We are assuming it's a 2-cycle, although the commercials are now 4-cycle and have been for two years. As you may know, the oil is mixed with the gas on the 2-cycle, so there will be some smoke. On a 2-cycle, the amount of smoke does not indicate engine condition. It simply means either it's running rich or there's too much oil in the gas. All Lawn-Boy accessories for 21" decks work on the commercial except the rear bag as already posted. It may have just a discharge plate in it, so you'd need a mulch plate. The bagging chute is green and replaces the mode plate (mulch or discharge). The blade is not changed for any mode of operation, and it uses the Tri-Cut blade. For mulching, you should install a mulch fan over the blade. 2-cycles don't have compression releases for two reasons; they have low compression to start with, and they have no valves to make the compression release work. Compression should feel pretty stout on pulling the starter, but not really hard. The engine should start on the first pull if properly primed/choked (2-cycles like to start 'wet'). It is normal for the engine to 'clank' when starting and stopping. It has roller bearings on the crank and rod which require greater clearance. The commercial is the ultimate Lawn-Boy because it's the utmost in simplicity. It just cuts grass. Where I used to work at a County government center, I used to watch the female jail birds use the Lawn-Boy commercials all summer long, year in and year out. I've never seen another mower that throws grass like that, and you must know that those prisoners didn't pamper them. Yours will most likely have an 'F' engine or a Duraforce 6.5HP. A commercial LB with the Duraforce would have to be the ultimate lawnmower, although the 'civilian' 10424 came very close. I would have said 10550 except it has the Toro Personal Pace drive that irritates me. The commercial will not have Personal Pace - if it's propelled, it'll have a 3-speed.

***"all the major OEM mfgrs may have left a bad taste in their buying public's mouth............."*** Yep, but the OEMs are counting on each and every case of failure of the transmissions remaining "an isolated case caused by extenuating circumstances" when the typical owner of one of the so called "sealed for life" units is told by the repair shop that they need to buy a new transmission. The OEMs seem to be hoping that there will never be a rebellion by the consumer masses to have all the light duty transmissions equipped to drain and fill them like the higher end units. And, the OEMs are precisely correct in their hopes/beliefs of that remaining status quo. The OEMs can shave a few dollars off of every transmission they build by omitting the steps for drilling and tapping to include a drain plug, plus their cost for the plug itself. A few $ multiplied by thousands of units built adds up to a substantial savings for the OEMs. And because of this planned obsolescence, the OEMs of both the tractor, and the transmission.....stand a good chance of selling either a new tractor, or a new transmission to most of the consumer public. Of all the millions of units sold sold to consumers world wide, how many do you suppose have ever gone to a forum like this and learned ANYTHING at all about the scenario? I would say the answer is "So few the OEMs don't have a thing to worry about in keeping right on building them just as they are doing currently." Those are my thoughts on it.

It's funny, because I was just on Allrecipes looking for a refrigerator cucumber salad recipe when I noticed this. Never heard of it before, and then, not an hour later I read this post on the GW forum. You'll have to get Carol or Linda Lou or someone to weigh in on the safety of it. Here's a recipe for this from Allrecipes: Christmas Red Pickles INGREDIENTS (Nutrition) 7 pounds large cucumbers 1 cup pickling lime (calcium hydroxide) 2 teaspoons red food coloring 1 teaspoon powdered alum 1 cup distilled white vinegar 7 cups white sugar 2 cups distilled white vinegar 2 cups water 1 cup cinnamon red hot candies 4 cinnamon sticks DIRECTIONS Peel cucumbers, halve lengthwise, and scrape out the seeds with a spoon. Cut the cucumber into 1/4 inch half circles, and place into a glass or ceramic crock. Dissolve the pickling lime in about 1 quart of room temperature water, pour over the cucumbers, then add additional water until the cucumbers are covered by 1/2 inch. Let stand at room temperature 24 hours. Drain the cucumbers and rinse well with cold water. Place into a large stockpot, and cover with cold water. Allow to stand for 3 hours, then drain and rinse again. Return the cucumbers to the pot, add the food coloring, alum, 1 cup vinegar, and enough water to cover by 1/2 inch. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to a simmer, and cook 2 hours. Once the cucumbers have cooked for 2 hours, drain and allow to cool a bit before placing into the glass or ceramic jar. Stir together 2 cups vinegar, 2 cups water, cinnamon red hot candies, and cinnamon sticks in a saucepan over medium heat until the sugar and candies dissolve. Pour this mixture over the warm cucumbers, cover, and let stand overnight. Pack pickles into pint jars, and process in a hot water bath for 15 to 20 minutes. Refrigerate any jars that do not seal.

Hi Charles! Thanks for that new word that we Americans don't have -- "remodelation." Can't wait to use it! (Shooting for combining in a sentence with "orientated." LOL.) Rather than just telling people you have a 200 s.f. space, why don't you take a picture of the overall space, including some surroundings and give people an idea of what they'd be in for. Also, give an idea of goals and objectives space so people would know if they'd be able to help you with it. That way, you could minimize responses from those who do entirely other kind of style, as "commercial" still implies a very wide range.