What to power a 72"

[tlcgrounds]

I have two 60" lazers and am looking at a 72" I've seen all the latest in engine match ups but our unit will be mowing less than perfect wide open acreage and i don't think the unit will last as long a a desiel or a liquid cooled engine. Do any of you guys think a 25 horse Kohler will push a six footer for 2000 hours. I hate to be looking at a Kohler I only have one other Kohler and the is a 25 horse on my lazer everything else are Kawasaki's.

[TLS]

Get the new 72" 27 hp LC Kawasaki Lazer. Demo one and you'll be surprised at the power and quietness. That engine WAY overpowers my 60" Lazer. Hardly ever comes up on the govenor. I get 1.2 g/hr too! The Diesel Lazers aren't out quite yet and they look more complicated and I myself, am uncertain about the Daihatsu/Briggs engine.

[gorrell]

You might try a DC s'burb'n turb'n. It's got two 20 hp kohlers, and beleive me there's not another 72" that will mow more grass than this machine. I'm averaging less than 2 gallons of gas per hour, which I don't think is too bad considering how much grass it will mow per hour. There's no substitute for horsepower. Lynn

[John DiMartino]

If you want to mow quickly,the 25hp will not be enough.It is enough for a 60-but i wouldnt want it on a 72.I wish i had more than the 25 on my DC 60".I would personally rather have a 23 kawi on a 72 than the 25 command.I dont know if it will last 2000 hrs-it seems like you are taking a chance when you buy a 25-it might be great and run a long time-or it might be like mine with no power-blown gaskets-burning oil.I have a 2000-so dont let them tell you kohler has fixed the problems-they told me the same story-then they ate there words,as I filled there shop with smoke only a month later from the oil it burned.I have a friend with 2 72" DC suburban turbans-he loves them and has had good luck with them.

[gorrell]

John, thanks for the tip on removing the 1/2 inch spacers on the DC decks. I took them off both my flatlander and s'burb'n turb'n and I don't think you could scalp with either one now if you tried. Thanks again, Lynn

[Lawnworks]

Did you used to own Grasshopper mowers?

[WALKERMOW]

the Grasshopper 928D is the best mower i have been on ..it has a 72" cut powered by a 28 hp kubota diesel..no lack of power there i promise!! it has a top speed of 10 mph ..this thing sure cuts awsome..demo one if possible you'll love it

[John DiMartino]

Your welcome Lynn,I owe that thanks to Eric@ELM,he told me after I bought mine.

[Eric ELM]

Get the 72" Chopper with the 41 HP Yanmar diesel. It will do the job and fast. It's also sips fuel. :D

BTW, your welcome Lynn and John. The 1/2" spacers are the first things I take off of a new Chopper.

[bob]

If its power you want, then take that Chinook helicopter engine off that Dixie Chopper and stick that bad boy on your mower!

[gorrell]

Lawnworks, yes I had a 721d and a 725 that I traded in on the S'burb'n Turb'n. I can honestly mow more with this one machine that I could with the two grasshoppers( 6 mph just doesn't get it). The 928 was my second choice, but my closest dealer didn't even get back to me when I asked him to shoot me a deal. I'm extremely pleased with the new DC, and I doubt if there's many out there that will handle steep hillsides with it, really wide track makes it a hill hugger. Thanks, Lynn

[turfquip]

Eric, what would you expect the top ground speed to be on the DC with the 41 HP Yanmar?

What is the top speed on the Suburbn Turbn?

[Eric ELM]

The Suburbn Turbn is 15 MPH and I think the 41 HP Diesel would be the same, but I'm not sure. I will try to find out.

[turfquip]

If I could run a 72" mower 15 miles an hour, not scalp, hug hills like crazy, make beautiful stripes, and do it all with diesel power, this would be my machine.

There's gotta be a catch....where's the fine print? Tell me, is it true?

[Runner]

Just for the record, that jet engine is built by Westinghouse, and yes, DOES come with a warranty. But seriously, TLC, You may want to look into the EPS. That sounds like it right what you are looking for. Rated at 29 ponies, I think it's adequate horsepower for the 72, and the fuel injection is NICE!

[Eric ELM]

Go Demo one, but take off the 1/2" spacers if you have any sort of scalping problem. That should eliminate the problem unless your cutting very low and have very uneven turf.

