Mowing ..

[Tonz]

I am very confused, the Rover mower does belong to you?
then why all the build up of grass clippings underneath? For shame For shame sir. after the car and attention to your shed floor, all your vehicles and the tops of your mowers




all said with tongue in cheek, you will never see any pics of my ride on mower or my ute.

[Citroënbender]

Back to mowing school for you, Tonz.

The grass builds up because of applying pre-mow Lawn Balm. Its heavily moisturising and softening qualities also make things a bit slow off the blades if the cut is heavier than usual.

[Tassie f100]

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

Back to mowing school for you, Tonz.

The grass builds up because of applying pre-mow Lawn Balm. Its heavily moisturising and softening qualities also make things a bit slow off the blades if the cut is heavier than usual.

Hi CB Are you eyes tinged brown?just wondering lol

[Citroënbender]

Ride-on question.

Is there a reason people tow them on trailers instead of just putting them in the ute tray? I’ve seen even small units towed.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

Ride-on question.

Is there a reason people tow them on trailers instead of just putting them in the ute tray? I’ve seen even small units towed.

Because some people just love congesting the roads with trailers.

[Tonz]

fair go i am not comfortable riding my one onto a trailer, shudder at a ute tray, the height and angle.
anyway my 6x4 travels at 120 on dirt roads so cannot see the concern.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by Tonz

fair go i am not comfortable riding my one onto a trailer, shudder at a ute tray, the height and angle.
anyway my 6x4 travels at 120 on dirt roads so cannot see the concern.

Yeah, I wouldn't feel comfortable driving a rider up that high either.

I have a bit of pet hate for trailers, rattly bloody things. People keep telling me that I need a zero-turn rider. My response is that then I would need to also buy a trailer, pay yearly rego on a trailer, maintain a trailer, buy a tow bar kit for my vehicle, find somewhere to store the trailer which is not possible on my property, which means it would need to be stored in the driveway, which would mean I would need to move it every day, which would then mean I would have empty the trailer every single day....................a whole lot of hassle to drive around with a noisy, rattly collection of steel and rubber. No thanks.

[Citroënbender]

I thought the reason might have been, they put a lot of point pressure on aluminium tray planking, or had centre-of-gravity issues at tray height. Seems not.

Sold my 8x5 trailer several years ago, zero regrets.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

I thought the reason might have been, they put a lot of point pressure on aluminium tray planking, or had centre-of-gravity issues at tray height. Seems not.

Sold my 8x5 trailer several years ago, zero regrets.

YOU ARE MY BEST FRIEND it would seem!!

I hack a lot of people off with my views on trailers.

I have watched a college drive a Dingo digger up ramps onto the tray of a Ford Trader before, he was fine doing it because of familiarity, but it looked super sketchy and not something I would want to do.

[Citroënbender]

A trailer would make me feel a hoarder. Ute seems easier to balance goods inbound with goods outbound.

TBH I’d probably try to winch a mower up or down ramps into a tray.

[Captain Stubing]

I’ve got to take the tow bar off my FG/X Ute. I’ve got damage to the tailgate, damage to the bumper skin, all from hooking up to or issues with trailers. I should just continue with ramming the Jeep into the coupling, and not caring.

[janddbone]

Hmm, my list of trailers is nearly as long as my cars, I can **** everyone right off and put them in too? And all the Victas! HA HA.

[Citroënbender]

I think DFB’s idea of hell at present might involve an untidy, rattly trailer bearing a Christmas float complete with “Santa” and a naivety scene, blasting out Bing Crosby’s Christmas songs…

Have decided to put off my lawn until Tuesday, that way it will look schmick for the week hence. It’s overdue now but if I cut it today the extra “recovery time” will see it looking leggy again within the week.

[anobserver]

A bit dry where we are in Brisvegas, back yard was looking untidy. Ran the victa 2 stroke over it on a high cut to tidy it up. Looking much better.

