which lawn mower should I get?
 

I need to replace my old Victa which has been cutting my lawn for over 25
years. Motor still goes well but the body has bits broken off around the
skirt, and some of the grass is coming out of these gaps instead of going
into the catcher.

I wanted to buy another Victa but when I looked at some models I noticed
they are not as well built these days. I was put off when I saw things like
the wire brackets holding the front axel on. I also thought the galvanised
panel bolted underneath in front of the blade disk looked like a weak part.

Can anyone suggest a well built mower, preferably 2 stroke.

Thanks
Ken

g'day ken,

why a 2 stroke? 4 strokes are much more reliable and less smelly, just
your old 25 year old victa engine won't be any recommendation for the
latest models, not the same quality now-a-days.

anyhow iif you don't have a steep lawn to mow think of going 4 stroke,
the better models masport in their top of the market range with
adjustable metal ball bearing wheels, honda are well patronised by the
lawnmower boys. me i've always liked b&s 4 strokes a nice simple
reliable disigned motor, just change the oil regular say every 8 hours
of mowing, keep the filter clean and give them a bit of a run in when
new. i've got one here on a masport frame both as old as your victa
but still going strong and no holes in the chassis a victa trade mark
that is. oh if you get the option go for the bag type catcher.

though i reckon grass clip should be left on the lawn, so you may want
to cast an eye over any mulching mower or mowers with mulching
adaptions.

rovers and greenfields for local machines are about the next on the
list. buy from specialist mower stores look for the sellers who have
expereince and knowledge, and are easy to talk to.

been reading on the USA forums 2 strokes are on the way out EPA
regulations governing that. good move i reckon very inefficient
motors.

some thoughts that might help

len

snipped
--
happy gardening
'it works for me it could work for you,'

"in the end ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do" but consider others and the environment
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gardenlen1/

my e/mail addies have spam filters you should know what to delete before you send.

Honda, without a doubt.
I remember when I bought mine, 2.5 years ago, the salesman said, "if it
takes more than two pulls to start it I will take it back".
It has never taken more than two 'pulls', (no wise cracks) to get it going.
Robby

I've had a Honda 4 stroke for about 4 years now and its great. As Len says,
its not good to use a 4 stroke on steep inclines, but if you are on fairly
flat ground, go the Honda.

Norman



"Ken" wrote in message
...
I need to replace my old Victa which has been cutting my lawn for over 25
years. Motor still goes well but the body has bits broken off around the
skirt, and some of the grass is coming out of these gaps instead of going
into the catcher.

I wanted to buy another Victa but when I looked at some models I noticed
they are not as well built these days. I was put off when I saw things
like
the wire brackets holding the front axel on. I also thought the galvanised
panel bolted underneath in front of the blade disk looked like a weak
part.

Can anyone suggest a well built mower, preferably 2 stroke.

Thanks
Ken

As long as you remember to check the oil level.
Isn't that right, Norman?

Woof


"Norman" wrote in message
...
I've had a Honda 4 stroke for about 4 years now and its great. As Len
says,
its not good to use a 4 stroke on steep inclines, but if you are on fairly
flat ground, go the Honda.

Norman



"Ken" wrote in message
...
I need to replace my old Victa which has been cutting my lawn for over
25
years. Motor still goes well but the body has bits broken off around the
skirt, and some of the grass is coming out of these gaps instead of
going
into the catcher.

I wanted to buy another Victa but when I looked at some models I noticed
they are not as well built these days. I was put off when I saw things
like
the wire brackets holding the front axel on. I also thought the
galvanised
panel bolted underneath in front of the blade disk looked like a weak
part.

Can anyone suggest a well built mower, preferably 2 stroke.

Thanks
Ken

Yes, thats right, alright!!! I have had a bad experience when I didn't check
the oil and the motor seized up. Still it didn't deter me from getting the
motor fixed as the mower is so good.

I notice that all of the lawn mowing contractors in our area use Honda
mowers too.

Norman


"Andy" wrote in message
...
As long as you remember to check the oil level.
Isn't that right, Norman?

Woof


"Norman" wrote in message
...
I've had a Honda 4 stroke for about 4 years now and its great. As Len
says,
its not good to use a 4 stroke on steep inclines, but if you are on
fairly
flat ground, go the Honda.

Norman



"Ken" wrote in message
...
I need to replace my old Victa which has been cutting my lawn for over
25
years. Motor still goes well but the body has bits broken off around
the
skirt, and some of the grass is coming out of these gaps instead of
going
into the catcher.

