Purchased the Scagg 30 inch walk behind mower a few weeks ago and have done a handful of mows with it. Here is my review and experience with owning it so far. 
Yes the cut is really good. I took it to the Church this weekend and mowed the property. I used the side discharge then went back over the front part with the bag to clean it up real good. And it just looks really nice. Very happy with the cut.
Instead of adjusting your engine RPM to counter your drive speed, you have a cable that leads to your transmission that dictates how much tension is put on it. Loosen that cable and deaden it a bit and raise your engine RPM back up to keep your blade speed up and cut cleaner.
Thanks. I did that in the beginning, but it seemed to struggle going up my hill. I will try it again and see what happens. Maybe I adjusted it to much.
I bought this same mower without testing it out on grass and if I would have I would not have bought it. It is way too heavy for me and it beats me up. I live on a lake and the edge of my yard slopes downward towards the lake and this mower is not fun to use there. I agree with you it is well built but for homeowners like us I would not recommend it because of the weight just way too heavy. I went back to my old timemaster and it feels like a feather compared to the Scag. Nice video thanks ...
I don’t blame you the mower is a beast. But I will tell you that I am at about 10 mows in and the mower gets better each time. It almost feels normal (almost). The cut on thing is just excellent, you could almost use a level. But with that said, this why I wanted to do a home owners review, to give get honest feed back. Hope you enjoy your trim master.
Yes thanks for the advice. I started doing that shortly after making the video. I posted another video and I updated that I now run the mower at full speed.
I thought the trade referred to these mowers ad self-propelled. Rather then walk-behind. The walk-behind has individual drive wheel control and turning brakes. Or dynamic braking for hydrostatic drive mowers. Am I correct in assuming that your mower steers by pushing side to side?
I have a scag dealer where I live. I went in the shop last week and these mowers 4 of them I believe were in the shop. I found out there was a recall on them due to the clutch locking up so be careful when buying one of these.
We've had two of these and they've both fallen apart. We've spent a couple thousand just trying to keep them running but wouldn't buy it again. From a homeowners perspective with how rarely it's getting used I'm sure it's fine. Day in and out for 8 months, not so much.
Oh man, what a bad experience… Yeah, I’m not using it commercially. And I haven’t had any problems to really speak of, yet. Thats disappointing too, I would consider Scagg a high-end product for sure.
I usually cut between around 3”. I have gone down as much as 2” for special mow ( moss control). Mow height does not seem to matter for cut quality, just scalping. It handles thick, long grass very well.
did you have the pto and pulleys changed? i bought the same machine 2 years ago as a back up for part time residental mowing. 110hr PTO bearing grenaded. $800 cnd for the conversion luckly it was a bulietin. I find its way to heavy and the grass catcher was a bad design, my toro time master has a bigger opening for the the bag and doesnt plug up.
How long did wait to get one? Local scag dealers telling me distributors don’t have any, don’t know when they are getting them or one dealer told me all done for year now on backorder.
I’m in the Seattle area. One dealer had one in stock when I called, so no waiting. The other dealer just got some in last week, so I think I just got lucky with timing.
Both price and weight are something to consider for sure. For me over all the Scag floated to the top. There seemed to be a lot of mixed reviews for the Toro/Exmark especially with the transmission. And I really like one lever wheel adjustment. But the Toro/Exmark are way more like a “traditional” homeowner mower. And good brands. I am happy with the Scag.
It’s close to over kill. Would I buy it again? Good question, probably yes, but only because I have taken the time to learn how to mow. I would not buy it for anything less then the size of my lot. It’s not the type of lawnmower you lend out to your neighbors or have your kid go mow yards with.
I would say it depends on your property. If it’s wide and flat yes. If it’s narrow and hilly, probably not. I would not recommend it for anything smaller than my yard, what you see in the video. And you better like mowing, it’s a beast but does a great job. Cut my mow time in half from my old 21” mower.
this mower has many many quality concerns. If you plan to use it professionally you going to regret the purchase. They’re having many clutch problems and the wheels are easily crushed. Dealer where I bought mine can’t even get parts. This machine is giving serious problem for Scagg, and it would not be surprised if they discontinue it altogether.
I have been lucky so far, no issues, home use only. I to would not be surprised if they discontinued this mower, it’s not for everyone and to be honest the there’s a small market that it’s intended. I plan on keeping mine for the long-haul… We’ll see how it goes.
This mower sucks I own it, extremely heavy towards the back. Doesn’t cut my lawn great at all and Boggs down if it’s wet. I cannot imagine anyone using it commercially.
I don’t have any of the issues you are having with wet grass and bogging. I mow damp/wet grass often up here in Seattle, and it really does a great job. The cut is perfect like a level. Yes it is very, very heavy and it took me a while to get used to the weight & how to maneuver it around. But now that it’s been a couple months, I’ve adapted quite well to it and like it. And yes, there could be some improvements made, no doubt about it. I’m sorry you’re having some issues with it and you’re not very pleased with it.
@@ChazNosloc in New England we’ve had a lot of rain this year but nothing I wouldn’t expect a commercial mower to complain about. This scag boggs down, and the deck gets clogged even with side shoot on it I have to unclog it about every other pass. I wait until high noon or late afternoon hoping the sun will evaporate the dewy moisture on the lawn before cutting it. My push mowers have struggled in the past, but nothing like this scag does. Goodluck with your mower, I will try to adapt to mine but my lawn is a mixture of thick clover and grass as well. I expected more from this mower.
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I want one of these babies to replace my Timemaster. The cut on a scag is so beautiful
Yes the cut is really good. I took it to the Church this weekend and mowed the property.
I used the side discharge then went back over the front part with the bag to clean it up real good. And it just looks really nice. Very happy with the cut.
Instead of adjusting your engine RPM to counter your drive speed, you have a cable that leads to your transmission that dictates how much tension is put on it. Loosen that cable and deaden it a bit and raise your engine RPM back up to keep your blade speed up and cut cleaner.
Thanks. I did that in the beginning, but it seemed to struggle going up my hill. I will try it again and see what happens. Maybe I adjusted it to much.
Serious mower , class hone too 👍
I bought this same mower without testing it out on grass and if I would have I would not have bought it. It is way too heavy for me and it beats me up. I live on a lake and the edge of my yard slopes downward towards the lake and this mower is not fun to use there. I agree with you it is well built but for homeowners like us I would not recommend it because of the weight just way too heavy. I went back to my old timemaster and it feels like a feather compared to the Scag. Nice video thanks ...
I don’t blame you the mower is a beast. But I will tell you that I am at about 10 mows in and the mower gets better each time. It almost feels normal (almost). The cut on thing is just excellent, you could almost use a level.
But with that said, this why I wanted to do a home owners review, to give get honest feed back.
Hope you enjoy your trim master.
You want that going full throttle whenever you’re cutting. Adjust your speed with the cables and settings.
Yes thanks for the advice. I started doing that shortly after making the video. I posted another video and I updated that I now run the mower at full speed.
I thought the trade referred to these mowers ad self-propelled. Rather then walk-behind.
The walk-behind has individual drive wheel control and turning brakes. Or dynamic braking for hydrostatic drive mowers.
Am I correct in assuming that your mower steers by pushing side to side?
Splitting hairs I think, no turning brakes on this mower… Scag calls it a walk behind..
www.scag.com/product/walk-behind-mowers/sfc-30/
I have a scag dealer where I live. I went in the shop last week and these mowers 4 of them I believe were in the shop. I found out there was a recall on them due to the clutch locking up so be careful when buying one of these.
I haven’t seen anything on a recall for the 30” walk behind.
@@ChazNosloc i can’t prove that there is one. It is what the dealer told me. However I did see the mowers at the shop with my own eyes.
My clutch just went out at 97 hrs. I didn’t have to pay anything to get it fixed .
@@ChazNosloc Some people have said the clutch goes out at around 90 hours or so.
We've had two of these and they've both fallen apart. We've spent a couple thousand just trying to keep them running but wouldn't buy it again. From a homeowners perspective with how rarely it's getting used I'm sure it's fine. Day in and out for 8 months, not so much.
