productivity of a 32" vs 36" vs 44"

[stevenf]

Right now I have a homeowner 44" ZTR and im up to 11 accounts so I will be purchasing a commercial mower soon (most likely a better).
All of the yards I have now are fairly small and can easily be done with a walk behind, Im just curious as to how productive it is.
For thoughs of you that HAVE used around these sizes of ZTR, Is the 36" worth the money over the 32"? Whatever I buy will become a backup once I get a commercial rider. Also, with going from a 44" to a 36" or 32", do you really notice the cut back on efficiency or does it only require 2-4 more passes per yard?
Keeping in mind that the walk behind will be used heavily and then used for gates and as a backup. Would you spend the extra $200.00 for the 36"?

[Patriot Services]

This is a reasonable question and of course the answer is it depends. I used to run a 50" DC and 36" WB. Most of my yards had gated back yards. Most of the yards were no bigger than 1/4 acre. I found by the time I reloaded the DC and unloaded the WB any time savings was lost. I now have a Gravely 34 ZTR and cut my times by 25% and was able to do more props in a day. Part of this time savings is the Gravely's higher ground speed but also from using only 1 piece of equipment. Not to mention the personal energy savings. With larger areas you would lose this advantage.:usflag::usflag::usflag:

[Valk]

Buy as big a mower as is practical for your business. For mine & once I measured my gates I realized a 36 wouldn't fit through several of them that open to BIG back yards - and since I intended to make this my primary mower (and leave the 21 at home as I operate trailer-less) I went with a Q32.

Go and physically measure your customers' gates, do not 'eye' this distance...then make a business decision. Since you intend to get more accounts you might consider this as a complimentary mower to your Z...or you might look at this purchase as the mower to replace your homeowner Z. Either way, and there are others, it's a business decision based on your wants AND needs.

Here are BOP's actual mower widths (with the chute removed, I believe):
Q32 - 34.5"
Q36 - 39.0"
Q44 - 46.75"


GOOD LUCK!

[milkie62]

Toro and Exmark catalogs have all the mowing specs you need