Scag mowers are the biggest sellers and the ones I see most often locally. A friend who has his own lawn care business bought a Turf Tiger a few years ago and could not be happier with it. Why is that?
Scag Power Equipment is currently the largest independent commercial mower manufacturer in the U.S. The company started in 1983 in Mayville, Wisconsin. They had one gear-driven riding model back then. Now they make over 50 models.
What makes them so popular is they are sturdy, durable and much more user-friendly then other brands. They have lots of safety features, too.
Productivity is the biggest reason Scag mowers are so popular. You can mow taller grass faster because of the air-flow, baffling and ultra-high blade tip speeds. Higher horsepower and engine torque also speed up the amount of work you can do in a day. Adjustable seats, large foot pedals and ergonomic handles protect the operator from machine-induced fatigue which gets work done faster and prevents accidents. The more you can get done the more you earn. It’s as simple as that.
The only big complaint about the productivity of a Scag mower is fuel tank capacity. The Turf Tiger holds 10 gallons. This means more frequent refills compared to some other brands, but 10 gallons will mow a lot of residential lawns. If you are mowing mostly residential lawns, fuel tank capacity is not a big issue.
Sturdy, durable construction from high quality parts are another reason this brand is popular. When your mower goes down, your business is down. Scag understands that and manufactures mowers that have the lowest down-time record on the market. Preventive maintenance is vital to preventing down-time. I have read and heard that Scag makes doing maintenance as painless as possible. The ztr cutting decks are shaft-driven so there are no belts to break. If you have a non-ztr model be sure to keep belts on hand. The spindles can be greased. Oil changes are easy to perform.
Only two Scag mower models are not zero-turn radius or ztr models. They are designed with a low center of gravity for stability on steep hills. If you mow where their is a significant risk of a mower roll-over, the SW walk-behind and STHM three wheel front mount rider are the mowers of choice. Even though all Scag riding mowers come with a roll-over protection system (ROPS), if you work in areas where roll-over is a serious risk, you should use a mower designed for that terrain.
List of Scag mower models
Riding mowers in order of largest to smallest:
- Turf Tiger
- Wildcat
- Tiger Cub
- Freedom Z
Walk-Behind Scag ztr mower models:
- SWZU – Ultra Hydro Walk Behind
- SWZ – Hydro Walk Behind
Non-ztr models:
- STHM – Three-Wheel Rider
- SW – Fixed Deck Belt-Drive
Scag doesn’t offer a stand-on “surfer” type model. They do have an attachment for the walk-behinds that will allow you to stand on the rear of the mower while operating it.
Safety
Scag is an industry leader in mower safety, both in engineering in safety features and operator safety instruction. They recommend reading the entire owners manual before operating the mower, but I can tell you from personal experience the only people who do that are required to by corporate franchise rules. Independent owners and operators will peruse the manual to find what they cannot figure out on their own, but they are not going to sit down and read a manual cover-to-cover.
Scag has an instructional DVD entitled “Tips for Safe Operation of Your Scag Zero-Turn Mower”. Safety training in video format along with a written safety manual are often more easily mastered quickly than reading a text-based safety manual alone. Experienced operators will often tell you they only refer to the owners/safety manual when they have questions, but if a safety DVD is available most all of them will watch it.
Scag also has an operational safety guidelines bullet list on their website which can be used as a checklist. You can copy and paste it to a word processor document and print it out to give to each crew member. Making safety easy to implement makes it work and Scag makes it easy.
I do not currently own a commercial lawn mower and I am seriously looking for one. I am still using my residential push mower and it is hard work with a capital HW. I will be writing about different brands of mowers and why one brand might be chosen over another brand. Most brands sport some benefit or feature over others that may make it the best choice for you.
Scag mowers are the most popular but may not be the best choice for your needs. After writing about several brands I plan to do a mower comparison article to help you (and me) choose the right mower.
Stay tuned for more posts about different brands of mowers.
Looking at starting your own lawn care business? Pick up your copy of this book and have a read: How to Make Big Money Mowing Small Lawns.
Also, check out our new page of Scag mowers, parts and accessories: Scag mowers page.
January 12th, 2009 at 11:30 am
This is an excellent article on Scag. I am a Scag dealer in Louisiana and have to say Scag is certainly at the top of the hill.
One thing you did not mention, something that the general public would probably never know about is the great dealer support we get from Scag and their distributors. We just take it for granted that Scag will be behind their product 100%. A recent experience I had with Badboy Mowers (I’m not a Badboy dealer but I agreed to perform a warranty job for one of their customers who otherwise would have been out of luck).
