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I had the hankering for a new seat for my Tiger Cub, did some research and found an eBay seller (seatwearhouse) that had tan colored suspension seats for sale of the type that are on new Scag Tiger Cats. I bought one and installed it but needed to raise it up on 1" spacers. Nice seat, should have done this long ago!!! Adjustable suspension, seat back, lumbar and armrests!!! This should smooth some of the bumps that I mow over and ease my lower back discomfort.
While I was installing the new seat, I noticed some hydraulic oil seeping from the connections on the oil return hoses. I carefully tightened the small hoseclamps, they are 1/4", I needed a long and short box wrenches and tightened all of them. This may be an area on Scag machines with separate pumps and wheelmotors that operators should check. Don't overtighten these small hoseclamps as they can break fairly easily.
I gotta hookup and do some leaf cleanup today for several customers. I have already passed the 1,000 bushel mark and there are still lots of leaves on the trees!!!
Later
Mad Mackie in CT:laughing::biggrin::smile:

A quick update to the suspension seat installation,
I looked thru the latest parts manual for Tiger Cats and saw that Scag installs spacers under these seats to raise them up to clear the metal on the top of the sear mount. Actually I like the seat being higher as I can get off the machine easier. I am very pleased with the quality of ride that I get while mowing one of my bumpiest places yesterday.
So Mad Mackie is a happy guy, at least with the ride anyway!!!!:thumbsup:

Good to hear that! Could you get some pictures of that new seat?

I was sure that you used your Scag only for your house.

Is this the seat you purchased?
TAN Suspension Seat Scag Hustler Exmark Bobcat Bunton Dixie Chopper Zero Turn | eBay

Yes, that is the seat I purchased. I do haul this machine around to do lawns for a few folk.
The seat has the usual fwd/aft adjustment, weight of operator, back rest, lumbar and arm rest adjustments. I'm not going to switch over the seat belt, but there is provision for it. Also in the pics is the repower 30 HP Briggs Commercial Turf engine installed in March of 2013, now has about 175 hours, nice engine. Check out the hourmeter, no more internal battery dependent hourmeters. It took me 5 weeks to run this meter up to machine total time before I installed it. In the hourmeter pic you can see the fuel filter, I had just refueled and it is rare to see the filter so full of fuel.
Check out the pics.
Mad Mackie in CT:laughing::biggrin::smile:

Refresh my memory regarding your tiger cub stats?
Yr model?
Original engine brand and size?
Velocity deck, and size of deck?

2008 Tiger Cub, 48" Velocity deck, original engine was a 26 HP Briggs ELS. The 26 Briggs ELS had low compression in the #1 (L/H) cylinder due to stuck piston rings. Although is was still running but sneezing at idle, at 473 hours, I replaced it with a new 30 HP Briggs Commercial Turf Cyclonic filter engine with an oil cooler. Machine total time is 651 hours, new engine time is 178 hours switched to full synthetic engine oil at 100 hours. Collection system has been on for most of the machine time, 3rd set of blower bearings, 2nd blower fan, 2nd hose from blower to bag housing, new pump drive belt and drive pulleys at 400 hours, 2nd deck V belt, 3rd hourmeter. Same old man operates it!!!
Mad Mackie in CT:laughing::biggrin::smile:

I'm sure there were some wiring mods,etc, you had to do in regards to the briggs cyclonic?

Mad Mackie said:

2008 Tiger Cub, 48" Velocity deck, original engine was a 26 HP Briggs ELS. The 26 Briggs ELS had low compression in the #1 (L/H) cylinder due to stuck piston rings. Although is was still running but sneezing at idle, at 473 hours, I replaced it with a new 30 HP Briggs Commercial Turf Cyclonic filter engine with an oil cooler. Machine total time is 651 hours, new engine time is 178 hours switched to full synthetic engine oil at 100 hours. Collection system has been on for most of the machine time, 3rd set of blower bearings, 2nd blower fan, 2nd hose from blower to bag housing, new pump drive belt and drive pulleys at 400 hours, 2nd deck V belt, 3rd hourmeter. Same old man operates it!!!
Mad Mackie in CT:laughing::biggrin::smile:

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No wiring mods were needed, electrically it was a direct change out and I used the original muffler. The throttle and choke cable throws on the new engine were about 2/3rds of what the original engine was. I installed a throttle lever stop plate on the throttle lever control and full choke is at about 2/3rds of what the previous engine was. The engine supplier provided me with a bulletin from Briggs about this change and it recommended removing the at engine control cable linkages from the original engine and installing them onto the new engine. I chose not to do that and made the changes at the panel where the throttle and choke levers are mounted.
I always add another ground cable to an engine and drilled and tapped a new hole on a tab on the new engine to connect the 2nd ground cable.
Mad Mackie in CT:laughing::biggrin::smile:

You keep your machine in wonderful condition!

Nice meter! It fits like a glove.:thumbsup:

Mackie, I looked at that seat on Ebay and it looks identical to the seat that is on my 2012 Turf Tiger. My seat is adjustable for weight, has the lever for rear and forward adjustment, the fold up arm rests, and is the same color. It does have a "SCAG" logo on the back.

Is it possible that Scag put some of these suspension seats on their mowers in recent years?

The Turf Tiger and Tiger Cat machines have these seats as standard equipment on most or all models. No Scag decal on mine, but I may order one. I had mounted a small tool pouch on the old seat and I'll install one on the new seat as I have a few extras.
There is another higher level seat available, but $1,200 retail and are available for around $900. OUCH!!! I'll stay with this one at $400 and I had to think about it for a while being a Scotsman!!!:dance1:
Mad Mackie in CT:laughing::biggrin::smile:

Mad Mackie, Do you use synthetic oil in your tiger cub?

5W-30 full synthetic in the engine, switched it at 100 hours.
20W-50 Dino oil in the hydraulic system.

Which brand of synthetic do you use?
Also, what made you decide on using the briggs cyclonic as opposed to going with a kawasaki engine?
Is the main reason you chose the briggs is just because of price,or were you actually impressed with the briggs cyclonic technology,and quality of build?

Mad Mackie said:

5W-30 full synthetic in the engine, switched it at 100 hours.
20W-50 Dino oil in the hydraulic system.

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wdrdoctor said:

Which brand of synthetic do you use?
Also, what made you decide on using the briggs cyclonic as opposed to going with a kawasaki engine?
Is the main reason you chose the briggs is just because of price,or were you actually impressed with the briggs cyclonic technology,and quality of build?

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Currently using Valvoline full synthetic, have used Pennzoil. Briggs sells 5W-30 full synthetic, but $12/quart.
30 HP Briggs Commercial Turf Cyclonic Air Filter engine was $845 delivered to my house by FedEx in three days.
23.5 HP Kawasaki FX730V engine price was $1795 plus $75 shipping to a business by truck. I would have needed to make arrangements with a business to receive the engine. Special order muffler from a Scag dealer was $240 and wasn't available at the time. An engine electrical harness/connectors and positive battery cable changes would have been needed. New throttle and choke control cables would have been needed.
Price comparison:
Briggs engine $845
Kawi FX engine $2,200
So at the time I could buy 2.6 Briggs engines for the price of 1 Kawi FX engine!!!!!
At this point in time I'm very pleased with the Briggs engine.

Where did you source the Briggs from? That's a great price for such a decent motor.

dnewton3 said:

Where did you source the Briggs from? That's a great price for such a decent motor.

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I bought it from equipatron.com in March of 2013. My engine is a 49M977-1036-G5 with a 1 1/8" X 4 5/16" crankshaft.
This engine has been discontinued and replaced by BS-49T877-0004-G1. As with almost everything, the prices have gone up.
They are now rated at 27 HP, but were 30 HP originally.

I am loving my new suspension seat, much easier on my lower back on bumpy lawns. I should have done this a long time ago.
Still need to mount a new tool pouch to the rear of the seat back, probably will need to sew some Velcro onto the pouch and put the sticky Velcro on the seat.
Mad Mackie in CT:laughing::biggrin::smile:

Mad Mackie said:

I am loving my new suspension seat, much easier on my lower back on bumpy lawns. I should have done this a long time ago.
Still need to mount a new tool pouch to the rear of the seat back, probably will need to sew some Velcro onto the pouch and put the sticky Velcro on the seat.
Mad Mackie in CT:laughing::biggrin::smile:

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Well, that explains when I'm working in my garage and look for a chair, I tend to sit in that chair attached to that orange machine....:laughing:

The new suspension seat is heavier than the original seat, pushing the springs down and activating the seat switch with no one on the seat.
I looked up the part numbers for the Tiger Cat with the suspension seat standard and they are the same part number. I'll order some new springs and try them, hopefully they are stronger. I should have done my leaves earlier today before the rain came. But tomorrows winds will redistribute them anyway!!!
Mad Mackie in CT:laughing::biggrin::smile:

Mad Mackie said:

I should have done my leaves earlier today before the rain came. But tomorrows winds will redistribute them anyway!!!
Mad Mackie in CT:laughing::biggrin::smile:

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Leaves........my favorite time of year!:thumbdown:

I do mine every Friday after work, which takes me the last few weeks into darkness. I have the lights on my machine so working after sunset is OK for me to do. I'm over 3/4 done now, last week was the most heaviest of the year. I plugged the chute a few times. That doesn't happen easily. I was going thru 12" + of leaves to quickly. I burn 1-2 gallons of gas a week.

I don't count the leaves coming out of it, but I empty the system 10 - 20 times a week, depending on how much I got to collect. 10 x 3 buckets = 30. 100-200 bushels a week?
200 bushels easily last week alone.

