Mowing ..

[.:4:.]

Only due to the green bin going out tonight, not that it really needed it i knocked the top off my driveway. It wasnt too bad at all. I could knock the top off my backyard, but ive been giving it a chance and its coming back really well. Its not terrible. Next week maybe, that kind of not terrible. But yesterday i sorted out my chainsaw. It died last week. Doing what it does best. I was helping a neighbor, ran 2 tanks straight cutting above its capabilities as a 12 inch bar cutting greater then 30cm diamater dead wood. So the fuel was the last of my jerry. And i filled that at the end of 2016 before my arm died. The 2 stroke oil, god knows how old that was. Dunno if it has a shelf life, but anyhow. Went bunnings as i needed bar lube, and bought a 200ml 2 stroke oil, my logic is it cant get old if it only does 2 jerrys. So fresh fuel, and it started and ran flat stick, but no idle. Air filter off, yeah spraying fuel out the carb. So, a few uneducated adjustments to the carb and idle screw finesse. Apples. Tested on fire wood, so sorted. Tried again today, the thing always started easy, but today, butter. 2 pulls full choke and it fired, 1 pull half choke and apples. It shouldn't be that easy. Anyhow, fresh tank in my freebee snipper. No full choke, 2 pulls half choke. Its retarded how easy it started. Well no comment on my mower. Its 1st time every time. It would run on a tank of self satisfaction i reckon. Give it a week and ill probably be not happy, but diy garden maintenance goals i reckon, reliable equipment. And its not even good equipment. Mower being the pick of the bunch. Free what was a $99 whipper snipper, $119 chainsaw, and dont remember what my mower cost, it wasnt the low end, it was a model or 2 up, so victa 18 inch cut, 158cc briggs and stratton 4 stroke. I dont dread lawns as much these days.

[DFB FGXR6]

Back into top gear.



The ProCut is going great after an overhaul of its drive system. Five years old this spring.

[CoupeKing]

Cheap lawnmower for sale....

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by CoupeKing

Cheap lawnmower for sale....

That's one way to do it

[roddy1960]

Originally Posted by CoupeKing

Cheap lawnmower for sale....

.. "Hey dearest , I've got rid of the cockchafers and nearly Fido as well " .. Whoops..

[yanknbank]

Got the old clunker on the left for $20 as a source of spare parts for my machine on the right (will have it's 31st birthday in a couple of months). Thought I'd throw a cupful of petrol in it to see if it ran. Was more than a little surprised when it cranked up on the second pull of the starter!



So did a complete disassembly with a good degrease and cleaned everything up, including all the rusty bits. New plug, new throttle cable, changed the oil, cleaned out the rubbish in fuel tank, replaced the silly paper filter on the handlebar with an oil impregnated foam filter and housing, good second hand muffler with a new exhaust gasket, new blades and even splashed on a bit of paint on it where needed.

After reassembly and making some adjustments to mixture and idle screws on the carby, I've found that it actually runs smoother and quieter than the current Rover. The chassis also feels a lot tighter (as in the height adjustment mechanism and wheels). It obviously hasn't had the continuous use that the other machine has had over the last 30 odd years. All I need now is a pair of the lower handle bars that bolt to the deck. They're surprisingly hard to come by (Rover don't make them anymore). The others were cracked and I made the mistake of throwing them out. After that its right to go! So with two mowers to share the load, they should both be serviceable for some time to come.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by yanknbank

image

Got the old clunker on the left for $20 as a source of spare parts for my machine on the right (will have it's 31st birthday in a couple of months). Thought I'd throw a cupful of petrol in it to see if it ran. Was more than a little surprised when it cranked up on the second pull of the starter!

image

So did a complete disassembly with a good degrease and cleaned everything up, including all the rusty bits. New plug, new throttle cable, changed the oil, cleaned out the rubbish in fuel tank, replaced the silly paper filter on the handlebar with an oil impregnated foam filter and housing, good second hand muffler with a new exhaust gasket, new blades and even splashed on a bit of paint on it where needed.

After reassembly and making some adjustments to mixture and idle screws on the carby, I've found that it actually runs smoother and quieter than the current Rover. The chassis also feels a lot tighter (as in the height adjustment mechanism and wheels). It obviously hasn't had the continuous use that the other machine has had over the last 30 odd years. All I need now is a pair of the lower handle bars that bolt to the deck. They're surprisingly hard to come by (Rover don't make them anymore). The others were cracked and I made the mistake of throwing them out. After that its right to go! So with two mowers to share the load, they should both be serviceable for some time to come.

I rebuilt one of those engines with my Dad when I was about 13, it taught me how engines work. Those ones revved harder than the later versions too.

[roddy1960]

Originally Posted by yanknbank

image

Got the old clunker on the left for $20 as a source of spare parts for my machine on the right (will have it's 31st birthday in a couple of months). Thought I'd throw a cupful of petrol in it to see if it ran. Was more than a little surprised when it cranked up on the second pull of the starter!

image

So did a complete disassembly with a good degrease and cleaned everything up, including all the rusty bits. New plug, new throttle cable, changed the oil, cleaned out the rubbish in fuel tank, replaced the silly paper filter on the handlebar with an oil impregnated foam filter and housing, good second hand muffler with a new exhaust gasket, new blades and even splashed on a bit of paint on it where needed.

After reassembly and making some adjustments to mixture and idle screws on the carby, I've found that it actually runs smoother and quieter than the current Rover. The chassis also feels a lot tighter (as in the height adjustment mechanism and wheels). It obviously hasn't had the continuous use that the other machine has had over the last 30 odd years. All I need now is a pair of the lower handle bars that bolt to the deck. They're surprisingly hard to come by (Rover don't make them anymore). The others were cracked and I made the mistake of throwing them out. After that its right to go! So with two mowers to share the load, they should both be serviceable for some time to come.

What a nice pair you have there ..I love these style of mowers . I have a 26 year old Rover myself and she starts second pull every time ....literally not joking. I don't use it as much now but in 1993/94 when I bought it new she was a bit special . Didn't get the ball bearing wheels but the nylon bush ones are still pretty good after countless hours of cutting . She runs the hard revving 2 stroke Suzuki engine..bugger all rust in the deck too. As far as I'm concerned the Rovers are the AU's of the mower world in reliability terms at least . The old ones are great...so are these I'm guessing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuMSOMnlK4E

.Cheers ..

[roddy1960]

Originally Posted by yanknbank

image

Got the old clunker on the left for $20 as a source of spare parts for my machine on the right (will have it's 31st birthday in a couple of months). Thought I'd throw a cupful of petrol in it to see if it ran. Was more than a little surprised when it cranked up on the second pull of the starter!

image

So did a complete disassembly with a good degrease and cleaned everything up, including all the rusty bits. New plug, new throttle cable, changed the oil, cleaned out the rubbish in fuel tank, replaced the silly paper filter on the handlebar with an oil impregnated foam filter and housing, good second hand muffler with a new exhaust gasket, new blades and even splashed on a bit of paint on it where needed.

After reassembly and making some adjustments to mixture and idle screws on the carby, I've found that it actually runs smoother and quieter than the current Rover. The chassis also feels a lot tighter (as in the height adjustment mechanism and wheels). It obviously hasn't had the continuous use that the other machine has had over the last 30 odd years. All I need now is a pair of the lower handle bars that bolt to the deck. They're surprisingly hard to come by (Rover don't make them anymore). The others were cracked and I made the mistake of throwing them out. After that its right to go! So with two mowers to share the load, they should both be serviceable for some time to come.

G'day again...Bought this old girl in late 1993 or early 1994..She's done a power of work over the years . So has the AU in the background..

GEDC0002 by Rodney McGiveron, on Flickr....Enjoy yours...By the way , I do have the original handlebar . I put these upturned ones on after a while..Give me a PM if you're interested. You can have the handlebar if you can cover the freight cost.... Does this look right for one of your Rovers ?

GEDC0003 by Rodney McGiveron, on Flickr..Cheers again..Rod.

[yanknbank]

Thanks Roddy. I’ve got the upper handle bar, I need the two lower segments that bolt to either side of the deck. They had cracked through the bolt holes as they all eventually do and I threw them out, thinking I’d just buy a couple of new ones. Evidently Rover don’t make them anymore.

You can only buy the new strengthened lower part of the segment which the old bar is then inserted into (after cutting off the old cracked bit). Threw them out as I said, so I’m on the look out. Will have to pay a visit to the local tip!

[roddy1960]

Originally Posted by yanknbank

Thanks Roddy. I’ve got the upper handle bar, I need the two lower segments that bolt to either side of the deck. They had cracked through the bolt holes as they all eventually do and I threw them out, thinking I’d just buy a couple of new ones. Evidently Rover don’t make them anymore.

