Scag Turf Tiger II 61″ Kawasaki 31HP

Description

Scag Turf Tiger II 61 Inch Zero-Turn with 31 HP Kawasaki DFI

This configuration uses a liquid-cooled Kawasaki FD Series engine with digital fuel injection at 31 horsepower. DFI is a different system from the EFI found elsewhere in the range, and the liquid cooling is the more consequential difference.

Liquid Cooling on a Petrol Mower

Air-cooled engines shed heat through fins and depend on clean airflow to do it, which is why hot afternoons and blocked screens cost them power. A liquid-cooled engine holds a stable operating temperature regardless, so it does not lose output through the worst part of a summer day. On a machine expected to work continuously in heat, that consistency is what the premium buys.

• Cutting width: 61 inches, Velocity Plus cutter deck
• Engine: Kawasaki FD Series DFI, 31 HP, liquid-cooled
• Forward speed: up to 12 mph
• Fuel capacity: 12 gallons
• Frame: double-tube steel
• Cutting height: 1.5 to 6 inches in quarter-inch increments

Check the Coolant Cold and the Radiator Often

Coolant should be checked at the expansion tank with the engine cold, not by opening a hot system. The radiator itself wants clearing far more often than the interval suggests, because a mower throws chaff directly at it all day. A machine that has started running hotter has almost always got a blocked radiator rather than a failing thermostat.

Winter Layup on a Liquid-Cooled Engine

Coolant has a service life and an antifreeze rating, and both get forgotten on a machine that never sees a hard frost until the year it does. Checking the concentration before winter, rather than assuming what went in years ago is still adequate, protects a cylinder head that costs considerably more than a jug of coolant.

Comparing the Injected Turf Tigers

The STTII-61V-40BV-EFI offers more horsepower air-cooled for less money, which suits most commercial work. This machine is for crews whose problem is sustained heat rather than peak load. The STTII-72V-31DFI is the same engine at 72 inches.