Cut/mulching quality for dry grass cut weekly: is commercial deck better than resid.?

josby · Aug 22, 2015

I understand commercial mowers/decks are designed to cut nicely, even when grass is wet or overgrown, but is there a difference for a homeowner who cuts weekly and only when the grass is dry? I typically cut 4-5" growth down to 3". I'm trying to decide between the Hustler Raptor SD 54" ($4000) and the Ferris IS600Z with the 48" iCD deck ($5500).

My property is almost an acre, and using the cool Google Earth area measurement tool at daftlogic.com, it looks like about .55 acre of it is actual grass. So I figure 25 hours a year usage max. Based on that, and my yard being flat, most of the advantages of the Ferris over the Hustler (ZT-3400 hydros vs 2800's, Kawi FS engine vs FR, 10mph vs 7.5mph, ROPS, 4 year warranty vs 3 year) don't seem worth the extra money for my situation.

No real differences in the dealers, either. Both well-established businesses, nice folks, and both are 3 miles from me, practically across the street from each other.

So for me it just comes down to the quality of the cutting, mulching and striping. I plan to get the mulch kit for whichever I buy, and use it always (I always mulch now with my push mower). I also plan to get the Hustler striping kit (the Ferris comes with one). I'd like to save the $1500 difference, but if I end up with stragglers and clumping and such, I'd rather have spent the extra IF it would've gotten me better results.

What's your opinion?

P.S. Borrowing a demo unit would be be ideal, but I don't have a trailer, and would also worry I might damage their mower since I'm new to ZTR.

P.P.S. the Hustler is 650 lbs., while the Ferris is 954 lbs and has narrower tires, front and rear. Should I be worried about ruts?

Shughes717 · Aug 22, 2015

josby said:
I understand commercial mowers/decks are designed to cut nicely, even when grass is wet or overgrown, but is there a difference for a homeowner who cuts weekly and only when the grass is dry? I typically cut 4-5" growth down to 3". I'm trying to decide between the Hustler Raptor SD 54" ($4000) and the Ferris IS600Z with the 48" iCD deck ($5500).

My property is almost an acre, and using the cool Google Earth area measurement tool at daftlogic.com, it looks like about .55 acre of it is actual grass. So I figure 25 hours a year usage max. Based on that, and my yard being flat, most of the advantages of the Ferris over the Hustler (ZT-3400 hydros vs 2800's, Kawi FS engine vs FR, 10mph vs 7.5mph, ROPS, 4 year warranty vs 3 year) don't seem worth the extra money for my situation.

No real differences in the dealers, either. Both well-established businesses, nice folks, and both are 3 miles from me, practically across the street from each other.

So for me it just comes down to the quality of the cutting, mulching and striping. I plan to get the mulch kit for whichever I buy, and use it always (I always mulch now with my push mower). I also plan to get the Hustler striping kit (the Ferris comes with one). I'd like to save the $1500 difference, but if I end up with stragglers and clumping and such, I'd rather have spent the extra IF it would've gotten me better results.

What's your opinion?

P.S. Borrowing a demo unit would be be ideal, but I don't have a trailer, and would also worry I might damage their mower since I'm new to ZTR.

P.P.S. the Hustler is 650 lbs., while the Ferris is 954 lbs and has narrower tires, front and rear. Should I be worried about ruts?

Either mower would be extreme overkill for your lawn. You wouldn't even get 25 hours a year out of those mowers. Either mower will mow your lawn in 20 minutes easily. Both have a high bts, so either should leave a nice cut. Personally, unless I was looking to mow extra lawns or looking to move to a home with a much larger lawn, I wouldn't spend $5k on a mower for a lawn that small.

Ric · Aug 23, 2015

josby said:
I understand commercial mowers/decks are designed to cut nicely, even when grass is wet or overgrown, but is there a difference for a homeowner who cuts weekly and only when the grass is dry? I typically cut 4-5" growth down to 3". I'm trying to decide between the Hustler Raptor SD 54" ($4000) and the Ferris IS600Z with the 48" iCD deck ($5500).

My property is almost an acre, and using the cool Google Earth area measurement tool at daftlogic.com, it looks like about .55 acre of it is actual grass. So I figure 25 hours a year usage max. Based on that, and my yard being flat, most of the advantages of the Ferris over the Hustler (ZT-3400 hydros vs 2800's, Kawi FS engine vs FR, 10mph vs 7.5mph, ROPS, 4 year warranty vs 3 year) don't seem worth the extra money for my situation.

No real differences in the dealers, either. Both well-established businesses, nice folks, and both are 3 miles from me, practically across the street from each other.

So for me it just comes down to the quality of the cutting, mulching and striping. I plan to get the mulch kit for whichever I buy, and use it always (I always mulch now with my push mower). I also plan to get the Hustler striping kit (the Ferris comes with one). I'd like to save the $1500 difference, but if I end up with stragglers and clumping and such, I'd rather have spent the extra IF it would've gotten me better results.

