Commercial-Grade Power Equipment

If you chill your food in a Sub-Zero refrigerator, make your morning omelet on a Wolfe stove, or drive a pickup truck or SUV to work (even if your route isn't off road), then you may be the sort of consumer who would enjoy commercial-grade outdoor power equipment.

Commercial-grade outdoor equipment, such as tillers, augers, and mowers, is built to work hard and last long. What homeowner doesn't want that? To get professional-level durability and toughness, many outdoor power equipment consumers are willing to pay extra for the power that commercial equipment has to offer.

When Randy Dawson of Perry, Iowa, wanted something sturdy and hardworking to turn the soil in his large vegetable garden, he purchased a commercial-grade tiller. Large-frame tillers are the best option for gardeners with a lot of ground to cover. These ground-eating machines offer wider tilling widths than standard tillers and can turn over the soil of a large garden in no time. "At the time, I had a two-acre garden to till, so I wanted something durable," Dawson recalls. Each spring, he breaks up the soil for planting. And each fall, using his tiller, he works amendments such as manure, compost, and leaves into the soil. When neighbors or friends ask to use the tiller, he lends it. He's only "replaced a few tines and some spark plugs" after 12 years of consistent use. "It's been a great tiller," he says.

Property owners who use their acreage for multiple purposes—leisure, gardening, and animal ownership—may find that commercial-grade landscaping equipment, such as an earth auger (a power-driven posthole digger), becomes the most-used tool in the shed. On his property, Randy Dawson has found an earth auger extremely useful. He initially rented one for specific projects, such as putting up fencing. He ended up purchasing a gas-powered earth auger for chores around his property. In summer, he puts his earth auger to good use digging postholes for garden and animal