I have the 545R with the 54" deck, and I have loved it. The 60" seemed too big at the time I bought it, and for me personally, that has held true. If you have wide open spaces and few obstacles, I would suggest it, but otherwise, it's probably too big. I can still cut a substantial amount of grass in a short amount of time, and the time I have gained by not having to be on a riding mower those extra hours was worth the purchase price alone. The comments concerning the deck size and tires he said made sense. I found the 54" is the perfect size to fit through almost every residential opening. It is the same width as most sidewalks, which makes it easy to maneuver through neighborhoods. The engine has run like a top, I love the EFI and push button throttle. Just performed my second oil change at 100 hours this weekend. The oil drain spout can be positioned for easy draining, but the filter can be aggravating. I highly recommend getting a plier style oil filter wrench to remove and replace. One caveat I would add about the engine is that I wouldn't mind having a choice between the Kawasaki motor or the Briggs (John Deere) brand. I have read many reviews that Kawasaki small engines are extremely tough, strong, and well built. The research I have done seems to suggest that even though the Kawasaki has slightly less HP, it performs as well or better, and possibly better fuel economy. The ECO mode may have some benefit while cutting to some, but only on manicured lawns (golf courses, cutting every 5-7 days). I tend to use the ECO mode if I am using it with the blades off, such as driving from one area to another or if I am using my lawn brush attachment to gather leaves in the fall. It works well and definitely saves gas when performing tasks such as that. I will agree with this review concerning the deck height adjustment because I am not the biggest fan of the design. I tend to use a shorter setting, and I do have issues with the deck popping up to the raised/locked position when going over bumpy terrain. It is nice when I run over an obstacle I didn't see, and it pops up keeping the blades from being damaged. It also has an automatic shutdown feature if the blades become bound up. I love the tow hitch and use it often. It can tow a substantial load, and I always use to pull my 18CF poly dump trailer to pick up limbs and debris while mowing. The raise/lower feature makes the deck leveling system aspect of the mower a little fiddly, but it is the only big negative I have to complain about. I have used the lights to mow in the dark many times, and they work great. I do live in town with street lights, etc, so I'm not sure how it would be in a country setting without any other lights. Works great for dusk, finishing a job as the sun is going down, or towing yard debris to a dropoff location when dark. It is a fairly expensive machine, but I have made many comparisons with other top brands, and this mower has substantially more options (lights, tow hitch, push button throttle, super comfy and adjustable seat, & a 300 hr residential warranty), that other mowers in this price/size range, and even some more expensive mowers do not have. I would suggest purchasing direct from a John Deere dealer for the best price and perks. I have no regrets purchasing this mower and would recommend it to anyone looking for a zero turn. Don't waste your time with other 5 series models. Go ahead and pony up the extra bucks for the 545R EFI because the extras are worth it. #blanchardequipment #johndeere
I was looking for the 545R when I was in the market and no one had any it in stock, so I ended up getting the 530R...We mow an acre at the house and mow 3 acres out of 13 at our farm...I gotta say that I'm seriously impressed with my John Deere!
Yea.. we had to order ours, took 3 months. Thankfully we had another mower that we used! They really do a great job! I’d love to one day try out the bigger series and more commercial mowers that Deere makes!
Congrats on the new mower! I really like the park brake setting when you open the handles! I don’t know how many times I’ve gone to open the handles and before I can get the park brake set it rolls a foot or two.. I was sad to see they took away transport setting on the deck height.. I miss the electric deck raise on the old ones without paying an arm and leg for it! Hope you enjoy the new mower!
100 hr review.... How has it performed, any issues with the engine? Would really like to know if anything has broken, has it been to the shop, has it been reliable. Thanks for going over the features you like and don't like, appreciate that. Can you give us a quick rundown of the mechanical reliability so far. Thanks!
