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I went and visited a Scag dealer yesterday. They recommended that I go with the TC II as I will be mowing about 3.5-4 acres of mostly flat land. I am a homeowner and do not use this for commercial. I was looking at the 61" blade with the 29hp Kohler engine. I have read some mixed reviews on they engine as it appears that everyone likes the Kawasaki engine but seeing that people are mostly going with the 52" deck.

Just looking for some input on the Kohler engine and any general feedback that may be useful. In the past I have had the basic Cub Cadet's but only mowing about .5 acres.

Thanks in advance

So I just mapped out the area I mow on my property. It's just over five acres. I mow it weekly with a 2017 Tiger Cat II with a Kohler 29hp EFI and a 61" deck that I bought last Spring. I am aware that lots of people have a strong allegiance to one particular brand and with that sometimes comes strong negative opinions on certain other brands. I've owned Kohler and B&S in the past and haven't had problems with either brand. I haven't owned a Kawi but see no reason to condem them. Still, due to some very strong verbage on this site targeting Kohler engines specifically, I felt compelled to spend a lot of energy looking for others' opinions just as you are doing now. After exhaustive research, I found that all motors are great and they all stink too. They all last forever but they don't hold up. Nearly everybody loves the brands that almost everybody else hates. Seriously though, I'm pleased to see that my particular motor has received a ton more positive reviews than negative. If I was going to buy another Tiger Cat II tomorrow, I'd buy the exact same setup as the one I own. It's been very good to me; the cut is terrific, the engine's powerful, and the overwhelming opinion on the internet in general is that this particular engine will hold up just fine. Good luck.

Sweats said:

So I just mapped out the area I mow on my property. It's just over five acres. I mow it weekly with a 2017 Tiger Cat II with a Kohler 29hp EFI and a 61" deck that I bought last Spring. I am aware that lots of people have a strong allegiance to one particular brand and with that sometimes comes strong negative opinions on certain other brands. I've owned Kohler and B&S in the past and haven't had problems with either brand. I haven't owned a Kawi but see no reason to condem them. Still, due to some very strong verbage on this site targeting Kohler engines specifically, I felt compelled to spend a lot of energy looking for others' opinions just as you are doing now. After exhaustive research, I found that all motors are great and they all stink too. They all last forever but they don't hold up. Nearly everybody loves the brands that almost everybody else hates. Seriously though, I'm pleased to see that my particular motor has received a ton more positive reviews than negative. If I was going to buy another Tiger Cat II tomorrow, I'd buy the exact same setup as the one I own. It's been very good to me; the cut is terrific, the engine's powerful, and the overwhelming opinion on the internet in general is that this particular engine will hold up just fine. Good luck.

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This one of the information I was looking for. I figured it was a chevy vs ford thing. I know this is a big purchase that will last me a long time and I don't want to start off down the wrong path

Thanks and anymore feedback that anyone else has is appreciated

It has to do with where they're built. Check to see where the engines are built and which countries have the better reputation for quality.

I have never seen a Kawasaki engine that had bad issues in my area. To the contrary I have seen several Kohlers that did. For the first few hundred hours they are all pretty good. However when you start to get hours on them from my observation the Kohlers start to use oil and I have seen several that had bad issues.

I have a Kawasaki that is approaching 1800 hours, another that is over 1000 and one that is around 800. I have not had any engine issues with either of them. All three of those machines have been assaulted as far as how hard they have been run.

It might be a Ford Chevy thing for some people but when I see several Kohlers bite the dust and never see a Kawasaki bite the dust I start to take notice.

Two of my mowers have gone across 28 properties in the last two days from 5 acres down. A third ran 3 hours today under very brutal conditions in some stuff that had not been cut this year.........

Sweats said:

So I just mapped out the area I mow on my property. It's just over five acres. I mow it weekly with a 2017 Tiger Cat II with a Kohler 29hp EFI and a 61" deck that I bought last Spring. I am aware that lots of people have a strong allegiance to one particular brand and with that sometimes comes strong negative opinions on certain other brands. I've owned Kohler and B&S in the past and haven't had problems with either brand. I haven't owned a Kawi but see no reason to condem them. Still, due to some very strong verbage on this site targeting Kohler engines specifically, I felt compelled to spend a lot of energy looking for others' opinions just as you are doing now. After exhaustive research, I found that all motors are great and they all stink too. They all last forever but they don't hold up. Nearly everybody loves the brands that almost everybody else hates. Seriously though, I'm pleased to see that my particular motor has received a ton more positive reviews than negative. If I was going to buy another Tiger Cat II tomorrow, I'd buy the exact same setup as the one I own. It's been very good to me; the cut is terrific, the engine's powerful, and the overwhelming opinion on the internet in general is that this particular engine will hold up just fine. Good luck.

