Flat Fee TV Ep. 12 - EXTREME OVERGROWN CUT! John Deere ZTrak Z950R Rear Discharge Awesome Shredding! 

saw your video of you mowing some tall stuff with your machine; amazing content as well! much rather the side discharge versus rear and yours also seems to be doing just that much better? fx1000?

Thank you. They are going to get much better in the near future so don't forget to Subscribe. We have some 3046R tractor action right around the corner!

We always have a few places in yards that don't dry up and cannot get mowed until late June, early July. It's pretty much swamp grass by then. Rear-discharge is great for maintenance mowing. Hoping to get a side discharge with MCS for these overgrown ones.

Very true. We put this mower through it's paces this fall in the leaves. Never missed a beat!

Only if you can't afford a grasshopper.

@@noelleonard2498 if you can afford the new deere’s, you can afford the new grasshopper.

Thanks 👍

Sounds great! Thank you and don't forget to "Subscribe".

If you really want to be impressed, try the Ballard Hi-Rise blades on the overgrown mows. If you start the day with sharp blades, 2 passes and you'll have it flat-topped and presentable.

@@FlatFeeTV funny enough, I just switched to those blades last Tuesday. They are fantastic blades!

It's not. Not much in the way of things to hurt you this far north. I've heard there's Poison Ivy in these parts, but whether I'm immune or managed to avoid it for 43 years (highly unlikely), I've never seen any. We don't even have deer ticks here. That headache stops in Bangor about 3 hours south of us. Little more snow, lot less to worry about. Our biggest hassle is the burdocks and moose flies.

Looking to get the 31HP side-discharge for the next mower. Want to put a Material Collection System (MCS) on it.

Try to find someone around here to do tractor work for a reasonable price. If I had to hire someone to help, I may as well just give them the customers contact info and walk away. When it's the only piece of equipment you have to utilize you learn to "run what you brung."

I hear ya, sorry if came off judgemental, just given the "little mower that could" it's prop's

I agree. Ideally they would be sharpened twice a week in spring and weekly in the summer. This year we stocked up on extras so we can switch on the fly and sharpen all sets in one sitting.

Why worry about the blade sharpening the home owner can't do weekly lawn maintenance. Ridiculous!

My guess would be the barrel adjusters that attach the deck to the frame. Mine has the hydraulic push-button deck lift. When it stops working it means tighten the deck hydro filter and add some fluid.

I will let you know next year. I haven't mowed with a side discharge before. We need to get one next spring because we need to add a MCS Bagger to the fleet, and that is not an option with rear discharge. No one else else around here runs rear discharge decks and we wanted to do things a little "out-of-the-box" from what everyone else is doing. That's what sets us apart from our local competition and it's working great so far. Plus, I was a complete newbie on a commercial Z-Turn at the beginning of this year. (Shhh.) The push button deck lift is a plush option also. Please "subscribe" is you haven't Shane. I'm getting a Z960M next spring with MSC Bagger and hopefully an N&N dump trailer for Spring Cleanups. Picking up a big enclosed aluminum trailer shortly. I have a good bead on our best competition and our standard is set a step above theirs. I designed it that way from the start. We have lots of great stuff coming soon. Pretty sure were going to revamp all the landscaping at KFC/Taco Bell in the coming months.

The 2 chairs are covering obstacles that need to be mowed around. If I didn't go walking with the mower, you wouldn't have a video to watch.

Well if John Deere ever delivers the 3046R that I paid for in the beginning of March, then that's what we would have done.

@@FlatFeeTV i have a e130 i bought 2 years ago i wanted to buy another tractor just for the heck of it i like them but here in pa I can't get one no one is getting any in

Definitely agree with you on that one.

There is no mulching kit. It is a Rear-Discharge Fastback Pro 60 mowing deck. It's a genius design, lays a sweet stripe and you rarely have to worry about chute awareness. And it keeps you clean and thatch free on the breezy days. Only one of it's kind up here. They were laughing at the dealership when I ordered it because no one had bought one until I did. One of the best mower decisions I made, especially having barely any Z-turn experience. Only bogged down into a stall once. Watch the Fall Cleanup on Echo Lake. 27hp is virtually unstoppable with maintained blades. You can't fit enough under the deck to choke it out.