After several phone calls to Badboy they finally sent me a check…for $87.33…about half of what the amount should have been. I was told that was all I was going to get…period. Oh well, live and learn. But experiences like this make us very aware of the quality of dealer support we get from Scag. This definitely translates into better customer service.
April 8th, 2009 at 10:20 pm
I certainly ditto the comment about the Scag service.
May 1st, 2009 at 3:38 pm
I was wondering if you could post a artical about green reel mowers
September 4th, 2009 at 8:09 am
Can anyone help with a problem w/my scag? The mower stops dead in it’s tracks when I engage the blades, can anyone help? I replaced the fuel pump and fuel filter also. Once the mower stops then it very hard to restart. I get plenty of fuel to carb., battery is good. Please Advise.
September 18th, 2009 at 4:52 am
I don’t agree with the scag service on this post. I have a scag which has about 90 hours on it/ It was only used on my property…serviced every year and after 90 hrs the clutch went and imediatly following the clutch the transmission went. I contacted scags service manager and they basically told me that I was out of luck because it was well past the 2 year warenty (I used it for 4 seasons which equates to 90hrs)…even though it only had 3 months of intended use. If a landscaper used this machine, it would have broken down in 3 months.
October 14th, 2009 at 5:10 pm
I have a turf tiger 29EFI with just over 300 hours. It was fine until this year. Now it stalls out when turning after it’s run a while. Also it has a module or relay problem which requires that the fuel relay be hot wired in order to run. The dealer’s tech has been great, but it’s just one thing after another. It will be traded for something else in the spring. The factory has no idea what’s causing it to stall out when turning. The safety switches all check out fine. I’ve heard Skags have a lot of electrical problems after 2-3 years.
May 14th, 2010 at 9:48 am
There is a company that deserved being mentioned that you left out.
Kut Kwick, Corp. has been around since 1978 and has been producing quality heavy duty commercial mowers from day one. Check them out!
Thanks for the recommendation. Some mowers are more popular in certain parts of the country than others, so some will be missed by a “best of” article based on a local survey.
May 20th, 2010 at 5:47 pm
Im grateful for the article.Much thanks again. Really Great.
December 23rd, 2010 at 2:01 pm
Helpful post…we’re always looking to learn more about mowers, and to anyone with maintenance issues: let us take a look!
April 18th, 2011 at 3:32 pm
I owned a Scag 48″ mower for awhile. It was a decent mower, but definitely not my favorite. I prefer both my Exmark Turf Tiger and Gread Dane stander to the Scag.
June 30th, 2011 at 2:28 pm
I have owned 14 scag mowers. Gear drive and hydro’s. Scag stands behind their mowers and I still have one, a 60 inch hydro. Its an awsome machine and my wife loves it. However I also have a Bad boy 60 inch 31 hp kaw. hydo . Both are good mowers but I prefer my new Bad Boy with lots of suspension. My back is very happy and the mower is bad to the bone. Service is key on what ever you own.
August 30th, 2011 at 10:53 am
I have a 2006 Scag Tiger Cub with the Briggs & Stratton ELS V-Twin enggine. From day one and I mean day one, I have frequently had starting issues where the battery just won’t crank the engine. Not sure what causes the problem but a new battery lasts about one year.
At 250 hours, serious engine oil leak Dealer said they could service mower in about 7 weeks. Found a garage mechanic who fixed the oil leak problem which was a gasket blowout from deep scratches on the engine split line. No reimbursement from dealer or even a reply from Scag.
October 25th, 2011 at 10:57 pm
Did you really say that Scag stands behind their equipment….????
Thought I had a great machine….the” best of the best” for homeowner needs…Wildcat 61″ z-turn, kowasaki liquid cooled engine….all’s well until 5 years out- 2 acres to cut each week, 210 hours on the machine in 5 years and regular maintenance until…
the wheel motor failed, with possible hydraulic pump failure as well…something that rarely if EVER happens, according to our dealer, confirmed by the Scag distributor in our area- this with only 210 hours on the machine and regular maintenance.. Take this up with SCAG and they DO NOT HELP in any way –
“Out of warranty” No standing behind their equipment, no consideration of the circumstances…or maybe because we are not a commercial outfit they have no need of our business….
I would not buy a Scag again- given the circumstances with light duty and excellent care, Scag would not consider helping IN ANY WAY with very expensive parts replacement which rarely if ever fail… Scag would not stand behind the quality of their machine…”Simply the best”… I don’t think so-