A distributor device for a zero-turn mower comprising:
- a shroud having a shroud top wall, a shroud front wall, a shroud rear wall, and a pair of opposed shroud sidewalls defining an open bottom, the shroud containing a transmission that includes a prime mover and a drive member extending upwardly through an aperture in the shroud top wall;
- a shroud mount rigidly secured to the shroud rear wall and configured for removable attachment to a mower mount fixed to a front region of a mower deck of the zero-turn mower so that the shroud moves in tandem with the zero-turn mower, the shroud mount and the mower mount comprising cooperable tubular frame members configured to receive a positive locking fastener;
- a pair of hopper mounts, each hopper mount including a lower arm attached to a corresponding one of the shroud sidewalls, an upper arm attached to a corresponding sidewall of a hopper, and a bent portion between the lower arm and the upper arm positioning the hopper above the shroud;
- the hopper being supported by the pair of hopper mounts and defining a hopper interior bounded by a hopper front wall, a hopper rear wall, opposed hopper sidewalls, and a hopper bottom wall, the hopper bottom wall including a discharge opening;
- a spreader disposed between the hopper bottom wall and the shroud top wall and fixed to the drive member of the transmission so as to be rotatable within the discharge opening to receive granular lawn care material from the hopper interior;
- a hopper guard extending from the hopper bottom wall toward the shroud rear wall and secured to the shroud rear wall, the hopper guard defining a passage between the hopper bottom wall and the shroud rear wall;
- a manual gate slidably mounted to the hopper bottom wall and configured to selectively cover the discharge opening, the manual gate including a handle that extends through the passage in the hopper guard to a location accessible behind the hopper;
- a power switch mounted on a drive handle of the zero-turn mower;
- and
- an electrical connection assembly comprising an electrical cable harness extending between a power source on the mower deck, the power switch on the drive handle, and the transmission within the shroud, the electrical connection assembly including a quick-connect electrical coupling located between the zero-turn mower and the transmission and configured to permit the distributor device to be electrically connected to and disconnected from the zero-turn mower;
- and
- wherein, when the distributor device is mounted to the zero-turn mower and the power switch is actuated, the transmission rotates the spreader to distribute granular lawn care material discharged from the hopper while the zero-turn mower is in motion.