Hey! Haven’t had any issues with the motor or any functioning parts! Hasn’t been to the shop for anything either. One thing I have noticed that I’m not a fan of and maybe there is no fixes but we mow pretty steep hills and noticed that oil must be coming out the dip stick opening because there is some build up on the top where dipstick goes in. If anyone has heard of any issues I’d love to know! I’m really happy so far with everything for how rough the lawns we mow are.
How many acres an hour could you cut ? can the side chute be raised and clipped up for access ? can the deck be run in the raised position for rough paddock area's , honest review .
I honestly couldn’t tell you the amount of acres an hour it will cut but I run it pretty much 3/4 to full speed pending on time of year and length of grass. We get a lot of crab grass that definitely slows you down in order to get a good cut. Probably not supposed to but when it’s not windy going through thick grass i just put chord on the shoot and tie it off to the deck raise foot petal and run the deck on high lock. I think my deck size with the horsepower the mower has cuts pretty good vs having same size motor with a bigger deck(I could be wrong, haven’t researched it but just thinking through it). Just got to keep the blades sharp! Hope this helps!
I have a z545R with the 60" deck and mow 4.8 acres in just over two hours. I can mow wide open most of the time, have a few trees, ditch and a couple buildings.
ive had mine jump up maybe twice so far, 70hrs but its over pine tree roots going to fast, i dont blame the machine, id rather have it give than break something. i have the 54" version
The ZT HD / Ariens Apex has a better build quality,fabricated deck,Kawasaki engines, and better hydros. You get more for your money and skip the EFI and electronic throttle control. I don’t trust Briggs engines unless it’s a Vanguard. If you compare the Gravely/ Ariens mowers to a Deere in person like I did the difference is crystal clear.
I have the 545R with the 54" deck, and I have loved it. The 60" seemed too big at the time I bought it, and for me personally, that has held true. If you have wide open spaces and few obstacles, I would suggest it, but otherwise, it's probably too big. I can still cut a substantial amount of grass in a short amount of time, and the time I have gained by not having to be on a riding mower those extra hours was worth the purchase price alone. The comments concerning the deck size and tires he said made sense. I found the 54" is the perfect size to fit through almost every residential opening. It is the same width as most sidewalks, which makes it easy to maneuver through neighborhoods. The engine has run like a top, I love the EFI and push button throttle. Just performed my second oil change at 100 hours this weekend. The oil drain spout can be positioned for easy draining, but the filter can be aggravating. I highly recommend getting a plier style oil filter wrench to remove and replace. One caveat I would add about the engine is that I wouldn't mind having a choice between the Kawasaki motor or the Briggs (John Deere) brand. I have read many reviews that Kawasaki small engines are extremely tough, strong, and well built. The research I have done seems to suggest that even though the Kawasaki has slightly less HP, it performs as well or better, and possibly better fuel economy. The ECO mode may have some benefit while cutting to some, but only on manicured lawns (golf courses, cutting every 5-7 days). I tend to use the ECO mode if I am using it with the blades off, such as driving from one area to another or if I am using my lawn brush attachment to gather leaves in the fall. It works well and definitely saves gas when performing tasks such as that.
I will agree with this review concerning the deck height adjustment because I am not the biggest fan of the design. I tend to use a shorter setting, and I do have issues with the deck popping up to the raised/locked position when going over bumpy terrain. It is nice when I run over an obstacle I didn't see, and it pops up keeping the blades from being damaged. It also has an automatic shutdown feature if the blades become bound up. I love the tow hitch and use it often. It can tow a substantial load, and I always use to pull my 18CF poly dump trailer to pick up limbs and debris while mowing. The raise/lower feature makes the deck leveling system aspect of the mower a little fiddly, but it is the only big negative I have to complain about. I have used the lights to mow in the dark many times, and they work great. I do live in town with street lights, etc, so I'm not sure how it would be in a country setting without any other lights. Works great for dusk, finishing a job as the sun is going down, or towing yard debris to a dropoff location when dark.
