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I own 25 acres with about 4 of that being lawn. I absolutely hate mowing grass. In my opinion it's the biggest waste of time there is. Currently it takes me 4-5 hours to mow, edge, trim. I came here looking for a different mower (ZTM) to help cut that time down. I currently own a JD335 48".

Came here looking at Pros/Cons or other suggestions.

I've been looking at the Scag Tiger Cat II with 61" deck. Is the motor big enough to run the 61" deck or should I step up to the Cheetah?

Or should I stick with the 52" with the Tiger? Will the 4" difference between deck sizes really justify getting a new mower?

Thanks.

I mow 5 acres weekly with a 2017 Tiger Cat II with a Kohler 29 HP EFI and a 61" deck. Love it. Tons of power. Some will say a 52" is better. Some will say a Kohler is a terrible engine. Maybe they're absolutely right. I'm not trying to sell you on my setup; I just happen to really, really like it.

Now, don't even try to compare a ZTR mower to your current JD. We used to mow about 3 - 3 1/2 acres with a 72" finish mower behind a 32 HP tractor and a JD mower with a 48" deck. That's 10 feet of mowing surface. It took two of us about 3 1/2 hours to get it mowed. We now mow 5 acres with a single mower in the same 3 1/2 hours. So regardless of what ZTR you end up with in this price range, I'll bet you'll pleasently surprised.

Where most of this extra productivity gain comes from by changing to a zero turn is driving like a bat out of hell when mowing. If your ground is smooth enough to do that, you're in business. If it's so rough you can't go any faster than your JD, all the gain will be in a wider deck, which going from 48" to 52" isn't much.

We run 52" Tiger Cats with 22hp Kawasaki engines. Normally we can take one mower and cut approx 2 acres per hour. The 22hp Kawasaki on those is very adequate. We cut Pensacola Bahia grass some times all day long on 2 week intervals. In the heat of the Summer when it is raining daily they will cut 2 week bahia but not 2 acres per hour. We do have to slow down considerably.

I do not see why a 61" would not be ok. I see the debate weekly on Kawasaki vs Kohler. In my area I have never seen a Kawasaki that suffered catastrophic failure. I can't say that for Kohlers. I can name some of those right off the top of my head.

I have one Kawasaki on a Tiger Cat that was bought new in July 2014 that has approx 1800 hours on it. Another with approx 1200 on it that was bought new April of 2015 and another with approx 800 on it that was bought new May of 2016. All three of those mowers have been assaulted. Abused is not a strong enough word. We just bought a Tiger Cat II that is the same 52" deck with 22hp Kawasaki. In my opinion anything more than a Tiger Cat is purchasing prestige. I have never seen anything that will out cut one on Bahia Grass if it is set up right with fresh sharpened blades on it. I don't believe that there are many on this forum that cut much more grass than we do every week in the South Alabama heat. The 61" will have a slightly larger Kawasaki on it but it will not be under powered.

If I could find anything that would out cut a 22hp Kawasaki engine on a 52" Tiger Cat Scag that was sold locally I would be running it.

carlschmarl2 said:

I own 25 acres with about 4 of that being lawn. I absolutely hate mowing grass. In my opinion it's the biggest waste of time there is. Currently it takes me 4-5 hours to mow, edge, trim. I came here looking for a different mower (ZTM) to help cut that time down. I currently own a JD335 48".

Came here looking at Pros/Cons or other suggestions.

I've been looking at the Scag Tiger Cat II with 61" deck. Is the motor big enough to run the 61" deck or should I step up to the Cheetah?

Or should I stick with the 52" with the Tiger? Will the 4" difference between deck sizes really justify getting a new mower?

Thanks.

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If you hate mowing then why mow ?
Gardens are actually substantially lower maintenance that a lawn.
Flat areas get seeded with low growing herbage like clover and mustard that can be walked over, are soft underfoot and dense enough to crowd out grass & other weeds.
I am sure there are hundreds of native USA plains flowers that once established will blanket the acres with colour and fragrence.
Toss in some clumping bulbs like johnquils , freesias etc the sit on the porch with a long cool drink after you have finished mowing the 1/4 acre utility grassed area by the back door.

