Cub Cadet RZT S Zero Electric Zero-Turn Rider

Rated 4 out of 5 by Tapeguytech from Like it very much I chose an electric mower to replace the 16 HP gas mower, because it is so simple and much less maintenance. Full disclosure I own and drive a 100% electric car, not one drop of gas or oil. I fully understand all the positives electric propulsion offers and also the few negatives. I have 26 solar panels that provide 80% of my usage. And this is my first zero turn mower. I’ll start by saying this mower is not a bush hog, so if that’s what you are looking for you will not be pleased. I rate my purchases based on do they meet my needs. So does this mower meet my needs? So far the answer is a, two thumbs up yes. Great points: Quiet. No ear plugs needed, drop my phone in my shirt pocket and listen to music as I mow. Zero turn is great, but this is available on (ICE) internal combustion engine mowers also. Seat is comfortable. I like the storage compartments around and behind the seat. Super great for zipping around the yard with small wagon in tow. Yes I had to purchase a hitch attachment. Nice not to have to crank a gas engine to move 100 feet. Many of the great things about an electric vehicle/mower is things it does not have. No heat from the engine. No exhaust. No oil leaking on the driveway. No gas and the fumes you breathe filling up the gas can then filling the mower. No gas spills trying to fill the mower. No lugging around 5 gallon gas cans at 40 pounds. No trips to the gas station to purchase gas. No belts. No pulleys. No air filter. No oil filter. No gas filter. No gas treatment for over winter storage. Mowing points: Reasonable power, I weigh 240 pounds and it moves me and cuts going up a slight grade just fine. In taller grass you can engage the blade boost, which will give you more blade speed but less cutting time. I mow ¾ acre with no problem. Ride is rougher than my big 16 HP mower. Cruise control would be great for long straight runs, which I don’t have. Area’s for improvement: Cost, too much should be in line with ICE model. Suspension, smoothness of ride. As the batteries and driver are in the back, the mower is light in the front and more prone to losing traction with the ground. I wish I did not have to re-start every time I get off. I do not like how the blades shut off if you back-up. There is a simple process to override this, but it must be done every time you start mowing or get off and re-start mowing. Charger is heavy, for me setting it on the floor is not an option. Sometimes there is a pause in acceleration, seems to happen more if the mower is cold or cool. In summary: It takes a little time to become accustom to the starting process. Push in brake, switch key on, wait a few seconds push the red start button. I have took to setting the park brake when I get off, which reduces the steps to turning on the key wait a few seconds, then pressing the red start button. I like this mower very much, and have no buyer remorse. From this point on, how well the mower holds up, especially the batteries will determine my overall experience.

Date published: 2016-05-25

Rated 5 out of 5 by taxit from does a great job , quietly and no gas I am in my third mowing season and I am still amazed and happy with my RZT S zero turn mower. It mows quietly without gas and does the best job of any mower I have owned. I mow two properties each week. I have never had to stop mowing to recharge.

Date published: 2019-08-15

Rated 3 out of 5 by tapeguytech from Long term durability issues starting to concern me After 50 hours of use starting my forth season. I’ve already stated all the things I like about this mower in my two other reviews. See tapeguytech, so now I will update on how the mower has held up. One of the blade drive motors kept shutting off and had to be replaced. If this had not been under warranty I would have been less that happy. The mechanic noted he had seen a few of these and wheel motors go bad. If electric motors are going bad with less than 50 hours of use, I am worried about this mowers long-term cost of ownership. This silver metal pin that holds the black plastic grass shoot on, keeps sliding out. I carry a small hammer and tap it back in after each use. There does not seem to be anyway to correct the issue. I got too close to a bush and a limb broke the flimsy plastic charging port cover off, It's now held on with duct tape. The mower still randomly faults out for no reason. A few times it has shut off while going at full speed, coming to a bone jarring stop. Sometimes there is a delay from when you press the accelerator and the mower moving. Sometimes after fully charging the battery gauge will show, 1/2, 3/4 or full. The seat sensor is much to sensitive, turn your body, sneeze or cough and the mower may shut off. Would I purchase this mower again? It depends on what improvement have been made and what else is on the market. With that said I still do not regret this purchase. Even with its short comings there is a lot to like about this mower.

