Commercial 21 S-Series

Comments about Exmark Commercial 21 S-Series:

This mower has the HP to mulch tall grass from all the rain this spring.

Comments about Exmark Commercial 21 S-Series:

Poor design for mulching deck rotted near mulching plug.

Comments about Exmark Commercial 21 S-Series:

Great product.

Comments about Exmark Commercial 21 S-Series:

everything is great with machine, just quality of cut. Seems to always leave a little grass uncut, have to go over areas twice.

Comments about Exmark Commercial 21 S-Series:

I am a homeowner who maintains two 1/4 acre lots and several other small nearby yards (vacants/elderly). My own grass gets very thick and tall during the rainy spring season and becomes nearly impossible to cut with a consumer-type push mower. Decided on the Exmark based on recommendations from lawn service pros. Chose the S-series because I did not need all the extra features of the X-series.

This mower is built like a tank and is definitely the most substantial piece of outdoor power equipment I own. The rubber tires provide awesome traction in all conditions. It's heavy, bulky, and it feels great to operate.

I would prefer a side discharge feature instead of bagging. I have never once bagged grass clippings and it just seems like nonsense to do so. The ability to open a discharge chute while cutting tall/thick grass would be much more valuable to me than the option to bag.

I am less-than-impressed with the cut quality. Perhaps it's just the blade design, but it misses a lot of pieces of grass in each pass. It gets worse as the cutting height is raised, and I do cut fairly high (3.5 to 4"). The cut improved after I installed the mulch plug, but honestly my old Craftsman was more precise.

The engine runs very strong, and starts on the first pull every time. It does emit a puff of white smoke upon startup after it has not been run in a week or two. I'm not sure if there is a problem with my engine, or if this is just a typical behavior of the FJ180V.

Also, when it starts to get low on gas (1/4 tank or so), the engine starts to sputter and miss instead of running until the last drop of fuel is gone like other mowers do. I find that annoying, because I can't quite finish the yard on 3/4 tank.

These three reasons (cut quality, puff of smoke, and low fuel issue) are why I cannot give it the full 5 stars.

I have so much more to say, but these reviews have a character limit. I do recommend the product, though it does come with a few frustrations.

Service and delivery comments:

I ordered the mower from an Exmark dealer 40 mins away. I have no serious complaints about the professionalism of the shop or its staff but it was very inconvenient that they wouldn't take a credit card over the phone for payment. In order to actually get the mower ordered, I had to ask my father-in-law to drive to the shop to pay since I couldn't get there in person during business hours. The tech who gave me the "grand tour" of my new purchase was friendly and knowledgeable.

Comments about Exmark Commercial 21 S-Series:

The rattiest cut I have ever seen in a professional mower. The problem has to be the blade. My 12 year old Honda is a much better machine.