I have a customer who had a stroke and mowing became a big problem on his 10 acres.
He turned over all of the front yard ( about 2 acres ) to the local native gardeners who returned it natural bush, full of native flowering plants & grasses.
Much of the rear yard was planted out with prostrate plants, in particular the grivellias with about 1/2 acre of manicured grass around the pool BBQ & cloths line.

As for a bigger mower 4" will make almost no difference.
Ignoring the overlap you will drop every 13th run which will be only be 2 to 5 runs tops.
It is the effective top CUTTING speed that will make the biggest difference to the amount of time you spend mowing.
Unfortunately all of the mower companies lie about that and their top speeds are when cutting 1/2" off a buffalo lawn.

cpurvis said:

Where most of this extra productivity gain comes from by changing to a zero turn is driving like a bat out of hell when mowing. If your ground is smooth enough to do that, you're in business. If it's so rough you can't go any faster than your JD, all the gain will be in a wider deck, which going from 48" to 52" isn't much.

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I'm pretty sure I can't disagree more, or at least in my case. My lawn would likely have been the last place Neil Armstrong would have elected to land a lunar module. Topographer's hell, my place. We surely don't mow any faster with our Scag than we did with the tractor and mower combination before. Go more than a couple miles per hour and you're bouncing the deck, and that is a bad bad thing in my book. I wonder if it's the manueverability around obstacles that gains us the time. Probably. I mean, I get what you're saying about the out and out speed and I really would like to sing along with your tune; it just doesn't work out that way for us. No bats, no hell.

I have a Tiger Cat II with a 61 inch deck, I mow about 3 acres per week, prior to that I was mowing with a Kubota BX with a 60 inch deck.

Both cut very well but the Cat cuts it twice as fast.

Never had a want for more power on either one.

I stopped into the dealership to look at them. Dealer was nice enough to let me drive one around the parking lot for a minute. Then proceeds to tell me the demo models are for only the commercial guys.

I'd like to actually mow my terrain with one to see how it does but don't think that'll happen. The controls will take some getting used to. It felt a little awkward. I thought it was going to be more like a skid steer but it wasn't.

carlschmarl2 said:

I stopped into the dealership to look at them. Dealer was nice enough to let me drive one around the parking lot for a minute. Then proceeds to tell me the demo models are for only the commercial guys.

I'd like to actually mow my terrain with one to see how it does but don't think that'll happen. The controls will take some getting used to. It felt a little awkward. I thought it was going to be more like a skid steer but it wasn't.

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Try a different dealer, this dealer doesn't want you as a customer.

John R said:

Try a different dealer, this dealer doesn't want you as a customer.

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You will master the controls very shortly if you have operated a skid steer. It will come very easily.

I ended up getting the 52" for Father's Day. Cut my mower time from 5 hours to just under 4. And that's with getting stuck twice.

I've gotten the hang of the controls; though I'm not as smooth as you guys are.

Does anyone know if the Agg Tires for the Turf Tiger will fit on these rims? I have a moist section along my woods that apparently eats the Tiger Cat. These street ties need to go. My old tractor had agg tires and chains (for snow blowing) and I never realized how wet it is along the woods.

Zero Turns get stuck pretty easy, but I don't think you'll like AGG tires on there.
They'll tear your lawn up real good.

I run these and do not have any problems.

The ground would be the least I would worry about tearing up. Transaxles,pumps and wheels motors would be on top of my list of thinking. More traction equals more friction means more heat more heat equal failure.

BlazNT said:

I run these and do not have any problems.
View attachment 38832

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What brand and what size are those?

They look more aggressive than stock and not as bad as some R1's. How do you like them?

Backlash X 23 x 10.50 x 12. The funniest thing is is that they are DOT approved. I love them but if you don't know how to use a zero-turn very well they will tear the crap out of your yard.