I think preferred mower deck sizes should be determined by the size lawns or work you are doing. I do Residential work and prefer the 30 and 36" cuts on my smaller lawns and use a 48" combined with the 36" on larger lawns if needed. If I have too combine the two mowers it actually cost less to operate than one larger say 60" with the bigger motors and I can cut more ground.
I am a 21 in fan I think a 21 lines look nicer than anyother size. For bigger stuff a stand on 36 z can do anything and looks nice
#4
djdicetn
I'm willing to bet that everybody that posts here will prefer the size deck of a mower they own(like I did voting for 52", because of my Gravely Pro-Turn XDZ 152:0)
I only have about a 1.5 acre lot, but I've always had the "bigger is better" mentality for mowers, which in reality isn't always the right thing(for some of the reasons others are pointing out). I started out in 1993 with a 46" True Value Lawn Chief lawn tractor(which lasted 19 years and was an excellent mower), then replaced it in 2006 with a 54" Craftsman YS4500 lawn tractor(which I used for 6 years before getting my 52" Gravely ZTR). I gave the Lawn Chief to my son in 2006 and then gave him the Craftsman last fall(the old Lawn Chief still ran like new..that 16hp B & S Vanguard was a GREAT engine) because the Lawn Chief's deck was falling apart. I do like the idea, however, that with my 52" and it being a ZTR, I can mow my yard in about 35 minutes and it used to take me a good hour with the 54" Craftsman lawn tractor.
#5
lawn mower fanatic
I voted for the 21 in., 30-36 in., and 48 in. The 21 in. is good for smaller yards or front yards, while the 30-36 in. mower deck is good for yards that have gates you need to get through, or medium sized yards, and the 48 in. mower deck is good for those multi-acre large yards. In my area I have yards of all different sizes so if I could get 3 mowers those would be their deck sizes.
#6
MowerMike
I voted 20 and 21 inch, because those were the two smallest choices in the poll. In fact, I can get by with smaller deck sizes on my 6500 sq ft spread and really like a tiny 14 inch deck electric mower to get into tight spaces. Currently, I have mowers with blade lengths of 13", 14", 15.5", 2 X 10", 20" and 21", but would be fine just keeping the ones with the 13" and 2 X 10" (twin) blades. All of them are push walk behinds.
#7
wjjones
54 works good for the lawns I mow but I also use a 61" too because one lawn I do is 2.5 acres.
All the mowers I use are swing back single disc.
Most used is the 24" out front roughing
Followed by the 30" 10 HP because it is very fast and cuts anything
Landlord uses a 48" because the trees are 90" aparts thus it is two runs.
#10
jekjr
I started running 52" mowers in 2014. I had a 60" and a 48". The 52" just seemed to fit the niche for us. We cut all sizes of properties from small yards to acres at a time.
We also run a walk behind that is 30" that does a great job in places that we do not run zero turns.
All the mowers I use are swing back single disc.
Most used is the 24" out front roughing
Followed by the 30" 10 HP because it is very fast and cuts anything
Landlord uses a 48" because the trees are 90" aparts thus it is two runs.
I know this thread has been "dead" for over a year, but I figured I would revive it. I like 48 inch decks for one main reason. You can put it in the back of a truck! However, I do have a 54 inch mower too, but I mainly got that for my yard and it takes me way less time to cut my yard with the 54 inch than the 48 inch obviously...