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Like every other consumer item those who got a good one will say they are great, those who got a bad one will say they are all rubbish & to be avoided.
As a bloke who crawls under them I really see very little difference one brand to another
Vertical shaft engines are almost exclusive to lawn mowers.
The lawn mower market is about 95% price driven so the big push is always to come in a couple of $ lower than the competitors.
Mower engines are not designed to be run 24/7 like the exact same horizontal shaft engine so they are made from cheaper materials, to a lower build quality for a lower price.
The best life will come from a mower with a horizontal engine but there is a massive price jump thus by & large horizontals are only fitted to the top end models that cater for the 5% who are not singularly driven by price.
And this is before we get to differences in maintenance , those who change oil & occasionally filters to those who change oil monthly, filters regularly & pull blower housing off to clean cooling fins, lube all of the "oil daily" points and check the valve lash regularly.
FWIW I have a customer with a roads contract to cut the verges on semi rural roads.
He has a great dane that gets used exclusively for this as he mows over whatever is there, dead kangeroos, old tyres, bags of rubbish, bottles, old batteries, whatever goes under the deck gets mowed, every week, every year, rain , hail, heat wave, bush fire, drought or flood
IT is fitted with a 18Hp Kohler Command with the optional Donaldson air filters .
The hour meter had 5740 hours on it when it stopped working, but the Kohler has not. It does go through a bit of oil, he buys 50l a year of SAE 30 and the only mower it goes in is the Dane & the two walk behinds.
The only major repairs have been for fine gravel getting past the cooling air guards and busting up the magnets & stator which has been replaced 2 times by me & a few more by my predecessor
The mower goes through a set of blades each month and spindle bearings annually.
I could not think of a rougher use for a mower.
OTOH his Toros got both heads on one & a single side on the other replaced on the Kawasaki engines under warranty because the rocker supports gave way.
These were both from the same dealer and both under dealer service at the time cause I am not a certified kawasaki repairer, so it could have been bad predelivery.
I service them now as they are all out of warranty and the single bolt mounting for the rocker pilliars do come loose & needs nipping up every now & then.

Owner will tell you good things about a kohler engine or whatever engine you choose. They haven't had a bad moment with them yet. But you ask a pro mech. That same question he will prob say something different. Kohler will not replace an engine in many cases they will long or short block the engine. Kawasaki will replace due to a failure and stand behind their engine proud. Briggs will replace as well but takes a little work and a lot of waiting on the approval and warranty claim to go. Kohler's drink oil like no other. Kawasaki smooth and quieter of them so far I would only get Kawasaki in the commercial type like the air filter with the canister type they seem to hold longer and last longer than the type that had a flip up type air filter because the flip type is not closed up it's all open underneath the cover. It's kinda like kitchen cabinets it doesn't matter what I like I don't have to look at them and use them everyday in someone else's house so my advice choose the one you like price and most confrontable that you will be happy with because if you don't you have to look and ride on someone's opinion and not be happy.

The Kohler engines of today are no where as good as the old ones.
I remember when Kohler was a top tier, today not so much.

I was almost ready to pull the trigger on this but I am starting to second guess the Kohler engine. I feel with the 3.5 to 4 acres of land I am going to be mowing that I should get the 61" deck. I just feel the Kawasaki is a little under powered for the 61" deck. I'm thinking abut looking at the 52" deck with the 23.5hp Kawasaki engine now but not sure if this will slow down my time for cutting more

Ran a customers turf tiger a couple weeks ago with the 26.5 EFI Kohler and the 61" deck and for me it seems underpowered. the 29 may be ok on the 61" deck but wouldn't go smaller if you are planning on heavy grass and pushing the mowing speed.

The commercial cutters in my area replace the mowers about every 900 hours and it doesn't matter if it is Kohler, Kawasaki, Briggs, Or Honda.

hello neighbor in the blue grass what parts are you from

Luffydog said:

hello neighbor in the blue grass what parts are you from

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Northern KY area just south of Cincinnati

how about you?

south west near paducah

ILENGINE said:

Ran a customers turf tiger a couple weeks ago with the 26.5 EFI Kohler and the 61" deck and for me it seems underpowered. the 29 may be ok on the 61" deck but wouldn't go smaller if you are planning on heavy grass and pushing the mowing speed.

The commercial cutters in my area replace the mowers about every 900 hours and it doesn't matter if it is Kohler, Kawasaki, Briggs, Or Honda.

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But first, a disclaimer: I'm not trying to sell my mower; I'm just writing this for comparison. The Turf Tiger II/61" deck/Kohler 26.5 EFI setup weighs in at 1540 lbs. The Tiger Cat II/61" deck/Kohler 29 EFI is roughly 150 lbs lighter (at 1288 lbs). The Turf Tiger II here is also pushing 16cc hydros while the Tiger Cat II uses 12cc hydros. All that may explain the bog you experienced. While I'm a mechanic, my experience is in flexographic printing presses, laminators, slit-down machines and support equipment. When it comes to mowers, I'm just a homeowner with a large yard (so I guess I'm ending with another disclaimer).

Sweats said:

But first, a disclaimer: I'm not trying to sell my mower; I'm just writing this for comparison. The Turf Tiger II/61" deck/Kohler 26.5 EFI setup weighs in at 1540 lbs. The Tiger Cat II/61" deck/Kohler 29 EFI is roughly 150 lbs lighter (at 1288 lbs). The Turf Tiger II here is also pushing 16cc hydros while the Tiger Cat II uses 12cc hydros. All that may explain the bog you experienced. While I'm a mechanic, my experience is in flexographic printing presses, laminators, slit-down machines and support equipment. When it comes to mowers, I'm just a homeowner with a large yard (so I guess I'm ending with another disclaimer).

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And that all makes sense. It just seems like it takes more power to pull the drives than it should, but the higher speed and heavier mower can account for the lack of power.

chadcj7 said:

I was almost ready to pull the trigger on this but I am starting to second guess the Kohler engine. I feel with the 3.5 to 4 acres of land I am going to be mowing that I should get the 61" deck. I just feel the Kawasaki is a little under powered for the 61" deck. I'm thinking abut looking at the 52" deck with the 23.5hp Kawasaki engine now but not sure if this will slow down my time for cutting more

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We run 3 Tiger Cats and now have a Tiger Cat 2 as well. All three are 52" decks. All three have 22hp Kawasaki engines. I can tell you straight up that the 52" with the 22 Kawasaki is not under powered. If you bog it down in grass you ought to be using a tractor and bush hog. At times we raise the decks up high and cut that sort of stuff too. This week I cut some stuff that was between thigh and waist high with mine. I did have to cut over it a second time but it cut it smooth. I was cutting it at the highest setting on the deck. It never once choked down or bogged under the load.