It is a fairly expensive machine, but I have made many comparisons with other top brands, and this mower has substantially more options (lights, tow hitch, push button throttle, super comfy and adjustable seat, & a 300 hr residential warranty), that other mowers in this price/size range, and even some more expensive mowers do not have. I would suggest purchasing direct from a John Deere dealer for the best price and perks. I have no regrets purchasing this mower and would recommend it to anyone looking for a zero turn. Don't waste your time with other 5 series models. Go ahead and pony up the extra bucks for the 545R EFI because the extras are worth it.
#blanchardequipment #johndeere
Nice tip on the deck size; I would have never thought about that. I have a Z530M being delivered this weekend.
Definitely was an after thought for us. Congrats on the new mower, hope you enjoy it!
Thanks for the info. Looking at getting this same model.
Do it bro, no regrets!
I was looking for the 545R when I was in the market and no one had any it in stock, so I ended up getting the 530R...We mow an acre at the house and mow 3 acres out of 13 at our farm...I gotta say that I'm seriously impressed with my John Deere!
Yea.. we had to order ours, took 3 months. Thankfully we had another mower that we used! They really do a great job! I’d love to one day try out the bigger series and more commercial mowers that Deere makes!
Love the mower don’t like ke the digital display. Just something else that could go wrong it’s a bumpy ride please remember.
Nice mower! What size is the rear tires? And how does it do in soft/wet areas? Does it impact the grass heavily in normal conditions?
My brand new z320r has the twist for blade height and the parking break is also in the handles not separated
Congrats on the new mower! I really like the park brake setting when you open the handles! I don’t know how many times I’ve gone to open the handles and before I can get the park brake set it rolls a foot or two.. I was sad to see they took away transport setting on the deck height.. I miss the electric deck raise on the old ones without paying an arm and leg for it! Hope you enjoy the new mower!
100 hr review.... How has it performed, any issues with the engine? Would really like to know if anything has broken, has it been to the shop, has it been reliable. Thanks for going over the features you like and don't like, appreciate that. Can you give us a quick rundown of the mechanical reliability so far. Thanks!
Hey! Haven’t had any issues with the motor or any functioning parts! Hasn’t been to the shop for anything either. One thing I have noticed that I’m not a fan of and maybe there is no fixes but we mow pretty steep hills and noticed that oil must be coming out the dip stick opening because there is some build up on the top where dipstick goes in. If anyone has heard of any issues I’d love to know! I’m really happy so far with everything for how rough the lawns we mow are.
I hope that helped or what you were looking for! I will probably do a end of the season review.
How many acres an hour could you cut ? can the side chute be raised and clipped up for access ? can the deck be run in the raised position for rough paddock area's , honest review .
I honestly couldn’t tell you the amount of acres an hour it will cut but I run it pretty much 3/4 to full speed pending on time of year and length of grass. We get a lot of crab grass that definitely slows you down in order to get a good cut. Probably not supposed to but when it’s not windy going through thick grass i just put chord on the shoot and tie it off to the deck raise foot petal and run the deck on high lock. I think my deck size with the horsepower the mower has cuts pretty good vs having same size motor with a bigger deck(I could be wrong, haven’t researched it but just thinking through it). Just got to keep the blades sharp! Hope this helps!
I have a z545R with the 60" deck and mow 4.8 acres in just over two hours. I can mow wide open most of the time, have a few trees, ditch and a couple buildings.
ive had mine jump up maybe twice so far, 70hrs but its over pine tree roots going to fast, i dont blame the machine, id rather have it give than break something. i have the 54" version
I agree with you about that it isnt the best kind of deck
Where did you get that shirt?
I am looking at this mower and a gravely ZT HD so what does everyone like and why.
The ZT HD / Ariens Apex has a better build quality,fabricated deck,Kawasaki engines, and better hydros. You get more for your money and skip the EFI and electronic throttle control. I don’t trust Briggs engines unless it’s a Vanguard. If you compare the Gravely/ Ariens mowers to a Deere in person like I did the difference is crystal clear.
How long did it take to reach that
You like is what it is to say alot ok
That's a Briggs engine. No no no no. Get the Kawasaki engine.