Well I am going to the more crew friendly Exmark type mower... Hustler. What would you guys buy a 27 carberated kholer, 28 efi kholer, or 27 liquid cooled kawasaki? I am planning on keeping it for two years or 1000hrs and selling it or retiring it. What engine would you get? BTW I have already done a search, just want more input.
They have more torque and run cooler. That EFI sounds like a good idea with better fuel consumption but i dont know much about it and i don't know anyone with one.
I have the 28efi, and demoed both before buying the 28efi. The liquid cooled would be better for the long haul (more hours) but if your selling at 1000 hours. You would be fine with the 28efi, the efi also uses about 35-40% less gas than a carborated 27. The efi pays for it self very fast. My vote is for the 28 efi.
The extra electronics with the EFI worry me in the dusty environment in which these mowers live in. Same with the radiator on the liquid cooled 27. Also the liquid cooled 27 has that many more parts and things to check for a crew to be using. My vote is with the carburated 27 kohler. I have one on my Exmark and it has plenty of power. I feel it is the most reliable.
I had a 25 kaw for a year and sold it with 475 hrs. Loved the motor till I tried a 27 kohler. Kohler has more torque by far. Only 100 bucks more. EFI really wont pay for itself in only 1000 hrs. All are good motors but have heard alot of bad about efi on all mowers, not only hustler.
Alright so the liquid cooled will last longer. The EFI will get better gas mileage. Anybody have an idea what the difference in gas per hour is? Is the liquid cooled easier on gas than a regular carburated engine?
The estimates I heard were about a gallonp/hr efi and 1.2 carb but that was a 25 carb vs. 26 efi before kohler jumped up the hp. As far as efi's not being reliable, I am on my third and fourth efi mowers (had two 26's ,just bought two new 28's) and have NEVER had a efi related problem. Espesially if you will trade every thousand hours or two seasons reliability shouldn't be an issue. I absolutely love my fuelies, even tried going back to a carb a little while back, sold it after only 255 hours, it would sit on the trailer while the efi got racked the hours up. I haven't had a liquid so I can't give a fair comparison but I think you can tell what my vote is.
eXmark and Walker had "problems" with early ( '97 or '98) EFI engines because the MOWER manufacturer grounded the engine's electronics over paint, not to bare metal. Once they corrected this screw up, they had no other 'common' "problems".
The problems were never with the Kohler EFI engines, but were installation problems.
Go with the EFI. 2nd choice the 27 Kohler.
My Hustler SuperZ 28EFI is great on fuel, 3/4 gallon an hour. But even without the fuel economy it's worth having. The engine has the smoothest, most efficient power output imaginable. You just won't have the bogging, or RPM loss when it encounters heavy grass, it adjusts instantly! It really is an amazing engine.
The liquid cooled involves a whole lot of things to go wrong ( radiator, hoses, pump, leaks, clogs, leaks, BREAK downs!). If your mowers will run 5 hours without stopping (such as highway right-of-way mowing), it may be of value. Still, I ain't a believer in liquid cooling on a ztr, too much to go wrong.
I own 2 EFI units and love them. My Walker has a 26EFI from 2000 and there was only one factory problem from Kohler. The Bosch fuel pump had a screen that was too fine and the restriction made the pump fail. That was really the only problem I had. The other is a 26 on 2002 Toro Z. only 70 hours but it sips fuel and has plenty of power. I never had a LC but I dont mow 40 hours a week, if I did I would go with a diesel.
Yes the EFI cost more and will take 2-3 years to payback the expense with fuel savings, but you are getting a much better performing engine under load. The engine is smoother and electronics have been around for a while so I wouldn't worry about that. Come on, like fuel injection has been in cars for 25 years. I think they have the electronics figured out by now.
I don\t think it really matters which one you pick. They are all good for at least a 1000 hrs. L/C is better for long term and is fairly fuel efficient. But why are you only keeping it for 1000 hrs??
I personally have a 27hp Kawi, and while its a nice engine, it's advantages are very slim.
When I bought my Lazer, I was coming from a very problematic 25hp Kohler, at that point, I was not going to go with another Kohler and chance it. Then, the 27hp LC Kawi was the most powerfull engine out there. Thats why I bought it. Now with the introduction of 27, 28, 31hp etc engines out there, there are other engines to choose from.
While I'm sure the 27LC will outlast most aircooled ones, the longevity of the mower itself would be the limiting factor, and with you only predicting 1K hours, you could go with any engine and achieve that.
Is the 27LC Kawi that Hustler uses a horizontal shaft? The Hustler ZTR is designed for a vertical shaft. I'd stick with that for the compactness and light weight. The LC Kawi will be much heavier and require a mule drive to power the deck.
Yes yall have! Thanks very much for the info. It is funny how much easier it is to spend 10k than to make it. One 5 minute phone call, and the EFI will be here Tuesday. My crew leader will be putting the hours on it, so I am just trying to make a smart business decision. From what I have gathered from you guys, my dealer, and a Hustler rep I think the EFI will possibly be more reliable and more fuel efficient. Hopefully this will save money down the road. I am utterly sick of Dixie Chopper, but I don't think any mower can be used every day problem-free after 1000 hours even if it is maintained properly. That is why I plan on selling when the warranty is up and when it has 1000 hours. There is so many nit picky stuff that can go wrong. I just can't deal with it any longer. I think as your business evolves and grows, many things that you previously held true change very ,very much. For me, a die hard Dixie Chopper man has bitten the dust.
Well I just picked up the mower today. So far so good, it seems like a solid machine, but I think it will take a few hundred hours before I know all the advantages and disadvantages. I really like the deck lift system and the actually cutting height by inches. Dixie Chopper needs to figure that one out. The hydrolics seem extremely crew friendly as far as tearing up turf. Maintenance also looks like it will be a synch w/ the oil filter and drain in a very convienent location. I am going from a Generac 32 motor that was always a b!tch to start every day of its life to this efi... I like it! It seems to be a little rougher ride than a Dixie... and my dixie has the the exact same tire except 26" tall. What does the Hustler striping kit consist of? Is it a bar like an exmark? I don't even get to play with it though... my crew leader gets to have all the fun.
I've been a member for ............... uh..........58 hours!!!
27 Kohler running the mulch kit 100% of the time.............I'm lovin' it so far.
The Exmark is a rougher ride than the old Chopper for sure. I dropped the tires down to 10psi yesterday and it smoothed out quite a bit, didn't roll the tire over either.
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