Had both mowers serviced earlier this year. Havent had to trade up to a new one yet.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

I think DFB’s idea of hell at present might involve an untidy, rattly trailer bearing a Christmas float complete with “Santa” and a naivety scene, blasting out Bing Crosby’s Christmas songs…

There is only one way to redeem that situation, replacing Santa and Bing Crosby with the divine Miss M........

[Citroënbender]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

…the divine Miss M

I see what you did there.

[DFB FGXR6]

Meet my Stihl 009L...................



I didn't actually buy this saw, it was bought 22 years ago by my father for firewood collection. This is the first chainsaw I ever used, so I have a little sentimental attachment to it. Despite the dinky looks, this 009L has a large 41cc engine and runs a 14 inch bar, as such it punches above it's weight. Because these are a very old design now, the majority of the saw is made of metal rather than the plastic main body of my brand new MS 271.

Today, I decided to get this saw out and clean it up a bit and replace a few service items. I have had this saw apart many times before, so it took no time cleaning out all of the old saw dust and oil. The air filter is in good condition, so I just blew it out with compressed air, and I cleaned off the spark arrestor on the muffler.

The chain will be replaced as it's too far gone now, the sprocket is grooved so I will look into a replacement, the bar is not the original though and should be fine, rotated for good measure when the new chain arrives.





I'm fairly certain this is the original Bosch spark plug, so will be replaced.



These are really solid saws with good power. The only major drawback to them is the lack of antivibration.

[.:4:.]

Had to laugh at my mate this morning. So he asked to borrow my whipper snipper. Thats all fine, he has used it 100 times. I used it twice this week and for a 2 stroke, it cold starts 1 pull.
It is a stiff cord to pull as its a 51cc, so you need to he man it, but still, 1st time everytime.
It had the 2 important things in it, fuel and line in the spool.
Dunno if my mate has a goldfish memory or no hand strength, but he was carrying on as he almost copped a whipper snipper to the face a few times and couldnt start it. So i said in the old man tone, give it here. Yep 1 pull and shes good.
My crappy 25cc one (my brother 'borrowed it' so im never going to see that again) has a heaps easier rip cord to pull, but is a bit of a pain to start. That one well, my brother gave it to me as his neighbour bought it new and it was a pain to start, so gave it to my brother. So for that one what do you expect for a crappy $99 homelite?
Cant exactly say the 51cc isnt crappy as its an ozito, but its proven itself good. It was only $170 but everything is more. More power, more weight (not good) more line, larger line. In general, the more gusto to start the thing and the more weight is well offset by how much faster you can get the job done.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

I was also sent a text message yesterday by the shop to say my Mulchmaster is ready to be collected, the belt snapping mid-way through a job 4 weeks ago. I wonder if I will need to then go and order a belt and fit it myself?

Ok, I'm fuming as I type this so I may get a little heated with this post.

I finally managed to go and pick up my Mulchmaster today and paid the $220.80 bill. Later on, I decided to give it a test run and for some reason I was not getting top gear on the selector, the lever not holding position and springing it back. Great!

So, cue me pulling the cover off to see what they had screwed up.



On initial inspection, I just assumed they hadn't adjusted the lever cable properly. Except, when I undid the nuts, it appeared untouched. I adjusted it anyway and gave it a test run. No improvement.



At this stage, I went and got the Victa service manual and when looking at the diagram, something wasn't right.

This was how it came back to me..............



This is how the belt SHOULD have been orientated.........



So, in the process of putting the belt the wrong way, it was tensioning against the belt and not the pully system. And yes, the belt is already cut.

Number 1 - I take my machines to the "professional's" so that I can just let them deal with issues so that I don't waste my time fumbling through a repair. Personally, I'm happy to pay for this service, my time is better spent elsewhere.

Number 2 - I do not expect to pay for a service and then have to finish the job off myself. This is a certified Victa dealer, which means they would have access to Victa service manuals. No excuses.

All hell is going to break loose over this! The grumpy fat man who took my money didn't even thank me for my business or the apologize for the extended wait it took for this "repair" to be made. I can understand the pressure a business can be under when it's been unusually busy, but there is no excuse for not doing work properly just to get it out the door. I also understand this mower is a pretty rare beast and most likely not commonly seen through the workshop, but again they are a Victa dealer and have access to everything they need to work on these mowers.

