Opinions on Scag Patriot for 2 acre homeowner

[Darryl G]

If you don't have bulk leaves and debris to deal with, you can probably get by with a smaller unit. Something with a 50cc engine and putting out 500+ cfm at 200+ mph will tidy things up fairly quickly without breaking the bank. The Husqvarna 150bt is arguably the best value in the 50cc range. It's a slightly cheaped-out Lowes version of their dealer model 350bt. The Echo pb580 is a nice unit for the price too. Having run the 76cc Husqvarna 580bt for several years and an 80cc Echo pb8010 for a season, the smaller units seem like toys to me. But to someone who hasn't been spoiled by using monster backpack units, a smaller one would probably make you happy. My brother-in-law is perfectly happy with the 150bt unit I gifted him for use on his 3 acres.

The thing with using your mower as a blower is that it doesn't really do the job properly - the grass tends to build up at the edges, forming unsightly rafts of grass clippings, and you're putting hours on a machine that costs 10 to 20 times as much as one designed to do the job. Granted, it's not a lot of extra time on the machine, but still...

 

[jekjr]

McDonell - I agree, it's the debate between cut quality and cost. Certainly the Velocity deck on the TC II will provide a better cut than the deck on the Patriot, but I do believe the deck on the Patriot will provide a good cut and getting the better cut just doesn't seem worth the extra $1500 - $2000 for the Cat II. I certainly could be wrong, but seeing as the Patriot will allow me to cut the yard in ~30 minutes I just can't see going longer than 1 week between cuts in the height of the growing season here in North Texas so I have to believe it will be an acceptable cut to me without major clumping or other problems. If you think I'm wrong about that, please let me know!

And as for ride quality - I found the Patriot ride quality to be perfectly acceptable at full speed vs. the Liberty which wasn't in the same league!

20 years from now that won't be $100 a year. The seat is better the deck is incredibly better. Not just in cut but the ability to cut if you get into the position to have to cut it tall. Blade change is much better from my understanding. I personally have not used the home owner models but I do know that the Velocity deck has the nuts on top and you can take a cordless impact and change the blades in 5 minutes easily. We do it multiple times a day with the ones we run. Many pro's that you could quite possibly wish a couple of years down the road that you went ahead and got.

Just my opinion. Good luck in what ever you get.

 

[JPE]

20 years from now that won't be $100 a year. The seat is better the deck is incredibly better. Not just in cut but the ability to cut if you get into the position to have to cut it tall. Blade change is much better from my understanding. I personally have not used the home owner models but I do know that the Velocity deck has the nuts on top and you can take a cordless impact and change the blades in 5 minutes easily. We do it multiple times a day with the ones we run. Many pro's that you could quite possibly wish a couple of years down the road that you went ahead and got.

Just my opinion. Good luck in what ever you get.

I hear ya. I do love doing shade tree "mechanic-ing" on cars and motorcycles and expect I'll enjoy it on a mower too. The greaseable cast iron spindles with roller bearings on the TC II seem like they will last forever in my application. But it also seems like the aluminum sealed spindles with ball bearings will also be good enough to last forever for me. Certainly the Velocity 2 deck is better on the TC II but, once again, the deck on the Patriot (Advantage deck?) will be good enough for me. And while I'm sure the seat on the TC II is better, the seat on the Patriot was still good on my test ride. I expect the extra speed of the TC II would also be nice...but once again, it's all about price vs. features. I did notice that Scag has the STCII-52V-22FX listed as a "Promotional Model" but they don't say what that means in terms of discount versus their normal list price.

Right now I'l still leaning towards the Patriot, but I don't disagree that the TC II has a lot of desired upgrades. I guess we'll see what I end up with in 17 days when I go to buy my mower. :smile:

 

[ferrerlawncare]

Do you have a Spartan dealer nearby? I've had one for almost 3 years and it's comparable to all the top picks I've seen in this thread, better than most in my opinion. I'm selling mine and have to keep lowering the price just because people don't know what it can do. Look into it. If you're near TN come drive this one and take it home. I'll get a new one next year when I'm able to. Right now I have jobs that need a stand on mower, can't get it til this one sells.

 

[JPE]

ferrerlawncare, there are some Spartan dealers close by, but I'm going to stick with a Scag. No need to open up that can of worms again. :smile: I can compare brands until I'm blue in the face and never buy a mower.

 

[JPE]

I noticed the 52" TC II with Kawasaki is listed as a "National Promo Model" on Scag's website: https://scag.com/national_promotions.html

Are the promo models really "specially priced"? And if so, how much less is the special pricing than the normal pricing?

 

[Darryl G]

JPE - I don't have direct experience with Scag mowers other than their 1980s walk-behinds, but I don't think you can't go wrong with either the Patriot or the TC. The Patriot will easy do what you want it too for many years as far as mowing the lawn. Yes the TC will probably do it a bit better and faster. With that aside, if you'll be doing any sort of "rough duty" work with it such as towing heavy carts or trailers, pulling aerators, sweepers or dethatchers, infrequent mowing of overgrown and/or rough areas, your needs would probably be served best by a TC. I wouldn't recommend using the Patriot as a tractor basically.

 

[JPE]

JPE - I don't have direct experience with Scag mowers other than their 1980s walk-behinds, but I don't think you can't go wrong with either the Patriot or the TC. The Patriot will easy do what you want it too for many years as far as mowing the lawn. Yes the TC will probably do it a bit better and faster. With that aside, if you'll be doing any sort of "rough duty" work with it such as towing heavy carts or trailers, pulling aerators, sweepers or dethatchers, infrequent mowing of overgrown and/or rough areas, your needs would probably be served best by a TC. I wouldn't recommend using the Patriot as a tractor basically.

Darryl. I hadn’t mentioned it before, but pulling a cart was definitely one of the things I intended to use the mower for. Basically hauling plants, dirt and mulch for the 10’ x 20’ garden - along with fertilizer spreading and aerating.

 

[Darryl G]

Yeah garden cart should be fine within reasonable limits.

 

[Mad Mackie]

250 pound towing limit on all Scag ZTRs. These machine are not made to tow heavy loads as the hydrostatic drives are designed for low torque higher speeds.