A question re a lawn tractor

[stevej37]

^^^ I think those are aimed more at the mowers with smaller cutting decks.

I used mine today for switching the blades for freshly sharpened ones and scraped some excess built -up grass off. Went good, I have a rolling seat that I use to get up close to scrape.
The chain fall takes a little time to do the lifting....I may go for an electric one to speed it up.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by Crowbob

I simply cannot abide by the single function of a ZT when I can get 10 attachments (so far) for my tractor and struggle with all kinds of machines instead of just one.

Grasshopper offers a bunch of attachments for my zt machine. A straight blade, a V-blade, snow blower, a cab, edger, bedder, sweeper, tiller, etc etc. - it's a whole lot more than "single function."

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by HobieMarty

I have used my auto ramps to get under my lawn tractor.

All I need to do to change blades or clean out the deck on my Grasshopper ZTR, is lift the foot plate out of the way and the push a switch to raise the deck. No chain fall required. Raising the deck makes it take up less space for winter storage.

[Crowbob]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

Grasshopper offers a bunch of attachments for my zt machine. A straight blade, a V-blade, snow blower, a cab, edger, bedder, sweeper, tiller, etc etc. - it's a whole lot more than "single function."

Well there ya go!

I don’t know that.

[stevej37]

This is coming tomorrow....It weighs 20 lbs. Should make the lifting faster and cleaner.

[gregpark]

All sharp, clean and ready to zip back on. Easy peasy

[stevej37]

The electric hoist arrived yesterday. I used a ladder to remove the chain hoist and clip in the electric. It has a wired and cordless remote. I put a couple batteries in and plugged the hoist in. It works smooth with no jerks. The electric hoist weighs almost the exact weight of the chain fall.
Tomorrow I'll take care of the loose wires and try it out.

[gregpark]

I'd hang it in a tree in the yard. Mower clean up is a messy business

[stevej37]

Originally Posted by gregpark

I'd hang it in a tree in the yard. Mower clean up is a messy business

I like to do that stuff in the garage. Easy to clean it up on a slippery floor.
A quick pic of the electric hoist....no more four sets of oily chains.
(temporary placement of electric wire)

[stevej37]

Enough rain to make mowing a 'twice a week' job again. Lots of grass built up under the deck and time to switch the blades. Raising the thing takes about 10 seconds and gives me plenty of room to scrape the deck and put newly sharpened blades on.

[wswartzwel]

nice set up. Looking at the guage wheels setting, you must mow your grass pretty high... They should be set so they are hovering 1/4" in the air when mowing. Not on the ground. BTW I may have a shop manual for that mower from when I was a service manager for a John Deere dealer years ago if you want it.

[stevej37]

Originally Posted by wswartzwel

nice set up. Looking at the guage wheels setting, you must mow your grass pretty high... They should be set so they are hovering 1/4" in the air when mowing. Not on the ground. BTW I may have a shop manual for that mower from when I was a service manager for a John Deere dealer years ago if you want it.

Thanks for the offer, but I picked one up off ebay years back. I had been mowing in an area for the first time and some old field fence got snagged by my mower belt tensioning rod and ripped the whole works off. That manual was needed.

I have a sticker on the deck for the gauge wheel settings in relation to the cutting height.
I cut at 3 inches now and the wheels are set to the third hole from the top. I might change the height to 3.5 inches today with the hot/dry weather coming.

.

[911 Rod]

Gotta love it when a plan comes together!

[stevej37]

Originally Posted by 911 Rod

Gotta love it when a plan comes together!

Yeah, I'm happy with it....except for one thing.
It works perfect for quickly and easily blade removal and sharpening. But the scraping part is sketchy. I didn't take into account how much force is used for dried caked on grass.....the tractor (front end) wants to swing on the hoist and I don't like that.

So...for deck scraping, I'll remove and flip the deck. The hoist will still get its use for when I just want to do the blades. The hoist also can be used as an electric come-along with a 25 foot pull cable. (as in trailer loading)

.

[Scott Douglas]

I'd try some straps going from the front wheels over to the four post lift to steady the tractor while scraping before I'd remove the deck. Triangulate them with the hoist and it should keep it pretty stable, at least enough to forego removal of the deck which sounds like a lot of work to me.

[stevej37]

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

I'd try some straps going from the front wheels over to the four post lift to steady the tractor while scraping before I'd remove the deck. Triangulate them with the hoist and it should keep it pretty stable, at least enough to forego removal of the deck which sounds like a lot of work to me.

I measured at head height (where the front wheels would be) and it's 7' to one post and 8' to the other.
I'll look at it better the next time I have the tractor front end lifted. I have plenty of ratchet straps.

Thanks

[gregpark]

If you span an 8' 4x4 across your lift tracks, drive the front wheels over it, ratchet strap the mower to it and lift it up 3' it would be stable

[gregpark]

Or better yet, drive your mower between the lift tracks and slip a couple of 2x4s under the mower and over the tracks, lift the whole thing up to a comfortable standing working hight

[stevej37]

The width of my tractor is 49" with the deck on.....38" with the deck off.
I measured my lift and the distance between the ramps is 38" It has a sliding jack pan that would support the tractor, but the tractor/mower is too wide.

Plus, the entrance to the ramp has that 4" high steel beam to go over. I could move my incline ramps in, but getting the tractor out would be a problem.

Would be nice if I could just drive it on. From the side is the same problem too much width for the back to front tires.

[gregpark]

How about a sheet of 3¾ inch plywood with the majority of middle cut out then drive it on. There's gotta be a way to use your lift, that's what you bought it for.
Even if I had a lift I would still use my floor jack on the lawn, so fast, easy clean up and not flood my garage out with the hose.