[John DiMartino]

Turfquip,I think the only catch is that you cant mow at 15mph-according to the spec sheet-13mph is the top speed,I bet you could seriously mow at 10-12 if it wasnt that thick.The other catch is the price,its up there,although i would love to have a turbo screaming and 41hp too,i couldnt afford it at the time.

[HOMER]

Well now, Since I own a City Slicker with a 25 Kohler I think I can safely say it seems to be enough power for everything I have put it in. If the acreage your cutting is gonna be cut on a regular basis then I know it will work for you. If it's a month between cuttings then I would look at a bushhog. I have over 400 hrs on my 25 Kohler and it ain't even hiccupped yet, maybe I got one of the few good ones!

Homer

[SLC1]

We have 3 72" machines and one 12' machine and all are powered by Disel, The 3 72" are powered by 28hp Kubota and the 12' is powered by a 54hp kubota and even then in high wet grass the machines are slightly underpowered so I would say with a gas engine to get the largest that they offer. The machines we run are Hustler Excel.

[TLS]

As for the 13 mph or 15 mph on a Flatlander DIXIE. I had one and it is an honest 15mph 3790 rpm's down the street. It may be 13 mph at 3600 not sure. Unless they changed wheel motors since '97. Tire pressure on Dixies greatly affects top speed. 4psi is slow compared to 9psi.

Anyway, I was disapointed at my new LC Lazers speed. They say 10mph but when your used to 15, 10 seems slow!! I have to hook up a Tini-Tach on the Lazer to see what it is freeloading at. The idle from the factory was way high, so I think the high side rpm's might be off a few too.

Anyone have any torque figures on the new Kawi's or the new 3 cylinder gas or diesel? The website still lists the 22 LC and the Briggs page doesn't even talk about the 27 and 31 Daihatsu's.

[Hardy Enterprises]

The numbers for the new Briggs diesel (950DT) are:

31 hp at 3600 RPM
51 foot pound at 2400 RPM



Jay

[TLS]

Jay,

Don't you mean the 31 hp GASOLINE powered Briggs? As the Diesel Briggs is a 27 hp. Where did you find this info? If I was a manufacturer, it would be smeared all over my brochures and website. But then again if we were all manufacturers, there would be no need for any outside companies!

[Hardy Enterprises]

Hey Dixie1 I got the information from page 24 of the Truf magazines buyers guide 2001. And no the Briggs diesel is not a 27hp according to Briggs(half page article on the diesel). The only 27hp I have heard of is the Kawi's 27hp L/C gas engine.

Jay

[Lawnworks]

On my DC, my RPM's get up to about 3600 just sitting there. What do I need to set the RPM's at? Do I bend the throttle cable as to lessen the slack? Will this hurt engine life? What does Dixie Chopper reccomend? I am loving my Chopper so far. I sure do get alot of looks!:) Especially, since I am 18 and driving a $9000 mower.

[Lazer]

3 new L/C's for '01 Lazers:

27hp Kawasaki gas
27hp Daihatsu diesel (XP)
31hp Daihatsu gas (XP)

[John DiMartino]

Lawnworks-I sent you an E-mail on how to bring the RPM's up a little

[Vibe Ray]

Sup guys? How good are the are the Daihatsu's as an overall engine??? (Power,gallons per hour,Life expectancy, dependability and reliability,and all that good stuff!!!)
How much will the New Lazer Liquid cooled Daihatsu 31HP Gas cost??? Will an LC deisel significantly outlast an LC gas???

[TLS]

Jay,

Only been getting Turf for 1 month, but they don't offer a 31hp diesel in the '01 Lazers. I think they offer a turbo'd model, this may be 31hp, but it is naturally aspirated in the Lazer lineup and rated at 27 hp.

Anyone out there own one (Briggs/Daihatsu) yet? SCAG and Bunton have used the 31 gasser for a few years. A friend demoed a 31hp gas 72" Bunton and said it was way too thirsty. Couldn't even get through the day on a tankful! I personally demoed (5min) a Saber toothed Tiger 72" SCAG with the 31 and it didn't seem any more powerful than my 27 Kawi. A lot of vibration and harmonics from that shaft driven Tiger. Complicated deck lift mechanism too.