Commercial mower quality vs. residential equip

[Entropy]

Help settle a debate: a friend of mine says his Simplicity tractor will give a better cut than my 3 year-old 48" commercial Bob-Cat with high-lift blades (I haven't picked it up yet (will this Sunday)), because he "knows" commercial equipment is built for speed and durability, not quality. I tell him he's bought Simplicity's marketing hype and that a commercial mower gives commercial results, and that's what he sees at golf courses and ballparks.

Any input to this debate?

[Soupy]

I don't know much about that Simplicity Tractor, Their Web site has some pretty good info on Striping though. My Dixie Chopper doesn't cut as good as my cheap MTD push mower. But I still use the Dixie %99.9 of the time, even on my own lawn. But that is a completly different comparison.

Soupy

[gravedigger5]

I've got a 18hp simplicity tractor with 48" deck I've had for about 7 years now, it does an exceptional job. I've also got a Howard Price 48" wb I've had for sometime now for my biz, and on my own yard the HP does about as good of a cut in almost half the time. It just all depends on how fast you go. Go fast on that simplicity and the cut is not that great and it will bounce you right off the seat. Go slow on the HP and you get an awesome cut and you will still even eliminate most of your trim time. The simplicity has a full set of rollers in the rear of the deck, the HP does not have any but will lay down a much better stripe than the simplicity. Go figure:confused: Never owned a Bobcat myself, but as with most commercial wb's I'm sure you'll be happy. Marc



Are We Having Fun Yet???

[hubb]

With sharp blades and running doubles on the Bob-Cat, you will no doubt beat any lawn tractor on cut quality and especially on speed. If he doubts you have a comparision run side by side. I think he'll get the point afterwards. Of course I don't know all the details about your used mower but if you make sure you have razor sharp blades and everything is working properly on your Bob-Cat, then you will have him convinced in a very short period I'm sure. Good :D

[65hoss]

hahaha. This is funny. Commercial equipment will have a better cut, but a lawn tractor you can always tell the cut. Comparing apples to pears. Not even both round. Just remember, most homeowners are hardheaded.

[awm]

tell the dealer what he said . that way he will be sure u are out the door right the first time. then spend a little time learning
your machine.then i believe its time to start baiting this friend into a little wager. if u are so inclined.make sure u are both cutting the same hieght and your tire pressure is perfect. u should eat steak on him that night.

[Richard Martin]

Actually I think just about any mower should give an excellant cut. The question isn't "if" the mower will give a good cut but how slow it needs to go to give the good cut and how tall the grass is that is being cut.

Today's modern commercial mowers are built to give an excellant cut at speeds that the homeowner mower won't even go and will still be able to handle large volumes of grass when the need arises.

Entropy wrote:

commercial mower gives commercial results, and that's what he sees at golf courses and ballparks.

Actually the stripes that you see at the ballpark are a lot of work and they take a whole grounds crew to make them. While stripes in 4 inches of grass is relatively easy to do try laying down stripes in 1 and 2 inches of grass. There is a book called "Picture Perfect" by David Mellor that explains how those great stripes are done.

[PetalsandPines]

I hate to say this...but I find that some homeowner equipment does cut better than the commercial equipment, case in point is the 21" Toro Commercial Mowers....I finally gave up on the $1000 monsters and went to home owner models....Both commercial mowers that I have owned never seemed to have enough power. Customer gave me a mower he didn't want anymore and it was an old toro rear bagger and it cut better than my commercials (although the deck was ready to split in half) but that is besides the point.

[Toroguy]

Originally posted by awm
u should eat steak on him that night.

awm is accurate, make a wager and enjoy some filet mignon.

Its a pride thing with the tractor.

After you win the comparison run in the yard like Deion Sanders and then do the "dirty bird" dance.

[kbcjlc]

I use John Deere F-725.. mow fast and cut very well. I have never own a z mower but one day i will. as for walk in mower, I use yard-man push mower and honda push mower because it cuts good and make it very neat and looks sharp on small yard.

Keith

[FrankenScagMachines]

For homeowner riding mowers, Simplicity takes the cake. I'm not completely sure if this is true, but a friend of mine has a Simplicity Broadmoor with a 38" deck (I think 16hp Kohler) hydro, and he cuts almost full speed with it (around 7, 8 or 9mph I think) I'm not sure how often he mows but I think just once a week. He side discharges and says it looks great when he's done. He stripes it of course. I am not sure if I would compare cut quality, but I would compare effeciency of the two mowers.
Go out and run them side by side like the others said and see which comes on top for cut quality and effeciency.
BTW - don't be too hard on him! ROFLMAO!

[GCS LawnService]

The Simplicity mower is probably a good machine but you can not compare a lawn tractor to a commercial mower. I switched from a John Deere GT 275 to a John Deere M665 with a 25 hp Kohler and a 60 inch deck and have no regreats. I have recently sold the M665 and replaced it with a John Deere 757 with a 25 hp Kawasaki and a 60 inch deck. Their is no comparison between the tractors I have owned and the commercial equipment. Tell your buddy you have expensive taste and would like to make a wager for a nice meal and mow the same piece of ground back to back. I am certain he would be broke from the meal he would have to buy me and would be shaking the dust form his drawers for weeks to come after the showdown!


:blob2: I know that ya'll are friends but you need to fire him up!

[MikeLT1Z28]

well, there are several statements in different posts that are all correct. going slow any mower should cut great. that's where the blade tip speed gets important. the better tip ft/minute the faster the whole machine can move and not compromise the quality. this is where commercials shine big time.

now i don't know anything about the Simplicity or the Howard Price (other than i haven't heard of them before now) but if a regular homeowner bought a commercial unit and used it only for their lot, they'd probably never have to buy another mower again in their life. my dad used to run these 21 and 22 crapsman's and was buying a new one every few seasons. figure an hour per cut, once a week for about 25 weeks a year. that leaves us at about 25 hours a season. so he replaces it every 3 years or so depending on how worn out it is. 75 hours on a residential and it's worn out. 75 hours on a commercial and it's hardly broken in.

i know where my money would be going.

