Upgrading my mower

[lawn mower fanatic]

Well I have decided that this year I want to TRY to upgrade my mower. I tried this 2 years ago without any luck, so not sure how it will go. I'm gonna be looking for a commercial grade walk behind around the 28"-36" size. I am going to be looking used, because I don't want to spend too much money. I demoed a few mowers before, and they didn't mulch up to my high standards, so I ended up getting another Honda. So I hope I have better luck this time. I will be looking for good deals, will let you know if I find any.

 

[lawn mower fanatic]

I found a pretty new Toro walk behind with low hours.... $1500. It was a great deal, but it has a 48" cut width so it won't fit on my 4 foot wide trailer. :frown:

 

[Ric]

I found a pretty new Toro walk behind with low hours.... $1500. It was a great deal, but it has a 48" cut width so it won't fit on my 4 foot wide trailer. :frown:

Went that way, Been there, done that. I don't think you'll be happy with a 36" walk behind and I don't think you'll find one that mulches to our high standards. If your looking for between a 28 and 36" you would be better off going with the 30" Turf-Master or Exmark. You would have Superior mulching benefits, it would be faster and lighter and more maneuverable to use and just as productive as a 36" and a whole lot cheaper to run and maintain.

 

[Lawnboy18]

Went that way, Been there, done that. I don't think you'll be happy with a 36" walk behind and I don't think you'll find one that mulches to our high standards. If your looking for between a 28 and 36" you would be better off going with the 30" Turf-Master or Exmark. You would have Superior mulching benefits, it would be faster and lighter and more maneuverable to use and just as productive as a 36" and a whole lot cheaper to run and maintain.

Really? Deeper decks won't mulch better? I doubt that! 2 words for you:

Velocity deck

And how about your loved Grand stand? You saying it don't mulch good?

 

[lawn mower fanatic]

Went that way, Been there, done that. I don't think you'll be happy with a 36" walk behind and I don't think you'll find one that mulches to our high standards. If your looking for between a 28 and 36" you would be better off going with the 30" Turf-Master or Exmark. You would have Superior mulching benefits, it would be faster and lighter and more maneuverable to use and just as productive as a 36" and a whole lot cheaper to run and maintain.

I will probably demo the Exmark Commercial 30, but its reviews are mixed.

 

[lawn mower fanatic]

I am now even more confused ... I see a lot of reviews saying the Turfmaster/Commercial 30 isn't good at mulching (which I can believe, because my Exmark Metro 26 I demoed was bogging down, and it had the same engine). But the 32" or 36" will probably be a pain in the butt with the side discharge.

 

[Ric]

I am now even more confused ... I see a lot of reviews saying the Turfmaster/Commercial 30 isn't good at mulching (which I can believe, because my Exmark Metro 26 I demoed was bogging down, and it had the same engine). But the 32" or 36" will probably be a pain in the butt with the side discharge.

The Turf-Master is a great mulching mower and it leaves one of the nicest cuts you'll every see. You can't compare the Metro to the Turf-Master even with the same engine, that would be like comparing your Honda to my Cub Cadet because it has a Honda engine. The Metro is a single blade mower and wasn't the best thing that exmark ever came out with. The Turf-Mater is a twin blade mower with a 18,000 BTS and a completely different deck, and it bags well. As far as side discharge goes that I can't really say because I've never really used it.

I had The G1336 Walk behind and sold it when I purchased the GS because it was a WB also And I didn't need two. To answer Lawnboy 18 The Toro Grandstand does an excellent job mulching the Turbo force deck is a better than any Velocity deck I've ever seen, but does it compare to the Turf_master, He!! no but then again no walk behind or ztr has a nicer cut than a push mower is going to have.

LMF the other thing I may add is to remember if you decide on a 36" WB is to make sure it's hydro drive and not Belt drive because the belt drive even though it has a reverse setting it doesn't have a real reverse, it operator assist which means you pull it out or backwards if you get into deep grass, they will work you to death.

 

[lawn mower fanatic]

The Turf-Master is a great mulching mower and it leaves one of the nicest cuts you'll every see. You can't compare the Metro to the Turf-Master even with the same engine, that would be like comparing your Honda to my Cub Cadet because it has a Honda engine. The Metro is a single blade mower and wasn't the best thing that exmark ever came out with. The Turf-Mater is a twin blade mower with a 18,000 BTS and a completely different deck, and it bags well. As far as side discharge goes that I can't really say because I've never really used it.

I had The G1336 Walk behind and sold it when I purchased the GS because it was a WB also And I didn't need two. To answer Lawnboy 18 The Toro Grandstand does an excellent job mulching the Turbo force deck is a better than any Velocity deck I've ever seen, but does it compare to the Turf_master, He!! no but then again no walk behind or ztr has a nicer cut than a push mower is going to have.

LMF the other thing I may add is to remember if you decide on a 36" WB is to make sure it's hydro drive and not Belt drive because the belt drive even though it has a reverse setting it doesn't have a real reverse, it operator assist which means you pull it out or backwards if you get into deep grass, they will work you to death.

Good points Ric. Another very important thing to me that pushes me away from a belt drive is that I mostly mow when the grass is wet. Which you can't do with a belt drive, but I don't know if you could do with the Turfmaster or Commercial 30 either.

 

[Ric]

Good points Ric. Another very important thing to me that pushes me away from a belt drive is that I mostly mow when the grass is wet. Which you can't do with a belt drive, but I don't know if you could do with the Turfmaster or Commercial 30 either.

If you can mow it with your Honda, I can mow it with my Turf-Master. You need to remember where I am, most of my mowing is done in the wet. Our humidity at 7:30 8:00 am is like it rained the night before. Our humidity right now is 48%, it was like 97% this morning when I got up this morning at 70 degrees. I mean you can do what you want but I'm telling you I don't think you'll be happy with a walk behind, there just not what there cracked up to be and putting a sulky on one is a real PITA.

The belt drives are not an issue when mowing in the wet, in fact I'd rather have a belt for wet with the walk behind because there adjustable for traction.

 

[lawn mower fanatic]

If you can mow it with your Honda, I can mow it with my Turf-Master. You need to remember where I am, most of my mowing is done in the wet. Our humidity at 7:30 8:00 am is like it rained the night before. Our humidity right now is 48%, it was like 97% this morning when I got up this morning at 70 degrees. I mean you can do what you want but I'm telling you I don't think you'll be happy with a walk behind, there just not what there cracked up to be and putting a sulky on one is a real PITA.

The belt drives are not an issue when mowing in the wet, in fact I'd rather have a belt for wet with the walk behind because there adjustable for traction.

Thanks for the info....I'm never going to make up my mind! :laughing: