# Grasshopper or Scag mower conversion?



## evblazer (Nov 17, 2011)

I have had full size road evs and had done a quick conversion of an old craftsman rider or two so I know maybe a little. All are sold or died so I'd like to get a bigger mower for my acre instead of the temperamental robot and push mower I have.

Probably a bit crazy but I'm thinking commercial but I wonder if their 20hp is the same as a craftsman rider 20hp is? The only conversion of a commercial mower I've seen is a dixie chopper and that used a really big motor but was used in commercial duty.

I'm hoping a quick replacing the motor so wonder if I need alot more than the etek or two (one deck one transmission) like the one I used in the 42" rider I had. I think most of it is just lifespan and reliability not raw power. The machines are heavier but a bit more rugged and perhaps more efficient. There are alot of used ones in the area that look good but I don't want to get one if it'll require 120 volt 600 150 lb motor. If that is the case there are some old jd mowers I could try my luck on.

I'm looking at 42" deck or less for about an acre and a half. Split sessions are fine. I tried the ones supposidly already electric for sale like the hustler zeon and even if I wanted them local dealers won't sell or service them.

Grasshopper. Could easily use separate motors and has lots of room to mount batteries and is built for heavy duty use.








Scag. The original thought was no power would be wasted dragging me or extra parts required for a riding mower. I do worry a bit about a transmission being able to take the weight of a few batteries.


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## evblazer (Nov 17, 2011)

Well after weighing lots of options including the unavailable hustler zeon* it looks like it might be a grasshopper.
*After months hustler hasn't responded and after going to or calling/emailing nearly 20 dealerships 1 finally showed some interest but said they sold 1 in 2009. After a month they still haven't heard from hustler so that looks like it is out.

Here is the PTO drive. If i go dual eteks I could either just get a pulley to drive this belt only or skip the whole drive shaft and mount the motor up front where the PTO shaft is on the mower.









Here is the potential donor. Actually has a new motor on it so I might be able to sell it for something to buy the second etek. Also has a nice bagger that I think dumps to the side with one quick step so I can put it on the compost pile and drive off but I can easily change the blades by flipping up the deck and then mulch when not needed.








May be the end of my lawnbott experiment. It works well when it works but can only do about 70% of my lawn which leaves 30% for a push mower and sometimes 100% for a push mower. If I do sell it maybe it'll pay for the grasshopper and batteries.


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## mizlplix (May 1, 2011)

We have a fleet of Hustler Super Z 72" mowers and some old JD ZTRAKs. 

The John Deere "ZTRAK" mower would be a good choice. It has a 25HP two cylinder gasoline V-twin power and a 60" deck. it uses a horizonal shaft motor, easy to adapt to electric power.

You need a double-shaft motor as the twin hydrostat transmission is driven off one end and the deck clutch is off the other end.

Mount a 0-5K pot to the end of the throttle cable, mount the controller and and batteries-you are good to go.

Key on, bring the motor up to RPMs. and push the levers forwards or back to drive.

to mow, just turn on blade clutch {with motor running or not}. make sure RPMs are up high enough, push levers forwards. Easy. 

Use enough Lithium batteries to mow several hours.

Miz


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## evblazer (Nov 17, 2011)

Thanks I'll keep a lookout but the cheapest ztrak i've seen for sale is 4500 while the grasshoppers and skags are thousands less. Unfortunately deere's are rare here except at Lowe's/HD or very old 70's/80's tractors rusted out looking for a rebuild. I'd probably have gone for one of those but the wife wants a zero turn so I gotta go where the cooperation is.
With my current plan I'd run 2 Etek motors so I wouldn't worry about bogging down and also because I already have one I used on an old riding mower. Flip through two switches to get from half to full motor power on with no controller and go. I may price out the new controller/motor option but I've had good luck with the Etek so if it would work i'd like to use it.
I'm just looking for an acre of mowing maybe a bit more if I mow across the street for the park/fire station/pd/town hall if they go the volunteer route to save $$.


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## evblazer (Nov 17, 2011)

Well picked up the mower this past weekend that thing is a tank! Very interesting loading it up and taking it off a 10' budget rental box truck. I had found a Ztrak the problem was it looked like it was stored in a swamp for a year and was without a motor so I couldn't test to see if the rest of it worked at all. Even with the condition it was more $$$ than the grasshopper and I really wanted that front deck.

My wife took a few loops around the property and it digs into the ground in places  oh and it is LOUD especially with the vacuum blower on.
I suspected it would dig into the dirt since the robot mower, push mower and just walking do at times but I guess it was a bit of a dissapointment either way. May need to put some chicken wire down and cover it up to see if I can stop it from digging in. Short term plan is to clean it up and work on the surface rust issue and weld a few pieces of sheet metal then paint it. Also try and regrease, switch back to the medium lift blades and check adjustments on everything to see if I can get it running a bit smoother.

My current concern is the weight going up and it sinking more after converted. If I get desperate I suppose converting the frame to drillium in non essential areas might help such as this bottom bracket and derailleur tube.  Might be safer to try a bigger rear caster or double caster in the back though.


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