Mowers - Commercial vs Residential

[bombri]

I have been mowing my lawn for a few years with the top of the line Toro Super Recycler. My lawn has gotten to the point where its pretty darn thick, and while I obey the 1/3 rule always, when I'm mowing at 3.5" that's still a lot of grass to mulch when the lawn is long and thick. How much of a difference would I see in the quality of cut/mulch if I upgraded to either the Toro or Honda commercial lines? I'd still like the same 21" deck push mower, just looking for something that is potentially a little more industrial strength. Does anyone have any knowledge or experience with these higher quality mowers?

Thanks much,
Brian

[bombri]

Here is the mower that I currently have that just isn't adequate for mulching my grass. It's nice, starts up well and the personal pace is great, but I want a consistently good cut when the grass is long.

Current Mower - Toro - Super Recycler

Would either of these be better for me? Or is the build quality just better for all day every day professional use?

Toro Commercial
Toro - Commercial
Toro - Heavy Duty

Honda Commercial
Honda - Commercial

[Drinyth]

Are you finding that your Super Recycler isn't providing a good cut for you at this time? Just curious. I actually bought one just a couple of weeks ago and have been really happy with how it performs. I can't imagine the clippings being much smaller than they are now. I do seem minor clumps occasionally in the wheel tracks or when I turn to mower and lift up on the deck to pivot it. But overall, it's been really minor even when I let the grass get fairly long (thickest I've tried is with the lawn being 4.5" and cutting down to 3"). Deck suction seems to be really good as well and I see adjacent blades of grass being pulled towards the deck when at a stand still.

It was my understanding that the commercial models primarily benefit in the longevity department and are built to mow multiple lawns everyday (vs residential machines that are built to mow 1-2x week). In talking to various dealers, I got the impression that one was paying for a mower that could withstand being used for hours a day more so than gaining much, if any, quality in cut.

[nugrass2012]

+1

[bombri]

The cut seems to be fairly consistent as long as the lawn isn't long. When it's long, the grass is simply too thick for it to mulch all the grass. I typically end up mowing twice so that I can cut all the grass without leaving clumps everywhere. This is true even when I have a freshly sharpened blade.

Does anyone else have issues with mulching thick grass? What is the solution? I feel like there has to be one out there.

Thanks everyone,
Brian

[Smolenski7]

I can't imagine that you would notice that much of a difference. The mower you have now is already top of the line. The other mowers you are looking at aren't necessarily built to give a better cut, just last longer.

Nice problem to have though.

[lewdis]

Brian,

My experience is that get perfect mulching action on long grass 4.5 - 6 inches plus - you may need to go to a two or three blade deck with higher horsepower, and that may mean a riding mower with a 48 inch deck ect.

I have a John Deere gx345 garden tractor with 48 inch three blade deck, I think it has 18 or 22 hp liquid cooled kawasaki engine. The thing is sweet - it should be it cost me a boat load when I bought it. This thing will mulch 12 inch high grass or more no problem, as in perfect. It also does a lot of other things well too.

I also have a 21 inch Husqarvarna (7021p) with a 6.5 hp?? honda engine, single oem blade manual push mower. It cost me $245 on sale 2 years ago. It can mulch my TTF/bentgrass/northeast mix grass up to about 3.5 or 4 inches. I let my grass grow to 4.5 or 5 inches then raise the Husky up as high as it can go and mulching is no good. So I use the bagger instead on the husky and it does a beautiful job. If I keep the blade sharp every few cuts it is really as nice when bagging as the JD cut whethere bagging or mulching.

I'm not saying you need to buy an expensive lawn or garden tractor, but I think you need to get more HP / torque with multiple blades to mulch the higher grass, and I don't know if that is available on a walker or not.

Lew

[sc4dr]

It sounds like maybe you need to cut more often? Just sayin

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[Bavaria]

More torque for sure, HP for blade speed. Good mulching blade(s). Sometimes self-propelled can be an issue unless you can gear it down to a slower speed (walking). Mower needs more time to chop up. If the mower is bogging down so is the blade speed.