Oh man, what a bad experience… Yeah, I’m not using it commercially. And I haven’t had any problems to really speak of, yet. Thats disappointing too, I would consider Scagg a high-end product for sure.
What height do you mow your yard? Have you noticed any difference in the quality of cut if you vary the height? Thanks for the video!
I usually cut between around 3”. I have gone down as much as 2” for special mow ( moss control).
Mow height does not seem to matter for cut quality, just scalping.
It handles thick, long grass very well.
did you have the pto and pulleys changed? i bought the same machine 2 years ago as a back up for part time residental mowing. 110hr PTO bearing grenaded. $800 cnd for the conversion luckly it was a bulietin. I find its way to heavy and the grass catcher was a bad design, my toro time master has a bigger opening for the the bag and doesnt plug up.
No I have not had any issues with the pto or pulley. But I’ll keep a close eye on them. Thanks for the heads up.
How long did wait to get one? Local scag dealers telling me distributors don’t have any, don’t know when they are getting them or one dealer told me all done for year now on backorder.
I’m in the Seattle area. One dealer had one in stock when I called, so no waiting. The other dealer just got some in last week, so I think I just got lucky with timing.
Im down to this or toro timemaster. Leaning towards the toro due toprice and weight
Both price and weight are something to consider for sure. For me over all the Scag floated to the top.
There seemed to be a lot of mixed reviews for the Toro/Exmark especially with the transmission.
And I really like one lever wheel adjustment.
But the Toro/Exmark are way more like a “traditional” homeowner mower. And good brands.
I am happy with the Scag.
Do you think it was overkill? And would you buy it again.
It’s close to over kill. Would I buy it again? Good question, probably yes, but only because I have taken the time to learn how to mow. I would not buy it for anything less then the size of my lot.
It’s not the type of lawnmower you lend out to your neighbors or have your kid go mow yards with.
Do you think it's worth the extra cost over the timemaster for a homeowner.
I would say it depends on your property. If it’s wide and flat yes. If it’s narrow and hilly, probably not.
I would not recommend it for anything smaller than my yard, what you see in the video.
And you better like
mowing, it’s a beast but does a great job. Cut my mow time in half from my old 21” mower.
I'll teach u a trick. Keep your wheels on high ground. Pick your wheel path and you won't scalp
What about compared to the Ferris FW15
The Ferris is a great mower and I did consider it. But I wanted a rear bagger, the Ferris is more expensive and no dealers close to me.
this mower has many many quality concerns. If you plan to use it professionally you going to regret the purchase. They’re having many clutch problems and the wheels are easily crushed. Dealer where I bought mine can’t even get parts. This machine is giving serious problem for Scagg, and it would not be surprised if they discontinue it altogether.
I have been lucky so far, no issues, home use only. I to would not be surprised if they discontinued this mower, it’s not for everyone and to be honest the there’s a small market that it’s intended.
I plan on keeping mine for the long-haul… We’ll see how it goes.
Where did you but it ??
Pepe’ John Deere in Sumner Washington.
how can you review a mower without even starting it or mowing with it?
This mower sucks I own it, extremely heavy towards the back. Doesn’t cut my lawn great at all and Boggs down if it’s wet. I cannot imagine anyone using it commercially.
I don’t have any of the issues you are having with wet grass and bogging. I mow damp/wet grass often up here in Seattle, and it really does a great job. The cut is perfect like a level. Yes it is very, very heavy and it took me a while to get used to the weight & how to maneuver it around. But now that it’s been a couple months, I’ve adapted quite well to it and like it. And yes, there could be some improvements made, no doubt about it. I’m sorry you’re having some issues with it and you’re not very pleased with it.
@@ChazNosloc in New England we’ve had a lot of rain this year but nothing I wouldn’t expect a commercial mower to complain about. This scag boggs down, and the deck gets clogged even with side shoot on it I have to unclog it about every other pass. I wait until high noon or late afternoon hoping the sun will evaporate the dewy moisture on the lawn before cutting it. My push mowers have struggled in the past, but nothing like this scag does. Goodluck with your mower, I will try to adapt to mine but my lawn is a mixture of thick clover and grass as well. I expected more from this mower.
try increasing the rpm speed.