About this product
Tornado BD 28/27: A Compact Ride-On Floor Scrubber for Big Open Floors
It's 10 p.m. in a 50,000 square foot grocery store. Your night crew has a 20-inch walk-behind, and at a real-world 9,000 to 12,500 square feet an hour, the sales floor alone takes four to five and a half hours before anyone touches the back room. The Tornado BD 28/27 ride-on floor scrubber puts your operator in a seat behind a 27-inch disk deck, with a 27-gallon solution tank and a 28-gallon recovery tank, so one person covers that floor in about half the time.
Tornado rates it at 37,673 square feet per hour. Take off 30% to 50% for turns, refills and emptying and you're still at roughly 19,000 to 26,000 square feet an hour, which puts that store at about 2 to 2.75 hours, inside Tornado's 3 to 5 hour runtime. It runs at 69 dB(A), not far above normal conversation at around 60 dB, so it can work while the last shoppers check out. And the 33.8-inch squeegee fits through a standard 36-inch door.
Tornado backs the BD 28/27 with 4 years on parts, 10 years on the roto-molded tanks and 2 years on labor, and we're an authorized Tornado retailer, so that coverage starts the day it arrives.
Which One Do I Need: Machine Only, Lead Acid or AGM?
The machine is the same in all three options. What changes is whether batteries come in the crate, and which kind. None of the versions includes pad drivers or brushes: the deck takes two, so order them with the machine.
No Battery, Machine Only (TS560-W28-U). Pick this if you already have a battery supplier or good batteries from a retired rider. It runs on 24 volts from two 12 V batteries under the seat (Tornado's kits use part 99812 lead acid or 99559 AGM), and the display has a battery-type setting that has to match what you install. Tornado's battery coverage applies to factory batteries only.
Lead Acid Battery, 2 x 12V (TS560-W28-UC). The lowest cost to get running. Flooded lead acid batteries need distilled water topped up (Tornado's manual says check them every 20 charges) and should be charged somewhere ventilated. A good fit when someone on your team already looks after batteries.
AGM Sealed Battery, 2 x 12V (TS560-W28-UG). Sealed and maintenance-free, so there's no watering and no acid to spill. It costs $900 more than lead acid at our price, and it's the one we'd pick for schools, healthcare and grocery, where nobody owns battery care.
Not sure which battery suits your crew? Our guide to lead acid, AGM, TPPL and lithium floor scrubber batteries walks through the running costs.
BD 28/27, BR 28/27, a Stand-On or a Walk-Behind?
The Tornado BR 28/27 is the same ride-on with cylindrical brushes instead of disks. Its brushes spin at 785 RPM with up to 320 lb of pressure, which is the better tool for grout lines, anti-slip tile and other textured floors. The BD 28/27 runs pads or disk brushes, which Tornado recommends for daily maintenance on smooth floors, and pads cost less to replace. The BD's 33.8-inch squeegee also clears a 36-inch door, while the BR's is 38.5 inches.
If your operator hops on and off all night, the Tornado BDSO 27/28 stand-on is the better fit and it costs less. And if a walk-behind can finish your floor on one charge, the Tornado BD 26/20 saves you thousands. Our guide to walk-behind vs ride-on floor scrubbers walks through the math.
Figures from Tornado's 2025 catalog, product pages and spec sheets, and from the manufacturer specs on our BR 28/27, BDSO 27/28 and BD 26/20 pages. Rated coverage is Tornado's theoretical maximum.
Not sure this is the right size? Send us your square footage, floor type and cleaning schedule, or call (855) 601-5678, and we'll tell you which floor scrubber fits, including when the answer is a walk-behind.
The Owner's Insights on the BD 28/27
I'd sell you this machine for one reason: a big open floor and one person to clean it. Supermarkets, warehouses, school corridors, gyms, big-box retail. If your building is mostly small rooms, a ride-on spends the night turning around, and a walk-behind is the better buy.
What I like is how little there is to teach. In automatic mode your operator sits down and presses the pedal: the deck lowers, the brushes spin, solution flows and the vacuum starts. Lift off the pedal and the brushes and solution stop, then the deck and squeegee rise about 30 seconds later. The parking brake sets whenever the pedal is released, and the machine won't move unless someone is in the seat. For battery work, the seat flips forward and props open.
Two honest notes. Pad drivers aren't in the crate, so add two 48803030 pad drivers to your order. And Tornado rates it for slopes up to 10%, so check your ramps and loading docks before you buy.
Why You'll Love the BD 28/27
27-inch deck with two 14-inch disks at 160 RPM. Seven more inches per pass than a 20-inch walk-behind, with your operator seated the whole shift.
27-gallon solution and 28-gallon recovery tanks. Fewer trips to the mop sink, so more of the shift goes to scrubbing.
One-pedal automatic mode. Press to scrub, release to stop, so new staff are productive on their first night.
Parabolic squeegee with a four-sided rear blade. A quick-release lever swaps blades in 10 seconds or less, and each blade has four edges to use.
Up to 132 lb of down pressure and a 580 W vacuum. Enough bite for daily soil, and floors are dry behind the squeegee so wet-floor signs come down sooner.
69 dB(A) plus a silent vacuum mode. Quiet enough to scrub aisles while the store or school is still open.
Setup, Batteries, Pads and Daily Care
Dust mop or sweep first: a disk scrubber isn't a sweeper. Fill the solution tank through the screw cap on the left side with clean water no hotter than 122°F, add a low-foaming scrubber chemical at the lowest dilution that does the job, and put a splash of defoamer in the recovery tank if foam shows up. Tornado's manual rules out pure acids and mixing detergents.
The two 12 V batteries sit in series under the seat for a 24 V system. A full charge takes 8 to 10 hours, and Tornado lists 3 to 5 hours of runtime, so plan your route on the lower number. Never leave the batteries flat for long, and if you run lead acid, see our guide to maintaining flooded lead acid scrubber batteries.
The deck takes two pad drivers (part 48803030) and 14-inch pads; Tornado's catalog lists pads such as the BK0514 black stripping pad and BH0514 heavy-duty black for this machine. Replacement squeegee blades are 48408100 (front) and 48408110 (rear).
Daily: empty and rinse the recovery tank, clean the suction filter, rinse the pads or brushes and wipe the squeegee. Weekly: check the rear blade, turn it to a fresh edge when it wears, and flush the squeegee hose. Tornado asks for an authorized service check every 200 hours, and the display shows a service reminder at 500 hours. Our step-by-step guide to using a floor scrubber covers the routine in more detail.
Why You Should Consider a Tornado Ride-On Scrubber
Tornado Industries is part of Tacony Corporation, which also builds Powr-Flite, and its scrubber line runs from compact 13-inch machines to 33-inch ride-ons, so your parts, pads and service center stay the same as you add machines. Warranty labor goes through Tacony's authorized service centers, and the roto-molded tanks are covered for 10 years. See all our ride-on floor scrubbers or the full Tornado floor scrubber range.
Tornado BD 28/27 Specifications
10 years roto-molded tanks
2 years labor
Factory batteries: replaced if they fail within 90 days, pro-rated after that
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