Right now I'm running a Toro SWX5050 with a mulch kit and my 3.6 acre yard takes about 2hr 15min to cut... in perfect conditions (and usually twice a week). Add in wet or overgrown grass and it exponentially increases, including the build-up on the deck, grass clumping, and not cutting well. Even dry I see "stringers" but barely noticeable. In the dew covered grass it's a lot worse (you can tell when I mow at night because one side of the lawn is very good and the other is noticeably worse).
In doing research to try and figure how to get the time down, I ended up looking at new mowers that will cut faster. My wife actually gave me the full go ahead with a "if it cuts down your time considerably, it's worth it" and helped my decision on deck size of 60 vs 72 with a "get the biggest you can so you don't regret it later since the current one is too small".
That being said, I had landed on a Scag Cheetah. Sat on it, drove it in the parking lot, was almost ready to plunk down the money on it. In fact, the major holdoff was the 60 vs 72 due to the pricing (2k more) and confirming the size.
However, in that time I ended up looking at the Ferris mowers and was really impressed. About the same price for a 72, although with the 37hp vs 34hp engine that the Scag had. I really liked a lot about it including:
- Suspension! (duh) - could barely feel gravel in the parking lot
- Felt smaller (although it's not much), I think just how the whole thing was set up, the Cheetah felt larger
- Smaller gas tanks (sounds silly, but they're closer sized to my gas cans)
- Storage compartment (I usually keep a hitch pin, gloves, and iPod in there).
Dealer wise, I liked the Scag a little better, but the Ferris guy was decent. Both were smaller businesses, so I'd be buying from guys who've been doing this pretty much their whole life.
Unfortunately it doesn't seem anyone does demos or even rents in this area. So I can't tell if on my property the Scag Cheetah suspension vs the Ferris would be a big difference. I know my Toro's lack of suspension rattles my fillings in a few areas, especially if I try and go fast. Overall my property isn't awful, but there's quite a few bumps and a couple tree roots that will surprise you in a painful way.
The thing I'm afraid of with the Ferris is cut quality in the dry and wet. I've read some questionable cut quality, but not enough to sway me (a handful of people across the US doesn't speak to a specific area). Does anyone have experience in the northeast/tristate area with the Ferris ICD deck (72")? We've gotten enough rain the past number of summers I can pretty much guarantee that I will be cutting wet grass more than a couple times a season. I don't want to have to worry about clumping/scraping the deck (I get that I have to scrape the deck every so often, but I read someone having to scrape the ICD multiple times per cut - although that seemed like something was wrong).
I've been going back and forth, but really want to move forward before I spend almost my entire summer free time cutting the lawn. Any input is appreciated.
In doing research to try and figure how to get the time down, I ended up looking at new mowers that will cut faster. My wife actually gave me the full go ahead with a "if it cuts down your time considerably, it's worth it" and helped my decision on deck size of 60 vs 72 with a "get the biggest you can so you don't regret it later since the current one is too small".
That being said, I had landed on a Scag Cheetah. Sat on it, drove it in the parking lot, was almost ready to plunk down the money on it. In fact, the major holdoff was the 60 vs 72 due to the pricing (2k more) and confirming the size.
However, in that time I ended up looking at the Ferris mowers and was really impressed. About the same price for a 72, although with the 37hp vs 34hp engine that the Scag had. I really liked a lot about it including:
- Suspension! (duh) - could barely feel gravel in the parking lot
- Felt smaller (although it's not much), I think just how the whole thing was set up, the Cheetah felt larger
- Smaller gas tanks (sounds silly, but they're closer sized to my gas cans)
- Storage compartment (I usually keep a hitch pin, gloves, and iPod in there).
Dealer wise, I liked the Scag a little better, but the Ferris guy was decent. Both were smaller businesses, so I'd be buying from guys who've been doing this pretty much their whole life.
Unfortunately it doesn't seem anyone does demos or even rents in this area. So I can't tell if on my property the Scag Cheetah suspension vs the Ferris would be a big difference. I know my Toro's lack of suspension rattles my fillings in a few areas, especially if I try and go fast. Overall my property isn't awful, but there's quite a few bumps and a couple tree roots that will surprise you in a painful way.
The thing I'm afraid of with the Ferris is cut quality in the dry and wet. I've read some questionable cut quality, but not enough to sway me (a handful of people across the US doesn't speak to a specific area). Does anyone have experience in the northeast/tristate area with the Ferris ICD deck (72")? We've gotten enough rain the past number of summers I can pretty much guarantee that I will be cutting wet grass more than a couple times a season. I don't want to have to worry about clumping/scraping the deck (I get that I have to scrape the deck every so often, but I read someone having to scrape the ICD multiple times per cut - although that seemed like something was wrong).
I've been going back and forth, but really want to move forward before I spend almost my entire summer free time cutting the lawn. Any input is appreciated.
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