I've got 6-7 oak trees that are always late holdouts, one keeps its leaves all winter and drops them in spring when the new growth pushes them off.
Today it looks like I've not cleaned up any, next week will be serious cleanup for me and my folk!!! I checked the blades and I need to sharpen them before I do any more cleanup. Was thinking of putting the mulching blades back on just for leaves. Just looked at my maintenance schedule and my machine is do for spindle lube and engine oil change. The deck V belt is looking tired, I have a spare, but don't want to install it until I do all the layup servicing.
Going to attempt to install a new cook top in our kitchen and need to do some rewiring. My wife would like to know how it and the new wall oven operate before we have the family here for Thanksgiving. Years back we used to have 50-60 folk here, but now down to 30 or so as the nieces and nephews got older and married and older folk have passed away. Now we are the older folk, but still doing Thanksgiving here!
Later
Mad Mackie in CT:laughing::biggrin::smile:

Yesterday I passed the 2,000 bushel mark and I ain't done yet!!! I did reinstall my dethatcher and finish up using it. Yesterdays lawn produced 30 bushels of thatch in one pass. New engine on my Tiger Cub passed the 200 hour mark, very pleased with this engine and as best I can figure, it uses possibly just under one gallon of gas per hour.
Too wet today to do any lawn stuff, maybe I'll play with model trains!!!
Later
Mad Mackie in CT:laughing::biggrin::smile:

The leaves are almost done here. I will run the Scag 1 more week then tear it down (remove the collection system) then start my maintenance and shut it down till next year.

I'm a happy camper. My machine is a life saver. Without this machine here on this property, I'd be lost and would have to call Madmackie to clean it all up for myself. :laughing:

I hope to finish up all my folks and my own place this week or next week at the latest. I need to service my Scag and get it into storage and bring my GT back home setup for snow before I get caught with a deep snowstorm like I did several years ago. ZTRs don't move very well on snow as I found out. I will probably pass the 2,500 bushel mark this fall, this is a lot of chopped up and compacted leaves!!! Lots of oak leaves, but not many acorns this fall except for one property that I did while the owner was away for two months.
My JRCO tine de-thatcher needs a new set of tines and I will need to restock new blades for both my Scag and Hustler. I like to buy blades in the winter as better prices can be found off season. Several years ago I bought a 12 pack of Scag blades, stored them in my garage and promptly forgot about having them until I did a partial cleanup!!
I also need to do some maintenance to my Ingersoll GT as it has around 2,700-3,000 hours on it and since I no longer use GTs for lawn care, this machine has been neglected some, my bad!!! Check out the pic of one of my Ingersoll GTs that I did lawn care and leaf removal with. I still have the GT with the snow blower, the other GT I sold in 2010 when I decided to stop doing snow removal for my folk.
Mad Mackie in CT:laughing::biggrin::smile:

Nice tractor, but for leaves I perfer the Scag.

How does the plow work out on snow? Can it push the heavy stuff at the mouth of the driveway?

The plow is 54" and the GTs with wheel weights and two link tire chains do a super job, 8.00 X 16, 31" tall rear tires on these Ingersoll machines. The snowblower is a single stage 48" belt driven unit which I don't use very often as my driveway is crushed stone with the house 130' from the road. When I did snow removal, I hauled both GTs around in my trailer, one with plow, the other with the snowblower.
I usually make a single pass with the plow down to the street and then go out in the street and push back in to open the street entrances up and then plow the rest onto the lawn leaving room for more snow, U shaped driveway and I fill up the center with plowed snow.
Mad Mackie in CT:laughing::biggrin::smile:

tigercat said:

Nice tractor, but for leaves I perfer the Scag.

How does the plow work out on snow? Can it push the heavy stuff at the mouth of the driveway?

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I used both of these GTs for a lot of years doing a lot of customers. What is nice about them is the ease in which attachments can be installed or removed and that the collection blower can be operated without the deck running as it is hydraulically driven. Sometimes I carried a long hose with a metal end with a handle and I could suck up leaves from places that were not accessible even with hand held blower-vac which would get quickly damaged by sucking up stones.

No doubt that Scag ZTRs with collection systems are very effective leaf removal machines, the only problem that I have is that the blower is too close to the ground. In time my blower housing will need some TLC, but I will probably just replace it. This summer I was setup for mulching for the first time and when I reinstalled the collection system I hit and dug up a few spots before I got back into the routine with the blower hanging out the side and the bags hanging on the rear. I leave the weights on the front as the mount for the de-thatcher is tight against the weights and I frequently use the de-thatcher for cleanup.
The day that I bought my Tiger Cub, I left the house with the intention of buying a Kubota diesel GT or a new Ingersoll GT. When those didn't happen, I looked at a Ferris 2000 with a collection system, but at $13,400 was out of my budget, but the machine that I really wanted. By the time I got home that day, there was a 48" Scag Tiger Cub with a collection system in my trailer for $9,200. The Scag dealer put it together for me very quickly and we closed the deal, the rest is history!!!! I never even demoed the Scag, but I had several service customers that had Scag machines and I was somewhat familiar with them as result.
Mad Mackie in CT:laughing::biggrin::smile: