Scag Wildcat ZTR

[Alan L.]

We have pretty much narrowed our search to the Wildcat with 52" Velocity deck and 26HP liquid cooled Kawasaki vs the Hustler Z with 60" XR7 deck and 25HP Kaw air cooled engine.

The Hustler is 60" because their 54" has no trim edge, the mower itself is too wide, whereas the Wildcate apparently is narrow enough to get 3" of trim edge on the 52" deck.

I really like both. The Hustler dealer has offered to bring out a unit for a demo, I haven't asked the Scag dealer yet. The Scag dealer is about 25 miles away in a convenient (away from the city) location, whereas the Hustler dealer is about 32 miles away toward Dallas.

Been waiting for some grass to get some idea.

Mrs. Alan L. does most of the "little" mowing so this will mainly be her equipment. She mows a couple of acres now with the Craftsman (5-6 hours) but this will probably grow with the good mower. And, she definitely likes the Scag the best, partially based on quality of cut ratings we have read on Lawn Cafe and Lawn Site by owners of those units.

Months ago I was leaning to a Hustler Mini-Z but was discouraged from those units by 2 of our members, and I appreciate it very much, I don't think I would have been as satisfied with the mini-z.

The 52" Scag vs the 60" Hustler are about the same price - $8000 for either, when you include the ROPS and flex forks on the Hustler. I am choking on the cost, but I have not been able to find anything used for much less, and even the residential grade "good" ztrs are close to $6K and more. If you are spending $6K you might as well spend $8K and get what you want. Of course Scag Turf Tigers are telling me if I'm spending $8k, might as well spend $9500, but I have to draw the line somewhere.

Is anyone using either of these units, to offer feedback on them.

 

[CJ4]

I know little about the Scags but would be interested since i'm in the market. Would love to see some pics when you get it. Does it have a hydraulic lift for the deck??? Don't see those much these days.

 

[Alan L.]

Neither of these mowers has a hydraulic lift on the decks. You push a pedal with your foot, but it seems fairly easy on both. The Scag deck feels somewhat heavier than the Hustler, but Mrs. Alan L was able to handle it OK, so no problem.

 

[crbr]

Scag is a reputable name with the price, but I also think that quality is there to justify their price.

With regards to the Kawasaki engine, I have had 4 other machines with the Kawasaki engine with no complaints at all. In comparison to air-cooled VS liquid-cooled, I have much preferred the air-cooled. Liquids are OK but by nature of the enclosed coolant syatem, they draw a lot of debris onto the screen and radiator. Air-cooled engines will not do this. The 25HP engine is reliable and works hard. That would be my preference in this particular model.

The Kawasaki engine would be my first priority on any machine.

SCAG POWER EQUIPMENT - Wildcat Zero Turn Rider

 

[dirtydan]

I have owned a Scag Wildcat for over a year now. Great mower. I have the 60 inch with the Kawasaki engine. It does use some fuel but it covers a lot of ground in a hurry. I can mow full speed if the ground is smooth enough. It used to take 3 hours to mow our yard with a 42 inch Craftsman. The first time with the Scag it was 1 hour and 10 minutes, now I can do it in 50 minutes and less trimming. Now we are going to make our yard bigger and mow down by our pond as well. I also mow a lot in town that is just over an acre. It is 3 miles away. I can load up the mower go in and mow it and be back in less than an hour. Definitely makes it less of a chore. I have also mowed some grass in the horse pasture. It will handle heavy grass very well. My wife used to hate mowing with our Craftsman but now doesn't mind it at all with our Scag. With my mower I found that if you shut it off you need to choke it every time unless you start it back up immediately. I also looked at Gravely and Grasshopper and have nothing bad to say about them but the Scag dealer was closer and was good to deal with.

 

[Alan L.]

dirty dan, is your Kaw engine liquid cooled? I was wondering how much trouble you had keeping the radiator clean.

 

[MartyAnderson]

Alan
I bought a Graveley 260M XDZ with the 26HP LC Kawasaki engine last summer. This engine has a removable protective screen above the radiator that catches the debris. Simple matter to remove the screen, & blow it out with compressor or leaf blower. Total time to remove, blow out, & reinstall is at most 3 minutes.
Marty

 

[Alan L.]

Yes, I examined the screen over over the radiator and it is easy to remove and replace. Could be some material can get in behind it, then you have to blow out the radiator. I'm prepared to do that. Glad to know it does not to present much of a problem. Plus you don't have to worry about cleaning out fins and such for the air cooled engine.

 

[dirtydan]

Yes it is liquid cooled. The screen is easy to remove and clean. Some of the finer clippings do seem to go through the screen so I have had to clean the radiator fins some also. I always check it everytime I mow.

Dan

 

[Alan L.]

I picked up the Wildcat 61" with 26HP Kawasaki liquid cooled engine for a tryout at my place today.

Bad stuff first:

1) First thing I did was pull the seat back all the way and an hour later realized it was up against the radiator. Discolored a spot on the seat in one place, and punched a hole in another place.

2) Had to clean the radiator screen quite often, at least every half hour. I am hoping it was because I was cutting quite a bit of dormant dry grass (mixed in with spring growth) that was very lightweight and flying everywhere, plus it was very windy and the wind would sometimes blow the grass right back at the mower (and me).\

Cleaning it was very easy, just removed the screen and actually blew with my mouth and the little dry stuff was gone.

3) One of the tanks leaked gas around the filler cap. I had filled it up to the bottom of the threads. Also, the caps seem hard to get off, they get tight. The mrs might have trouble with that.

4) This thing really drinks the gas. When I ran out of the first tank (4 gallons) the hour meter read 2.4 hours. There was ALOT of grass cut with those 4 gallons.

5) I'm still having some trouble backing up. It took me a good 10 minutes backing it off the trailer.

6) Not a good mudder, got almost stuck several times in some wet spots and finally stuck it good on the edge of the tank (pond) and had to pull it out with my Kubota B2710.

Now, the good things:

1)AWESOME AWESOME AWSOME, man this thing chews up the grass. It makes my tractor and brushhog seem REALLY slow.

2) Ride is much better than I expected. It is not uncomfortable to operate at all. It had too much air the rear tires (fronts are semi-pneumatic) and the dealer told me I should let some out when I get home. I cut it down to 10 pounds, the manual says 12.

We are keeping it. No way I'm gonna give it up. Hopefully the problems are minor and fixable and I hope the radiator is not a pain.