This place burnt the last bridge today, and now I'm about to blow it to smithereens.

[hayseed]

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

Ride-on question.

Is there a reason people tow them on trailers instead of just putting them in the ute tray? I’ve seen even small units towed.

unless the ramps are quite Long (& preferably Curved) the Mower deck will catch at the Top of the Ramps..(ask Me how I know This..)

[.:4:.]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

Ok, I'm fuming as I type this so I may get a little heated with this post.

I finally managed to go and pick up my Mulchmaster today and paid the $220.80 bill. Later on, I decided to give it a test run and for some reason I was not getting top gear on the selector, the lever not holding position and springing it back. Great!

So, cue me pulling the cover off to see what they had screwed up.

image

On initial inspection, I just assumed they hadn't adjusted the lever cable properly. Except, when I undid the nuts, it appeared untouched. I adjusted it anyway and gave it a test run. No improvement.

image

At this stage, I went and got the Victa service manual and when looking at the diagram, something wasn't right.

This was how it came back to me..............

image

This is how the belt SHOULD have been orientated.........

image

So, in the process of putting the belt the wrong way, it was tensioning against the belt and not the pully system. And yes, the belt is already cut.

Number 1 - I take my machines to the "professional's" so that I can just let them deal with issues so that I don't waste my time fumbling through a repair. Personally, I'm happy to pay for this service, my time is better spent elsewhere.

Number 2 - I do not expect to pay for a service and then have to finish the job off myself. This is a certified Victa dealer, which means they would have access to Victa service manuals. No excuses.

All hell is going to break loose over this! The grumpy fat man who took my money didn't even thank me for my business or the apologize for the extended wait it took for this "repair" to be made. I can understand the pressure a business can be under when it's been unusually busy, but there is no excuse for not doing work properly just to get it out the door. I also understand this mower is a pretty rare beast and most likely not commonly seen through the workshop, but again they are a Victa dealer and have access to everything they need to work on these mowers.

This place burnt the last bridge today, and now I'm about to blow it to smithereens.

I have no university degree in mower surgury. But surely, thst could have been noticed. Maybe its just my sense of common sense, but a belt shouldnt rub on itself. Thats incompetence right there. Probably not worth the effort if a simple complaint turns painful, if it is fruitful then fair enough, but otherwise a lost customer may dent the retards a little bit.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by .:4:.

I have no university degree in mower surgury. But surely, thst could have been noticed. Maybe its just my sense of common sense, but a belt shouldnt rub on itself. Thats incompetence right there. Probably not worth the effort if a simple complaint turns painful, if it is fruitful then fair enough, but otherwise a lost customer may dent the retards a little bit.

Email typed and ready to send, the ball will be in there court then.

[.:4:.]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

Email typed and ready to send, the ball will be in there court then.

0 star review on google... dunno how many mower repair places rely on google reviews for business. But anyhow.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by .:4:.

0 star review on google... dunno how many mower repair places rely on google reviews for business. But anyhow.

The trouble with this situation is that these guys are one of the last remaining mower shops in town. Over the last 22 years, there have been three other mower shops close down. Of the remaining shops, one caters to Stihl, one caters to Husqvarna, one caters to Honda, this shop is the only one who will cater to all makes.

If you have a Victa, Rover, Masport, Bushranger ect, you are pretty much limited to this shop only now. So, they have the market to themselves. Now, I know you could probably take a Victa to the Stihl service center, however you are at theoretical disadvantage because they lack manufacturer information support. Although it would seem that didn't apply to my situation.

[Rallye Sport]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

Ok, I'm fuming as I type this so I may get a little heated with this post.

I finally managed to go and pick up my Mulchmaster today and paid the $220.80 bill. Later on, I decided to give it a test run and for some reason I was not getting top gear on the selector, the lever not holding position and springing it back. Great!

So, cue me pulling the cover off to see what they had screwed up.

image

On initial inspection, I just assumed they hadn't adjusted the lever cable properly. Except, when I undid the nuts, it appeared untouched. I adjusted it anyway and gave it a test run. No improvement.

image

At this stage, I went and got the Victa service manual and when looking at the diagram, something wasn't right.

