Scag Liberty Z opinions?

[War Eagle]

Thanks, Max. The little red strobe lights look great. We don't get near the public road with our Scag. There is a steep bank that the county road crew keeps tearing up with their rotary mowers, so I finish that area off with our Craftsman lawn tractor instead. But I can see where the little red strobe taillights would be a good safety factor operating anywhere near road traffic. I've posted (or tried to) a photo of the small square four-element LED floodlight I plan to mount on the front of our Scag. There's a convenient hole already on the front face of the foot pan (seen to the right of the light) that should be a great place to mount it, but I either have to let the light hinge down where it might be more vulnerable to hitting something, or make a little "L" bracket to mount it higher. Still thinking through that. That is also the same side as the battery, so it's pretty much a straight shot to route electrical wires to a toggle switch I'll mount beside the battery. While I'm at it, I loaded a photo of the wide metal bracket I mentioned in a previous post that complicates getting to the valve stem on the front tires. I can do it, but it's not always easy.
Dale

 

[mhavanti]

War Eagle,

That should be perfect. I'd mount the lights slightly back from the front of the deck at least an inch so that you can put the mower up against an object if necessary or during lifting, jacking, etc.

The size of those lights will help keep you from having too much of an object to jump or step over. Don't forget to add an inline fuse in the positive side of the circuit. Safety first.

Have fun and keep us all appraised of the progress.

Max

 

[7394]

(snip)
While I'm at it, I loaded a photo of the wide metal bracket I mentioned in a previous post that complicates getting to the valve stem on the front tires. I can do it, but it's not always easy.
Dale

Dale- Thanks for all the info & pics. My Toro Timecutter has same situation on front wheels, I have to have fr wheel in correct location & only use my pencil (old school) air gauge for my tires.
My digital one is too big, & so are my hands, but I get it done also.

Is that about the same on your Liberty ?

Buddy

 

[warren3527]

What spring suspension/slider seat system did you use? Is there an aftermarket system out there? I want to pick up the Liberty Z and would love an adjustable seat!

Loving it! And so is my wife! Super comfy seat with great lower back support. Since our property has some really rough spots, we're adding a spring suspension/slider seat system - I just need to fabricate a 4-wire extension for the rider-presence seat switch. Super easy to service (refuel, change blades, change oil). Need to occasionally scrape slight build-up of clippings from under the deck, but what mower doesn't need that from time to time? Looking into adding a third party small LED headlight (way cheaper than the OEM's halogen headlight option) to the front crossbeam so we can shift our mowing later into the cooler evening time here in the deep South. My only complaint is that it's a bit tricky to check and adjust tire pressure in the small front tires secured within big metal flanges. Not a lot of room to maneuver air tools in there. But all-in-all, the Liberty-Z is a definite keeper for us!

 

[War Eagle]

What spring suspension/slider seat system did you use? Is there an aftermarket system out there? I want to pick up the Liberty Z and would love an adjustable seat!

Warren, Contact Nicole Bundy at SeatWarehouse (nicole@seat-warehouse.com), and she'll take care of you. We got the suspension setup to mount under our Liberty's seat, but that required that we get the slider, also, to create space for the suspension springs to work. That all worked out great (raised the seat about 2 3/4"), but the wiring to the operator presence safety switch in the seat became a problem because the factory wiring harness (4 wire) was not long enough to route around the new seat components. I could cut and splice in four pieces of about 8" of wire, but I don't want to cut the factory wiring harness while the mower is still under warranty. So I'm still looking at the best way to build a 4-wire wiring extension. Still not a big deal, but I'm having a hard time finding male 1.5mm terminals that I feel comfortable with. I might just have to trim down wider male terminals to fit. That said, it's a great combination - suspension and slider. I just wish Seat Warehouse would fabricate a 4-wire extension like they did for the 2-wire seat safety switches. So far, they've told me "No". Regardless, I'll do something before next cutting season. Best of luck....

 

[warren3527]

Warren, Contact Nicole Bundy at SeatWarehouse (nicole@seat-warehouse.com), and she'll take care of you. We got the suspension setup to mount under our Liberty's seat, but that required that we get the slider, also, to create space for the suspension springs to work. That all worked out great (raised the seat about 2 3/4"), but the wiring to the operator presence safety switch in the seat became a problem because the factory wiring harness (4 wire) was not long enough to route around the new seat components. I could cut and splice in four pieces of about 8" of wire, but I don't want to cut the factory wiring harness while the mower is still under warranty. So I'm still looking at the best way to build a 4-wire wiring extension. Still not a big deal, but I'm having a hard time finding male 1.5mm terminals that I feel comfortable with. I might just have to trim down wider male terminals to fit. That said, it's a great combination - suspension and slider. I just wish Seat Warehouse would fabricate a 4-wire extension like they did for the 2-wire seat safety switches. So far, they've told me "No". Regardless, I'll do something before next cutting season. Best of luck....

Thanks you!!

 

[mhavanti]

War Eagle,

I'm on the way out the door right now, however, when I return in a few hours, I'll give you some ideas for wiring and strain reliefs you can easily make in a short time.

Max

 

[mhavanti]

WarEagle,

You can use 4 wire trailer connector wire to make the extension. You can also use something extremely easy to find and that is 4 wire telephone wire although I much prefer to use stranded copper over solid copper.

The to make the 4 wired connector just use female spade connectors to plug into the connector socket and once that is done, use thin plastic to make a separator that holds the female spade connectors into alignment with the male spades. Once you have them good and solid, then use good grade electrical tape to pull them together nice and tightly. About 4 wraps pulling the tape good and snug as you lay it down. Once you have the tape in place, use shrink wrap to make it permanent. Once that is done, the new female socket or male socket depending upon your situation can be pulled out and pushed back into place for testing purposes if the need arises.

If it weren't for having to remove my suspension seat kit to shoot photos of mine, it is done the same way and works perfectly. I also use a grommet when putting wiring thru metal or even plastic so the wiring harness is then less likely to fray. I used neoprene gas hose to make a rubber anti-fray border below the seat on my Raptor SD and the wire hits it all the time it is in operation on rough surfaces. I recommend highly you take all precautions to keep your wiring from making contacting with the scissor action of the suspension seat mechanisms.

Have fun,

Max

 

[badbebe]

Any nice Liberty Z owner with 48", 52", or 61" deck can help me find out which variant of ZT-2800 is on your machine? There's a sticker on each transaxle, and the first two letter of model number is the variant version.



I want to tow an aerator with my 36" and the Scag don't offer tow hitch for my deck size. So I'm wondering if it's a stability issue, or that the 36" uses a different ZT2800 than the rest... Not sure

and for reference, the 36" deck uses ZK variant of ZT2800

Thanks!

 

[War Eagle]

Any nice Liberty Z owner with 48", 52", or 61" deck can help me find out which variant of ZT-2800 is on your machine? There's a sticker on each transaxle, and the first two letter of model number is the variant version.
View attachment 43619
I want to tow an aerator with my 36" and the Scag don't offer tow hitch for my deck size. So I'm wondering if it's a stability issue, or that the 36" uses a different ZT2800 than the rest... Not sure

and for reference, the 36" deck uses ZK variant of ZT2800 Thanks!

Our Scag is a 2017 model that we purchased new just prior to the 2018 mowing season. It has a 48" deck and "ZK" transaxles. I hope that helps. If your mower has the engine rear guard, with two square holes for carriage bolt heads, I purchased this rear hitch (see photo) on-line from a third party but painted in the Scag color. I have not towed anything behind yet. I just use it as a tie-down point when trailering.