I'm in the market for a commercial mower and didn't know if anyone could
lend any advice on them. I've only looked at the cub commercial mowers and
have been impressed with them. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Allen

I think you have to consider whether you're looking for a push mower
with a single blade, one with multiple blades, a sulky type, or a true
rider with a flaoting bed. I once had a Murray rider and when my
neighbor, a pro landscaper, bet me a case of beer that he could mow my
lawn faster with his aluminum deck, non-propelled pusher, I took him
up on it. And I lost the bet.

Needless to say, I sold the tractor, which of course needed 30
maneuvers to do what he did with 5. And I bought a BobCat aluminum
deck professional mower with a rigid trapdoor grass catcher. I used
that mower for 10 years, then sold it to a local landscaper for as
much as I paid for it new. I started traveling too much and couldn't
keep up. So now I have time and I bought a Honda Harnony.

My nephew in NJ had a Scag, think it was around a 36" cut, and it was
extremely well made. Many pros use Scags.

Mike

On Tue, 05 Aug 2003 20:15:49 GMT, "Allen Pepper"
wrote:

I'm in the market for a commercial mower and didn't know if anyone could
lend any advice on them. I've only looked at the cub commercial mowers and
have been impressed with them. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Allen

wrote in message
...
I think you have to consider whether you're looking for a push mower
with a single blade, one with multiple blades, a sulky type, or a true
rider with a flaoting bed. I once had a Murray rider and when my
neighbor, a pro landscaper, bet me a case of beer that he could mow my
lawn faster with his aluminum deck, non-propelled pusher, I took him
up on it. And I lost the bet.

Needless to say, I sold the tractor, which of course needed 30
maneuvers to do what he did with 5. And I bought a BobCat aluminum
deck professional mower with a rigid trapdoor grass catcher. I used
that mower for 10 years, then sold it to a local landscaper for as
much as I paid for it new. I started traveling too much and couldn't
keep up. So now I have time and I bought a Honda Harnony.

My nephew in NJ had a Scag, think it was around a 36" cut, and it was
extremely well made. Many pros use Scags.

Mike

I second Mike's advice. We just built a new home on wooded acreage, with
about 9000 square feet of sod laid, plus maybe another 7000 square feet of
sown grass/wildlife mix in the septic field area. I mow the sodded area
regularly, the septic area only twice so far this year, leaving it longer
intentionally for deer etc.
We bought a Kubota subcompact tractor to do multiple functions: loader
to do small earthmoving and landscaping tasks, blade for maintaining and
snow clearing of 1000 foot fairly steep driveway, and a 60" mower deck to
mow both the sod and the field area. My wife insisted we get something she
could use to mow with, since the mower we already had was a commercial
walk-behind eXmark brand mower, with 36" cut, 14hp Kawasaki engine, super
heavy duty and flawless in terms of easy startup and power to cut through
anything cleanly. She cannot operate that machine, and we intended to sell
it upon moving to the new property.
What we learned is that the bigger deck (and tractor maneuverability
limitations--even a subcompact, do not mean faster mowing. I mow as fast or
faster with the eXmark, and it does a much cleaner job than the Kubota deck.
I am so unhappy about the job the deck does that I am trying to get dealer
to resell it for me or I will sell it. My wife is not going to actually mow
anyway, as her time is more limited than mine, and I have no qualms about
doing it myself all the time anyway. It takes me all of 20 to 30 minutes to
do a nice, clean job.
The other downside of tractor mowing is the compaction factor on your
lawn. My Kubota was just packing it down too much, especially in the areas I
had to do much turning around. On my very clay soil, it was hurting the lawn
very soon. I don't have that problem with the walk-behind, both because it
is lighter (still a good 400 pounds) and can turn on a dime.
Be SURE you don't overlook what can be done with a smaller mower
(cheaper, easier to store, easier to maneuver, etc) IF it is really big
enough to meet your needs. (And they do make them with LARGE decks if you
want.) Scag, eXmark, and many others are built super heavy so that you will
never need another mower. When I got the eXmark, I knew it would outlive me,
and it sure is proving to be worth all I paid for it. It starts 1st or 2nd
pull every time, runs smooth as silk, cuts with superb power and bladespeed,
and takes very little maintenance. I am SO glad I didn't sell it too
quickly.
By the way, anyone want a Kubota 60" deck that fits Kubota's
subcompacts? (BX1500, 1700, 2200, and probably BX22?) It has maybe 6-7 hours
of use. :--)
--
Off to ride the mountains, D H
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