I bought one to cut my 2.5 acre overgrown field and garden. It did great, cuts saplings, long grass and brambles easily. My overgrown field now looks like a well manicured park. Best mower I’ve ever had, in over 40 years
That’s great to hear. Five seasons later and 300 hours on it, and I am still using the very same mower. I do the regular maintenance on it and it keeps going strong. I did upgrade the stock tires on it to ATV tires and it handles everything I throw at it.
I just got one of these and I love it. I only have about half acre and reading up on it after ordering, they were saying for 2 acre lawns, but it is fine for my small yard.
That’s great. It is a great mower and I’m on my third season of using it now. I don’t normally mow a tall field like this with it but I had to put it to the test to see what it is capable of. I use it to mow a few acres of lawn at a time and it does a great job with a nice even cut and it’s fun to use. Enjoy!
you answered my question early on of what the "ST" in ST54 meant. I wanted to ask both of you did you cover all of the characteristics of the specific ST model? I'm shopping and theres an ST avail
The ST has some features more akin to the XT2 line, has the fabricated 54” deck, the bumper guard, and maybe a few other features above the normal XT1 line. I’ve got about 250 hours on this mower now and it’s still going strong with regular maintenance and only one major type of repair (I broke the front axle) but I’ve put it through a lot. I could have done a warranty claim as the axle is warrantied for 5 years but I bought a new axle for about $150 and put it on. Not too bad of a repair. Been very happy with this mower and this is my fourth season of owning it now.
I’ve been mowing 9 acres every two weeks with it and did some of the hardcore mowing with it to clear a field a few times (not what it was meant for, but it held its own).
Lol that land isn’t very overgrown. Mine gets mowed once a year by tractor and in winter the snow kills off the grass. After 6 months growth the grass which is more like hay, is about four feet tall.
Thinking about purchasing the same mower for 15 acres. However, the terrain is not as evenly as in this video. Not terribly hilly, but some small rolling hills. How do you think it will fair? Also, how many times did you have to stop to refill the gas tank? TIA!
I mow some rolling hills with this and it does do well. I upgraded it to ATV tires too which has been great. I can get about two hours of mowing time on a full tank when cutting brush like this. With normal mowing I can get about 2.5 hours per tank.
15 acres with a mower like this? You need a subcompact or a zero turn. It would take days to mow all that with this. You have a huge yard and really need a commercial grade mower, not a homeowner grade mower. Just the number of hours you will put on it alone necessitate a commercial grade unit.
That is a good deal as long as all of the major components on it are still working properly. Mine has 203 hours on it and it is still going strong. Only major repair I had to do on it was the front axle but it was my fault for breaking that on some rough terrain and the part only cost me $200. I’ve been very happy with this mower and all I’ve had to do is the regular maintenance like oil and filter changes, etc.
I’m looking at the 50 and the 54, and the price is $2,600 vs $3,000 I wonder if everything else is the same , except for the deck size ? Or does the 54 have some other things the 50 don’t ??? Also that’s not just grass , I’m sure there’s tiny tree sap in there too , I wonder how the blade would look like after this job (would they be all beat up)
Great question. If the model for the 50 is the LT-50 and the model for the 54 is the ST-54 then I believe the 54 that I own here has several upgrades including a heavier duty deck, the front grill guard, and maybe a slightly different transmission. The ST stands for “Super Tractor” and includes a few upgrades in that line I believe. Yeah the default blades take a beating when I do this. I have upgraded to some of the Oregon blades and those handle this a bit better.
The tires and wheels are the biggest difference other than deck size and construction. The ST-54 has larger tires and wheels. The rear wheels have the 4 lug hubs, like the GT(garden tractor), instead of the single center lug, like the LT(lawn tractor). They also appear to be able to accept wheel weights. According to Cubs website, both have the Tuff Torq K46 transmission, which is in all of the XT1 Enduro Series tractors except the GT-54. It has the Tuff Torq 58, heavier duty and has diff-lock. I just recently bought the ST-54. I have not had any time with it to speak of, but from what I understand from other reviews and accounts, the larger wheels and tires make it a more capable machine. Giving better traction on hills, and a softer more stable ride. I have full intentions of adding a sleeve hitch to use attachments. I think it will do a great job for light duty small garden work. Time will tell.
I’m on season four with this same mower now and it’s still going strong. I only did this as a demonstration and test of what it can do. I’m not saying one should do it, just that one can do it. I use a farm tractor and brush hog for such things officially.
Yes, this is true but I wanted to test the power of the mower at nearly full speed to see how it would handle it. Cub Cadet, of course, does not recommend mowing grass taller than 10” with their mowers.
Yes, that is the part that surprised me the most. I did do a recent video where I mowed even thicker/taller grass, weeds, and small trees and that of course did bog it down a little. The mower still did shockingly well.
I bought one to cut my 2.5 acre overgrown field and garden. It did great, cuts saplings, long grass and brambles easily. My overgrown field now looks like a well manicured park. Best mower I’ve ever had, in over 40 years
That’s great to hear. Five seasons later and 300 hours on it, and I am still using the very same mower. I do the regular maintenance on it and it keeps going strong. I did upgrade the stock tires on it to ATV tires and it handles everything I throw at it.
Just got the same mower for my big yard. Couldn’t pass up the deal. Definitely an upgrade from my Troy built 42” stamped deck
It is an excellent mower. This is going on my fourth season using it and I'm still quite happy with it.
I'm not surprised it did fine. That grass is fairly tall, but not really very dense.
Yup, it did well but I also didn’t want to do what I should use a brush hog for.
Good “real world” demonstration.
I just got one of these and I love it. I only have about half acre and reading up on it after ordering, they were saying for 2 acre lawns, but it is fine for my small yard.
That’s great. It is a great mower and I’m on my third season of using it now. I don’t normally mow a tall field like this with it but I had to put it to the test to see what it is capable of. I use it to mow a few acres of lawn at a time and it does a great job with a nice even cut and it’s fun to use. Enjoy!
you answered my question early on of what the "ST" in ST54 meant. I wanted to ask both of you did you cover all of the characteristics of the specific ST model? I'm shopping and theres an ST avail
im thinking about getting one for my half acre yeard as well
The ST has some features more akin to the XT2 line, has the fabricated 54” deck, the bumper guard, and maybe a few other features above the normal XT1 line. I’ve got about 250 hours on this mower now and it’s still going strong with regular maintenance and only one major type of repair (I broke the front axle) but I’ve put it through a lot. I could have done a warranty claim as the axle is warrantied for 5 years but I bought a new axle for about $150 and put it on. Not too bad of a repair. Been very happy with this mower and this is my fourth season of owning it now.
I’ve been mowing 9 acres every two weeks with it and did some of the hardcore mowing with it to clear a field a few times (not what it was meant for, but it held its own).
This is so satisfying to watch
Im looking at this very model, for property in a similar condition. thanks for clarifying what the ads dont- but what is an XT model?
Cub Cadet XT1 ST54 is the model.
Where I live in Pennsylvania that is only about six weeks of grass.
Haha I hear ya. Especially this year. You’ve had endless heavy rain and storms up there it seems according to some family I have that live there.
Lol that land isn’t very overgrown. Mine gets mowed once a year by tractor and in winter the snow kills off the grass. After 6 months growth the grass which is more like hay, is about four feet tall.
Yeah, to be fair, this was in March. If I had tackled it in July or August it would have been more than 6 feet tall with some of the weeds and briars.
Thinking about purchasing the same mower for 15 acres. However, the terrain is not as evenly as in this video. Not terribly hilly, but some small rolling hills. How do you think it will fair? Also, how many times did you have to stop to refill the gas tank? TIA!
I mow some rolling hills with this and it does do well. I upgraded it to ATV tires too which has been great. I can get about two hours of mowing time on a full tank when cutting brush like this. With normal mowing I can get about 2.5 hours per tank.
@@GreatDayForAHike Thank you so much for the information. Your feedback is much appreciated. Happy mowing!
15 acres with a mower like this? You need a subcompact or a zero turn. It would take days to mow all that with this. You have a huge yard and really need a commercial grade mower, not a homeowner grade mower. Just the number of hours you will put on it alone necessitate a commercial grade unit.
