Mower Belts

Cost Justifying A New Mower

So you have a big lawn. You are tired of spending all weekend mowing your lawn. Someone suggested you should get a commercial mower so you can cut your time mowing, But, is a commercial mower right for you? In this article I am going to compare the cost of purchasing and using a commercial mower against the cost and use of a residential riding lawn tractor.

How long will a commercial mower last?

Commercial Mowers are heavy duty mowing machines that if bought new should last you 1500 to 2000 hours (run time) before they need to be replaced. How long will that mower last you? What does that mean to you as a homeowner?

Example: Let's say you live in the Chicago area and it now takes you 6 hours to mow your lawn. By 6 hours I mean the time the mower is running, not the trimming time and cleanup. You buy a commercial zero-turn and you can now mow your lawn in 3 hours. You typically mow your lawn 26 times a year.

If new residential mower will last 500 hours before it need to be replaced how many years should it last? 6 hours a week, 26 mowings a year is 156 hours of run time a year. The average life of 500 hours divided by the time you mow each year (156 hours) your mower should last you 3 years.

If the new commercial zero turn mower will last 1500 hours before it needs to be replaced how many years should it last? 3 hours a week, 26 mowings a year, is 78 hours of run time a year. The average life of 1500 hours divided by the time you mow each year (78 hours) your mower should last you 19 years.

Can you live with the same mower for 19 years?

Next I will discuss cost justifying the purchase price of a commercial mower to a residential lawn tractor.

Step one: Figure out how long you need to keep a commercial mower to cost justify the additional purchase price.

Example: For this example I am going to assume you are replacing a 50 inch residential lawn tractor with a 50 inch commercial zero turn mower.

In the example above a typical 50 inch residential riding lawn tractor is expected to last about three years. Most cost about $2500 to purchase new. ($1800-$3500 depending on the manufacture.) So the cost of the tractor is $833 per year not including fuel and repair parts.

In the previous section I discussed with you that a typical commercial zero turn will last you 19 years. For the sake of keeping things simple let's assume that you plan to keep it 15 years. A 50 inch commercial zero turn will cost you about $7500. ($6000 to $9000 depending on the manufacture) So the cost is about $500 per year not including fuel and repair parts.

So even though a commercial zero costs more to purchase the cost per year to own one is less than a riding lawn tractor for a homeowner.

Step Two: Factoring in maintenance and fuel costs.

The other main factor you need to analyze is the maintenance and fuel costs. I am going to assume here that you will be doing the repairs yourself.

Commercial Mower. Oil Change and oil filter every 50 hours. At 78 hours a year you will change these two times. (Always change oil at the end of the season) Cost per year $40. Air filters (Donaldson Type) are larger and will last 100 hours or more on the commercial machines. Changed once. Cost per year $40. Commercial blades are two to three times heavier than residential blades and you will need to sharpen them once a year and replace them every three years if you mow three hours a week. Sharpening $15, one-third cost of replacement blades is $30. Total cost per year $125.

Commercial Mower. A typical 50 inch zero turn uses a 26 hp motor. From my experience those engines usually consume right about 1 gallon per hour. 3 hours mowing time at 1 gallon per hour mowing 26 times a year is 78 gallons per year. At $4.00 a gallon that is $312 dollars a year.

Total Cost Per Year Comparison:

Residential Lawn Tractor: Purchase price - $833 per year. Maintenance - $190. Fuel - $468. Total Cost: $1491 dollars a year.