I used to have a Lastec 521 (probably 1980's). Had no hydraulics in it. I stored it on grass, which rotted the decks out. Now I have a Lastec ZTR 3696. I store it on a concrete slab, indoors. No rot. Have to say, I prefer the tow behind, mostly because driving the ZTR, you get covered with debris. With the tow behind, all the dirt is behind you. Also, the ZTRs are loaded with dead man switches/safety switches. Drives me nuts.
Aldi More if you mow every other day, it will be fine. if you mow as needed, it may leave strips in the slightly taller grass. if you mow on a side slope, it will slide sideways some leaving strips. if you mow in the bottom of a waterway, road ditch, or such area where the mower articulates "up", it will leave strips. if you drop any of the smaller wheels into a gopher hole, it will scalp. alot of grease points lot of belts if you have more questions, let me me know. i wouldn't pay much for one.
Thanks Andy. I don't mow every day. I had a Land Pride AFM4211 that did an admirable job cutting varied lengths of grass and never left tall stuff unless I was going way too fast. Sold it a few yeas back and really regret that move. Now I am looking again and thought I might consider a Lastec. Sounds like it might be a bit fussy compared to what I had. Sigh, the lastec takes up less room in the shop. Sounds like I need to keep looking as your not the only one pointing out the short comings.
Aldi More if these overlapped more and/or pivoted differently would help with some strips oh, this one broke the center deck bearing spindle and pulley once. i called and talked to their tech support about the mow quality a couple times. their excuse was wrong belts and worn blades. so i replaced them with all new oem with no improvement. i would think there has to be something far less expensive than these out there than these that would do a better job.
Good point and sad the tech blamed belts and blades. Based on your observations and what I have found on forums, they are intended for well groomed turf. What i loved about my AFM4211 is the cut quality was always good and it did a great job of dispersing the grass. Never any windrows. I will probably get another if I can find a good used deal. Thank you for helping me decide.
Aldi More although this saves me time over my 720k grasshopper, it would save more time if i didnt have to go over stuff twice. if your old mower worked good, id go that way too. i cant recommend a lastec like this.
I Figured 30+ mph just trying to pick a stationary spot and gauge it. That's cookin' for that old tractor. Thought for a second you fast forwarded the video LOL. I have a 721XR that I have had for years and loved it, Just put it up for sale and was looking for my video and saw yours. I see you must have modified it to get around the fast hitch. Should title it 721XRT for the tow hitch option they came out with lol.... Nice vid.
Longslyde1 yeah I modeled it after pictures of the xrt, I still have the old arms so it could go back to stock xr. I saw your eBay , do the High Lift Oregon Blades work better than the oem high lift blades? This mower seems built good but I'm not pleased with its performance and lastec was no help.
It works well but it takes more power to run it with the Oregon high lifts. They have a pretty aggressive wing.You can hear in my video it makes the Lastec sound like an airplane. It cuts down the missed strips a bit though with the better suction. I'm in clay ground so it isn't too bad on the dirt but if you're in sand, I wouldn't go with them, they'll blast the under deck pretty hard. Mine leaves strips occasionally but only when mowing at fast speed. I did adjust the decks a little closer together and that helped a bit (only the outer wing decks miss about an inch if mowing really fast) but you may need to got to a 1/2" shorter belt to do it.
Longslyde1 I have about the same ground here I think. I adjusted the deck adjustment as close together as I could but left the belt adjustment. It's not bad on level or over hills but leaves strips on side hills & dips. I've got used to going over some areas twice. Do the Oregon blades mount different than the oem? I have some rectangular blade brackets. Do you know the Oregon part numbers?
I used to have a Lastec 521 (probably 1980's). Had no hydraulics in it.
I stored it on grass, which rotted the decks out.
Now I have a Lastec ZTR 3696. I store it on a concrete slab, indoors.
No rot.
Have to say, I prefer the tow behind, mostly because driving the ZTR, you get covered with debris.
With the tow behind, all the dirt is behind you.
Also, the ZTRs are loaded with dead man switches/safety switches.
Drives me nuts.
That is most awesome finish mower ive seen!
it's not very good on slightly taller grass or side hills but it really cuts my mowing time
Well i find if you have Ag tires on a mower it sticks better. And yea smaller decks usually get more grass buildup.
I don't do much side hills so I just go over it twice offset the second pass
if i had a lower gear would help with the slightly taller grass, the m just will slip the belts if its too thick
I would like to hear more about the fussy part of this mower. I am considering one and would value your thoughts.
Aldi More
if you mow every other day, it will be fine.
if you mow as needed, it may leave strips in the slightly taller grass.
if you mow on a side slope, it will slide sideways some leaving strips.
if you mow in the bottom of a waterway, road ditch, or such area where the mower articulates "up", it will leave strips.
if you drop any of the smaller wheels into a gopher hole, it will scalp.
alot of grease points
lot of belts
if you have more questions, let me me know. i wouldn't pay much for one.
Thanks Andy. I don't mow every day. I had a Land Pride AFM4211 that did an admirable job cutting varied lengths of grass and never left tall stuff unless I was going way too fast. Sold it a few yeas back and really regret that move. Now I am looking again and thought I might consider a Lastec. Sounds like it might be a bit fussy compared to what I had. Sigh, the lastec takes up less room in the shop. Sounds like I need to keep looking as your not the only one pointing out the short comings.
Aldi More if these overlapped more and/or pivoted differently would help with some strips
oh, this one broke the center deck bearing spindle and pulley once.
i called and talked to their tech support about the mow quality a couple times. their excuse was wrong belts and worn blades. so i replaced them with all new oem with no improvement.
i would think there has to be something far less expensive than these out there than these that would do a better job.
Good point and sad the tech blamed belts and blades. Based on your observations and what I have found on forums, they are intended for well groomed turf. What i loved about my AFM4211 is the cut quality was always good and it did a great job of dispersing the grass. Never any windrows. I will probably get another if I can find a good used deal. Thank you for helping me decide.
Aldi More although this saves me time over my 720k grasshopper, it would save more time if i didnt have to go over stuff twice. if your old mower worked good, id go that way too. i cant recommend a lastec like this.
That tractor flies down the road!
Longslyde1 I think it's 25-28mph with mower on, had just the tractor up to 39mph on the paved road.
I Figured 30+ mph just trying to pick a stationary spot and gauge it. That's cookin' for that old tractor. Thought for a second you fast forwarded the video LOL. I have a 721XR that I have had for years and loved it, Just put it up for sale and was looking for my video and saw yours. I see you must have modified it to get around the fast hitch. Should title it 721XRT for the tow hitch option they came out with lol.... Nice vid.
Longslyde1 yeah I modeled it after pictures of the xrt, I still have the old arms so it could go back to stock xr. I saw your eBay , do the High Lift Oregon Blades work better than the oem high lift blades? This mower seems built good but I'm not pleased with its performance and lastec was no help.
It works well but it takes more power to run it with the Oregon high lifts. They have a pretty aggressive wing.You can hear in my video it makes the Lastec sound like an airplane. It cuts down the missed strips a bit though with the better suction. I'm in clay ground so it isn't too bad on the dirt but if you're in sand, I wouldn't go with them, they'll blast the under deck pretty hard. Mine leaves strips occasionally but only when mowing at fast speed. I did adjust the decks a little closer together and that helped a bit (only the outer wing decks miss about an inch if mowing really fast) but you may need to got to a 1/2" shorter belt to do it.
Longslyde1 I have about the same ground here I think. I adjusted the deck adjustment as close together as I could but left the belt adjustment. It's not bad on level or over hills but leaves strips on side hills & dips. I've got used to going over some areas twice. Do the Oregon blades mount different than the oem? I have some rectangular blade brackets. Do you know the Oregon part numbers?