As I mentioned, our Scag dealer got a demo unit from the distributor. We picked it up last night, I mowed for maybe a half hour around my house, then finished this morning while the grass was damp\wet.
I'll try to separate the pros and the cons that I noticed.
Pros:
If they make some of these improvements, I would consider it...depending on price. I would really like to test the stander, but apparently they are having a few issues so production has been delayed.
I'll try to separate the pros and the cons that I noticed.
Pros:
- Very quiet, I could hear crickets chirping.
- In dry grass, it did a very good job cutting with a high quality of cut with the blades in the "low" speed setting, did great in "high" speed.
- Stripes pretty good. Last night I said differently, but mowing in a different pattern than I was solved that.
- No belts to go bad, no pulleys that have bearings go out. No deck covers to trap grass and leaves
- No spindles to grease.
- Switching between low and high speed range can be done on the fly. Same with the blades.
- No starter to go out, no parking brake. Pull the levers in push or pull and away you go. Also eliminates a safety switch or two.
- Very responsive controls.
- 10 seconds to lower the deck from full height to 3". Ridiculously slow. 9 seconds to raise it. Not as big of a deal, but still too slow.
- No "set it and forget it" height adjustment. You have to watch the gauge every time when adjusting or dropping it down after raising it. Very time consuming i.e. inefficient.
- One time I noticed it had gone from 3.2" to 3.4". I can't guarantee I didn't touch it, but I don't think I did. Not sure how else it would have raised so it is likely I did and didn't realize it. But again, that shouldn't be a concern. There's 3 rocker switches all oriented front to back, so if you are changing blade or travel speed you might bump it.
- It absolutely needs a foot pedal to raise it over obstacles, especially as slow as the raise\lower speed is.
- The ROPS has basically a piece of channel on it that points forwards when you fold it. It is vertical with bar when it is in "operating" position. If it's folded, you will smash the crap out of your elbows on them. My son did one, I did both. As you sit down, your elbows are angled out a bit and in just the right position to hit the ROPS bar.
- Very responsive controls. I put this as a "pro" but it is also a con. It is very jerky, just like a brand new Z with hydros, but those break in over time. Maybe with more seat time an operator would get used to it, but I don't think with electric motors there will be any breaking in after a few hours. It's not terrible, but it's not great either.
- Cut quality in wet conditions is not great. I started with the blades in the "low" speed setting and it would not fully cut the grass that was pushed over by the casters. It left a lot of grass not evenly cut. I bumped it up to "high" speed and the results were better. I looked at the blades and there isn't much of a sail, I think they need to add more sail to create a better lift. It did not clump on discharge and didn't leave many stringers (just as good as Scag or Deere)in wet or dry, just the grass pushed over by the casters.
- Not a huge deal, but the fenders could be wider to cover most or all of the tire, not only half.
If they make some of these improvements, I would consider it...depending on price. I would really like to test the stander, but apparently they are having a few issues so production has been delayed.
