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• PRO

  Nick @ NM Garden Services Ltd May 1, 2016 at 7:48pm

  We love our Hydro 80. Manoeuvrability is excellent and it definitely cuts low enough. Mulching is ok but not as good as a dedicated mulcher. Wet collection however is not as impressive as the pedestrian Etesias in our experience.
  
  The other bonus of the machine is that we can drive it straight into our vehicles.
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    Rob Bury > Nick @ NM Garden Services Ltd May 1, 2016 at 7:52pm

    I run a cage sided ifor so transport is not a problem.
    
    Does the 80 really speed things up? Sorry complete novice when it comes to ride ons only ever had push mowers and the biggest mower that collects well is a 21" wheeled kubota. Its fast but 2 hours chasing that around and you definitely feel it.
    • PRO

      Nick @ NM Garden Services Ltd > Rob Bury May 1, 2016 at 8:02pm

      We have a lawn which takes around 1 hour to cut with the hydro 80 and 2.5 hours with a 21" roller mower (Kaaz type machine).
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        Rob Bury > Nick @ NM Garden Services Ltd May 1, 2016 at 8:07pm

        Thanks that's very good. Does it leave a good finish? I have a customer that is very anti ride ons calling them lawn killers not lawn mowers.
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  Gareth May 2, 2016 at 8:08am

  Using a bahia for the first time this year so haven't put them through all conditions yet but very impressed so far. Will pick up long grass impressively and cut short neatly. I'm not using its mulching plug as planned as it collects well. Best advice is to Find a local etesia dealer and try a demo on your particular lawns. Should win any doubters over. They might even do a deal on an ex demo?
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    Rob Bury > Gareth May 2, 2016 at 8:20am

    Thanks Gareth that was my plan but I wanted hear some reports from after the honeymoon period as I have never used a ride on before I may just enjoy the sitting down rather than quality of the machine.
• PRO

  Andrew Watts May 2, 2016 at 10:13am

  We had a hydro 80 on demo for a few days last autumn - specifically wanted to check it's wet weather pick-up on grass and scarify waste. Not so good for either on the lawns we tried, including my own. So did not buy. Felt the machine was robust though, easy to use, and importantly, would fit in a lwb van. Also had great service from Tom at RT Machinery.

  Did buy a duocut 53 though, which we find great for wet weather mowing.

  Will your larger customers want stripes? Will they be ok with mulching?  These will be a key factor in which way to go.

  Also, how many larger lawns do you have that are suited to a ride on, access, shape, plus what finish / fequency of cut is expected?

  Would definetly speak to your local etesia dealer and get on demo for a week before committing to buying new or used. I think they have a lot of pros which may make them the best choice for you.
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    Rob Bury > Andrew Watts May 2, 2016 at 10:29am

    I was originally looking at the duocut 53 as we have the new shape pro46 and love the performance. The kubota we currently use on the big sites until it is dry enough for the timemaster is ok but it doesn't like wet grass. We currently only have a 19" pro roller so the large domestic lawns have never had proper stripes but there are very happy with the finish. Our other larger sites are commercial and are cut ano drop. I'm still not convinced the ride on is the best way to go but I find myself getting overwhelmed on the largest sites.
    
    I was ready to try the duocut 53 when I had another large one come in so I started to think about a ride on.
    
    Is the duocut 53 good? What's it's speed like?