Pros & Cons of a Rear Discharge Deck On Zero Turn Mowers

[@JWNLawnCare]

Great video mate! As a professional contractor I use a mix of both side discharge (fitted with chute blockers) and rear discharge mowers depending on the job. For our maintained properties we usually run with the side discharge machines, but we also do a lot of overgrown lawns, slashing jobs and contract work where rear discharge decks are required for safety and efficiency. All your points are very valid and correct, you're never going to get a good cut from a RD deck, they're designed for making long grass short as fast as possible, but they are definitely the best way to go for roadside work and super long grass that you want to smash down. So far my favourite RD mower is my 72" Kubota F3690, it just doesn't stop for anything.

[@14JHawks]

Have mowed last 2 years with JD Ztrak 994 with the rear discharge deck and love it. Get as good of a cut as I did with my previous side discharge machine and ability to mow along parking lots in commercial areas is great. Also easy to load on my trailer without having to account for discharge chute. The diesel engine on the 994 has also been a great improvement with plenty of power to mow through the toughest grass. Haven’t had any problems with excess clippings on my deck. All in all, I love the rear discharge and wouldn’t switch back.

[@shawnhicks619]

There are definitely pros and cons on rear discharge decks. We have one specifically for cemetery’s and commercial areas that have narrow grass strips between parking areas and buildings to reduce stuff thrown out from under the deck. And in our experience they do really well if your mowing well maintained areas. Once you get into really tall or really damp grass side discharge really is better.

[@danaevans3524]

Rear discharge decks work well in cemetery and municipal environments. If grass is taller and or wet/damp, performance can be reduced somewhat. Takes a little more horse power possibly. And create more dust and grass clippings around the engine compartment and sub frame? Over all a good choice

[@subblegum]

I got this mower specifically to be able to drive it through a 36 inch door kzbin.infoUgkx1VWTrayKBdCKAjzAcZ_Eg4dhHTae3LkN also recommend or gate It is a little tight with the grass deflector installed but has more clearance with the deflector replaced by the recycler/mulcher. This model appears to be popular and a little harder to find for that reason. I can't judge the dependability as I have only mowed the yard twice but everything else on the mower is very nice and working fine so far. I added options for the run hour timer, arm backrests, recycler/mulcher, towing bracket, deck lift assist and cover.

[@bigbaby_1914]

I have the rear discharge Z930m and it definitely gathers a ton of grass in the motor area. After ever mowing, I have to be intentional in cleaning as much of the grass clippings out of the area where the battery sits. I've found that the grass can impede the handbrake from being able to engage. Another MAJOR issue is the grass clippings it leaves behind your mower. It takes up soooooo much time to clean up where you mow. If you're not mowing a property every 5-10 days, you'll always have a hay field to clean up once you're finished. I either have to double or triple cut, rake, or blow every property to spread the clippings out so the grass can be seen. And that adds time to each job. And we all know, time is money. I'm almost afraid of how leaf season is going to be. Ateast with a side discharge I could direct the clippings to one area and clean them up instead of an entire yard.

[@WorkshopAddict]

You can get a mulching kit for the deck and it might help you. Might not if you mow tall grass all the time.

[@bigbaby_1914]

@@WorkshopAddict I decided to try the X Blades with both the Ripper mulching blades and the high lift Razors and its helped a some. I plan on setting it up with all 6 as mulching blades to see if it'll be what I need to get rid of all of that debris

[@xmvpvfx4333]

we use rubbers mats from the deck to the back of the mower, it does slow down the build up.

[@allenlong3939]

Thank you for this video. I have been wanting a rear discharge but most salesmen talk me out of it. Now that JD makes one I will be trying it for sure.

[@dragon43inf]

Great video! I just bought the z930m with the fastback 60 deck for home use and love it. Great cut and I like that I can trim with both sides of the deck.

[@bigbaby_1914]

I've had the rear discharge for 2 seasons now and it has become a nuisance. True enough, weekly commercial properties, the clippings left behind aren't too bad. But for any tall grass or biweekly properties, especially in mid summer when the grass is dry, it creates a wake of hay in the passes. And in return, creates extra clean up time. Nearly 15 to 30 minutes per quarter acre, if you want to leave a clean appearance. And when time is money and quality of the finished product matters, it's been costly

[@bowbender1]

The have two z997s. One 72" side discharge one 60" rear discharge. The disadvantage i find is radiator placement. I have to constantly blow the rad out on the rear discharge mower

[@alexandercosta1777]

You msn, you gotta try the new EGO string Z6 riding mower and put it head to head what the gas mowers and see how they compare

[@daflea66]

I have kicked the rear discharge idea around, but where I am the turf is almost always overgrown in even a weeks time, and they struggle for a clean looking finish. Do you find you need to double cut at all?

[@jxrdnz]

3:25 I wonder if the owners ever lost that fence to the ditch

[@paulthompson1654]

Rear discharge in dry grass will block a vertical mount radiator screen when the radiator is at the rear end . John Deere do this in the ztr . When located horizontal above engine the radiator blocks less . Radiator vertical behind seat vertically blocks way way less

[@harryerhart5978]

We use JD mowers with mulch decks in Florida with zero problems when you mulch grass you can only cut 1/3 of the grass height if you cut short all year long it won't work 👍👍

[@BradRussellisAwesome]

Solid info, I appreciate the realistic pros and cons. I value that you aren’t always “this is the best thing ever created” and you actually give pertinent user info. What are your thoughts on the Twheels? Do you notice much difference riding comfort wise?

