our job quickly and efficiently on each jobsite.”
 
Speed, Porta says, is one major asset a commercial-grade zero-turn mower brings to the job. “With zero-turns we’ve been able to cut the amount of time we’re on a jobsite by half,” he says, compared to belt-driven standard riding mowers. “Cutting the time we’re on site has allowed us to be more competitive in a very tight marketplace. Zero-turns have allowed us to knock 5 percent off of our mowing price and still remain profitable.”
 
Zero-turn mowers offer landscape contractors machines packed with horsepower. This translates to faster ground speeds and increased productivity. Together they are the core of the attraction to zero-turn mowers because the faster an operator can cruise over the surface the quicker he can complete a job and the more mowing that individual or crew can do in a day. A mower with a 72-inch deck typically comes equipped with a minimum of a 27- to 30-horsepower gasoline-powered engine, Raney says.
 
Raney warns, though, that while contractors say they want more horsepower and operational speeds faster than 15 mph, there are significant drawbacks. For example, more horsepower requires a bigger engine and larger engines increase the sticker price of the zero-turn mower.
 
“At some point, you’re not gaining any more efficiency and you’re just increasing your overall costs,” Raney says. “No contractor wants to increase his costs and not be able to make it on the jobsite.”
 
This is because with the current technology, a zero-turn mower traveling faster than 12 to 15 mph doesn’t always make consistent or quality cuts, Raney says.
 
“At high speeds the deck bounces and the mower begins to make an inconsistent cut,” he says. “A poor cut increases client dissatisfaction with your job or forces you to return and cut those areas again, which takes away from a contractor’s efficiency.”
 
But if effective quality mowing has a speed threshold, then what is the advantage to the contractor for having a fast machine? Bob Laurin, engineering and research and development manager for Munnsville, N.Y.-based Ferris Industries, says many lawn maintenance outfits may be tending to long stretches of green – large residential yards or extensive commercial sites – and they may be prohibited to where they can park their truck and trailer. A fast zero-turn mower allows the operator to get to and from various jobsite areas quickly, reducing downtime.
 
“You’ll most likely not want to mow at those speeds,” Laurin says. “Most manufacturers will tell contractors that those higher speeds are transportation speeds.”

USE AND RELIABILITY. Other keys to the zero-turn allure are versatility, durability and reliability.
 
To boost on-site efficiency, Rauch prefers to equip his zero-turn with a mulching blade, which eliminates the need for a bag and reduces the amount of post-mowing clean-up required when using a side-discharge shoot.
 “I believe the mulching blade on a zero-turn makes a much better cut on the grass, which overtime leads to a healthier lawn,” Rauch says. “Mulching may require you to operate the zero-turn at a slower speed than if you were bagging or using the side-discharge shoot, but that reduction in speed makes you more aware of where you are on the lawn and results in a better quality of cut.”
 
The zero-turn’s unique suspension and hydraulic system work in concert to improve mowing in otherwise adverse conditions, such as a wet landscape, Porta says.
 
“With a standard mower you’re mowing operations are down if there are wet conditions, which puts you behind schedule and forces you to hope the weather turns so you can play catch-up,” he says. “But a zero-turn allows you to manage those conditions and mow effectively when the surface is wet.”
 
A zero-turn suspension also ensures a superior quality of cut, Laurin says. Without a decent suspension system the zero-turn’s operator will take a physical beating on an uneven surface, Laurin says.
 
“The suspension allows your deck to float along with the zero-turns tires to provide a consistent cut,” he says. “That is going to increase your efficiency with the mower.”
 
However, the most efficient and effective zero-turn mower won’t amount to much if it needs constant servicing, Raney says.
 
“A quality, well-built zero-turn mower is not going to have a lot of downtime for maintenance and repairs,” Raney says. This is a key factor to landscape contractors, he adds, because they’re not hampered by inactivity waiting for their mower to be repaired, or worse, stuck on a jobsite with a broken zero-turn.”
 
Most zero-turns can take a beating, Porta says. “When contractors talk about a manufacturer’s name and reputation they’re talking about durability and reliability,” he says. “With a quality zero-turn you’re running seven to eight hours a day without problems.
 
In seeking the correct zero-turn, contractors should keep in mind what they need the machine to do, Porta says. “The guys are on the jobsite to cut lawns,” Porta says. ”And that’s what that mower needs to do for them in the most effective and efficient fashion possible.”
 
However, before they can become workhorses for mowing, zero-turn mowers need to be applied to a mowing operation, contractors say. And that comes down to their ease of use. “Sometimes manufacturers can get too carried away with the bells and whistles they add to newer models,” Raney says. “Often these can make the machines seem complicated, which intimidates contractors into not wanting to learn how to use the machines, or worse, even trying it.
 
“However, good zero-turns are simple machines,” Raney adds. “And people who run the equipment on a regular basis will tell you that they find the equipment easy to use and learned to use it and become productive on it fairly quickly.”

FUTURE ZERO-TURNS. Manufacturers says future advancements in zero-turn technology come down to contractor needs.
 
Contractors request future models be equipped with even more powerful engines to make mulching more efficient and to improve suction and vacuum actions when cutting.
 
And with summer fuel prices expected to reach record heights, contractors and manufacturers say they expect future zero-turn innovations to include more efficient components and alternative-fuel engines.
 
It’s no doubt that zero-turn riding mowers will continue to evolve into smaller, faster, more maneuverable and efficient cutting machines. But of all of these components, whether it be a more sophisticated engine or a specialized fuel tank, “the fancier they get the more they’re going to cost to produce,” Laurin says. “And  an outdoor equipment manufacturer can’t continue to absorb those costs, so they’ll be passed on to the end user.”