Battle of the 30" mower

4818 Views 23 Replies 5 Participants Last post by kolbasz, Nov 27, 2017

kolbasz

Discussion Starter · Nov 11, 2017

I have long debated the commercial route to satisfy my needs, but a nice commercial mower with floating deck is not in the budget. It just is not worth it.

So, I have accepted that the 30" mower is likely my best best. In this space there are a few, but the only 2 I have looked at are the Toro and the exmark. I am curious if anyone has had experience with either and also, what is your opinion and why maybe.

It seems the Toro is the right fit as the engine has more power, but I also read that it won't get me through my entire 13k sqft. Not that filling gas is a negative, but it tells me fuel efficiency is just not good. I also saw some people with motor issues.

I know Briggs can be ok, I mean my 20+ year old tractor has one, so it could be random failure. The exmark has a Kawasaki, but it seems way under powered. I think if it had the 200+cc then I wouldn't be so hesitant to go exmark with the commercial build. While they are made by the same company, you can totally see the build quality on the exmark, it just looks beefy.

Anyway, just curious what people think. Thanks.

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Nomo

· #21 · Nov 16, 2017

Here is a thread I started about the Toro Time Master.

http://www.thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1278

I've used it 3 times since I've gotten it. It has rained every week since I bought it so I ended up cutting wet grass each and every time. The mower powers through almmost anything but it will create a lot of gunk under the deck. The blades still run fine even under those conditions.

I can't speak towards longevity but I love it. Plus it puts the other mowers in the neighborhood to shame. What's that...a 22" mower? Hahaha

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kolbasz

Discussion Starter · #22 · Nov 16, 2017

Thanks. I am most intrigued by the conflicting reports of deck clogs, but let's see how things are after a few more mows and the spring growth.

For now, I am excited about my revived John Deere, the wife told me to stop talking about it.

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