An acre-and-a-half is plenty to take care of, but IMO, a 54” - 60” ZT is overkill, unless time is an issue, then something like that makes perfect sense. I have 3 acres and a JD X350 tractor-type mower. It’s got a 48” deck, plenty of power with an 18.5 hp Kawasaki engine, and there are a couple of rather steep hills on our property.

My Dad kept chewing up good quality riders. I finally talked him into a Zero Turn and he had no problem making the transition. The secret to ZTs is the quality of the drives. Every brand has three to five levels of drives. Buy the best you can afford. The deck depends on how rough and rolling your ground is, but sixty inch is a very good compromise. We went with Bad Boy and have been pleased but it is because we have a very strong dealer in this area

Use what most of the commercial guys in your area use. That way you are guaranteed to find parts and service if needed. Around here that would be Toro. My brother switched his crews to 36” Toro Grandstands, cuts as much grass as a conventional 48” ZT in the same amount of time.

I have a half acre and a toro 42 inch zero turn. Great mower and makes quick work if the yard. My neighbor bought a John deer z345 42 inch for his yard. I like both of them, but given a redo, I would get the John Deere just for the mulching kit flexibility. My mulching kit can’t be on and off easily, but the John deer can easily be flipped to mulch or open quickly. Both are great machines and will work for your needs. Both have been problem free for 3 years now and can be purchased for under 3k.

Well, we have just under 5 acres, but only started mowing all of it the last couple years. Initially just mowed about 2 acres. Got a zero turn Hustler Super Z back in 2007. It is one of the sturdiest, well built mowers I’ve ever seen. And we have rough ground, not well manicured and it’s handled it all. They are pricey, but well worth it. Have only had to replace a belt and the clutch just recently, after all these years.
Another brand we just heard about is Bad Boy mowers, was gonna check them out if we wanted another mower, heard they have an improved suspension, better for uneven ground. But the Hustler is awesome.

Residential lot here and finally retired a 35yrold yard tractor/mower in 2015 replacing it with a small gravely 34inch ZTR mower.. cut my cutting time almost in half due to time not lost with turning manurvers and foward to reverse movements. 2016 a major flood event (41inches) covered up the ztr but was able to dry out and get it running again myself and did not have to pay the dealer at least $400 to have dealer service...... Possibly look for commerical grade machine because of the way are built for rough service... Yes they cost more but cheaper maybe in their usefull lifetime. ...Only had to replace the deck drive belt and blades early last summer................................... drill sgt.

I have a Cub Cadet dealer and service center in town. I have a CC XT3 with a 50" deck. I mow 3/4 acre, and have a snowblower for the winter - my drive is 100 yards long. It's my second CC, my first I bought in 2007, a 2544 with shaft drive, and passed it on to my son on 2018 when I got the XT3.

I would not buy from a chain store, but I have no complaints with my machines.

I have several friends that have Bad Boy Mowers and they have been extremely happy with them.

I mow roughly 4 acres and I have a Cub Cadet LTX1050 with a Kawasaki motor and I have been very pleased with it. I purchased it new in 2012 and aside from some pulley replacements and normal wear and tear fixes, it has been a great mower. As it is getting on in years I expect I'll be replacing it this spring and I'll be getting another CC probably a ZT in a model yet to be determined, but with a Kawasaki motor.

Well here's my story and I'm stickin" to it. Started out with John Deere's when I had one property to mow, 36" tractor that when on and on!

Then I bought the property next to me, increasing mowing size by 2/3's. Decided to buy a Cub Cadet 48"Tank ZT like my cousin's. Wrong move!! We both had shit luck with them, both over a $1000 dollars worth of repairs in the first 2 years!!

Should have listened to my B-I-L and gone with his suggestion of staying Green as his business is Lawncare.

Old enough now that I hire it done for way less than it used to cost me!!

We have 1.2 acres and I have mowed it for the last 20 years. First a John Deere 42" Lowes mower, then a John Deere 48" twin cylinder Koehler.

The last mower I bought was a 50" Toro zero turn with a 23HP Kawasaki. All three were good.

If I were to buy another, I would go 60" and buy the most HP in Kawasaki or Koehler made. Some Zero Turn speeds go from about 5mph to about 10 mph, get more speed.