This was how it came back to me..............

image

This is how the belt SHOULD have been orientated.........

image

So, in the process of putting the belt the wrong way, it was tensioning against the belt and not the pully system. And yes, the belt is already cut.

Number 1 - I take my machines to the "professional's" so that I can just let them deal with issues so that I don't waste my time fumbling through a repair. Personally, I'm happy to pay for this service, my time is better spent elsewhere.

Number 2 - I do not expect to pay for a service and then have to finish the job off myself. This is a certified Victa dealer, which means they would have access to Victa service manuals. No excuses.

All hell is going to break loose over this! The grumpy fat man who took my money didn't even thank me for my business or the apologize for the extended wait it took for this "repair" to be made. I can understand the pressure a business can be under when it's been unusually busy, but there is no excuse for not doing work properly just to get it out the door. I also understand this mower is a pretty rare beast and most likely not commonly seen through the workshop, but again they are a Victa dealer and have access to everything they need to work on these mowers.

This place burnt the last bridge today, and now I'm about to blow it to smithereens.

Why do people not test run things after repair? I was always taught that anyway.

Its getting hard to find good service, not just mechanical, our bathroom reno was an eyeopener, sparky punched straight through the wall putting a socket in, plumber leaked water through the roof doing a cut in and stained the ceiling to name a few **** ups. The contractors reply was that repairs and damage weren't in the quote. They got taken out of his bill in the end though much to his protest

Oh and on a good note, love that 009, they're a very handy little saw.

[DFB FGXR6]

Something more positive, and proof that sometimes it's better to just do things yourself.

I was going to order these parts, but I wanted to wrap this project up today so I went and got these at the local Stihl dealer.





The spark plug replaces the original Bosch R10, this NGK item being a BPMR7A. The chain is a Stihl Picco Super 3 for a 14-inch bar. The bar was also turned upside down to help distribute the wear.

Interestingly, after watching a Youtube video during the week, the presenter made comment regarding spark plugs that caught my attention. Apparently, this person treats spark plugs as single use items, as in install them but don't re-install them. Once the crush washer has been used, that washer is no longer sealing properly if re-installed, which is not desirable in terms of it ingesting dust or dirt. How true that is I don't know, but I can certainly understand the theory behind it and its making me think twice about doing spark plug inspections in the future.





After the new plug was installed, the saw coughed from the first pull on the choke and then fired on the second without it. I then drained the fuel tank and run the engine dry to help with storage.

[.:4:.]

Originally Posted by Rallye Sport

Why do people not test run things after repair? I was always taught that anyway.

Its getting hard to find good service, not just mechanical, our bathroom reno was an eyeopener, sparky punched straight through the wall putting a socket in, plumber leaked water through the roof doing a cut in and stained the ceiling to name a few **** ups. The contractors reply was that repairs and damage weren't in the quote. They got taken out of his bill in the end though much to his protest

Oh and on a good note, love that 009, they're a very handy little saw.

Hmmm, so im no saint, but i learnt early on that you dont get into as much hot water if you own up to a mistake straight up. Fun story. A few years back aty old work, another bloke was working on a site, drilling the back out of the joinery under the sink to put in a gpo for the dishwasher. Well, he stuffed up and hit a water pipe. The then boss came on site and asked why there was water on the poly weave. He said nothing. He thought just because the plumbers fixed it he was apples. He got his rear end dragged over hot coals when the boss recieved the bill for the repair.
I once took out the mains to a 26 storey office building. Yep, thats a major stuff up. But i was honest and never got in trouble.

[Tonz]

is it worth sending a copy of your email to Victa as well?

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by Tonz

is it worth sending a copy of your email to Victa as well?

I might just wait to see the response from the company in question before I take this further. But yes, certainly an option I'm thinking about.

[Citroënbender]

You can re-use a crush seal on a spark plug a few times, I think it’s NGK who have guidance on their site for the difference in how you torque it down.