Mowing ..

[LG17]

My old Toro Wheelhorse is powered by an 18hp Tecumseh. It's extremely old and I may not use it for a year, it's fitted with a bucket,but it always starts and runs.

[Interceptor]

Meanwhile, I continue to do well courtesy of the local tip shop.... picked up a MS260 minus clutch cover & bar, took it home, pulled the string...... and it started!

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

After multiple teasers, I've been waiting for this video to drop on the Stihl 028. Interestingly, the story behind the saw is similar, that the owner wanted it running again for sentimental reasons.



In this case, it turned out to have a leaking crank seal and general old age on various components. I got lucky with mine, most replacement parts were for perished rubber parts, a new plug and filter. I also requested a new bar and chain, but mostly for cosmetics.

While it's much heavier, I can't help feeling my 028 AV Super runs stronger than my new MS 271. Some of that would be down to the 271 still running in, but I also find the 028 is better balanced. This makes sense when you take the overall construction into account.

The older saws, and the current pro level Stihl's, have a full metal case. The case is split in two and houses the crankshaft and connecting rod, as well as the oil tank, and sometimes the fuel tank. A cylinder and piston then bolt down to the case.

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Modern Stihl saws, at least the homeowner and landowner versions, are very different. The case of the saw is plastic and is basically a sled for the contained power unit. The sled includes the oil and fuel tanks, rather than being cast with the lower part of the engine. The engines themselves can be removed as a single assembly from the sled, rather than having to disassemble the whole saw.

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Which is better? I'm not sure to be honest. The full metal case would be more durable in professional use, but the plastic case seems to be a more logical layout and offers lighter weight.

This video shows a new MS 162 being torn down. In particular, the 21.50 mark shows how a modern consumer-grade Stihl has a standalone engine unit rather than the crankcase being integral to the chassis/fuel/oil tank of the saw.

[DFB FGXR6]

This morning, I sold off my Stihl KM56 RC-E Combi powerhead, along with the line trimmer, hedge trimmer and edger attachments.



I've had this for many years, bought mainly for the extended reach ability of the hedge trimmer attachment. The edger only got used once as I picked up an Atom Edger for cheap shortly after. The line trimmer was used for a while as my main trimmer, my first foray into straight-shaft trimming.

The main problem with this machine was the weight, even with the basic line trimmer attachment. In hedge trimmer mode, it took a lot of upper body strength to balance.............while standing stretched out on a ladder.........not nice! The line trimmer was poorly balanced, that metal sheath with the locking screw lever put too much weight in the middle of the shaft, so it never felt natural and again caused a lot of upper body strain. This is not unique to Stihl, all multi-tool units are like this.



I stopped using this machine when I bought a Husqvarna 522L, THE BEST lawn maintenance trimmer on the market, powerful enough but extremely light and with an anti-vibration handle. Prior to the 522L, I was getting pins and needles in my hands during and after using a line trimmer, but that stopped after getting the Husqvarna. I was also less fatigued in my shoulders after a day on the tools.



Hedge trimmers were also giving me the pins and needles, including my old Stihl HS 45 (which will be up for sale soon too, just have to refresh the fuel system) and the above-mentioned pole hedger. This stopped after going battery powered.





I kept the KM56 RC-E mainly as a backup line trimmer, but other than the occasional run on my own lawns, or lending it to my father, it was just sitting taking up space. While I sold it off cheap, I'm happy to have purged a rarely used tool. And..............I have some spare cash to buy something else....................

[DFB FGXR6]

I'm also planning to sell off the above-mentioned Stihl HS 45 hedge trimmer, it has sat unused since I got a battery powered HSA 56 in November 2018. Couldn't be happier about that because petrol powered hedge trimmers suck!

I'm also going to sell off my Bushranger 53AH6IMSP mower.







While I'll be sad to let it go, I haven't used it since getting the Victa Commercial. I'll miss the efficiency and smoothness of the Honda GXV-160, the 3-speed gearbox made it more versatile, and it was built like a tank! But it was a beast to manhandle, and the narrow discharge chute was its main limiting factor. While it was fine in most cases, on thick summer growth Kikuyu, it really struggled in terms of chute blockages. At the time though, it was the best available to me.

[Trendseeker]

The head on my Honda ums425 line trimmer broke a few weeks ago. It’s 13 years old and was also leaking a bit of oil, and while both things could be fixed, I decided to buy a new battery powered trimmer. Husqvarna currently have a deal on during spring where if you buy the item skin, charger and battery, they give you another battery the same size. I bought the 215iL with a charger and a 4AH battery. I’ve used it once and I’m happy with the way it performs.

[DFB FGXR6]

And so, look what I found...........................my lawnmower unicorn, a Rover ProCut 560 with the Briggs 850 engine!











I went looking for a viable self-propelled lawn mower back in 2014 to replace the abysmal John Deere JS48. For a contractor, the unquestioned wisdom suggested that I should have been buying a Honda HRU-216. However, after prior bad experiences with Honda's, not to mention the narrow discharge chute of the HRU-216, I had no intentions of blindly following the crowd.

After extensive research, I was led to an unlikely candidate, the Rover ProCut series. These were 20-inch and 22-inch alloy base mowers, both offered with or without self-propel. By 2014, Rover had ditched Briggs and Stratton in favor of the 196cc "Rover" engine, or the 173cc Kohler Courage XT8. I didn't want either engine, but the Kohler got the nod as the lesser of two evils.



I never liked that Kohler engine. From day one, it seemed to consume more oil than a Briggs, not in a smokey way but it always dropped between oil changes. It has always been harder to pull over, there is a feeling of no inertia. It also lacked the stamina of the 190cc Briggs in really thick grass. I will say, I have belted the crap out of this engine for more than 10 years now, I even changed the position of the governor spring to allow a much higher rev ceiling. To be frank, I was not concerned about blowing this engine up, if it did, I'd then fit the "correct" engine.



That Rover has made me a power of income over the last decade, I've basically ran it into the ground. I did try to find replacement for this machine, but no self-propel mower on the market today has a full width discharge chute. Rover's genius was putting the gearbox on top of the deck, not within the rear chute. As such, I've sunk money into maintaining this unit as much as possible. Only recently, I replaced all of the wheels and rear drive pawls.

I mention all this because I had only just missed the chance to buy a ProCut with the Briggs 850 brand new back then. Rover had always used the OHV Briggs engines on these mowers, prior to the 190cc 850-series, they were also using the older Intek 65 engines. I guess Chinese made engines (including the Kohler) increased the profit margin.









So, to find the unicorn ProCut with the Briggs 850 has me extremely excited! And from the photos, it looks to be in great condition. Look, I need another mower like a hole in the head, but I just couldn't let this one go by, I'll be driving to pick it up next week. And as for my old Rover, it may end up being a parts bin.