Just discovered the Ballard Ripper blades this fall. They are the absolute best blades we've tested thus far. Turns leaves into dust in the wind, chews through sticks and pine cones without a hiccup and when they get dull still continue to shred like a wild pack of samurai.

Not yet, MCS is still in the works but a few pieces of equipment had priority. A second mower and dump trailer is next.

And some day we will, but being a first year company we only have a $15K mower. Run what you brung.

Until the winter hits.

I agree, but they don't make a flail mower for a ZTrak.

You just wait until I start with the tractor videos. Hope you don't like John Deere as a brand. If so, I suggest do not/do watch those episodes. Just want a little more content on the channel before posting so much negativity. Literally non-stop problems, starting before delivery was even made.

@@FlatFeeTV I run a massive furguson and exmark

@@FlatFeeTV I’m please with it I’m thinking about buying one nexts 👍🏻

Covering mowing hazards per homeowner request.

On a commercial machine, the spindles should fail and break before the crankshaft bends. As far as blades go, we use them to the max. We run Ballard blades and try not to overthink it. Blades get bent on a regular basis in the Spring, much less in the Summer. Just put them to the side and when you get a full set that is bent, heat them up and straighten them out. Make sure they are somewhat balanced and use them for mulching or for First-Time and Overgrown Mows. Take your time straightening them and make sure the blade edge stays even with your deck and doesn't bias downward. Most blades can be utilized until the leading edge is just a ghost of it's former self

This is why we are shooting for a MCS (Material Collection System) on a future mower. Thinking 31HP mower with MCS and Ballard Ripper X-blades (mulching). Stay tuned.

Rubbish, how do you work that out. The mower is choking on the cut grass because it can't get rid of it.

@@mickw5704 I respect your opinion but I have disagree. When you cut on a three blade side discharge deck the grass has to move across all three blades in a channel across the front of the deck before ejected and getting rid of the grass as you say is more difficult in this configuration. Been mowing commercial properties for 20 years and I have put mowers on plenty of lots such as these using 60 inch commercial zero turns.

@@jonathanfreeman7761 Fair Point.

With gas the way it is now? Absolutely.

It's only a better choice if you have $30K to drop on a mower. We didn't have that option.

@@FlatFeeTV it pays for itself.

I know, its on the list for sure. But had to get a JD 3046R first. Just a few more days.

Chairs are covering mowing hazards in the lawn. Homeowner moved away, then moved back. They always come back.

Agreed. Property was completely walked by both of us before putting the mower on it.

Even more so when you're this far North. That short summer season yields a hearty and robust, fast growing fescue.

Or had to check the pressure, change a tube, pick up the broken bottle or pallet with nails sticking out. So many good things, if it's a gimmick; best gimmick ever!

@FlatFeeTV a normal person doesn't mow bottles or pallets they use their eyes first, gouges in turf loses customers. It's a mower not a tractor, so a gimmick it is

Then by all means, keep on pushing buddy!

Someone needs to learn he’s not

What? Really? That’s a ridiculous comment to make on a property that large with grass that long. It’s not a suburban house block. It’s one of the best long grass result I’ve ever seen…..

Thanks Jodie. You wait until we do one next June. We have mastered the Overgrown Mows now and the results are even more spectacular in less time. All about having the right tools on the equipment and knowing how to use them to the fullest.

@@FlatFeeTV I look forward to it and you can’t get any better then John Deere 😉

We got the video quality up to 4K now. This was filmed on a Samsung A21 $100 cheapy after plowing the S8 into a snowbank. Now filming with the S21 Ultra. Hopefullky in the future I can have someone to focus on that aspect so I'm not huffing and puffing while trying to film. We go hard out there.

@@FlatFeeTV I am sure you will come up with something great

Glad you love it! The homeowner did also and 5-starred us on three different platforms for this job. As far as the mower, my Mow Pro has been driving zero-turns since they were invented and this is his second favorite mower of ALL of them. He's brutally honest so I'll go with his opinion. Probably going to try his favorite next, Gravely.

Terrible eye guy. You should get that checked. The customer was more than happy with the result, so really any opinion after that is invalid anyway. Everyone thinks they can do it better until they try.