My dad is looking for a new mower. He mows about 5 acres with alot of trees. We dont have good terrain at all. He is looking at the Grass Hopper 223 with a 61" deck, 23 hp Kohler and a Dixie Chopper 2760HP, 27 hp Generac with 60" deck. They are exactly the same price. What would be the best mower of these two? Both are local dealers to.
Grasshopper 223 vs. Dixie Chopper Silver Eagle
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I like the Dixie. Quick, responsive, low maintenance. Tough as nails. The best warranty is the business.
I have a DC SE LT2700-60D which I'll be going into my 4th season with. I absolutely love this machine. I'm not a commercial cutter, just a homeowner with about 3 acres and frequently, not a lot of time to get the yard mowed. The SE is very responsive, and fast enough for my use. I can easily mow at top speed and still leave a manicured cut. The ride is as good, if not better, than the Ransomes 3-wheeler it replaced, despite that the Ransomes' top speed was only about 6mph. I'd also borrowed my BIL's Scag TT a couple times (maybe about 2 hours seat time) and I think my DC rides a little better.
The Generac engine, for me, has been the most impressive engine I've had on a mower, and I've had Onan, Kohler, Briggs, & Kawasaki. The power and torque is more than enough to run doubles without any ground or blade tip speed loss except in really tall grass. I can't comment about fuel consumption for as I said, I'm just a homeowner so that's of low concern.
I'm sure the Grasshopper is a probably a nice machine, but you just can't ignore the extra ponies that the DC has to offer for the same price.
The Generac engine, for me, has been the most impressive engine I've had on a mower, and I've had Onan, Kohler, Briggs, & Kawasaki. The power and torque is more than enough to run doubles without any ground or blade tip speed loss except in really tall grass. I can't comment about fuel consumption for as I said, I'm just a homeowner so that's of low concern.
I'm sure the Grasshopper is a probably a nice machine, but you just can't ignore the extra ponies that the DC has to offer for the same price.
I have owned and operated both in my lawncare business. I was a Grasshopper dealer for 4 years. Currently, I own an older D.C. for mowing my own lawn.
In my opinion, the Grasshopper is a better designed, better built, overall higher quality machine. The Generac engines make me vervous, as parts, service, and warranty work, are nearly impossible to get, except at a D.C. dealer. What if your local D.C. dealer goes away, as happened here? Now, those in our area with D.C.'s, have to travel nearly 100 miles to find someone to work on their Generac engines. If you buy a D.C. with the Kohler engine, you will not have that worry.
The D.C. will not hold hills well at all. The Grasshopper is far superior in hill hugging capabilities. The Grasshopper also offers a much smoother ride and smoother steering controls.
I would try to get a demo of each machine on your property. See which one fits your needs best. You really will not go wrong with either, but I prefer Grasshopper myself.
In my opinion, the Grasshopper is a better designed, better built, overall higher quality machine. The Generac engines make me vervous, as parts, service, and warranty work, are nearly impossible to get, except at a D.C. dealer. What if your local D.C. dealer goes away, as happened here? Now, those in our area with D.C.'s, have to travel nearly 100 miles to find someone to work on their Generac engines. If you buy a D.C. with the Kohler engine, you will not have that worry.
The D.C. will not hold hills well at all. The Grasshopper is far superior in hill hugging capabilities. The Grasshopper also offers a much smoother ride and smoother steering controls.
I would try to get a demo of each machine on your property. See which one fits your needs best. You really will not go wrong with either, but I prefer Grasshopper myself.
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Push him to look at the 227 61". if he wants to mow anything that's very tall the 23hp will be very underpowered with the 61" deck, unless he's willing to step down to the 52" with the 23.
I agree, I'd take a 'hopper any day over a Dixie, but the horsepower difference, and if that's absolutely the only 2 options, I'd lean towards the Dixie just for the adequete power to deck ratio.
I agree, I'd take a 'hopper any day over a Dixie, but the horsepower difference, and if that's absolutely the only 2 options, I'd lean towards the Dixie just for the adequete power to deck ratio.
He is set on one of these two mowers. I dont think either one of these dealers will be going anywhere in our town. Looking at all the commercial crews in our town, its about 50/50 on grasshopper and dixie chopper. The 4hp difference would be quit a bit if you were in thick grass. The grasshopper just seems like a really good and finished out machine through and through, no corners cut. The only thing about the DC is that he would buy it from another town, about an hour away because its $1300 cheaper. He is just a little worried about the service he may get on the DC since he would be getting it serviced in our home town. The grasshopper dealer is top class. Do yall think he might get poor service since he didn't buy it from them?
I bet the Grasshopper dealer will service it for you. However, he will not have any parts you may need, he can not do warranty work, and he probably can not work on Generac engines. You will also not get your machine anywhere near the top of the waiting list in their shop. It is only natural that they will take care of their own customer's machines first.
What is the name of the D.C. dealer. I may know them.
What is the name of the D.C. dealer. I may know them.
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241 Posts
I would look at the Grasshopper 227 w/61" deck myself. I don't like the cut of the DC. I have been very pleased with my hoppers. The 23 hp will be a little under powered if you don't keep the yard cut regularly. I'm a fan of Grasshopper and that would be the way I would go no matter the price diffrence. Remember, you get what you pay for.
Thats what i thought to. I thought last year that the DC classic was the commercial mower. Now they say its industrial and the silver eagle is the commercial. The home town dealer is air cooled engines in lufkin. THe hopper dealer says that the 223 is his most popular commercial mower. I think it would be a great mower. It looks so much stronger and better built than the chopper but Ive hear good thing about the chopper to.
During the 4 years I owned a Grasshopper dealership, we sold more 223/52 and 223/61 models than any other model. That is a very popular machine. I had several 223/61's in my lawncare fleet, and never really found them lacking in power. I had some tough mowing jobs, (city landfill and city sewage plant), and they did very well in those tough conditions. The landfill was mostly thick weeds, and the sewage plant was very thick bermuda grass.
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I had a 223/52 [actually bought it from Mowing man] and I really think it depends on what type of turf you are cutting. The Grasshopper is built well and is pretty comfy to ride on and the handling is nice. Now having said that, the cut on this deck is Jekyll and Hyde. On good dry turf it leaves a beautiful cut, I would put it up against any other mower on the market. The problem is wet or weedy turf, I know you said it was for your father so the wet should not be a problem for him. This leaves the weedy turf. If you have a lot of thin turf with a lot of high moisture broadleaf weeds, then this mower is almost worthless from say Feb-June. These decks really recycle the clippings, so the wet turf and sticky weeds stick to the bottom of the deck so bad that sometimes I could not get 2000 sq feet cut before I would have to stop and scrape. My dad still has a 322D/61 that does alittle better but it is still very bad, I do not know if it is because of the extra torque from the diesel or the 61 deck may cut different.
In review-- built well--dry and nice turf cuts great---wet and weedy turf cuts horrible
Just my 2 cents
In review-- built well--dry and nice turf cuts great---wet and weedy turf cuts horrible
Just my 2 cents
I wouldn't think it would be in any dealer's best interests to perform less than the best service they could offer, regardless of where the unit may have been purchased. That said, I don't know the dealer in question.
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