I'm buying a SCAG mower this week and I need advice

Hello All,

I'm new here and as the title says, I'm buying a SCAG mower this week. I'm 61 and I want to buy a mower that will last till my lawn mowing days are over. I'm fed up with how slow my JD mower is and the fact that it's 4 years old and I'm on my second carburetor and third fuel pump. I want to buy a quality mower to last.

I have 2 acres of land and I'm looking at the Tiger Cat II with a Kawasaki engine and a 61" deck. My local dealer will sell it for $9,400 + tax.

I looked at the Patriot and with the same engine and 61" deck, the price is $7,499.

Aside from the nicer floating seat in the Tiger Cat II, what is the difference between the two?

Thanks,
Texasvet

I have the Tiger Cat II, it's a great mower, always starts and runs great.
The deck they put on them does a esculent job of cutting and spreading the clippings out.

The seat on mine is adjustable and very comfortable.

Also on the Tiger Cat II you get cast iron mower spindles, and wheel motors, and better pumps with cooling fans..

I have the Kaw engine and it runs great, I think you'll be very happy with this mower.

In answer to your question, the Tiger Cat is a step up from the Patriot, and the Cat has a lot better deck.

Use non ethanol gas or you will have the same problems.

BlazNT said:

Use non ethanol gas or you will have the same problems.

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I agree.

I always use non ethanol gas in all my equipment, they do run better and fuel problems are a thing of the past.

It cost a little more, but it's pay me know, or pay my later with repairs, your choice.

texasvet said:

Hello All,

the fact that it's 4 years old and I'm on my second carburetor and third fuel pump. I want to buy a quality mower to last.

?

Thanks,
Texasvet

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These aren't wear problems, but fuel problems. It doesn't matter what you buy as said earlier you are still going to have these troubles. I just don't know about the replacement fuel pumps because I have been having a run on them in my shop???

To expand on John Rs comments,
I have a 2008 Scag Tiger Cub 48" deck with a blower driven Scag collection system. This machine has 850 hours most of which have been with the collection system.
If you have any inclination of needing a collection system, the Tiger Cat II is what I recommend.
The Tiger Cub was upgraded to a Tiger Cat and the Tiger Cat was upgraded to the Tiger Cat II. I am very impressed with the upgrades on the Tiger Cat II.
With the exception of the 48" deck Tiger Cat II all the rest have a suspension seat as standard equipment. I have replaced the standard seat on my Tiger Cub with a mid range suspension seat. As most ZTRs have ridged suspensions, larger and wider tires along with a suspension seat make the ride tolerable on rough areas.
My suspension seat was $400 and minor modifications were needed to install it.
Having looked over the Scag Patriot, I am impressed with it. The Patriot has the same Kawasaki FX engine as the Tiger Cat II has. The FX engine has the two stage Donaldson air filtration system which I feel is necessary for engine life as ZTRs are dusty machines by their nature of design.
Some of the drawbacks to a Patriot are aluminum spindles with sealed bearings, non suspension seat, basic mower deck and a mower airflow collection system.
But I wouldn't rule out the Patriot as it is an upgraded Freedom Z Pro with the top of the line Kawasaki FX engine which is not available on mid range machines from other manufacturers.
If a blower driven collection system is not important to you, then the Patriot may be of consideration to you.
As for the suspension seat, I wouldn't be without it as I am in rocky, rooty, hilly, leafy, pine needly New England.
I also have a Hustler X-ONE which has the fan cooled pumps which the Tiger Cat II has and I feel that the fans are an important cooling factor particularly during long term mowing. The Hustler runs sometimes for 10 hours as it is used in a cemetery and has a Kawasaki FX730V engine, sweet running and easy to maintain.
Just some thoughts from Mad Mackie in CT:laughing::biggrin::smile:

As for non ethanol gasoline, it is not available at any gas station here in CT. It is available at power equipment dealers at $80 for a five gallon container of 93 octane. At $16 a gallon, I'm not interested!!!
I use Star Tron fuel additive when refilling my gas containers and periodically use Sea Foam fuel additive when my machines have been sitting for a while.
For long term storage I drain the fuel and run the carbs out of gas.
A caution with any new machine, as fuel evaporative systems have been added, overfilling the tank(s) is bad thing to do.

