Anyone running a Scag/Exmark/Ferris mower?

[Larry Edgerton]

I am looking at commercial mowers, both walk behind with a sulky and zero turns and was wondering if anyone here has any experiances with these brands.

Thanks, Larry

[Jason Roehl]

Our church recently bought a used Scag Tiger Cub. I used it to mow once--it was FAST. It took me just over 2 hours to mow what would take 6 with a "normal" riding lawn mower with a comparable-sized deck. Unfortunately, right now, it's blowing the fuse, which seems to be a normal problem eventually--we still need to look into whether it's a short or the PTO clutch solenoid is going bad. A good friend of mine who owns a landscaping business just bought 2 Exmark zero-turns, and 2 walk-behinds.

From what I gather from him, if you're not using them 8 hours a day commercially, they will likely last you a long, long time. Most landscapers expect about 3 seasons (years) out of a new mower. Maintenance is the key, though. Change the oil religiously, check the fluids, especially the hydraulic fluid (and use ONLY the specified hydraulic fluid--those zero-turn pumps are very expensive to rebuild, like near $1000). Only activate the blades when you're at about 1/2 throttle, or you'll shred mower deck belts.

As far as I know, Scags are considered a high-end, heavy-duty brand, Exmarks are kind of a middle-of-the road, solid brand, and I know nothing about Ferris.

[Matt Meiser]

I just bought a well used Exmark walkbehind. Still over at my parents but I really need to go get it as the lawn badly needs mowed. Doing some research, they are are really rugged machines and not terribly complicated. Parts don't seem bad either. I looked up the transmission since it was the one thing I really couldn't inspect and I want to say it was $175. If I like the well-used one I'll probably sell it and buy a new one which should last me forever.

[Myk Rian]

Scag has the best reviews.

[Jim Laumann]

I've got a Scag zero turn - now 4 years old. 23hp Briggs (air cooled), w/ a 61" deck, hydrostatic drive.

Very heavily built - the thing is a tank. When wifelet and I mow, we usually run w/ two
mowers - the Scag and our old Dixon - doing it that way, we can mow the ranch in about
1.5 hrs - probably mowing about 1.5 acres. It's saving us time, but not as much as we had
originally thought.

We have lots of trees, garden beds, etc to mow around, and some of the openings between
obstacles are smaller than the Scag deck - Hence using the smaller Dixon.

The Scag is fine for mowing, but I hate it for maintinence purposes - it's a pain to service, both
changing oil/filters and greasing it. Almost always spill some oil changing the filters, and that
will always attract dirt. W/ regard to greasing it, some of the fittings are accessable, but some
require jacking it up to get at the fittings. It also requires two differant types of grease - ordinary
grease for the frame,etc, etc, but white lithium grease for the blade hub bearings.

You also need to buy Scag's hydro filter, as there is some sort of 1-way flow control device in the
filter.

My $.02.

Jim

[Keith Outten]

I have a 72" Dixie Chopper that is probably about 16 years old. Incredible machine designed for easy maintenance it will still be cutting grass when I am gone. Made in the USA and most of the parts are available from plenty of sources other then the manufacturer.

I cut about 2.5 acres in an hour and a half.
.

[Wayne Lovell]

I recently bought a new Exxmark and so far I love it but I have not had it long enough to say how it will hold up long term. Based on my highly scientific research (looking at lawn maintenance company trailers in the Dallas area) it looks like it is the favorite of the pro's. I am 71 and have had back problems for years and what made the difference for me was that when sitting on it it is about like sitting on a chair and getting up is no problem, sitting on the Scag was much lower (almost like sitting on the floor on a cushion) and it was difficult to get up from the seat. I don't think at my age it is going to get any easier. This may not be a problem for you younger guys and might even be an advantage because you can get under lower limbs.

[Kevin Bourque]

We have an Exmark Metro walk behind here on the farm. Its gotta be 20 years old and its built like a tank. I put new front tires on it last year.

[Larry Edgerton]

I was looking at those three because that is what we have up here in the sticks for dealers. I have broken my back twice so the walk behinds and the Ferris Zero turns with full suspension are ahead on that score. I do not have a groomed yard and have tons of trees to mow around, that being the reason for a zero turn. I want commercial because I am 57, and I want this to be the last mower I ever buy.

Sounds like any one of these brands would be fine. I did Wayne's method of scientific research and Ferris and Exmark are the two most common, but to be fair the Scag dealer is the farthest away. I like the Scag Cheetah, mows at 16 mph, not that I have any need for that but you know, its a guy thing.......

I'm wondering about the reliability of a belt drive walk behind as compared to a hydro. The belt drives look very simple and inexpensive to fix as compared to the hydro models, but I wonder how often they require drive belts. As Matt mentioned the trannys are way cheaper to replace than a hydro drive unit so if it would be a couple of years between belts mowing a couple of acres I would not mind that too much. Matt, is the belt drive fairly smooth to operate?

Larry

[Matt Meiser]

It doesn't seem like it will be too bad. I mowed a couple areas at the old house just to try it. It's a littlle different from the ZTR I had at the old house but not bad. I need to try to get it over here tomorrow and mow for real.

I had had a Husqvarna zero turn. Loved it and I expect it will last forever. Had a nice suspension seat you might like. But dealer support is important to me too so I'd say choose the dealer you like best and buy what they have from that list.

[Mike Cozad]

I mowed lawns commercially before I joined the Navy and the Exmark walkbehind was the best mower I have ever used. It buries my JD both in speed and maneuverability. I wish I had bought one rather than my JD.... Oh and it was rugged too. The other thing I remember is it was quick and easy to change blades since I had to sharpen them every morning before I left the barn.

[Tim Offutt]

I have had a Bush hog zero turn, center mount deck mower for about ten years. It is a model M2673, or 26 hp gas with a 73" deck. It is built like a tank and needs to be because I will mow over about anything I can run over. My wife picks up all the limbs, I mulch them all up.

I have zero problems in 600 plus hours of running time. I change the oil once a season, grease the thing every once in a while, sharpen blades a couple times a season and try to keep the fuel clean I put in it but that's about it.

I have never replaced a belt or hose. It has been a great piece of equipment, well worth the money. I don't know if they make them anymore and the local dealer I bought it from is long out of business.

It is quick, something like 12-14 mph top speed. It has a suspension seat that is comfortable to me. If they are available in the UP you might take a look.

[Scott T Smith]

I've had a Scag 61" Turf Tiger since '03 and it is used regularly here on the farm. When I bought it, I evaluated every similar mower that was then on the market (except for the Dixie Chopper), and liked the SCAG the best. It's designed to be operated 40+ hours per week in a commercial setting, so I don't ever expect to have to buy another mower. Looking back, I have not regretted my choice at all. Mine has the 29hp Kawasaki fuel injected engine.

Even though it is rated to mow at 10mph, in reality you need to go a little slower to achieve the best cut.

[Larry Edgerton]

Ok, I'm leaning toward a 52" Scag or Exmark walk behind with a sulky, and it looks like fun to me, but I have to have one my wife can run when I am working of town. On a scale of 1-10 how hard do you think they would be to run for a 130 pound woman? Just looks like it would be better around all the trees.

Larry

[Scott T Smith]

Ok, I'm leaning toward a 52" Scag or Exmark walk behind with a sulky, and it looks like fun to me, but I have to have one my wife can run when I am working of town. On a scale of 1-10 how hard do you think they would be to run for a 130 pound woman? Just looks like it would be better around all the trees.

Larry

my my wife has no problems running the Scag, but it's not a walk behind (the walk behind/ sulky combo's are a bit more tricky to operate IMO). BTW, most Scag dealers will bring a mower out for you to try out for a day or so.

[Jerome Stanek]

My next door neighbor has an Exmark sulky and his wife mows about half the time with it. my oter neghbor was a single woman about 100 LB and she had a scag walk behind with no sulky and didn't have a problem

[Matt Meiser]

I'd say it depends on whether you are looking at gear or hydro units. The controls tired my hands pretty quickly.

I'm not finding it to be the timesaver I'd hoped. The open areas go quick but it's slower on the tight areas and going around the trees and fence. It does a nicer job, something my wife noticed right away.

[Randy Clark]

I previously had a 48" Ferris walk behind and 36" Snapper walk behind with sulkies for both. Both were workhorses with very few problems. I used them on 15-20 yards I was doing at that time from 1/2 to 3 acres. I currently have a 60" Bad Boy zero turn that has been trouble free for 2 years. Any of the true commercial quality mowers should hold up well for homeowner use. Mowing just your yard, 20+ years could be expected out of them.

[Larry Edgerton]

Went up to the races at Crandon this weekend and Husky had a large display. Was looking at the PZ 60 zero turn. Very impressive. Very logical layout and has independant pumps and wheel motors. They gave me a card for another 10% off from your best deal. Looking around yesterday I think I can buy one for under $7k. List is $10,600.

More than I wanted to spend, but.......

Larry

[Matt Meiser]

That's the machine I had at the old house. I really liked it and it was a huge timesaver in my yard. 2-1/2 seasons of mowing I only had around 70 hours on it. That would have been 140+ on the tractor.

[Jim Becker]

I have been using a SKAG Freedom-Z for a number of years now...LOVE it. The only thing I have done is replace the front tires/wheels with "no air" versions from a third party as some of the areas I mow were causing, um...unceremonious loss of air..when too much pressure hit the sidewall. That's not an issue for the SKAG...it would have happened with any machine.

ZTRs are designed for mowing. They typically run the blades at higher RPM so you can go faster where the terrain allows. And that higher blade RPM results in a really nice cut, too. My Kubota with the mid-mount mower did a nice job, but nothing like the ZTR. (I sold that deck after buying the dedicated mower)

[david a graham]

I have a Ferris IS2000 with just over 1000 hours on it - good ride for sure I have had a few problems with the interlock system and had the pumps rebuilt at ~850 hours still ran strong but leaked a lot of hydro oil. I had to replace the hoses to the wheel motors ~700 hours the suspension movement flexes them. All in all for the ride I am pretty pleased.