You can only buy the new strengthened lower part of the segment which the old bar is then inserted into (after cutting off the old cracked bit). Threw them out as I said, so I’m on the look out. Will have to pay a visit to the local tip!

Keep hunting with any luck you'll find a couple of pairs of them for your two ...sorry I thought you meant the handlebar .. If anyone else ever needs this one for a resto ..I'll be happy to forward it on .

My Rover stripped a couple of nuts holding on the base part you're looking for and I've replaced them a couple of times .The handlebar on mine is off a Scott Bonnar . I had to make a spacer for the fold down part to make it work well but it's been on for all but a year or so of it's life . The actual handlebar is pretty well new . Cheers

[DFB FGXR6]

Perusing the latest Victa brochure, Mustang's of course!

[roddy1960]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

Perusing the latest Victa brochure, Mustang's of course!

image

Cool....surprised to see so many different Mustang choices actually .. How to you feel as a pro on self propelled by the way ?. I see Victa do one as per your catalogue pic..

Do you have an out and out preference for your business use or do you cover a few different bases depending on the job situation aka cut/mulch , side throw , catch etc...Be interested to know . Don't need them for business purposes or anything any more but ................This is my current list of grass/bush/tree equipment .

I have four mowers all push type , all petrol three of which are four stroke , one 2 stroke . All three 4 stroke are Briggsy's and all run really well
.

1x ROVER , 2 x MTD and 1x MAKITA . One LTH19530 Husqvarna ride on (19.5 hp) , one Jonsered TL 33 brushcutter with awesome Mitsubishi engine that hasn't missed a beat in 25 years and a new one year old Husqvarna 28cc brushcutter ..Two battery type blowers (Makita is terrific) and a cheap Rockwell is okay .A Rockwell battery line trimmer too .Very elderly Jonsered hedge trimmer and equally elderly 14" chainsaws ..

Why I have so much gear is probably an issue but I do enjoy having them .

Who knows , one day I might even add a Victa to my manifest..that'd be long overdue perhaps because they're an Aussie institution..

[FTE217]

Good ol Rovers - I have one with the trusted briggs stratten still goes hard love it.

[John 13]

Wow!, doesn't really say it. What's not on this "forum" ?

[DFB FGXR6]

Like you mentioned, depending on the job, I cycle through a few different mowers to suit the conditions.

A Rover ProCut and a Victa Mulchmaster are most used, the Rover when catching or wet, the Mulchmaster during the warmer months. The MM is such a time saver as it mulches down to the point of not being able to tell that a catcher is not in use. I also use a Victa Master Cut 2 stroke utility for rougher jobs and a smaller 18 inch 2 stroke Victa for small areas. It's a matter of thinking ahead and planning which mower/s to carry on the day.

I have not tried the self propelled models in the brochure, these are single speed and I would guess be set at a conservative speed, perhaps a bit slow for me.

[roddy1960]

The boss (our School Business Manager) dropped us in two of these yesterday. Our Principal saw me using my Makita the other day and was apparently impressed enough with the time saving and how much cleaner the ECE area was than a brooming does that she authorised two . One for the groundsman and one for us EFA's (education facility attendant) which I am.

I feel a bit honoured that my Makita 18 V impressed that much !!!...

This is basically the same model we now have . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czdvLKhXm64..

Once I assembled the EFA one I turned it on to vac function in a staff study and it bloody lifted the carpet !!!!!!!...

First real use will be Monday and I'm quite looking forward to trying it out over about 100 sq metres of wind blown area that I have to do each day .

The Makita will be able to stay in the car now .

[.:4:.]

Originally Posted by roddy1960

The boss (our School Business Manager) dropped us in two of these yesterday. Our Principal saw me using my Makita the other day and was apparently impressed enough with the time saving and how much cleaner the ECE area was than a brooming does that she authorised two . One for the groundsman and one for us EFA's (education facility attendant) which I am.

I feel a bit honoured that my Makita 18 V impressed that much !!!...

This is basically the same model we now have . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czdvLKhXm64..

Once I assembled the EFA one I turned it on to vac function in a staff study and it bloody lifted the carpet !!!!!!!...

First real use will be Monday and I'm quite looking forward to trying it out over about 100 sq metres of wind blown area that I have to do each day .

The Makita will be able to stay in the car now .