[bombri]

Thanks guys for the help. I do have a self propelled mower but I don't really even walk that fast. I have a small lawn and don't like the way it looks when you use a riding mower, so that is probably not an option. I'll do some more research on some of the higher end push mowers, potentially ones that have multiple blades etc...

Thanks,
Brian

[GaryCinChicago]

bombri:

I also own a Toro Super Recycler. A #20057 like Turf Toes.

Stop at a Lawn Boy dealer and buy a Lawn Boy mulching blade. I did that and saw a difference.

[bombri]

Really? That's interesting ill give it a try. Is that blade significantly better than toros own blade? What's the difference in the blades?

[ Post made via Android ]

[bernstem]

It sounds like maybe you need to cut more often? Just sayin

[ Post made via iPhone ]

+1. If you are already going over the lawn twice per mowing, you might as well do it once per mowing twice as often. Probably better for the grass as well to mow more often.

[Drinyth]

Stop at a Lawn Boy dealer and buy a Lawn Boy mulching blade. I did that and saw a difference.

Interesting. I thought the deck on the Super Recyclers was designed to work best with the blades that they have on them. I know that the deck has baffles on it with "kickers" on the blade that are supposed to work together to mulch things up more finely.

I don't know how much of that is marketing and how much is practical. I do know that my Super Recycler seems to clump less than the neighbors mowers do. One of whom has a normal Toro big box Recycler mower.

[GaryCinChicago]

The Lawn Boy blade is a completely different design that on appearance, seems as it would give move lift / vacuum. You'll hear the difference the first time too.

I went on the advice of a dealer. It was cheap enough to try, I don't know, $12 maybe - and he was right.

Now quality of cut - missing blades and leaving stragglers still standing the next day? Don't get me going!

I shouldn't have to use a Toro like grandpa did his old reel mower (push it forward, pull it backwards - take a step forwards and repeat)

No, not with a $700 mower.

[bombri]

It sounds like maybe you need to cut more often? Just sayin

[ Post made via iPhone ]

+1. If you are already going over the lawn twice per mowing, you might as well do it once per mowing twice as often. Probably better for the grass as well to mow more often.

Trust me, if I had the time I'd mow 4-5 times per week. In the Spring when I'm less busy I do. Often times I'll mow 3 days in a row. When I do that there aren't any issues. During the summer I travel a lot (almost every weekend). I also try to be somewhat sensitive to mowing the grass when it's extremely hot (95+) because it seems to stress the grass pretty badly. I'd much rather let it get to 4.5-5" long and battle the mower than to mow it when it's too hot. Also, there are many weeks where I simply don't have a spare half an hour.

And that is how I've arrived at this problem!

[Dad&theDuke]

.

Now quality of cut - missing blades and leaving stragglers still standing the next day? Don't get me going!

I shouldn't have to use a Toro like grandpa did his old reel mower (push it forward, pull it backwards - take a step forwards and repeat)

No, not with a $700 mower.

So, regardless of the blade, this mower doesn't give you a good cut???

[Dad&theDuke]

Is the honda HRR as good as the super recycler? how about the HRX? Better?

[srm077]

I've had both the Toro Super Recycler 20058 and Honda HRX at the same time. I upped the engine speed (not recommended but easy....) on both to make the blade tip speed around 17000 fpm which is the same a a commercial mower. Honestly, I could not tell a difference between the two. I actually preferred the personal pace on the Toro over the HRX controls. These mowers were used on Fescue in TN and KBG in MI. I now have a commercial Zero Turn and kept the Toro as a trim mower for the Bermuda around the pool area at my home in Texas. Hope this helps.

[Dad&theDuke]

Helps a ton. I think I am leaning toward the toro, with the honda engine. Your gonna have to tell me how to dial it up. tx.

I've had both the Toro Super Recycler 20058 and Honda HRX at the same time. I upped the engine speed (not recommended but easy....) on both to make the blade tip speed around 17000 fpm which is the same a a commercial mower. Honestly, I could not tell a difference between the two. I actually preferred the personal pace on the Toro over the HRX controls. These mowers were used on Fescue in TN and KBG in MI. I now have a commercial Zero Turn and kept the Toro as a trim mower for the Bermuda around the pool area at my home in Texas. Hope this helps.