New Husqvarna RZ5424 Zero Turn - My First

[Hedgemaster]

Much of this is already discussed in my other thread, but since that thread was supposed to be a thread asking for advice, I'm starting this one to show off the photos. I'll try to keep the updates in this thread which also includes a short summary of how it came to be. Drum roll please.... BAM!!! Husqvarna RZ5424 Zero Turn Mower 24 hp Kohler Courage engine 54" (three blade) cutting width I got it at a Sears Outlet store. We went there looking for a discounted dishwasher (no luck) and on the way out I wandered over to look at the garden tractors and snowblowers that were all lined up, and that's when I saw it. I didn't even know Sears sold them (zero turns) - especially not a brand other than Craftsman. I know they sell a lot of returned/used/cosmetically damaged items at the outlet, so the first thing I did was run my finger under the deck and noted that it was clean - blades were clean as well. Apparently it was a floor model and is brand new - marked down from $3,620 to $1,990. I couldn't find a flaw on it aside from a small tear in the foam on one steering control arm. If you've followed my thread about our dog's surgery, you know that money is pretty tight - now more than ever. I didn't think it would be possible to get any equipment for a long time and initially walked away from it. We went home and discussed the pros and cons, and decided that this would be an investment. I also did research and confirmed that the reduced price was an amazing deal. This mower will allow me to take on larger jobs that I could not do with a push mower and just gives me more options all around. I went back and got it. Ultimately (and unfortunately) the reason this purchase was possible, is due to a death in the family which resulted in a small amount of money coming to us. Not enough to go buy a car or anything lavish, but it eased the finances just enough for me to make the small investment in my business. 0% financing for 12 mo. and the additional money made it possible. And since I have a photo fetish, HERE IT IS!!! (first batch of pics taken in the store - LOL!) And a 360 degree view if you click on the image... I drive my wife nuts with the photo taking. The sales guy chuckled and I told him "this way, if it gets delivered with scratches, I can prove that they did it!" I'll continue this in another post...

[Hedgemaster]

Lawn care business tips

Speaking of scratches... The day it was delivered it was 10 degrees with high winds, so I just had them push it into the garage. The next day when I tried to start it - nothing. I really wasn't shocked. It seems that 99% of anything you buy these days has some sort of "issue", so the fact that an out of the box, floor model mower didn't start wasn't exactly unexpected. Disappointing, yes, but not unexpected. Long story short, one of the mounting brackets for the steering arm was broken where it contacts a "shutoff" switch. (You can't start it unless the arms are "out", in the neutral position) I think the delivery people broke it. Even when holding down the switch with a screwdriver to allow the ignition to work, the engine would start, but wouldn't stay running. (Oh, and the battery was too weak and had to be jumped) A new part and a new carburetor was ordered and both were replaced. I also got the OK to pick up a new battery and they are crediting me for that. All of this took place while it was nice and warm, and on the day (last Fri) it was repaired, the temps plummeted again and we now had snow on the ground! UGH! I'm DYING to TRY THIS THING OUT!!! (Especially since I only have 30 days to return it if I'm not happy - not much time considering the limited days available to run it with it being WINTER) Well, I got it out today and ran it around the yard for about 45 minutes today! Camera battery died, or I'd have posted video too! On with the show... Oh, and as with anything shiny, and new - I WAXED it!

[Steve]

It looks very nice and I am glad you got all the issues resolved.

How do you feel having this piece of equipment now will effect your business going into this new year?

[Hedgemaster]

Originally Posted by Steve

It looks very nice and I am glad you got all the issues resolved.

How do you feel having this piece of equipment now will effect your business going into this new year?

Thanks.

It will allow me to mow jobs I would otherwise have to charge outrageous fees to cut using a push mower. There's only "so much" people are willing to pay and a guy with a push mower simply can't make a profit if he's biting off more than he can chew.
I've passed on jobs after going to give a quote simply because the lawn was too large to cut with a push mower - time is money.

The small ZTR was actually "step 2" of my two part plan to buy larger equipment. "Step 1" was a wide deck walk behind, however, this ZTR popped up at a good price, so I changed my plans a little as a result.