Modern lithuim batteries and brushless motors in powertools perform amazing compared to what was available 15 years ago. I personally have used makita for drills and drivers for 12 years. By that i mean my first brushed drill was a makita with 3ah lithiums and it lasted 11 years. The driver was still good. But round 2 with the brushless kit. The old one was great. The current ones. Bloody amazing. Yeah 5 amp batteries youd expect almost twice the life between charges. But its a lot more then double. The performance of the new battery powered stuff is finally almost there. Plus quieter operation. For a blower vac, 2 stroke theyre loud. If you can do it without necessitating hearing protection, thats a bonus. I was, not by choice, working on a construction site on thursday and the builders were 100% battery makita. Their 18v mitre saw was impressive. It was loud as expected cutting ally, but it never bogged.

[roddy1960]

Originally Posted by .:4:.

Modern lithuim batteries and brushless motors in powertools perform amazing compared to what was available 15 years ago. I personally have used makita for drills and drivers for 12 years. By that i mean my first brushed drill was a makita with 3ah lithiums and it lasted 11 years. The driver was still good. But round 2 with the brushless kit. The old one was great. The current ones. Bloody amazing. Yeah 5 amp batteries youd expect almost twice the life between charges. But its a lot more then double. The performance of the new battery powered stuff is finally almost there. Plus quieter operation. For a blower vac, 2 stroke theyre loud. If you can do it without necessitating hearing protection, thats a bonus. I was, not by choice, working on a construction site on thursday and the builders were 100% battery makita. Their 18v mitre saw was impressive. It was loud as expected cutting ally, but it never bogged.

Thanks 4....I agree totally . I used to buy the cheaper home brand and still have a few but over the past 18 months I invested in the brushless combo kit from Makita , then I bought the blower , a petrol Makita mower and last weekend the reciprocating saw which I used for a job this morning .. I think I'm now hooked and most probably a Makita guy I guess.

A trade bloke I know pretty well has a soft spot for DeWalt too although his arsenal is almost all Makita equipment . Recently he added a couple of the De Walt 20 V items..

I think with power tools in general , whether electric or battery power you certainly get what you pay for and the home use stuff is okay for that but loses out big time if over extended .

Another thing that's changed in this sort of way too is some of the 'el cheapo' or lesser brands either take up the challenge to improve their range or have a special run of tools aimed at an increasing " prosumer" market .

Also some of the higher end brands make stuff to a cheaper market as a way of encouraging consumers to have an entry level to the tradie level stuff .

Pretty much a great choice as time goes on I think .

[roddy1960]

Anybody seen this bloke around ?
Short sharp and funny vids about all sorts of United Tools stuff..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50KbEnQaeV8 ...

[.:4:.]

If its a 1 off job, yeah cheap out. But if its your job and something you use all the time, its not an expense, good equipment not only makes the job easier, it makes your job faster and better. So the generated feedback and all the rest makes you look better, creating more work hence everything else associated with that.

[MITCHAY]

I put down weed and feed a while back and to my surprise it actually killed off the weeds. Not a lot of feed though.

It is dry as **** in Canberra at the moment, 3 weeks since any significant rain. When I bought this place I was mowing every week or two about 2 years ago.

A lot of dirt patches, even the couch grass is dying off except around the edges.

[roddy1960]

Whilst doing my obligatory You Tube , Saturday morning browse I found this from Makita trade show... Some bloody awesomely cool stuff here ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1-vexPmFeI....


More money spent I guess for one or two of these in coming years ..

[MITCHAY]

Not going to be mowing anytime soon. It is the only chore I actually enjoy

Had 0.6mm on 3/12, 0.2 on 27/11, 22 on 4/11 (flooded everywhere), 0.2 on 3/11, a total of 23mm in October. And reality is I got mostly **** all of this where I am because I'm quite away from this station.

If I rubbed my feet enough I could rip up the whole yard, the only green bits are where I'm watering my plants where it runs off. A lot of dirt patches popping up.

[MITCHAY]

I tried to upload comparison photos to my gallery but **** me for some reason I couldn't. It says it was uploaded but then they vanish into thin air

[.:4:.]

