What's better - Exmark or Toro Z's? (48" & 52")

[jrservices]

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man,this is a killer subject.never thought you could get such debate over the virtues of a mower deck.who gives a rats behind about which deck throws the clippings out faster,as long as the end result is good??????????[xx(][xx(][xx(][)]

[Zack.]

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Yes the SFS is designed to get grass out quicker BUT there is a flaw. There is not enough velocity created to shoot long wet clippings out the tunnel & the deck is not as deep so the Toro will actually clump worse in lush wet conditions unless you're running doubles.

The clippings arn't chopped up fine enough so in med. growth conditions, visible clippings are left on the lawn.

I don't care how many large co.'s run Toro's, they just arn't up to eXmark standards. & yes Mr. Skape I ran Toro's for yrs. & never gave the cut a second thought until I got my first eXmark.

[Scaper-S2k]

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Welp, I was waiting for you to condradict yourself...and you just did in your first paragraph!! You've said the opposite about 5 times on this board.....at least!

Thank you for proving my point.

As for Toros not striping? I'd say they do just fine![] And we don't use stripe kits either.




Not sure if this picture will even show up, or how long it will stay. It is from my temporary site until my servers are switched.

[Zack.]

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Mr. Skaper if your happy with your inferior Toro's then that's what counts.

Contradicting? No. The Toro deck will blow clippings out better in heavy spring growth with doubles. Problem is that it excells for about 2-4 weeks per season on certain lawns only in a 9 month season.

My Toro's generally sit from mid- June to late Oct. when I use them a baggers for final clean-ups. The eXmarks get used all season.

[odin]

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I propose a truce among the toro and exmark owners.We do have one thing in common they both are red[]

[G-Man]

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Wow Scape,

Beautiful stripping! You must have used a SCAG on this lawn before you took the picture! []

Yea, Toro's are ok - never used one, even though I've looked at them several times. I just can't get past that "rebar" thing - makes me wonder what else is half-assed about the mower.

The bottom line is: Be thankful we have a choice in manufacturers - only in America would this be possible.

Whether you use SCAG, ExMark, Toro, Snapper, Wheelhorse or Montgomery Wards - Have a great weekend to all.

Gary

[G-Man]

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One question about that picture. Look at the tree and the striping. Looks like you guy ran the mower right through the mulch in order to maintain that pattern? How do you handle that usually?

I don't give a hoot about stripping myself and none of my customer do either - at least none have ever mentioned it. It does look great in your picture however.

What was the mower you used on this job? Looks like a 36" deck? Nice job Scape!

Gary

[Zack.]

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<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Posted By Skaper "Still Here" S2K </i>
<br />Re: NO PATTERN, NO BAGGING

We double cut virtually every lawn, but almost always never stripe them.! My grandma can stripe a lawn!
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

Now there's an interesting contradiction. I rarely double cut a lawn even if there is lush growth.

[Scaper-S2k]

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G-Man, if you look real close, you can see he went up to the mulch, then circled around it, never through it. It will maintain the pattern if you go on the correct side of the tree while making the pass. Look close, you'll see what I mean. That circle almost disappears on the next stripe if done properly. (Oh, he was only 15 or 16 when the employee mowed this, he's 23 and stiil employed by me)

As for the welded on "rebar"? How bout how others weld on the big square piece of metal...what's the difference??

They are ALL good mowers!!

Zack, that picture I posted was taken way back when we did residentials and striping was 'the thing'. If you had read what I even posted in this thread...I said I don't care for striping anymore (your quote even showed I said 'almost never'). Nice try, I still stick to that quote, not even sure why you posted it, but thanks. [][][)]
Anyone can stripe a lawn. Heck, my picture was done by a 15 or 16 year old employee...now 23. We mow 98% high paying commerial now. The reason we mow many twice is not for the cut look, but to blow everything in one direction to remove debris (leaves, cig butts, etc)on lawns that we have been ordered not to pick up "cause it's the managers job". They pay us extra for it. Zack, I honestly doubt you even understand what I am even saying.

We don't mow the whole lawn, then mow it again. We mow down blowing one direction, come back over the same path, and make another strip blowing in the original direction. Granted, these lawns are all under 8,000 and wouldn't be done on large properties. But, we average about $80 a cut....so I ain't sweatin' it! Some get striped if they are cleaned up by the managers.

[G-Man]

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LOL Scape,

I wondered how long it would take you to mention that[]! You don't miss a thing do you! [] Yes, my SCAG is re-inforced too - only it looks like they might have used a specific piece of steel to do it that's all.

I'm with you Scape - a mower is a mower is a mower. I mean that. They all do the job. It's purely a matter of personal preference. Myself, I like the square steel and the yellow paint as opposed to the re-bar and red paint.

The lawn looks great in the picture. Someday you'll have to tell me (us) your secret of employee retention.

Thanks

Gary

[Scaper-S2k]

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Hah, Toro uses a 'specific' piece of "re-bar" too!!!!

Hey, is that the place you take your 1/4" steel measurement at on the Scag??[]

[G-Man]

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LOL! Scape No its not and you know it! []

I guess it's all a matter of personal taste. Whether you shuck out 4 or 5 grand for a mower that looks like it was engineered carefully (SCAG) - or you pay the same money for a mower that looks like it was developed on an episode of Junk Yard Wars. []

LOL! Love ya man!

Gary

[Scaper-S2k]

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Honestly, when I have looked at both mowers, I think the Scag looks more as if someone threw it together, welding pieces here and there to make it work. I know they are good mowers, but my impression is opposite yours. I really saw it when I purchased a Scag ZTR about 7 years ago. Nice cutting machine, but didn't seem very well thought out. The new models look much better. And that Scag with the rear turning wheel you sit on?? Ha, that thing looks like a 15 minute after thought!! I'm just glad you don't get so defensive with that big pile of sheet metal you cut lawns with!!

Hey, if it makes you feel any better, the Toro 36" doesn't have that "re-bar" anywhere on it!

I do think Scag makes one great ZTR, the cub will likely be my next rider purchase.

[Zack.]

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All that extra work you do to "Hide" the clippings. Double perimiter cuts. Keeping clippings of the uncut portion & then recutting. Recutting the thick areas in the center. Most of that work would be unecessary with an eXmark deck.

[cole1980]

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Who really cares Zack, Hell he was getting $80 a cut. For that I'd cut 2 or 3 times just for the heck of it.