[Ducke]

Betty??
Its Mary
Do you see that crazy neighbour????
He's out there in the middle of the winter with his LAWN MOWER!!!!!!
The poor women he's married to Oh how dose she put up with it???
and look he take more photos of that lawn mower then his own wife!!!
Oh-oh he looked this way.............do you think he saw me?????
Betty I got to go lock my doors.

[yourscape]

I just got my first zero turn the other day to a Husqvarna 54 also. I hope you enjoy it. I wish I would find more reviews on Husqvarna. Have you found many?

[Hedgemaster]

Originally Posted by Ducke

Betty??
Its Mary
Do you see that crazy neighbour????
He's out there in the middle of the winter with his LAWN MOWER!!!!!!
The poor women he's married to Oh how dose she put up with it???
and look he take more photos of that lawn mower then his own wife!!!
Oh-oh he looked this way.............do you think he saw me?????
Betty I got to go lock my doors.

I was running it from the back yard out the driveway and turning around right at the end when a car drove by. I thought he was going to run into a pole! LOL!

[Hedgemaster]

Originally Posted by yourscape

I just got my first zero turn the other day to a Husqvarna 54 also. I hope you enjoy it. I wish I would find more reviews on Husqvarna. Have you found many?

Did you get the same model, or is yours a commercial grade?


I only searched for reviews on this particular model since I just happened to run across it and wanted to see what was being said about it before buying it.
At first I could only find generic reviews from dealers selling them and the reviews on the Husky website. Then when I went to the Sears Outlet website I saw about 30 reviews on this one and 70 on the identical unit with the Kawasaki engine. I read them all, and while keeping in mind that they were written by homeowners, the reviews were generally favorable.

[gil500]

Originally Posted by Hedgemaster

Speaking of scratches...

The day it was delivered it was 10 degrees with high winds, so I just had them push it into the garage. The next day when I tried to start it - nothing.


I really wasn't shocked. It seems that 99% of anything you buy these days has some sort of "issue", so the fact that an out of the box, floor model mower didn't start wasn't exactly unexpected. Disappointing, yes, but not unexpected.

Long story short, one of the mounting brackets for the steering arm was broken where it contacts a "shutoff" switch. (You can't start it unless the arms are "out", in the neutral position) I think the delivery people broke it.
Even when holding down the switch with a screwdriver to allow the ignition to work, the engine would start, but wouldn't stay running. (Oh, and the battery was too weak and had to be jumped)
A new part and a new carburetor was ordered and both were replaced.
I also got the OK to pick up a new battery and they are crediting me for that.

All of this took place while it was nice and warm, and on the day (last Fri) it was repaired, the temps plummeted again and we now had snow on the ground! UGH! I'm DYING to TRY THIS THING OUT!!!
(Especially since I only have 30 days to return it if I'm not happy - not much time considering the limited days available to run it with it being WINTER)

Well, I got it out today and ran it around the yard for about 45 minutes today!


Camera battery died, or I'd have posted video too!


On with the show...

Oh, and as with anything shiny, and new - I WAXED it!

Congratulations, great buy and I hope it runs as good as it looks and lasts a long time. That is something to look forward to in the future. Hope you have fun with it while its puts money back in your pocket. That is really NICE!!!!!!!!!!!

[Hedgemaster]

Just finished running it around the yard again.


It's freezing cold, but dry, so I thought it may be a good day to continue testing it out, as we're expecting more snow then rain/snow mix.


I haz video now too.
(I'll upload it later)



In addition to simply showing it in motion, I wanted to get video of something it's doing to determine if it's a problem or not.

when I come to a stop and open the arms into the neutral position, it sometimes will begin to "creep" forward. It freaked me out at first because you'd assume that "neutral" means just that, yet here I am sitting on a machine that is slowly moving until I pull up the parking brake.

After running it a bit, I noticed that it doesn't do this every time, and discovered that if it DOES start moving, I can gently bump the left control arm back a "hair" and it stops. I'm not sure if this is "normal", or if there is a way to adjust anything to stop it from happening.

I'm going to contact Husqvarna to see what they have to say. I shot a quick video of this "issue" as well. That way it may be easier to understand what I'm talking about.



I also let it sit (running) to run it dry to get the little bit of "old gas" out of it. The put a brand new carb on it, so I don't want to let it sit with any "questionable" gas in it.