<font color=blue>… I'm looking to purchase a 6' light/ medium duty cutter…</font color=blue>
Hi Tom…
First… big price difference between “light/standard” duty and “medium” duty… as well as construction differences… /w3tcompact/icons/blush.gif
I have owned both… and I really bad-mouthed Howse for a time… maybe they had a bad batch/run when they made mine and some friends a few years back… With that said, I’ve seen some older Howse units, I’ve had to look at twice to make sure it was the same company… when I saw the massive steel deck and skids and A-frames used (MD units)… and I’ve seen some newer units that looked much better than my purchase… all-in-all though, I found KingKutter to have better overall manufacturing consistency…
Let your eyes and gut be the judge by looking at both of them side by side, especially on a standard duty unit… basically both should have 40 hp rated gearboxes (I know for a fact the Omni 40 hp box on KK will do 60hp on an “severe” intermittent basis /w3tcompact/icons/eyes.gif) Also, Howse may be trying to get more market share, as I’ve seen 5’ Howse units at auctions brand New for as low as $400…
My personal opinion, KK makes a great entry level, most bang for the buck standard rotary cutter… but if you are considering medium duty or higher… then for only a few dollars more… I’d consider other mfrs..