What's your opinion?

P.S. Borrowing a demo unit would be be ideal, but I don't have a trailer, and would also worry I might damage their mower since I'm new to ZTR.

P.P.S. the Hustler is 650 lbs., while the Ferris is 954 lbs and has narrower tires, front and rear. Should I be worried about ruts?

Personally I'd go with the Hustler because it's all the machine you'll probably ever need for the job your doing so why spend the extra money. You say you don't want to deal with the possibility of stragglers and clumping and such and I'd rather have spent the extra IF it would've gotten me better results but the fact remains that even spending the extra money there are No guarantees of a better result or that you wont end up with the same results from the more expensive mower. The only thing that you can guarantee is with the added weight of the Ferris is leaving ruts in your lawn faster especially if it has narrower tires, front and rear.

josby · Aug 23, 2015

Shughes717 said:
Both have a high bts, so either should leave a nice cut.

Thanks. Yeah, I had seen that both units have a BTS over 18,000, whereas some less expensive ones like the standard Hustler Raptor only have 16,000. But I wasn't sure about how much the design of the deck itself would influence the performance. Like, if one would do a better job of creating a vacuum to stand the grass up for cutting than the other.

josby · Aug 23, 2015

Ric said:
there are No guarantees of a better result or that you wont end up with the same results from the more expensive mower.

Thanks. Yeah, that's really the crux of what I was getting at - whether a more expensive mower will actually cut better than a cheaper one, or just cut faster and be more durable.

I think I may refocus my research down to sub-$4K mowers now, as long as they still have 18,000 FPM BTS.

Shughes717 · Aug 23, 2015

Ric said:
Personally I'd go with the Hustler because it's all the machine you'll probably ever need for the job your doing so why spend the extra money. You say you don't want to deal with the possibility of stragglers and clumping and such and I'd rather have spent the extra IF it would've gotten me better results but the fact remains that even spending the extra money there are No guarantees of a better result or that you wont end up with the same results from the more expensive mower. The only thing that you can guarantee is with the added weight of the Ferris is leaving ruts in your lawn faster especially if it has narrower tires, front and rear.

My mower has the same tires as the is600 and is a little heavier. I alternate paths each time I mow and I don't have a problem with soil compaction. Any commercial mower will cause soil compaction if you mow in the same path every time. A friend of mine used to live in a nice subdivision. His lawn was mowed by a lawn care company who used exmark mowers. They mowed in the exact same path every time, and you could see deep tire tracks in his lawn. I do agree that the raptor sd is more than enough mower for the op. No need in spending $1500 more for a commercial mower.

josby · Aug 23, 2015

Shughes717 said:
I alternate paths each time I mow and I don't have a problem with soil compaction.

Hmm...do you mean you shift over half a mower's width from where you cut last time but go the same direction, or cut at a 90 degree angle to how you cut last time? Here is my yard:

On either side of the house, going left to right instead of up and down would be...well, not impossible, but kind of tedious, particularly on the left side. The strip by the driveway is only about 160" wide and these mowers are 73" - 80" long :smile:

Ric · Aug 23, 2015

josby said:
Hmm...do you mean you shift over half a mower's width from where you cut last time but go the same direction, or cut at a 90 degree angle to how you cut last time? Here is my yard: On either side of the house, going left to right instead of up and down would be...well, not impossible, but kind of tedious, particularly on the left side. The strip by the driveway is only about 160" wide and these mowers are 73" - 80" long :smile:

You can shift over half a mower's width or cut at a 90 degree angle to how you cut last time, you can use any angle you want.In some cases if your mowing in sub-divisions you don't have any choices and you have to use the same path. If you buy the Hustler you shouldn't have to many problems with ruts in less it gets extremely wet.

7394 · Aug 24, 2015

It is just good for the grass to mow in different directions each time ya mow. Least that's what I try & do.

josby · Aug 24, 2015

Cool, I will have to remember that when I get this new mower.

I'm now considering the Toro TimeCutter SS5000, which is only $3000. It has the EZT hydros and stamped deck, but I think those will be fine for my light usage. And the BTS is still 18K. The deck is only 4" deep, opposed to 4.5" on the Hustler and 5" on the Ferris, so I wonder if it's more likely to clump when mulching. Reviews of the mulching kit on Home Depot's site are good, though.

Cut/mulching quality for dry grass cut weekly: is commercial deck better than resid.?

More options

josby

Member

Shughes717

Lawn Addict

Ric

Lawn Pro

josby

Member

josby

Member

Shughes717

Lawn Addict

josby

Member

Ric

Lawn Pro

7394

Lawn Addict

josby

Member

Footer Links 1

Footer Links 2