Date published: 2019-04-09

Rated 5 out of 5 by oldfart from Better than advertised I bought the Zero two years ago after several years of using a gas powered cub cadet. I was hesitant at first because it didn't have a hitch and I do a lot of hauling as well as mowing, but the dealer added a hitch at no charge. I was told it would operate for about an hour on a charge,but I have run it for well over an hour and a half with no loss of power, even in the heavy, wet spring grass when I use the blade boost. It hauls heavy loads without hesitation. After a little practice, I even learned to pirouette around trees like in the videos. Two criticisms: The self cleaning system doesn't work. The water just pastes the grass to the shield. The other problem is that the local dealers have not been trained to service it . I had a sensor go bad and they had trouble finding it because they couldn't interpret the trouble message. One more point; I need a mobile power source. I sometimes have to reel out 400 feet of extension cords to operate other power tools. The Zero would be perfect if an AC inverter could be wired in.

Date published: 2015-07-05

Rated 4 out of 5 by NebrElecMower from Does whats needed I've been pushing an electric mower for 8 years now (3 different brands over that time), and recently ended up with more to mow than I have time to push. This is my first riding mower. The RTZ Zero does what its advertised to do, mow a lawn for an hour (I am getting closer to 2). I've used it to mow some taller stuff, and it can be made to do it, but its best kept to a regularly mowed lawn. I did get the hitch and the mulching kit when I purchased the mower. While it is a great product, there is room for improvement. Regulations and safety conscience needs to back off. I can understand disabling movement and the blades while no operator is on the seat, but shutting down each time is an extra hassle. The charger, while built well and using modern energy-star processes, is actually a heavy old-fashioned low efficiency model, probably kept the initial cost down, but will add up for the customer over time. Both traction and blade motors stall a bit too easily. Being used to electric push mowers that never stall no matter what, just a little bit of thick clover might cause the blades on the RTZ-Zero to shut off. I personally think its just too sensitive, probably in an effort to keep reliability up. However, I only stall the blades if I scrape bottom or am trying to tackle some un-mowed area, though the mulching kit isn't much use because of this. Mulching take significant more power and that trips the stall even easier. The same happens with traction, but in that case, you have to let off the accelerator and press down again to get it going again. This was probably again to keep reliability up by not overexerting the motors and especially the batteries, but I think they need to reevaluate the system. And if you mow during the heat of the hotter days, you may experience a hub-motor temperature warning, specially while trying to mulch using blade boost. I might recommend skipping the mulching kit unless you have a small area and mow very regularly. The regularly blades do a wonderful job normally. The battery gauge might tend to be misleading in how much capacity is left, but that is common with most lead-acid battery products. The bottom bars tend to disappear much faster than the top ones. It might be nice if it would have electric braking while the rider is engaged. I at least find it hard to operate both brake and accelerator pedals on tricky terrain (to back out of a dead-end on an incline), but likely a ICE rider would be even trickier. So those are my downsides, all things I think we'll see get better over time if Cub Cadet stays in the electric rider market. The space I mow has never looked better, though, and I complete the area in a fraction of the time of pushing, so this rider has been a very good purchase.

Date published: 2016-07-03

Rated 1 out of 5 by Unreliable from 4 cuts and down for the count I was happy with the mower for the first 3 cuts (i acre lawn cut every two weeks). I now have an error message Left Wheel Error and no service repair person in my state. Not very happy, wanted to make it a season without a repair event. Zero Maintenance...hah

Date published: 2014-09-21

Rated 5 out of 5 by zero "D" from I'm very pleased w/ this product I had a gas engine zero turn Cub Cadet mower, but was looking for an electric model. I already knew the advantages because I have a electric push mower for trimming. I was very surprised and pleased to find out that Cub Cadet has an electric zero turn mower. After purchasing one, it happened to have one bad deck motor. It took a while to find the problem, but the dealer,Henry's Service Center in Jacksonville, IL replaced the bad motor and I've had no more problems. I am very pleased w/ this mower and expect to get a lot of good service from it. Kudos to Cub Cadet and Henry's Service Center. P.S. My previous gas model was also purchased @ Henry's.

Date published: 2015-08-21

Rated 5 out of 5 by hugh from its about time I was very skeptical in buying .In my research I spoke with two dealers that sold out their allotments last year. Only one person reported a problem with one of the four motors it was switched out and fine after that. I purchased the zero .So far I did a practice cut on about a half acre just to try out as the grass is not growing yet but to help clear debris and leaves. It didn't even put a dent in the battery level. (about 1/2 hour of cutting. I was delighted by the power and how quiet. I was the first person to buy at the local dealer .I will keep in touch to update after I have a while with this major improvement in innovation and technology. It would be great if the batteries could be used as a power source as well. (eg. Generator (inverter) .I guess one step at a time. No gas ,belts pulls or noise !

Date published: 2015-04-01

RZT S Zero Reviews - page 2

RZT S Zero

Specs & Maintenance

Engine

Drive System

Cutting Deck

Chassis

Controls

Comfort

Dimensions

Warranty

Manuals

Model

Manual

Form Number

OPERATOR'S MANUALS

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