Scag SW Belt Drive 48″ Kawasaki 14HP

Description

Scag SW 48 Inch Belt-Drive Walk-Behind Mower

At 48 inches the SW moves from the Advantage deck used on its narrower models to a Velocity Plus cutter deck, while keeping the 14 horsepower Kawasaki FS and the five-speed belt drive.

A Commercial Deck on a Belt-Drive Machine

Velocity Plus is the same deck family fitted to Scag’s zero-turns, and finding it on the least expensive drive format in the catalog is unusual. It means this machine produces a cut quality that has nothing to do with its price, which is the argument for an SW over a cheaper competitor rather than over a hydro Scag.

• Cutting width: 48 inches, Velocity Plus cutter deck
• Engine: Kawasaki FS Series, 14 HP
• Drive: five-speed Peerless transmission, twin power belts
• Fuel capacity: 5.5 gallons
• Controls: spring-assisted EZ-Grip pistol grips
• Forward speed: up to 6 mph

Fourteen Horsepower Behind Forty-Eight Inches

This is a lean pairing and it works because a walk-behind travels at 6 mph rather than 10, so the deck sees far less material per minute than the same width on a rider would. Pushed into heavy growth it will slow, and the answer is to drop a gear rather than to wish for more engine. On maintained turf it is entirely adequate.

Scrape the Deck, Do Not Just Hose It

Velocity Plus decks depend on airflow, and a hosed deck that has not been scraped keeps a layer of packed clippings on the underside that water will not shift. A scraper run over it while still damp takes moments and does more for cut quality than anything else in a routine.

Do It Before It Dries

Material left to harden becomes a chisel job, and the temptation is then to skip it entirely.

The SW Range

The SW-52V-15FS is the widest and adds a horsepower. Below, the 32 and 36 inch machines run the Advantage deck for tighter access. The hydro SWZ-48V-15FSE covers this width with variable speed and electric start at a considerably higher price.