[eslawns]

IMO, the problem with the cut most commercial mowers leave is the operators. If the blades are sharp, and the operator doesn't overcut their capability, the reseults will be awesome, even from what most members of this board consider a sub-standard quality mower like the 36" Encore WB I use in gated lawns (and my own yard). If it stops raining, I'll try to post a picture or 2.

However, the best cut and bagging results I've ever gotten were from a 21" Scott's mower (made by Murray) I got from Home Depot when my Ariens was stolen. The handles were cheesy, and the drive system was awful, but it sucked up leaves like a vacuum cleaner, and had a beautiful cut. I would still use it on my lawn, but the Encore leaves stripes, which my wife likes. It's too slow to use on paying lawns.

The el Cheapo tractor I had my first season in business also made a nice cut, but was too inefficient, and not durable.

I know this is heresy here, but the truth is still the truth.

[Just Turned Pro]

Like someone said above... apples to pears...

Case study on 21"... my neighborhood...

I mow my own lawn twice a week at 3” with my Honda Commercial 21". I get the same great cut every time. It doesn’t matter if it’s pouring down rain or the grass has skyrocket growth like this past month, it always performs great.

The guy next door has a Craftsman 21” and mows his lawn about twice a week also. He cuts at about 2 ½” and gets a good looking cut out of it. No clumps when its dry, and an even cut.

The guy two doors down has the same Craftsman 21” (I think). He cuts about every 7-10 days and tries to cut at around 2”. He always leaves a trail of clumped grass behind him and gets a poorer looking cut every time.

So it depends on the manner and the conditions in which the mower is used. The guy next door probably doesn’t see the difference between my $1000 Honda and his $200 Craftsman…. But I bet the guy two doors down does...

Now lets just see where there mowers are in a few years
:D

[strickdad]

cut quality is directly realated to blade tip speed,and deck design. neither of which the simplicity does very well..

[Entropy]

I have to believe if I took the Bob-Cat and did a lawn at a reasonable speed, then the Simplicity and did the same thing, the Bob-Cat would come out on top. My friend admits to spending half of his mowing time making sure the deck is level and other mechanical nuances are OK, and he has to bag or the lawn looks like garbage -- side discharge doens't work on his tractor (I'm guessing because his blade tip speed is rather low: 12.5 HP on a 38" deck), and the deck won't mulch. He creates "stripes" by virtue of rollers at the rear of his Simplicity's deck, which seems to work OK. My Bob-Cat, from what I'm told, will stripe very well due to the high-lift blades and blade tip speed (which helps, obviously, create lift).

Point being: I'm sure the Simplicity gives a decent cut, but in order to do so, it MUST bag. I'm willing to bet the Bob-Cat will give an outstanding, commercial-quality cut with side discharge, and in half the time. And to boot, he must cut concentrically, because the turning radius for his Simplicity sucks. He gets no traditional "stripes" to speak of, and he really can't vary his mowing pattern much. Doing cool diagonals is OUT of the question for him.

Thanks to all who replied. I just might take this guy up on a dinner bet.

[Mid Rivers]

Bushhogboy wrote "For homeowner riding mowers, Simplicity takes the cake. I'm not completely sure if this is true, but a friend of mine has a Simplicity Broadmoor with a 38" deck (I think 16hp Kohler) hydro, and he cuts almost full speed with it (around 7, 8 or 9mph I think) I'm not sure how often he mows but I think just once a week." :confused:

HUH!! Just over 5MPH tops. Takes the cake? ummm, OK. :confused:

Learn to use your new mower and if his cut is better go practice some more! :D

[mowdini]

Simplicity mowers give a fine cut BUT there is no way they can obtain the blade speed of a commercial mower. Blade speed rules!!!

[Mr Lucky]

Originally posted by PetalsandPines
I hate to say this...but I find that some homeowner equipment does cut better than the commercial equipment, case in point is the 21" Toro Commercial Mowers....I finally gave up on the $1000 monsters and went to home owner models....Both commercial mowers that I have owned never seemed to have enough power. Customer gave me a mower he didn't want anymore and it was an old toro rear bagger and it cut better than my commercials (although the deck was ready to split in half) but that is besides the point.

You should hate to say that!!! What kind of monster are you buying for $1000? My 36" Scag WB (that's walk behind) will outcut a homeowner rider. I can take dull blades and outcut a Wal-Mart special and do it faster too. I do not even own a push mower.

I'll give you a 15 minute head start and still get through first and not even leave grass clippings on the ground.:gunsfirin

Whew.... that felt good.

[locutus]

Home owner types are hard-headed. If it cant be found at the local home improvement center, they know absolutely nothing about it. Most of them think that a JD riding tractor is the industry standard for mowing perfection. Never mind that JD is largely rolling along on its past reputation. I do however think that Simplicity makes one of the more appealing home owner mowers.

[Tommy D]

All of my trailers are equiped with Toro's 1- 52" wb 1-48" wb and 1-32 " wb on each machine has a velky we also have 2- 21" self propeled mowers the 21" mowers are not commercial mowers. my point is I believe that Toro commercial equipment cuts as well as any mower out there. I also realise that some of you may dispute this but the only problem I have with the larger equipment is when you have a small dip or swale in the lawn, in those areas we use the trimmer to get those areas before we even start mowing. (just another openion for what ever it's worth???????) :waving: