Bought Myself A Birthday Gift

[waterlooboy2hp 49]

I turned 76 on April 3ed and realized that I had never bought a brand new mower in my entire life. I figure everyone should have at least one new mower in their lifetime.

 

[953 nut 55,229]

50 minutes ago, waterlooboy2hp said:

figure everyone should have at least one new mower in their lifetime.

[Achto 27,577]

Nice purchase @waterlooboy2hp. Although those zero turns do tend to cut down on your seat time for cutting grass.

[WHX?? 48,815]

You make it to 76 you buy whatever you want Waterloo!

 Belated Happy Happy  guy 

[Dakota8338 115]

Congratulations on the new Hustler purchase.  

 

When I was shopping for my first zero turn the Hustler brand really impressed me, but in the end I purchased a Scag, since the John Deere Dealer was also the Scag Dealer.  They had been fabulous to do business with when I was doing the grounds maintenance at the Church and up keep on the John Deere tractor & mower.  They are also just a couple miles up the road as the saying goes, which didn't hurt either.  I have been very pleased with both my Scag's, and their service on the Scag's too, although I do most of my own service.

 

However since you have a Hustler, I for one would like to hear how you are enjoying that new Yellow Hustler from time to time.  How it performs, and all the ins & outs of Hustler Ownership!  

[Tractor boy 239]

8 hours ago, Dakota8338 said:

When I was shopping for my first zero turn the Hustler brand really impressed me, but in the end I purchased a Scag, since the John Deere Dealer was also the Scag Dealer. 

Which ones did ya buy? 

[Dakota8338 115]

On 4/25/2019 at 6:04 AM, Tractor boy said:

Which ones did ya buy? 

The first one was the 61 inch Turf Tiger, back about 2006, possibly '05.  Dad had passed away and the little riding mower he had took for ever, and the 5 foot rotary mower wasn't always on the tractor.  I needed something I could cut grass with quickly on the weekends since Mother was still living at home (roughly an hour and half away), and I was still employed at that time.  Besides the rotary mower is great for weeds brush and such, but it does not cut grass clean and smooth, at least, not as clean & smooth as I wished.  Buying a finish mower was about the same cost as the 61 inch Scag, but the time element for connecting even a finish mower to the tractor was not eliminated, but I could sit down on the Scag and mow quickly which was something I needed.  Since Mother was alone, I mower a lot more than Dad did when he was still alive, in order to provide her greater visibility about the home place.    

 

Just before I retired, I purchased a second 52 inch Scag Wildcat, for here where I live.  I have been very pleased with both of them, although I believe the Turf Tiger is the better machine. 

 

I suffered a massive heart-attack in 2012 and it took nearly 12 months to get to where I am today, so during that time someone else took over doing the Church's grounds maintenance, although I will fill-in when someone can't mow for one reason or another.  In the intervening time the John Deere mower had to be replaced and the Church purchased an Exmark Zero Turn to replace the JD.  The Exmark, Hustler & Scag were the only three brands I really considered, and I am ever so thankful I did not purchase the Exmark.  The first time I was asked to mow the Church, after convalescing from the heart-attack, I though the Exmark would beat me to death.  I don't know if all Exmark's are as rough as the one the Church purchased or not, but that rascal is one more shake, rattle & roll machine, with special emphasis on shaking.  The seat sets a lot higher on the Exmark, and it has much smaller and narrower tires than my Scags which may contribute to some of the roughness of the Church's Exmark.  

[Sarge 3,463]

I think most of the problems is sheer weight - some of those brands are very light in comparison to the others. Weigh a commercial sized Grasshopper and you'll see the difference - those Exmark mowers are quite lightweight. One thing to keep in mind with these zero turn mowers is looking closely at the design of the hydraulic drives and the engines - vertical shaft engines do not last as long and the cost of poorly designed hydraulic drives that are very expensive to replace are things you should consider most. I know several people that have bought older, used commercial mowers and simply rebuilt them with new, replacement engines and a thorough inspection/cleaning of the drive systems. The older commercial equipment in many cases isn't quite as fast as the modern offerings, but they are built like a tank and worth the investment as they will last far longer than anything you can buy new unless you dive into the very high-end market equipment that costs nearly as much as a new car. A guy here in town just bought a really nice, but blown up Grasshopper commercial grade mower and put a $3,500 new engine into it to go along with his older Bush Hog. Both of those will run another 10 years or more easily - I can't say the same for mowers offered now that cost more than what he has invested in those two older pieces of equipment. 

 

Just something to think about - make a long-term investment versus cheap, flashy and faster. Just like our old tractors - many times the new equipment just doesn't compare.

 

Sarge

[Dakota8338 115]

The 61 inch Turf Tiger is Scag's 'top line' "Best" commercial mower, and that joker cost $9,779.00 at delivery 8-31-2004, so I purchased it a year earlier than I was remembering.  It has an horizontal output shaft with a belt driven metal drive shaft to the deck drive.  The decks blades are belt driven, and thus far in the fourteen years & eight months I have owned and used it, it has not given me a minutes problem.  

 

The 52 inch Wildcat, has been renamed 'Tiger Cat II' but they are both classified commercial mowers.  I could not find the paper work on it, but I am remembering it was in the neighborhood of $7,900, but I very well know it was purchased in 2011 just a month or so before I retired.  It's performance has not all together been any fault of the machine, but during the first 2 - 3 years it got to consuming oil and puffing smoke some, so I took it in for service.  I was not real happy with that performance from such a new mower, and was actually expecting to receive a substantial repair bill.  Just a few day later. I received a phone call that my mower was ready to be picked up.  I asked what the damages were, and I was told nothing, but it was ready to roll. 

 

I got the truck & trailer and went to pick up the mower.  I went inside and was informed it had a brand new short block installed.  I had installed a trailer hitch on my Scag which further protected my engine, but there was no evidence I had ever backed into anything which might have produced any problems, and checking their own records showed my mower had been in for service when they had an employee still working who was terminated for failing to properly attach a manifold seal.  The seal on my engine was not properly attached, however backing into something could dislodge the seal too.  With the service record and absence of any evidence, I might have produced the problem, the owner said replace the short block, no questions asked.  I was told the cylinder walls were already scored badly from dust being sucked in through the improperly seated seal on the manifold.  So the dealers service was supercalifragilisticexpialidocious or exceptional to say the least!  But they already had an established dealership built on integrity & honesty. 

 

Having said all of that, I still believe the Turf Tiger is the better machine, but that may only be the perceivable difference between a 'best' machine compared to one a little further down the line.

 

I have plates to cover the grass discharge shoot of both Scags, so I can shred leaves in the fall of the year, which both units performs admirably, so both machines performs more than just cutting grass, but down here in the Deep South mowing grass is performed 9 months  each year. 

 

 

 

[Dakota8338 115]

9 hours ago, Sarge said:

Just something to think about - make a long-term investment versus cheap, flashy and faster. Just like our old tractors - many times the new equipment just doesn't compare.

 

Sarge

Some people do not understand that concept, Sarge, but apparently we both do!  I have an old cast aluminum deck push mower frame for close up trim work, and I know I have installed a third new engine on that old frame.  I don't believe one can even purchase a push mower with a cast aluminum deck today.  I had to fabricate an adapter for mounting the last motor to the old frame, but as long as the frame lasts, I will keep adding new motors to it as the old ones wear out.   

[Sarge 3,463]

An old Eclipse, perhaps? A friend of mine seeks those out - he mows a cemetery with a very steep hill and uses those lightweight mowers to do that section. I think his current one is on its 6th engine - those splash lube Briggs small engines don't much care for side hills, lol.

 

Sarge

[Dakota8338 115]

Actually an old Sears Craftsman by label, but since Sears did not manufacture anything themselves, I do not know who the real manufacturer was.  It came with a Tecumseh engine, which was a hard working little engine, and I guess the only Tecumseh engine I have ever owned, or probably will own, since I understand Tecumseh is basically 'kaput' these days.  

 

I have never know of any splash lubed engines to really like slopes.