Mowing ..

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by Interceptor

Was thinking this post would be more appropriate for the "why is it that" thread, but I thought you guys might get a better laugh out of it.

Most of us here are pretty good at maintaining our gear, as well as resurrecting dead equipment, right? I mean, its paid for a couple of my toys....

But.... occasionally something just doesnt want to behave, and we all have that guru we take our bigger headaches to before we lose whats left of our minds....

So..... WHY is it that so ******* often, when I get something thats being difficult (especially to start) I take it to my guru and he makes me look like an idiot?

I mean, this mornings conversation:
Guru: What did you do to this thing trying to get it to start?
Me: flushed the tank, new plug, pulled the muffler to check the bore & burn off the spark arrester, new air filter, turned it upside down and turned it over to clear the crankcase, etc?
Guru: did you actually *try* to start it? how long did you try for?
Me: long enough to break the pull cord and start getting annoyed with it?
Guru: well it runs just fine.... blew a little smoke at first but yeah....
Me: wha?
Guru: Yeah.... I only had to pull it twi....
Me: *****

Know that frustration well.

[Trendseeker]

I know those sort of guys. Guru is a good word to describe them. For them, engines start, electronics jump to life, stuck nuts turn, hopelessly seized bolts release. Almost immediately when they touch them. True masters of their trade.

[Interceptor]

Originally Posted by Trendseeker

I know those sort of guys. Guru is a good word to describe them. For them, engines start, electronics jump to life, stuck nuts turn, hopelessly seized bolts release. Almost immediately when they touch them. True masters of their trade.

I've told him I'm getting a Nulon "Start ya bastard" sign for the front door of his workshop

[John 13]

"Reminds me of my dad using the Black and Decker drill to start our grumpy
little princess Victa. Never failed. No cordless drills back then. Just good ol 240 volts that never quits.
Can't remember the model name of that mower.. It was very similar to this one:" from onemanempire.

I do the same today with my 1976 Honda GV 35 mounted on a Pope pressed steel chassis.

[CFOUR]

20" victa fight had its first issue today after about 300 acres.

pretty sure its had a tank or 5 of e10 mixed in with the regular fuel. Sharpen the blade, new hose, fresh oil and a clean filter and she should be good for another 50 acres.

[Citroënbender]

Timely - just this evening I watched a new video from DFB’s girlfriend, about fuel stabilisers. It was interesting to see her “demonstrate” that the Sta-Bil flagship products didn’t to seem to do much about water in fuel.

[.:4:.]

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

Timely - just this evening I watched a new video from DFB’s girlfriend, about fuel stabilisers. It was interesting to see her “demonstrate” that the Sta-Bil flagship products didn’t to seem to do much about water in fuel.

E10 or anyththing with ethanol is not the recomended for garden or marine use. Only because it is hydroscopic. So absorbs moisture from the atmosphere. Also it can corrode rubber hoses that arent fit for ethanol fuels. So fine for cars that you fill up every week or as they dont sit for long. Not great for garden equipment that goes 1 2 or 3 weeks between tanks, or boats. As they sit for a few months (in my case summer, i preffer boating in winter, less traffic).

[CFOUR]

Originally Posted by .:4:.

E10 or anyththing with ethanol is not the recomended for garden or marine use.

Oh I know, but If that's what in the jerry (when I dont fill it) can that's what gets used. Power equipment is the bottom of the food chain.

[DFB FGXR6]

Looking at the original owner's manual, this mower was bought on the 16th of December 2002 and was given to me as a birthday present on the 28th of December. Not many teenage boys want a lawn mower for their 14th birthday, but I did!



I used this mower to launch my business mowing lawns on weekends. You can see the wear marks on the Victa lettering on the deck, made from folding the thing up and being loaded into the back of my fathers EB II Falcon GLi wagon. At one point, I was also putting it into the back of my Fairmont sedan, something I shudder to think about today.



When I left high school and was studying part time, I landed a job mowing lawns for one of the richest families in Australia. I remember being asked by the guy what lawn mower I had, I was so embarrassed to say that it was just a small push mower, expecting this to be a deal breaker. Turns out the last guy (crew) had a large rider mower that just made a mess, and that the small mower would suit them better. And so, that small, somewhat underpowered little Victa got put to work maintaining three quite properties with oversized nature strips.



This machine was retired from regular use in 2005 after ramping up my business. I needed something with more power and a wider cut to improve my efficiency. Instead of trading it, for some reason I decided to keep it as a backup. In fact, I grabbed it quite often, its light weight always came in handy.

As the years went on, it's become a sentimental keepsake, it made me a power of money and represents how driven I was at that age. No contractor would choose something so small and underpowered, but I made the most of what I had and let my work ethic and finished results speak for themselves.

The poor engine is pretty worn out though now, blowing a light haze of oil smoke. I remember the day I wounded it, the last job of a very long day, tired and wanting to just do this job and go home. The grass at this property was longer than expected, tall and thick Kikuyu is a beast to bring under control. I only had the little Victa with me that day so just pushed on with it. I pushed a bit harder than the engine could be expected to handle considering its age, laboring it too much. It was never the same again.

