Small Engines (Lawn Mowers, etc.): ZTR purchase, commercial acreage, walker dealer

Question
QUESTION: Paul,

I'm shopping around for a semi-commercial/acreage zero turn mower.  I mulch 95% of the time so am looking for an engine that can handle the extra load on a 48-54" deck.

I have been looking at a few models including the following:

-Walker Mower MB w/Hydro-Gear IZT & Briggs Vanguard 18 hp
-Deere Z445 w/Kazaki-Parker Drives & Kawasaki FH721V 25hp
-Hustler Fastrak w/Hydro-Gear IZT Drive & Honda GXV610 18hp
-eXmark Quest w/Hydro-Gear ZT-2800 & Briggs ELS 22 hp
-Gravely XL2044 w/Hydro-Gear ZT-2800 & Kohler Courage 20hp

Had a Kohler Command on my old tractor that just wouldn't quit.  However as far as I can tell the Courage along with the B&S ELS and Inteks may not measure up.
Based on your experience with many of these drivetrains, I would appreciate it if you could steer me away from any engines/hydros that are particularly troublesome(Kawasaki FH721V for instance??).

$4500-6000 is a chunk of change, so any feedback you can give me will be helpful!

Best regards,

Gene

ANSWER: All of these units are fine products.  

The Walker is by far the best cutting unit of the bunch.  If all you care about is how the grass looks when you are done, Walker is your brand.  The problem with a Walker is when it goes down.  Parts are through the roof and availability is limited.  My staore use to be Walker dealers.  Notice I said use to be.  They were so hard to work on and so expensive to repair that we dropped that line entirely.

The Deere cut quality is almost as good as Walker.  The FH721V is buy far the best engine of the bunch. Don't be scared, Deere had the sense to put a heavy duty air cleaner on this model and it has zero problems.  All the FH721V problems I have answered are do to dealer neglect and education issues.  You notice after I'm asked questions about this engine I never get followup questions.

The other models you asked about all have the same problem as Walker,. Dealer / factory support sucks.  Dealer turn over is high and parts prices are extreme.   Deere has the lowest parts prices and the best customer support of any power equipment built.  You also know that your John Deere dealer will still carry Deere in2 years.

All the models in question have throw away engines except the Deere.  

A Kohler comand and a Kohler Courage couldn't be farther apart when it comes to durability.  The Courage line of engines was designed by Kohler to compete with Briggs and Honda, Not Kawasaki.

All of the drive trains are the same except for the Deere.  Currently Kansaki only has the capacity to supply Deere with pumps.  Deere has been using Kansaki drive trains for 30 years exlusvly. They are bullet proof.

BUY THE DEERE.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Paul,

I went out to the dealership to buy the John Deere EZTrak 445.  However the mower at my Deere dealership looks to have a standard air cleaner.   It doesn't have the large airboxes like on the Deere commercial mowers (Z-717A & Z-727A etc.).

Will I have air/fuel mixture headaches with this engine on the EZ Trak 445 if it doesn't have the airbox like the commercial units?

Thanks

Answer
No.  All of the current engines in the Deere inventory have internally vented carbs.  They can use either an internal or external vented air filter.  Kawasaki learned their lesson on this engine.  It is now bullet proof.  The problems you read about in this forum are caused by either lazy or uninformed dealers.  In reality this engine has zero problems if your dealer is worth a damn.

If you want to test your dealer ask him to sell you an extra air filter. Open the box and see if it says internally vented engines only.  If he sells you one that says external call him on it.  If he says we only carry external vent filters so we know you won't have a problem, that is an exceptable answer.  If he goes Dugh, ask to talk to the service manager.