The Hi-Vac mulches as good as anything out there and is much more versatile. It will mulch, bag, and side discharge. It's also the best bagger anywhere.

As one fella pointed out to me earlier, the mulcher also only goes up to 2.5 inches; that's pretty short for many lawns.

Thanks...so If I were to purchase a Hi Vac, would the Kawasaki 6@3350 perform better versus the B&S 7@3350. Again, I'll be cutting about 15 hours a week.

Thanks,

The height of cut on the 21" Snappers is the same for them all: 1.5 - 4.0". IIRC, the 2.5" height of cut is the max on the 19" model only. The only real design difference between the 21" Snapper Mulchers vs Hi-Vac is that the lip at the bottom edge of the deck is turned underneath the deck for the Hi-Vac whereas it is turned outward for the Mulchers. This does give a bit of functional advantage to the Mulcher for actual mulching work, as it distributes the clippings more evenly and in a more uniform size. It does reduce the suction if you put a bag on the mower (you can still attach a chute and bag to the mulcher series). OTOH, the Hi-Vacs still mulch very well but they bag better and (I assume still) come with the chute and bag. And it's cheap to purchase the chute plug and a Gator blade if you want to mulch nicely with one. So I think if you _ever_ bag, even just a few times at the beginning and the end of the season, then the Hi-Vac is the better value. If you only mulch - ever - then the mulcher has a bit of an advantage.

There's nothing wrong with the B&S Intek. But the sticker ratings for power on B&S engines (and some others, too) are meaningless. In the real world, the Kawasaki has significantly more power. Both of these engines are large, heavy OHV designs, but the Kawasaki is more powerful and built more for commercial duty. Whether or not those two advantages are worth the extra is something only you can determine.

I have 2 mowers for sale. Hardly ever used, look and run as brand new.
Please email if interested for pics and price.
Also for sale is a Gravely G-8163 Garden tractor and Trac Vac.
Extra blades are available for the tractor at no additional cost.