[@WorkshopAddict]

It is too early for me to give an opinion. I think they ride better. I use each mower in a different location so it makes it hard to decide what is better without having them next to each other. I went with Tweels because of the location of our commercial property and the amount of trash thrown on it off the street. A flat cannot slow me down this way.

[@BradRussellisAwesome]

@@WorkshopAddict Good to know. Good point about the trash around busy lots. Kinda thinking the elimination of flats would even be a bigger advantage than the smoother ride. Thanks for taking the time to respond!

[@grahamdeere9475]

Agreed, this is my favorite channel for tool reviews. All the important info is talked about and the little details are equally as important!

[@bagger2013jm]

Great review 👍🏻

[@custommodelcars1722]

Hey what’s the name of the rear wheels. I’d like to pick some up I have a 52 inch like tha

[@WorkshopAddict]

Twheels

[@kathleenkier8044]

Great job, Thank you. I agree with everything you said.

[@nopresetsnarklimit1675]

Hi, any thoughts on the Deere mulching kit available for the rear discharge deck? Would that change your decision for home use?

[@WorkshopAddict]

I do not know if there is one available and if there is, it would be nice. For home use, I would recommend the MOD deck. you can blow leaves if needed and mulch when you want. IMHO, that is the way to go for home.

[@nopresetsnarklimit1675]

@@WorkshopAddict Looks to be only for the MY21 according to build and price.

[@curtiswright3845]

Hey WorkshopAddict, I want to ask you a question: "How good does your rear discharge deck handle leaves?" I know I'm late coming to this video, but I was looking for some info. Thanks!

[@WorkshopAddict]

The best way to answer this is that the rear discharge will cut anything quickly and push it out the back. It does not do much to leaves to break them up, it just spits them out the back. But it is a perfect deck for a multch kit.

[@paulthompson1654]

Rear discharge has little advantage with L or R trimming . Rear discharge is good in thick tall grass A side discharge shoot /mulch plate can be operated by user

[@parkershipley4562]

The only reason that I want a rear discharge is because it come in a 72 inch deck and the mulch deck doesn’t. I mow a big area so I would get done way quicker

[@WorkshopAddict]

I have added the multch kit to my rear discharge and it rocks.

[@parkershipley4562]

@@WorkshopAddict yeah but my worry is if I get a 72 in deck and put the mulch on demand on it I might lose cut quality not saying that it will but you never know but love my mulch on demand

[@charlesbradley2943]

@@WorkshopAddict My JD dealer advised me that you can’t have MOD & rear discharge. Guess he’s wrong ? Thanks

[@kc0lif]

nice mower

[@user-sf9pq5ox7w]

nice video thanks.

[@SixOFord]

Anybody use this deck on real thick heavy grass ? How does it do ? Currently have a 72" 7iron2 on a 960m and it loads up pretty bad in tall thick stuff.

[@xmvpvfx4333]

the rear discharge does work better in tall grass but klumps bad on the right side this is due to all the blade going the same direction. I found the hustlers design to work better with the right blade spinning anti-clockwise, Its provide a more efficent cut and cleaner.

[@xmvpvfx4333]

My company use 72inch 997r and rear discharge 997r, we have retire the rear discharge 997r's in place of hustler hyperdrive rears due to the bad finish of the 997r.

[@FishFind3000]

One disadvantage is there’s no way to bag any clippings or leaves.

[@WorkshopAddict]

Very true. My bagger comes out two to three times a year. On the back of a Zero Turn it becomes a hazard. LOL I hate to loan it out as people have scraped it down the sides of trucks and also taken siding off their home. But realistically, when you bag grass, you are taking away all the nutrients that are sitting in the grass you are cutting rather than depositing them back onto the ground where they came from.

[@FishFind3000]

@@WorkshopAddict I always leave grass clippings but in the fall Im always bagging leaves for cleanups.

[@xmvpvfx4333]

I found its very hard to spread clippings in tall grass using the rear discharge but the best way i found was to drive backwards with the deck lifted up as it keeps the clippings in the deck mulching them.

[@shanew7361]

Hard pass, beautiful grass and nice pool! 22 foot pool?

[@WorkshopAddict]

No clue on the pool size. Would make a nice deck if it was filled in. LOL

[@shanew7361]

@@WorkshopAddict 👌🤣 Yea like owning a boat best 2 days when you buy it and when you sell it!

[@blakebob2697]

That grass is not that high I have a John Deere l100 and it will mow glass as taller than the hood of the tractor and not even he'll bog down a tad couple hundred all pianos but nothing big

[@mikeadler434]

👍👍

[@colinmartin5994]

Why wouldn't they adopt what Walker has done with there mowers and have a blower that shoots it into a bag. It's just silly.

[@danray104]

You can get that option on nearly any mower. The issue is , it reduces maneuverability. Not to mention, emptying bins every 5-8 minutes, takes alot of time

[@dannydavis5245]

There's much better mowers than john Deere for much less money