Well, due to the lack of rain, water restrictions and im not one to water my grass anyway. But i have nothing to mow. Its all yellow and crispy. Anyrate, not too far off topic. I bought the cheapest chainsaw at bunnings about a year ago. Its cleaned up my yard, and helped out a few neighbors. So i paid 119, theyre currently 99. I had to lop a tree yesterday and the chain was dull as anything. Got the tree down, but in big sections, and it was a punish. So i set out for a new chain today. So from the book i knew 3 numbers, but of those 3 numbers the 6 options which matched had 4 numbers. I read the back for model fitment and i went with the cheaper brand which said homelite but didnt list my model. Im guessing the replacement chain on a cheapskate chainsaw is a new chainsaw. Anyrate. Turns out it fits. So first few cuts i adjusted chain tension. But i thought brand new this thing was dangerous. An aftermarket chain, shes deadly. Reliability, well, its right up there. Its been 3 or 4 months and yeah, its been sitting with minimal fuel, but a fresh tank and it cold started like a warm start. Im yet to even swear at the thing. Its seen more use then what its worth. I payed for itself just tidying up my yard. But its also been shared around helping out neighbors so its been thrashed a bit. But eh, ive got to know people better, who would have thought a 35cc homelite chainsaw could do that?

[Rallye Sport]

Originally Posted by .:4:.

Well, due to the lack of rain, water restrictions and im not one to water my grass anyway. But i have nothing to mow. Its all yellow and crispy. Anyrate, not too far off topic. I bought the cheapest chainsaw at bunnings about a year ago. Its cleaned up my yard, and helped out a few neighbors. So i paid 119, theyre currently 99. I had to lop a tree yesterday and the chain was dull as anything. Got the tree down, but in big sections, and it was a punish. So i set out for a new chain today. So from the book i knew 3 numbers, but of those 3 numbers the 6 options which matched had 4 numbers. I read the back for model fitment and i went with the cheaper brand which said homelite but didnt list my model. Im guessing the replacement chain on a cheapskate chainsaw is a new chainsaw. Anyrate. Turns out it fits. So first few cuts i adjusted chain tension. But i thought brand new this thing was dangerous. An aftermarket chain, shes deadly. Reliability, well, its right up there. Its been 3 or 4 months and yeah, its been sitting with minimal fuel, but a fresh tank and it cold started like a warm start. Im yet to even swear at the thing. Its seen more use then what its worth. I payed for itself just tidying up my yard. But its also been shared around helping out neighbors so its been thrashed a bit. But eh, ive got to know people better, who would have thought a 35cc homelite chainsaw could do that?

Can't go wrong with those cheapy saws, they're pretty reliable nowadays.
Try to get a hold of a sharpener, don't be sucked in by the fancy bar mount contraptions, just a basic round file and angle gauge. There should be some how too's on youtube. Easy to do, takes about ten minutes and strangely satisfying when you can get them razor sharp.
Using them regularly in a commercial environment we go through a chain every year or two but still keep and swap over to the worn ones if we know a stump or tree is full of sand or termites.

[.:4:.]

Originally Posted by Rallye Sport

Can't go wrong with those cheapy saws, they're pretty reliable nowadays.
Try to get a hold of a sharpener, don't be sucked in by the fancy bar mount contraptions, just a basic round file and angle gauge. There should be some how too's on youtube. Easy to do, takes about ten minutes and strangely satisfying when you can get them razor sharp.
Using them regularly in a commercial environment we go through a chain every year or two but still keep and swap over to the worn ones if we know a stump or tree is full of sand or termites.

I get it, $35 for a chain on a cheap sword is almost not financially viable. But i mean, shes up for rent, and by rent i dont mean for money. Its done myself justace, helped out others, all that jazz. Still got more to do, i personally cannot be bothered, but i have a mate who will do the work for free on the junior chainsaw. He likes the little unit more then i do, and when i said its now deadly, he wants to find out how much it likes to cut.

[Rallye Sport]

Originally Posted by .:4:.

I get it, $35 for a chain on a cheap sword is almost not financially viable. But i mean, shes up for rent, and by rent i dont mean for money. Its done myself justace, helped out others, all that jazz. Still got more to do, i personally cannot be bothered, but i have a mate who will do the work for free on the junior chainsaw. He likes the little unit more then i do, and when i said its now deadly, he wants to find out how much it likes to cut.

You'd get a sharpener for under $35, quicker to sharpen than drive to Bunnings and get a new chain.
Lay the challenge down to your mate, as I said quite satisfying when you can put a deadly tune on those teeth.

[danzvtil]

Going to spend my Christmas Eve making a formply ramp to help roll the mower in and out of the van, to save my back and arms.
Gotta say, the van is worth it’s weight in gold as far as practicality is concerned.