Tiger Cat II - 61 vs 52

I have a new piece of property. It is 2 acres, dead flat, no trees. I have a Kubota Z121s with a mulching kit but it bogs down pretty good if the grass is even the slightest bit damp or around 4 inches tall (cutting down to 3.25). Grass is all Fescue/Bermuda blend but I am slowly converting to all Bermuda. I am looking for a mower that will last me a lifetime, mulch (I don't like to bag or discharge) and not get bogged down. I am eyeing a Tiger Cat II as I like our local Kubota/Scag dealer. I know a Tiger Cat II may seem overkill for 2 acres, but I sometimes mow our common area as well (4 acres), and will occasionally pick up a few yards in the neighborhood (1.5 - 2.5 acres).

Question, would you go with the Tiger Cat II in the 52 or 61" deck? Which engine? I am leaning toward the 61 as I don't have any fences, tress, or many obstacles to mow around. I do have a few drainage ditches, but not ones I see causing an issue on a 61 that wouldn't also cause an issue on a 52. However, the 61, also has the 29 EFI (but bigger deck so more to cut).

Thoughts?

I have the 61 on my Tiger Cat and it cuts great, extra 11" of cut each pass is good in my book.

There is not much out there that will out cut a Tiger Cat Scag especially if you have taller stemmed grass. The Velocity deck is incredible. We cut incredible amounts of grass in Lower Alabama with them. All four of the mowers we have are Tiger Cats with 52" decks and 22 HP Kawasaki engines. I have one that has over 1800 hours on it. I have seen several Kawasaki engines that had lots of hours on them with little to no problems. I can't say that for the Kohlers. I personally have not seen one with 1000 hours on it that was not using a lot of oil or worse.

I went with the 52" decks for several reasons but for some unknown reason it appears that they cut tall stemmed grass slightly better than the 61" decks do. Neither is anything to sneeze at. I used to run Kubota mowers but the Scags for me are shockingly better.

jekjr said:

There is not much out there that will out cut a Tiger Cat Scag especially if you have taller stemmed grass. The Velocity deck is incredible. We cut incredible amounts of grass in Lower Alabama with them. All four of the mowers we have are Tiger Cats with 52" decks and 22 HP Kawasaki engines. I have one that has over 1800 hours on it. I have seen several Kawasaki engines that had lots of hours on them with little to no problems. I can't say that for the Kohlers. I personally have not seen one with 1000 hours on it that was not using a lot of oil or worse.

I went with the 52" decks for several reasons but for some unknown reason it appears that they cut tall stemmed grass slightly better than the 61" decks do. Neither is anything to sneeze at. I used to run Kubota mowers but the Scags for me are shockingly better.

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I purchased the TCII 61" with the 29 Kohler EFI. It would take me roughly 10 years to put 1000 hours on it, so I figured I would give it a shot. I should have it by Friday. Hopefully it will run circles around my Kubota.

bhas1 said:

I purchased the TCII 61" with the 29 Kohler EFI. It would take me roughly 10 years to put 1000 hours on it, so I figured I would give it a shot. I should have it by Friday. Hopefully it will run circles around my Kubota.

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I bought exactly the same model a year ago. Love it. It has plenty of juice, the deck is awesome (as jekjr noted) and if the motor behaves as any other Kohler I've experienced, it'll be fine. Good luck, and enjoy.

I have a TC2 52" and really like it. I bought it on 4/20/18. It has 27.3 hours on it and it still runs like new.