As a member of the Troy-Bilt Saturday6 I was provided compensation and products to review from Troy-Bilt. All opinions and statements in this post are of my own observations and experiences.
Today though I’d like to share with you my experiences on the Troy-Bilt RZT Mower. The 46″ RZT Mower is a 0-turn mower which allows the rider to quickly turn corners and turn completely around for faster mowing. My other riding mower has a very wide mowing radius in comparison which means I spend lots of time trying to get that last little circle of grass in a spot by changing my angle repeatedly until the grass looks just right. The RZT helps me get really close and tight around small areas which reduces the amount of time I spend spinning on the mower like I used to do!
Sometimes time doesn’t allow you to cut back your grass when you should and the rains make it grow extra tall. The RZT cut right through my extra tall grass efficiently, evenly, and without losing speed.
Perhaps the most important thing to me as a gardener is the amount of time this mower has saved me. Through a combination of its speed, 0-turn ability, and the wider mowing deck (compared to my old mower) the RZT has cut an hour off the mowing time of my 1.3 acre lot. Larger yards (with fewer trees to mow around because of obsessive gardeners) could easily gain back more time for the gardener to spend gardening or just sipping lemonade on the patio.
The Troy-Bilt RZT has some great features for the convenience of the user. The seat is very comfortable even when going over bumpy yard spots caused by irritating rabbits digging holes.
The oil change valve on the side is easily accessed for changing. Just hook the plastic tube they provide with the mower to the valve, place the other end of the tube through a hole in the deck, and direct the flow of oil to a oil catching container and turn the valve. I haven’t done this yet as I haven’t gone the recommended 50 hours of mowing time but I don’t dread changing the oil on the RZT like I do my other mower.
The gas tank can be seen from the outside of the mower so you always know how much gas you have inside. Remember to always use ethanol free gas. Ethanol tears up the engines of lawn equipment and it is just better for the engine to use ethanol free gas. There are products you can use to stabilize the ethanol issue if you need to go that route.
The RZT also uses a blade deck cleanout system where you can hook up a hose and wash out all the grass. It comes with a quick connecting nozzle to attach to your hose then hook to the mowing deck. It makes cleaning out the deck quick and easy.
When I first began mowing the yard with the RZT I had to re-learn how to drive a mower. The system is completely different from what I was used to. The bar arms steer, accelerate, and brake the mower. There aren’t any pedals for braking so to stop you just let go of the arms. For the emergency brake you just open the arms and it’s in its parking position. The blades won’t run when going backwards for safety reasons but the mower does not shut off like my old mower did. It’s a good safety feature to have to protect children who may have gotten too close to the mower. It took me about 2 mowings with the RZT to feel comfortable on the mower. It wasn’t long but if you have never driven one before I recommend to take it slow and careful the first few times you use it.
I’m very pleased overall with the RZT mower but it isn’t a mower for every yard. Slopes can be tricky and Troy-Bilt warns not to use on a slope greater than 15 degrees. Those slopes are best taken care of with a good weed eater or a push mower. Also smaller yards really don’t need a mower this powerful. Troy-Bilt has other mowers designed for smaller yards that would be better choices. Some of my Saturday6 colleagues will be reviewing other Troy-Bilt mowers so be sure to check their blogs out too. For my acre+ yard the RZT has done a great job at saving me time so that I can do other gardening tasks!
2020 Update on the RZT Troy-Bilt Mower
The RZT is still my main mower after 7 years of operation. I’ve only had it in the ship one time for some bent rods but it was repaired by a local shop and it’s running just as good as always. One thing that I wish the mower had was a towing hitch for garden carts or other equipment but those can be purchased after market and attached. It takes about 45 minutes to mow our 1.3 acre yard although we have many garden areas and wooded spots that reduce the mowing area. For our land it will take 4.5 to 5 hours to mow about 5 acres of VERY tall grass. I have been very pleased with it’s overall performance. I am no longer associated with Troy-Bilt and still do appreciate the product!.
Discover more from Growing The Home Garden
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
This sounds like the mower I need. It took me 61/2 hours to mow my 1-1 1/2 acre yard the first time this spring, because I'd been gone for 10 days and it finally decided to rain while I was gone, so the grass had gone to town. By the time I turn and turn and turn around the trees, gazebo, etc. I was worn out, not to say sick from the fuel fumes. I'll be watching for your giveaway. I love the sound of this mower.
I've enjoyed it a lot! I definitely like that it saves me time for doing some other things. That grass would be easily taken care of by the RZT!
Sounds great! I don't mow around my house, but I do mow around my 2 acre pond. This would save a TON of time (or money since we sometimes pay people to mow)
In the long run it probably would save you money if you do it yourself. It goes pretty fast and I really have fun driving around on it! I did have to adjust some rock borders to make driving through the pathways easier. That was mostly because I went from a 38" deck to a 46" deck! 8 inches makes a difference!