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What is the best 21" Commerical mower these days, lawn-boy, snapper, toro, etc?
Best 21" Commerical Mower
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We bought a new Toro and I couldn't be happier with it. I've used Hondas since they came out years ago and they are great machines if you've got 1200 bucks to throw at one. The thing I like most about the Toro as opposed to the Honda is the weight. The Toro is super light, cuts just as smoooth as the Honda, and costs 600 less. Not to mention the speed is significantly faster than the Honda.
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Honda. 1987 HR214 Honda Bagger and 2 speed SP. I couldnt be happier!
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the toro woth the 2 cycle suzuki engine is a real good one.I dont know if its the best??
I would agree with port city on the weight of a honda but the only way you are going to get a toro for half of a honda is if you buy there residential model not the commercial. I bought the a month ago and am very happy with it. Powerfull, excelent cut and mulches well bags excelent. I paid with extra blade and free tune up / oil change at end of season. that is the hydro 5.5 hp expensive one.
Go with the 215 5hp 20lbs less and it was 899.00. toro wanted 949 and snapper wanted 899 with robins and honda 5.5 999. what ever you do don't try them out before you buy!
Any ways I highly recomend the Honda.
Go with the 215 5hp 20lbs less and it was 899.00. toro wanted 949 and snapper wanted 899 with robins and honda 5.5 999. what ever you do don't try them out before you buy!
Any ways I highly recomend the Honda.
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551 Posts
If you are looking for the best, try one of these:
![Lawn mower Tire Wheel Mower Plant]()
I have 13 Toro 2 strokes and 8 short blocks for these machines. 95% of all of our work is done with these machines. I have over 100 accounts and only six of them are large enough to put a 32" or > on and still be able to custom cut them 4 different ways each month. My business philosophy is quality before time. The $399.00 residential Toro will not hold up to the rigors of commercial work. If you're into bagging, Hondas are probably the best out there. I gave $949 for three new ones several years ago and then got smart and started purchasing used ones for under $200.00. All of the used ones were brought back to factory specs for less than $20.00 in parts. One only needed to have the armature flywheel gap set correctly. Absentee owners, I love them.
I have a Toro ProLine 21" with a 2 cycle Suzuki, and an older LawnBoy 21" commercial machine (just before Dura-Force engine era). The TPL replaced the LB when the LB had a transmission problem. I work solo and use the TPL as the primary hand mower, but also put the LB on the trailer for about 8 jobs each week.
The LB covered about 3500 lawns before the tranny problem, and the TPL has covered about 1700 in the past two seasons.
Pro:
TPL - great engine, runs great, very efficient
- mower is heavy duty, built very well
- wheel drive is very sure, "feel" is very solid
- large bagger
LB - light, easy to handle
- bags very well in wet grass, or heavy/tall grass (side bag only)
- can use side or rear bag, either bag very easy to empty
- works moderately well for side discharge (not many clippings)
- always first-pull start
- deck underside keeps itself reasonably clean
- quality of cut in better (only reason I use it on certain lawns)
Con:
TPL - does not work well in heavy/tall grass (clippings get caught easily in the chute
- cannot discharge anything! (borrowed a left-side discharge chute, and found the operation to be of little value except when clipping count is low, and then I could use mulch mode anyway)
- underside of deck does not keep clean very well; grass build up around kicker-plates
- quality of cut should be better for most lawns
LB - some parts are not very sturdy (e.g. ground drive cable - good for only about 200-300 lawns before breaking)
- drive wheels don't last very long
- height adjustment levers are not very sturdy, subject to changing positions while working
- extra time required to change from bagging mode to mulching mode (not much of a penalty)
- noise! (I know the newer Dura-Force engines with muffler on top is quieter)
- staggered wheel design does not permit edge cut on the right side of mower; also it makes the total width of the mower wider
I like the Toro ProLine, but will probably buy new LB in the off-season. I'm not unwilling to pay the high price of a Toro, but I like the quality of cut the LB provides. Despite the very heavy use of the LB over the past six years, it still works pretty well. But will not want to put more money into replacement parts.
The LB covered about 3500 lawns before the tranny problem, and the TPL has covered about 1700 in the past two seasons.
Pro:
TPL - great engine, runs great, very efficient
- mower is heavy duty, built very well
- wheel drive is very sure, "feel" is very solid
- large bagger
LB - light, easy to handle
- bags very well in wet grass, or heavy/tall grass (side bag only)
- can use side or rear bag, either bag very easy to empty
- works moderately well for side discharge (not many clippings)
- always first-pull start
- deck underside keeps itself reasonably clean
- quality of cut in better (only reason I use it on certain lawns)
Con:
TPL - does not work well in heavy/tall grass (clippings get caught easily in the chute
- cannot discharge anything! (borrowed a left-side discharge chute, and found the operation to be of little value except when clipping count is low, and then I could use mulch mode anyway)
- underside of deck does not keep clean very well; grass build up around kicker-plates
- quality of cut should be better for most lawns
LB - some parts are not very sturdy (e.g. ground drive cable - good for only about 200-300 lawns before breaking)
- drive wheels don't last very long
- height adjustment levers are not very sturdy, subject to changing positions while working
- extra time required to change from bagging mode to mulching mode (not much of a penalty)
- noise! (I know the newer Dura-Force engines with muffler on top is quieter)
- staggered wheel design does not permit edge cut on the right side of mower; also it makes the total width of the mower wider
I like the Toro ProLine, but will probably buy new LB in the off-season. I'm not unwilling to pay the high price of a Toro, but I like the quality of cut the LB provides. Despite the very heavy use of the LB over the past six years, it still works pretty well. But will not want to put more money into replacement parts.
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I don't know if anyone will remember the old aluminum deck Sensation mowers. They were top notch trim mowers, and at the time, the only other like it was an Exmark. Back when Exmark was Exmark and nobody had heard of them.
Since those are hard to find, second runner up is the old white handled Snapper mowers. The handles and drive lever have a great "feel". That is why there are tons of those still around, and dealerships just put new engines on and resell.
Since those are hard to find, second runner up is the old white handled Snapper mowers. The handles and drive lever have a great "feel". That is why there are tons of those still around, and dealerships just put new engines on and resell.
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551 Posts
The Toro in 3rd gear is as fast as you'd probably want to walk. I usually leave it in 2nd. Did have a Honda hydro 21" and that was too slow, ended up just pushing it most of the time.
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I'm trying to make up my mind which 21" lawn mower is best also, because I need a new one. I previously owned a Honda commercial Hydro and gear drive. The gear drive is to fast for some employees but great for me (lasted the longest). The hydro was great until start leaking fuild. Both are to heavy. The engine starts good and runs good. But I think Toro gives a better cut. (Never own a commercial Toro.) Because of pollution this is the last year for Toro 2 cycle. They are coming out with Honda engine on Toro. Exmark already has the honda engine. But I question, the transmission and wheels. How often do they wear out? On the Honda they take a beating. I think the 21" 5hp Commercial Honda would be best for me but it has plastic wheels.
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