IMO, divide the cut width by HP and buy the smallest result.

House 1 nixed. Just too small to make work for us.

Looked at another today & put in an offer.
Cheaper & 5 acres of unrestricted/no HOA land.

Plan is to borrow a tractor & bush hog to clear the overgrown parts, then invest in what we need to maintain it. Thinking back to a more traditional style mini tractor that can take accessories that could come in handy down the road.

Update:
We're under contract on a house with about 1/2 acre.
I've since sold off my AWD Husqvarna gas mower & thinking of going electric this time.
We'll be putting in a pool eventually, so that'll reduce the total yard to mow.

At the moment, from some brief browsing & seeing some of the former recommendations here, I'm looking at the EGO & Ryobi 21" models.

EGO POWER+ Select Cut XP
RYOBI 40V HP 21 in. Whisper Series All Wheel Drive Multi-Blade

The Ryobi is AWD, and comes with 2 batteries
For the same price the EGO is RWD, and only has 1 battery.

On that alone, the Ryobi is the more appealing option.
I had a Ryobi electric pressure washer & was happy with it. Only took it back because the surface cleaner stopped working & it was a pkg deal, so the whole thing had to be returned.

Currently, I'm not tied to any mfg. My battery drills are Bosch, but long term could see adding more outdoor tools, since my old edger & blower both died. Still have my Stihl 2-stroke trimmer though.

So, with that all said, which is your preference for an electric outdoor tool 'family'?
EGO
Ryobi
Other

Thanks

I've got the Ego with one battery (plus a couple of smaller ones that will work with it if need be) and it is very good. Love it. Very light and easy to use. My brother tried it when I first bought it and liked it so much he got one also. It will easily do a half acre on the single battery.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
The Ryobi is AWD, and comes with 2 batteries
For the same price the EGO is RWD, and only has 1 battery.
Thanks

Ego will actually have more power available in its 1 battery vs the 2 Ryobi.
Ryobi - 40V 6Ah = 240W-h X 2 = 480W-h
Ego 56V 10Ah = 560W-h

No experience with push mowers, but I would rate Ego performance & build quality above Ryobi in general & in lawn equipment in specific.
Ryobi is probably easier for warranty/repair/service. Last time is was in HD, they no longer had Ego in store. Looks like they switched to Lowes.
Ego is likely also more expensive overall - so if Ryobi gets it done, the extra of Ego may not matter.
If you have other Ryobi 40V gear, I'd buy that. If you don't, Ego is a great choice. Blower, weed eater & 16" chainsaw have been excellent. I think the blower is 5yo & it's battery had a failure last year, but I was able to find a transistor that failed, replace it & the battery is working again. I can tell it doesn't have the same power as the newer 2.5A-h that I have, but it works fine for what I use it for.

Someone mentioned the Ego zero-turn. I looked at one at Lowes a few months ago & it is nowhere near the machine compared to my Hustler Fastrack, Thin, stamped deck, plastic everywhere & just doesn't look like it would hold up to what I use it for. Definitely wouldn't be good to pull aerator with weights. It was interesting until I saw one live. Might be fine for ~1acre, flat yard but I likely would destroy it in a couple years. I haven't priced mowers in 11 years, but it doesn't seem like it would be much cheaper than a comparable hustler if it is at all. I think I paid $4800 in 2011 with 0% for 2years.

Update:
Bought the AWD Ryobi

HD had a pkg deal that had the RWD Ryobi mower & blower packaged together with 2 batteries & 1 charger.

I ended up buying the separately, which got me 4 batteries (2x 6ah & 2x 4ah) and 2 chargers.
It ended up being 'cheaper' this way by about $150, if you factor in buying the 2 extra batteries & charger separately.

Charged all 4 batteries Saturday & got the mower out yesterday morning.

First impressions, very quiet, compared to my former Husqvarna gas mower.
Took a few minutes to get it set up how I wanted it, then was cruising. Do wish the self-propel speed was a bit higher.

Mower has on-the-fly AWD. I kept it in RWD the majority of the time & used the AWD for my steep-ish ditch.

Went through both 6ah batteries & about half of one of the 4ah.
Could probably do it on just the 6ah next time, now that I have it all figured out.