Cub Cadet
18 months in and loving the zt1 46" – When buying the cub cadet zt1 46, I had done a lot of research over all the brands including toro and hustler which were about $1000 dearer for the… Read more
equivalent. The selling point for me was the fab deck, Kawasaki motor (same as the hustler) and the serviceability. 18 months (70hours) in and I can not be happier with my decision. I have lots of trees who's sticks I run over and a riverbank that was covered in 5ft tall river reeds. I have since cleared a significant portion of said river reeds by running my mower into them repeatedly for hours and hours. I've also hit a concrete pit cover at decent speed with the deck and caused no damage. I can honestly say I have abused this mower and not had any problems. The serviceability of this mower is like nothing else. No plastic covers to damage or pull off. I can lift the air filter cover to check it with ease, wash all the grass out from around the engine. The oil drain plug is off a hose that has good access. The wheel releases are easy to get to. The deck adjustments are on the frame and are easily used. Also I was using a hustler 52" before this and when you filled the petrol tank you would have to wait for it to feed into the second half of the tank. On this you can just pour it in until full and chuck the lid on. Really happy I took the chance with getting a cub cadet although the older models have had issues. They have stepped there quality up in recent years and I would highly recommend.
This thing is a beast!! – After much research for a versatile zero turn that could handle hills safely, we decided on the cub cadet Z Force SX48 zero turn . And it’s an… Read more
absolute beast…. The Kawasaki engine is so powerful it drives through higher grass than expected with no power drop off. We are on a steepish hilly area of an acre that is very tricky but due to the design this eats it up!! The front wheels turn with the zero turn back wheels via a steering wheel not levers. This makes steering far more accurate and safe and the front wheels grip the surface allowing for safer incline mowing. Normal lever steering on zero turns has like shopping trolley wheels that don’t do much…. The steering on the Z force grip far better, allowing a safer ride. Seat is so comfortable also with side arms to rest on. Starts easier first time. This Z Force has dual tanks…. Sooo good, switch over is easy and this feature almost sells it alone. Deck is fabricated and includes a hose connector for cleaning. If you are looking for a tough tough zero turn that can climb inclines then this is it. Well done Cub Cadet just brilliant.
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Purchase in 2021 and has been in the service center for 80% of the time. Keeps failing with the same error message E228, I wanted Cub Cadet to do something about it and they refused Stay away from this company
you've been warned – Had a Toro for 20 years , great machine. Had to replace it at start of covid and couldn't get another Toro so went with a Cub Cadet. Same usage and 3 yrs the machine is F@#ked. And Cub walk away from Warranty . Don't buy one
Incredible for Slopes & Trees – Disclaimer: I have only done 3.1 hours on it but I am already incredibly impressed (I will be back with an update once I've broken it in a little… Read more
more).
I live on 2.5 acres with approx. 2 acres of lawns. The block is quite sloped on average about 12 degrees with some sections that max out at about 23 degrees. When we bought bought the house it came with a Husqvarna TS242. It did the job but always felt a bit precarious on the steeper sections. I would mow up and down the steeper slope (drive up, reverse down). It recently started playing up so I decided to look into getting something more suited to the sloping block.
Was originally looking into buying a 4WD mower but didn't have a spare $16k. Found the Cub Cadet ZTS1 and read a bunch of positive reviews. Also read loads of positive reviews on the predecessor (the RTZ S) where everyone raved about how great it was on slopes. Decided to commit - paid $8499 for it at Geelong Stihl. Far more than I wanted to spent but really the only mower available for less than $16k where it's rated for up to 20 degree slopes.
Got it home and put it straight to work. Was able to mow across the steepest slope with no trouble at all. Sections that I had not been able to get to on the Husqvarna I could get to easily which saved me loads of time (usually I'd tackle these with the push mower). Didn't feel unsafe or like it was going to let go even on the steepest sections.
What I found most impressive was how easily it can steer around trees. I guess if you're coming from a zero-turn you're already used to this but coming from the 'tractor' style mower it's been great. Again - saves me significant time as I can really get close and less follow-up with the line trimer.
In terms of finish - I am very pleased with the result. The lawn is in no way manicured but it has done a great job mulching up the clippings without leaving big clumps behind, and a relatively even finish. I was a bit worried that the smaller 8" tyres would dig into the ground (it's been very very wet here this year) but this hasn't been the case at all. No more than the 10" tyres on the Husqvarna anyway. The first mow was about a months worth of growth and it had more than enough power to manage it. It will be interesting to see how the 'Cub Cadet' motor goes over time - so far it is sufficient.
If I had to nominate any cons it'd be that it has no foot brake. So you can't really stop yourself from slowly rolling down a hill unless you steer yourself away from the decline. Also - mowing really really steep bits like the dam wall which I would have previously done in an up/down pattern are not possible given the weight is now all in the back. So I can't mow across as it's too steep but can't mow up/down as it's too back-heavy. This could be a technique issue though as opposed to a limitation of the mower. I am currently using the push mower for this section (which to be honest is very very small compared to the rest of the block which the mower can reach). For reference the dam wall is about 30 degrees.
All in all I regret not getting one sooner. So far I love it - would highly recommend to anyone where slopes are an issue especially. It's worth the expense - hopefully it lasts!
Travel of mower – The mower works well but I am on hilly terrain on inclines the mower will keep driving after you take foot off pedal so have to hit reverse to stop… Read more
it also on hills the mower stops and vibrates like chain cigs slipping have to release travel pedal to stop it then go again not good for my hilly block it’s frustrating
lasted .4 of an hour – Bought the RZT SX50 yesterday with .8 hour on it it now has 1.2 hour on it with a broken linkage. Will see how the warranty works. The .4 of an hour… Read more
it worked the ride is much rougher than my husqvarna. The cadet motor is noisier and runs rough. Bought it for the steering wheel combined with zero turn, so far a very bad decision.