Art Evans, the founder of Dixie Chopper, once dropped a 150-hp Chinook helicopter engine onto one of his commercial mowers. He wanted to demonstrate the durability of his then-new Quad Loop hydraulic system. If the system on the mower could withstand that amount of force, well ... it did.
"I know that people think we're a little out there. We probably are and that's ok," says Matt Land, national sales manager for the 25-year-old mower self-proclaimed manufacturer of "the world's fastest lawnmower."
From that day to this, commercial mower manufacturers have gotten more and more "out there" in promoting the power and speed of their products. This is especially true of their riding units where the air-cooled, mid-mount, zero-turn remains the industry favorite. Manufacturers know that horsepower and speed fire the imaginations and promise a competitive advantage of mow-for-money contractors.
Art Evans, Dixie Chopper.
"The guy who can do more jobs with quality and quicker will make more money mowing," is the mantra of today's turf maintenance professional.
Nobody disputes the need for speed in today's competitive maintenance environment. Even so, manufacturers, including those touting the gitty-up-and-go of their mowing machines, agree that while speed (more correctly mowing speed) is important, the real measure of profitable commercial mowing is efficiency.
Efficiency measurements
"Time efficiency has been and continues to be the major consideration with contractors," says Roy Dust, product specialist at Ferris Industries.
Determining the efficiency of your mowing operation is more complicated than merely multiplying deck size by cut speed in mph and figuring in about 20% more production time for overlaps and maneuvering around trees and beds — a generally accepted productivity measurement.
Mowing efficiency also includes factors such as quality of cut and customer satisfaction. In other words, the type of properties that a contractor mows, along with customer expectations, play as large part in proper mower selection as speed and power.
Art Evans, Dixie Chopper.
"We think that as soon as you begin to move into landscape-type property where there are irregular shapes, flower beds, trees, fences, all kinds of things that divide a property, the maneuvering element becomes more and more important, and straight away mowing speed becomes less and less important," says Bob Walker, founder and president of Walker Manufacturing, Ft. Collins, CO.
"We believe all the focus on going across the ground at a certain speed can be somewhat misleading in the real world of mowing although there are exceptions," he adds.
Walker's MT mower is a front-cut, zero-turn unit designed for maneuverability.
Productivity factors
Productivity, in fact, entails many factors and some of them may not be so obvious, especially to the inexperienced contractor. They include:
Mower reliability, ease of service and parts availability. Few contractors can afford downtime and its associated unrecoverable production and revenue loss.
Ergonomic features that allow operators to cut longer and in more relative comfort
Decks designed for mulching and/or maximum grass throughput during times of lush grass growth
Trimming capability
Features like oil coolers and superior air filtration
Efficient and safer operation on slopes and other difficult-to-cut areas
Floating decks or rollers that reduce scalping
Units that accept and can be used with multiple implements and attachments
For the company that requires its operators to perform multiple services on a single property or at different times of the year, a mowing unit with a "quick-change" system that allows rapid deployment and use of blades or brushes can be a huge productivity booster. Also, front-cut, zero-turn units (Walker, Grasshopper and Woods are common names in this category) offer the advantage of having the main drive wheels in the middle of the platform, rather than in the rear like a mid-mount. This design element makes these units more maneuverable, says Bob Walker.
And, of course, the condition of the grass itself often dictates the suitability of one riding mower over another. Quite simply, cutting spring's wet, heavy grass requires more horsepower than when the grass grows less vigorously.
Manufacturers provide other engineering solutions to meet these unique challenges. Examples, among others, include Husqvarna's TunnelRam and Toro's Turbo Force decks.
The new deck designs address the challenge of mowing when conditions change dramatically during the course of a season — from heavy, wet spring growth that sometimes has to be double cut to mid-summer's top-offs. Toro engineered its deck with a baffle that an operator can open, close or adjust to mow at maximum mowing speed regardless of the condition of the grass. Open the baffle for cutting in heavy turf; close it for mulching action when the grass isn't growing as vigorously.
Randy Harris, Toro
"In long, dense grass or wet conditions, the adjustable front baffle can be shifted open to conserve power and achieve faster mowing speeds than conventional deck designs," says Randy Harris, senior marketing manager, Toro's Landscape Contractor Equipment division.
The diesel difference
One emerging trend in commercial mowing is the growing popularity of diesel-powered mowers. While sales remain relatively modest (less than 15% by most estimates), their greater fuel economy and longer engine life are attracting attention from commercial cutters, this in spite of their significantly higher price tag.
Indeed, initial purchase price is far from being the most important factor in selecting the right mower. Studies have shown that it amounts to approximately 10%-15% of overall mowing costs. Labor at about 50% is the biggest expense, followed by mower maintenance at 15%.
Expect to see more new diesels in light of today's high fuel costs, which have been chipping away at contractors' already thin margins.
"Contractors are all under pressure from lower-cost service providers to not raise their prices or pass along a fuel surcharge," says Chuck Holley, a senior engineering manager at Toro "One of the efficiencies that diesel provides in the area of fuel economy is that diesel fuel has greater energy content. Comparing apples to apples, you're going to get more per gallon. In addition, diesel burns more efficiently due to the higher compression ratios."
Diesel models, like this Toro Z Master, burn fuel at a slower rate.
Holley says another advantage of diesel-powered mowers is that they will "lug"and are less likely than a gasoline unit to stall in heavy mowing conditions, and that means you can get by with less horsepower. Gas mowers are even more inefficient when operated at less than full horsepower.
"That means over-sizing a gas engine on a mower to handle heavy mowing conditions costs you even more in fuel consumption," Holley says.
The future of power
Some industry people feel the trend toward more powerful, heavier mowers may be going too far, and that landscape pros often buy machines that have more horsepower than they need.
Richard Tegtmeier, Encore Power Equipment.
Richard "Dick" Tegtmeier, Encore Power Equipment, says that the first commercial mower he designed in 1974, a walk-behind with a 48-in. cutting deck, was powered by a 7.5-hp engine. Now, he says some mowers with the same size deck are sold with an engine almost three times as powerful.
"Our industry is caught up in an upward spiral in horsepower," says Tegtmeier. "It's the NASCAR mentality. The mower has got to look sleek and it's got to have speed and a lot of horsepower. We're in an upward spiral.
"The idea that everything has to have lots of horsepower, be big and heavy will turn around," he says.
Maybe or maybe not.
But in the short term the message coming from the manufacturing community — and the one that seems to resonate with buyers — is speed.
Editor-at-Large Ron Hall joined Landscape Management magazine (then known as "Weeds, Trees & Turf") in 1984 and has since held every editorial position on the magazine. A former editor-in-chief of "Lawn Care Industry" and "Athletic Turf" magazines, Ron has also served on national Green Industry committees and has spoken at Green Industry events.
Articles by Ron Hall
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Art Evans, the founder of 
