Gas vs Diesel in a Mower?

[BillH]

I will be buying a Grasshopper zero turn mower in the next week or so, and am undecided between gas and diesel.



Whichever, I intend for it to last for a number of years, and it should, as I am very finicky about maintenance on all my equipment.



Have any of you had any experience with diesel mowers vs gas?

If so, what are your thoughts? Is it worth the extra cost? which is $1000. 00. Will be mowing 3 acres, and have a number of pine trees.



Any and all thughts appreciated. TIA



BillH

 

[Gizmo 007]

That's kind of a toughy. With only 3 acres, a gasoline would do the job. On a smaller mower, the vibration of a small diesel engine normally tends to shake the mower apart. Granted, small diesel engines usually don't give any trouble, unlike a gasoline (spark plugs / carbuerators).



DOn't get me wrong, I'm a diesel junky... but in this case, I'd say go for the gasoline... it's lighter and a little less fatiguing (from the vibration). With proper care and routine maintenance, the gas engine should give good service for many years.

 

[HoleshotHolset]

That's a no brainer.



DIESEL !!!!!



Seriously - all the good things you love about your Cummins transfer right on over to the little diesels.



FWIW: Kubota makes the nicest little diesels... . so does Deere.



It's only a grand... . a ZTR mower isn't cheap to begin with... . so the extra grand is money in the bank in the long run.



Matt

 

[Doc Tinker]

Bill



The diesel Grasshopper the school district has is a good machine. It's held up well and the diesel never is any trouble. Part of that is because there is only one guy who uses it and he does most of the maintenance on it.



We used to have a diesel Toro that was junk within two years. Some of the problems with that stemmed from multiple users who didn't care about the machine, but the same people operated other machinery that have lasted for years.



I had the Toro's engine apart two or three times, but the engine on the Grasshopper has never been opened up. I think the Grasshopper has been around for five or six years and it's used six to eight hours a day, from May to October.



Doc

 

[bighammer]

Figure you might use it 20-25 times per year and then it sits for 6-7 months. If it were used A LOT more often, on a much bigger area I think the diesel would be a worthwhile consideration.



As much as I like diesel stuff, if it were me, I'd go with the gasser.

 

[Philip]

Check the auto/heavy equipment trader type mags in your region and see what the price difference is between the two on a used bases. The diesel holds the better resale I bet.



How long do you plan to use or keep this. Will you be trading it in on a regular bases? If you trade in the 5 year range. The gasser might be better. But if you plan on running it forever. I would go diesel.

 

[dseabaugh]

we have a Toro 223D mower to mow our 3 acre yard. 23 hp Mitsubishi diesel, 6ft deck. Mows it all in 3 hours. had 455 John Deere diesel, Smokled a lot and took 8 hours. Prior to that had a Cub Cadet with 20 hp Kohler. , also took 8 hours. Cub sucked down about 10 to 12 Gallons of gas to mow lawn. Toro will mow yard 4 times on 6 gallons of diesel. My wife loves her Toro. Go with a Commercial mower and forget the gas. . Almost 2800 trouble free hours out of the Toro. They use same motor in Mitsubishi forklifts that will run up to 10,000 hours. Oo.

 

[bmoeller]

Originally posted by HoleshotHolset

That's a no brainer.



DIESEL !!!!!



FWIW: Kubota makes the nicest little diesels... . so does Deere.



Matt

The small diesels in the Deere mowers(or at least the small utility tractors) are/were Yanmar engines. Haven't used one I didn't like. Boss's grandparents have a '80 Deere 850 diesel tractor. Less than 1300 hrs. Still like new.

 

[HoleshotHolset]

I didn't realize that JD used them, but the Yanmar stuff I have heard about has been super reliable.



I still want to get one of those little tiny 3-cylinder diesels out of a reefer unit - just to play with.



Matt

 

[d90boy]

My JD 4310 I just bought has the 3cyl Yanmar in it. Anyone know how to turn the pump up on it?

 

[illflem]

On the little JDs the entire tractor is made by Yanmar, in fact you can buy the same tractor in a color other than JD green for much less. My 970 starts at -10F without the glow plugs, good rig.

 

[Ncostello]

Just dont buy Dixie Chopper Diesels... they tend to be too heavy to tow with Dodge Cummins Trucks!!

 

[Ncostello]

Another shot. Note: This was not my 2500 Diesel. This is the gent who cuts the grass here at work. He took off and got about 1/2 mile away when his trailer fishtailed and took him for a 180 degree ride. I tried to buy me a cheap mower right on the spot but he wasn't too interested at the time