Considering how much work this machine has done, its been pretty reliable. Other than blades, air filters, spark plugs and oil changes, it's needed the following -

- The front deck baffle came adrift on the job. It was straightened out and re-rivetted back in place.

- A front axle circlip also disappeared mid job, I ended up using a small piece of wire to reattach the axle and get me back in action. Only in recent years did I put a proper axle clip back on, along with a set of new plastic bushings locator clips.







- Replacement carb diaphragm. I only did this last year, it was still running with the 2002 original but was stuttering as it struggled for enough fuel. I also replaced the governor springs too.







I say all that because I have just pulled the pin on a set of piston rings, a gasket kit and piston ring compressor. I know that no many would bother doing this on a basic throw-away engine, but as I said, there is sentimental value at play here.

I last did something like this when I was 12 years old, my father and I stripped and rebuilt the same 3.5 hp Briggs on the old Morrison. So, I have a basic concept for what I'm in for, but not from recent memory. For the Sprint 375, it won't be a full rebuild. I plan to remove the sump plate and cylinder head, lift out the cam out, disconnect the conrod cap and push the piston out through the cylinder. I'll then clean the piston, cylinder head and valves, clean the gasket surfaces before replacing the rings and putting it back together with new gaskets.

I have a couple of question marks though. I don't think I will need to hone the (alloy) bore. It's not like the engine has ever starved for oil, from what I can gather the oil burning is simply from wearing out those rings. Secondly, I don't think it will need a valve job, the engine runs just fine, but I would then need lapping tools and compound, probably feeler gauges. Thirdly, should I sand/machine the cylinder head to ensure flatness, or just wing it.

Anyway, this should be a nice little project to do while I'm on long service leave.

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

Looking at the original owner's manual, this mower was bought on the 16th of December 2002 and was given to me as a birthday present on the 28th of December. Not many teenage boys want a lawn mower for their 14th birthday, but I did!


I used this mower to launch my business mowing lawns on weekends. You can see the wear marks on the Victa lettering on the deck, made from folding the thing up and being loaded into the back of my fathers EB II Falcon GLi wagon. At one point, I was also putting it into the back of my Fairmont sedan, something I shudder to think about today.
]

When I left high school and was studying part time, I landed a job mowing lawns for one of the richest families in Australia. I remember being asked by the guy what lawn mower I had, I was so embarrassed to say that it was just a small push mower, expecting this to be a deal breaker. Turns out the last guy (crew) had a large rider mower that just made a mess, and that the small mower would suit them better. And so, that small, somewhat underpowered little Victa got put to work maintaining three quite properties with oversized nature strips.


This machine was retired from regular use in 2005 after ramping up my business. I needed something with more power and a wider cut to improve my efficiency. Instead of trading it, for some reason I decided to keep it as a backup. In fact, I grabbed it quite often, its light weight always came in handy.

As the years went on, it's become a sentimental keepsake, it made me a power of money and represents how driven I was at that age. No contractor would choose something so small and underpowered, but I made the most of what I had and let my work ethic and finished results speak for themselves.

Anyway, this should be a nice little project to do while I'm on long service leave.

Ask any self employed contractor in any career how they started and what they used to achieve the final result.

We all had to start somewhere.
Have fun with the resto.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by roKWiz

Ask any self employed contractor in any career how they started and what they used to achieve the final result.

We all had to start somewhere.
Have fun with the resto.

I'm often bemused by customers who come in with absolutely no idea what they want or have done 0% research before coming into the store. For stuff that I don't know much about, I'm one of those who will spend time researching a purchase before entering a store, that way I'm not flying blind. And in most cases, I will already know what I want or have a shortlist of what I want. That way, I'm not wasting time or wasting the time of the business, just in and out.

Thinking back, that mower was the beginnings of my strong inclination for knowing EXACTLY what I wanted. I rode my bike all over town looking at mowers, so when it was time to buy, it was a just matter of which store would sell me the mower I wanted.

At the time, there were 4 different Victa dealers in town, only one remains today. I remember walking into one of the stores and was greeted by the arrogant owner, who has only recently retired. That first encounter put me off him and his business ever since. Despite having the machine I wanted, he was trying to upsell me on a Yard Man with the 158cc Quattro 40 engine.

(Still have the brochures from back then)



He was probably right to do that seeing as it was going to be used for semi-contractor use. But NO NO NO! My sentiment at the time was like, don't tell me what to buy, I know exactly what I want. I think that sort of stuck, mowers or otherwise. I remember a Honda salesman insisting I needed the mulch kit on my purchase, again, NO I don't!

For some reason, I wanted the Sprint 375 engine, perhaps because it was the modern version of the 3.5 hp engine on the old Morrison. But, as I said, once I have my mind set on something, I generally go with that instinct.

Again, I have the period brochure, I remember being annoyed that they wrote on my shiny brochure. The only difference with mine and the one pictured is the wheels, the dealer that ultimately sold it to me put double ball bearing wheels on all of his stock.



In hindsight, I probably should have bought one with a bigger engine, but I wanted what I wanted. In defense, it's not the size of the tool that counts, its how you use it. At age 16, I had plenty of energy to walk a bit longer or push through heavy growth. Now? I need all the help I can get, so its big engines and self-propel all the way.