Mowing ..

[.:4:.]

Originally Posted by roddy1960

Good thing ...Sounds like a useful item to have ..You'll probably use it more than you expected .. Don't do what I do and leave old fuel in the tank for too long ..Buggers to start if old 2 stroke sits for too long IMO.. Cheers

After doing my stuff, ended up lending a hand to my neighbor and fell a 10m tree. In sections of course, and using rope to control where things fell. So my mate next door was on the saw. His mum was saying she got quoted a couple hundred to rid that tree. So the chainsaw has paid for itself a few times over in the first day. I

[.:4:.]

Again its not lawns but im after ideas on this one. I havent said yes to doing it. Need a plan first. But theres only a few minor things i want to do that i dont really need the chainsaw for, and its paid for itself so its now up for lending. But without saying yes to doing the work, but offering to lend ladders, ropes and my chainsaw eddy (it likes to cut), next door have a tree they want gone. Yesterday we offed a 10m thing and that wasnt bad. But the other one is 12m high, forks low so 2 tall enough trunks. My concern is even with a 12 foot ladder, being uneven ground, being 9 steps up is a bit sketchy. My 8 footer is better for this, but roped and cut in such a fashion to direct the fall, its a big section considering the upper limbs on both trunks cant be lopped first. A cherry picker would be ideal, and i rent those all the time for work and take them home overnight, but theres no access to their yard. So making it fall away from the peson cutting it is the most important. Making it fall away from my grannyflat and the new fence are the next most important things. Once the tops are gone the rest can ve done in managable pieces. A rope and pulling that away from the cutter and property is so far my best idea, but im not sold on that given the size of the tops

[roddy1960]

Originally Posted by .:4:.

Again its not lawns but im after ideas on this one. I havent said yes to doing it. Need a plan first. But theres only a few minor things i want to do that i dont really need the chainsaw for, and its paid for itself so its now up for lending. But without saying yes to doing the work, but offering to lend ladders, ropes and my chainsaw eddy (it likes to cut), next door have a tree they want gone. Yesterday we offed a 10m thing and that wasnt bad. But the other one is 12m high, forks low so 2 tall enough trunks. My concern is even with a 12 foot ladder, being uneven ground, being 9 steps up is a bit sketchy. My 8 footer is better for this, but roped and cut in such a fashion to direct the fall, its a big section considering the upper limbs on both trunks cant be lopped first. A cherry picker would be ideal, and i rent those all the time for work and take them home overnight, but theres no access to their yard. So making it fall away from the peson cutting it is the most important. Making it fall away from my grannyflat and the new fence are the next most important things. Once the tops are gone the rest can ve done in managable pieces. A rope and pulling that away from the cutter and property is so far my best idea, but im not sold on that given the size of the tops

About a week ago our boss asked us to go and visit a nearby neighbour to the school where I work to assess a job . My workmate is a fully qualified tree faller, bushman , seed collector for Foresty Commission and now works part time as our groundsman and there were two big gum trees really close the blokes property adjacent to our blackwood plantation . Wayne had to have a good look to see what the risk was to bring these trees down . Would require extra care as one of the trees had a twin trunk that had potential to have a mind of it's own if things were not ideal.

Wayne did some other checks and reported back to the house owner and the boss of course to decide on best options. Both these trees will require excavator work to brace them as they are felled .

Now the issue is who pays for it because they are impeding building approval from the local council as the bloke wants to extend his garage and the council thinks the trees are too close to the boundary fence where the extension will end. Trees are great but they can be a nightmare to deal with sometimes ....especially when bloody Councils are involved .

[danzvtil]

Spent 4 hours cutting cocos palm logs into planter boxes and stools for the child care centre, the huski chainsaw was stellar, although chews thru the 2 stroke at full tilt. It’s booked in for next weekend to take down a 5 mtr white cedar, so happy times.
In other news, I’ve added a Mitsubishi express van to the gardening fleet, as the Magna wagon was bursting at the seams. It is so basic and agricultural, I’ve never been happier driving a POS.

[DFB FGXR6]

I spent some time at the end of my day with some overdue maintenance on the Rover. I have been hammering this old thing over winter, wet grass doesn't really mulch well so I have been using this in catcher mode instead of the Mulchmaster. It has also been used to hoover up fallen leaves during the autumn.





New blades and she is ready for Spring.

[.:4:.]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

I spent some time at the end of my day with some overdue maintenance on the Rover. I have been hammering this old thing over winter, wet grass doesn't really mulch well so I have been using this in catcher mode instead of the Mulchmaster. It has also been used to hoover up fallen leaves during the autumn.

image

image

New blades and she is ready for Spring.

How good are new blades when the old ones have gone dull over such a long time you dont even notice. I did the blades on my victa a few weeks back and its a night and day difference. Especially since i didnt think they needed doing but i did them anyway.
I will say though, since ive been back able to be more consistant with the garden maintenance, and showing the lawn equipment a bit of maintenance love, everything starts easy and runs well. Added bonus of my grass bin didnt get knocked over by the staff 2 doors down this morning either.

[.:4:.]

Originally Posted by roddy1960

About a week ago our boss asked us to go and visit a nearby neighbour to the school where I work to assess a job . My workmate is a fully qualified tree faller, bushman , seed collector for Foresty Commission and now works part time as our groundsman and there were two big gum trees really close the blokes property adjacent to our blackwood plantation . Wayne had to have a good look to see what the risk was to bring these trees down . Would require extra care as one of the trees had a twin trunk that had potential to have a mind of it's own if things were not ideal.

Wayne did some other checks and reported back to the house owner and the boss of course to decide on best options. Both these trees will require excavator work to brace them as they are felled .

Now the issue is who pays for it because they are impeding building approval from the local council as the bloke wants to extend his garage and the council thinks the trees are too close to the boundary fence where the extension will end. Trees are great but they can be a nightmare to deal with sometimes ....especially when bloody Councils are involved .

Not the sunday just passed, the sunday before, we did take down the 1 of 3 trunks that was leaning away from property. Being up the ladder i could see not ending well, so my 30m anchor line was around the top, and my mate was on the saw. So i was on the rope and well away so we felled that bit in 1 go. My little chainsaw struggled, but i only bought it for my small stuff. Its been awesome for small stuff. The other 2 trunks need more thought. Deffinately need to be sectioned and roped. My mate wants to climb the tree for that but, yeah nah. I wont allow it. A cherry picker and my rope would be ideal, but even though i bring 12m trailer mounts home often enough, there is no access to either next doors yard or the yard behind to back one in. My yard has access, but those lifts will not extend far enough sideways, and even if they did, you sacrifice too much height. The other stupid argument is, my mate wants to buy a stihl. Yes, that will do the job better. But for 1 tree? And it doesnt matter. Still no solid plan. Also the expectation is my donation of premix and bar oil. I do keep pre mix as i do my own lawns. But for a 1 off, just borrow or rent a good chainsaw once a plan that wont involve serious injury is hatched.

[.:4:.]

Im really happy with the progress with my grass. With the little bit here and there maintenance its turning into a lawn. So after i scalped it as due to injury, it wasnt maintained, it started to come back. With the recent rains, its come back nicely. So i have been keeping it in check mowing high just to take the top off, no carnage, its been quite happy. So no brown or yellow patches as things havent gotten out of control. Last week i did the lower backyard, no need for edges as they were good l, yesterday i spent 5 minutes on the side yard, again edges were good. Today, i did the driveway. 2 out of 6 edges needed minor attention, the grass was a tad longer then the rest of my place, but not a jungle. So knocked that off and its looking good. And reliable equipment makes such a difference. I disregard the starting procedures. The manufacturer wants you to be optimus prime. My snipper recomends 10 primes then full choke, 6 pulls or untill it trys, if not, another 10 primes. Yeah nah. The primer bulb was empty, 1 prime to get fuel in, 1 more to get a bit more in. 1 full choke pull, and 2 half choke pulls and the mosquito in a tin can was running. Mower, optimus no prime. First pull. A 2 blade 18 inch deck victa with a briggs 158cc motor may not be the most epic mower ever, but it certainly has never not wanted to start. Well there was that one time it wouldnt, i wanted to throw it in the creek. And yes, it was simply out of fuel.

[DFB FGXR6]

Mowing season is upon us.



I'm back to a regular cutting schedule and now that grass is having a chance to dry out during the day the Mulchmaster is getting regular use again.

[roKWiz]

Posted these for all the grass freaks here.

[.: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

[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!

[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" ?

[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..

[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.