Does it have the fastattach blade system it doesn't seem like it. You didn't have to stop and change the thin blades.
No, this model does not have the FastAttach blade system. It has the fabricated deck that has to be removed in order to change blades.
I’ll be doing a video on how to remove the deck and replace the blades.
I also have a ltx1050 I can jack it up with a mower jack on use a cordless impact to change blades. A lot easier than removing the deck.
I just got one of these with 133 hours for $800! Is that a good deal ?
That is a good deal as long as all of the major components on it are still working properly. Mine has 203 hours on it and it is still going strong. Only major repair I had to do on it was the front axle but it was my fault for breaking that on some rough terrain and the part only cost me $200. I’ve been very happy with this mower and all I’ve had to do is the regular maintenance like oil and filter changes, etc.
how many hours to mow all 12-acre?
About 6 hours once the initial knock down of brush was done. For the initial mowing it took about twice that time.
Is this mower all wheel drive?
Just rear wheel. I put ATV tires on it though which makes a big difference in traction and handling.
Is that the standard tuff torq k46 in that or is it one of the heavier duty tuff torqs?
Great question. It has the standard Tuff Torq K46 that it was manufactured with.
Xt2 gx50 has the tuff torque k56 gear drive hydrostatic trans which is what I have but cub cadet still doesn't have a drain plug to replace the fluid
@@kennethlowe6337 Thats because it is not serviceable. Nothing to do with Cub Cadet. Its the same with every brand with that transmission.
Thanks for the helpful tip.
I’m looking at the 50 and the 54, and the price is $2,600 vs $3,000 I wonder if everything else is the same , except for the deck size ? Or does the 54 have some other things the 50 don’t ???
Also that’s not just grass , I’m sure there’s tiny tree sap in there too , I wonder how the blade would look like after this job (would they be all beat up)
Great question. If the model for the 50 is the LT-50 and the model for the 54 is the ST-54 then I believe the 54 that I own here has several upgrades including a heavier duty deck, the front grill guard, and maybe a slightly different transmission. The ST stands for “Super Tractor” and includes a few upgrades in that line I believe.
Yeah the default blades take a beating when I do this. I have upgraded to some of the Oregon blades and those handle this a bit better.
The tires and wheels are the biggest difference other than deck size and construction. The ST-54 has larger tires and wheels. The rear wheels have the 4 lug hubs, like the GT(garden tractor), instead of the single center lug, like the LT(lawn tractor). They also appear to be able to accept wheel weights. According to Cubs website, both have the Tuff Torq K46 transmission, which is in all of the XT1 Enduro Series tractors except the GT-54. It has the Tuff Torq 58, heavier duty and has diff-lock. I just recently bought the ST-54. I have not had any time with it to speak of, but from what I understand from other reviews and accounts, the larger wheels and tires make it a more capable machine. Giving better traction on hills, and a softer more stable ride. I have full intentions of adding a sleeve hitch to use attachments. I think it will do a great job for light duty small garden work. Time will tell.
Thanks for all of these great details.
👍👍👍
Go ahead and mow that tall grass you're going to smoke a belt if you do it often the s*** not made as good anymore
I’m on season four with this same mower now and it’s still going strong. I only did this as a demonstration and test of what it can do. I’m not saying one should do it, just that one can do it. I use a farm tractor and brush hog for such things officially.
The thumbs down are broke down John Deere owners.
You are mowing too fast! Slow down, you're mower is having a hard time cutting anything over 1ft tall!
Yes, this is true but I wanted to test the power of the mower at nearly full speed to see how it would handle it. Cub Cadet, of course, does not recommend mowing grass taller than 10” with their mowers.
@@GreatDayForAHike Didn't seem to lose any rpm
Yes, that is the part that surprised me the most. I did do a recent video where I mowed even thicker/taller grass, weeds, and small trees and that of course did bog it down a little. The mower still did shockingly well.
I just purchased xt2 with 24hp kawasaki down here in Australia hanging to get it to work.
Nice purchase!