If you want speed, the Scag Cheetah is faster than anyone wants to mow. 11 mph in low range, 16 in high. My Cheetah is 2 years old and has less than 100 hrs with the Kawasaki FX 850 motor. I liked the adjustable suspension seat and figured the longer frame may help with the ride and control. New, it cost 10,800 with tax. I'm nearly 66 years old so I figure it is my last mower. I mow 3 acres at 2.25 inches and it usually takes me about 1.5 hours with my 61" cut. My wife has also learned to operate the Scag. We have had no problems with it. My dealer charges about $160 for my annual service, including new blades. My only regret with the Scag is I wished I had bought one many years ago.

mcdonell said:

If you want speed, the Scag Cheetah is faster than anyone wants to mow. 11 mph in low range, 16 in high. My Cheetah is 2 years old and has less than 100 hrs with the Kawasaki FX 850 motor. I liked the adjustable suspension seat and figured the longer frame may help with the ride and control. New, it cost 10,800 with tax. I'm nearly 66 years old so I figure it is my last mower. I mow 3 acres at 2.25 inches and it usually takes me about 1.5 hours with my 61" cut. My wife has also learned to operate the Scag. We have had no problems with it. My dealer charges about $160 for my annual service, including new blades. My only regret with the Scag is I wished I had bought one many years ago.

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Thanks for all of the replies.

I went down to my local dealer today and I think that I've decided to spend a little bit more and get the Cheetah with a 27HP Kawasaki engine. It's a little more than I wanted to spend at $10,200, but since I'm 61 and I have a lower back disc bulge, I figure that it's the best thing for my back and I'll spend a whole lot less time cutting the grass.

Also, I just found out that my local Walmart has non-ethanol fuel at every pump. It's 2.25/gallon which is .50/gal more than the 10% ethanol, but it's worth it in IMHO.

Texasvet

I am soon to be 73 and have a herniated disc in my lower back along with bulging discs above and below the herniated disc an a bulging disc in my neck. These along with other problems are the 'benefits' of having been a mechanic all my life!
Operating a ZTR was causing severe lower back discomfort and I decided to do something about it 3-4 years ago. The aftermarket suspension seat that I bought has up and down adjustable suspension, adjustable recline, adjustable arm rests, but most important to me is the adjustable lumbar.
The Cheetah has a platform suspension that includes the seat and the foot rest area, the seat only has adjustable recline.
The Tiger Cat II has up and down adjustable suspension and adjustable recline, I'm not sure about other adjustable areas.
All seats have forward and back adjustments.
As mowing conditions vary around the country, some machines are more suitable than others to the type of mowing conditions encountered.
Cheetahs are not very popular here in New England but Turf Tigers and Tiger Cats are as a high speed machine in our conditions is a disadvantage.
The aftermarket seat that I installed on my Tiger Cub is a Milsco 5300 and as it has adjustable lumbar, it has improved my comfort during machine operation.
I was fortunate to find a seat with similar tan color as the Scag seats are. Milsco also makes an air suspension seat with the same adjustments, but it is a $1,200 seat, so I opted for the 5300 at $400.
I do feel that the Tiger Cat II with the cooling fans on the pumps is a good thing as my Hustler X-ONE has them also which provide additional needed cooling during extended periods of mowing. It takes 3 10 hour days to mow our cemetery with the Hustler. I have mowed the cemetery with my Tiger Cub several times and had to let the machine cool down several times during each day of mowing.
Just a few thoughts from Mad Mackie in CT:laughing::biggrin::smile: