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"Walk-behind power trowels are typically used on jobs smaller than 5,000 square feet, particularly those where the contractor is working in a space-restricted area," says Cuppett. "Walk-behind trowels range from 24 to 48 inches in diameter, making them well suited to flattening concrete through doors and around pipes, columns and other obstacles.

"For the larger jobs — greater than 5,000 square feet — it's much more efficient to use a ride-on trowel," he continues. "These models are more powerful, travel faster and feature greater path widths, enabling contractors to reduce the number of workers they have on the job while finishing the job in less time and ultimately improving the bottom line."

Ride-on trowels

Ride-on trowels have dual counter-rotating rotors ("helicopters") with typically four or five blades on each rotor. They are classified as either an overlapping blade set or non-overlapping blade set. They can be powered by either gas or diesel engines.

As mentioned, ride-on trowels are typically used on large slab surfaces (areas over 5,000 square feet). "Ride-on trowels can be as much as four or five times faster than a walk-behind trowel," says Michael Orzechowski, PE, engineering manager with Equipment Development Co. (EDCO) and vice chairman of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers/Trowel Machine Manufacturers Bureau. "They usually have more contact pressure on each blade and have more horsepower turning the rotors, thus they can create a tighter packed skin on the concrete slab over the lighter walk-behind models."

Ride-ons are offered in both hydraulic and mechanical models. "Hydraulic models eliminate many common wear items such as gearboxes, clutches and belts," says Cuppett. "Mechanical ride-on trowels, in addition to being less expensive, typically deliver more torque to the trowel blades."