I wanted to buy another Victa but when I looked at some models I
noticed
they are not as well built these days. I was put off when I saw things
like
the wire brackets holding the front axel on. I also thought the
galvanised
panel bolted underneath in front of the blade disk looked like a weak
part.

Can anyone suggest a well built mower, preferably 2 stroke.

Thanks
Ken

I have an old "Victa". I don't know how old, but I'm sure it's over 10
years old. It still goes, but it got a bit hard to start, so I bought a new
Victa Corvette Series 400. What a piece of junk that is. It's only a year
old and now only starts half the time - and sometimes even after it starts
it stalls a lot.

I wouldn't be surprised if it's a strategy by Victa to sell more mowers.

--
Stephen Oakes

then your not the first one to do that norman,

in 10 years of being a mower mechanic i saw my share of the problem,
even some who bought them in a box from a discounter got home fueled
it up and mowed for about 10 minutes until the new moter siezed then
they cheekily wanted a warranty.

len

snipped
--
happy gardening
'it works for me it could work for you,'

"in the end ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do" but consider others and the environment
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gardenlen1/

my e/mail addies have spam filters you should know what to delete before you send.

the rot started in the late 70's when the usa company sunbeam took
victa over stephen, 'spose they weren't a real bad mower up until that
time. i never liked them with their nylon bushed wheels and catchers
that fell to pieces etc.,. paid me wages though.

len

snipped
--
happy gardening
'it works for me it could work for you,'

"in the end ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do" but consider others and the environment
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gardenlen1/

my e/mail addies have spam filters you should know what to delete before you send.

I don't know why the oil ran out. It hadn't been that long since I put oil
in and checked it.

The lesson here is to never NEVER EVER EVER assume there is oil in that thar
sump! Spend the extra minute or two and check the dipstick otherwise you
will finish up being the dipstick!!

Regards,

Norman


"len gardener" wrote in message
...
then your not the first one to do that norman,

in 10 years of being a mower mechanic i saw my share of the problem,
even some who bought them in a box from a discounter got home fueled
it up and mowed for about 10 minutes until the new moter siezed then
they cheekily wanted a warranty.

len

snipped
--
happy gardening
'it works for me it could work for you,'

"in the end ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do" but consider others and the
environment
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gardenlen1/

my e/mail addies have spam filters you should know what to delete before
you send.

lol good one norman,

yup my sales advice to customers always check that dipper, and in our
summer use mono-grade oils eg.,. 40 sae to 60 sae, the multi-grades
are made for cars.

enjoy

len

snipped
--
happy gardening
'it works for me it could work for you,'

"in the end ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do" but consider others and the environment
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gardenlen1/

my e/mail addies have spam filters you should know what to delete before you send.

"Stephen Oakes" wrote in message
...
I have an old "Victa". I don't know how old, but I'm sure it's over 10
years old. It still goes, but it got a bit hard to start, so I bought a
new
Victa Corvette Series 400. What a piece of junk that is. It's only a
year
old and now only starts half the time - and sometimes even after it starts
it stalls a lot.

I made the mistake of replacing my old Victa with a new Victa Corvette too.
The old one was used to mow down and mulch 6 foot pine trees and various
shrubs and saplings on 3 untamed acres. I gave it a real workout. One hour
of mowing most days through summer and spring over 5 years and the mower was
still going strong. It caught fire while mowing over pine needles one day
and was up and running again after replacing the melted parts. The mower has
now retired to suburbia to mow a small backyard as my mower repair person
refused to fix it again.

The Corvette was in for repairs one week after I bought it. The diaphram
(whatever that is) was faulty. Had the same part replaced again several
months later. Just had the mower repaired again. $200 worth of damage after
I hit something. The axle bent and fell off and a wheel cracked!

Might be time to buy a slasher. :-)

GND

I wouldn't be surprised if it's a strategy by Victa to sell more mowers.

--
Stephen Oakes

"GirlNextDoor" writes:

Might be time to buy a slasher. :-)

Too right. There's too much of that god-damned lawn around. Mulch is
all you need.

A lawn that only needs to be mown 10 times a year is what seems right
to me

--
remove PANTS to ensure valid reply address

The only time I ran out of oil was when the moron who serviced my trusty old
Tecumseh (think that's how it was spelt) engine on a rover base didn't
replace the oil during the service. Got the thing home and 5 minutes later
ceased up, took it straight back and they said bad luck I shoulda checked
the oil. Worse thing was I also trusted them with my chainsaw and exactly
the same thing happened. And they were recommended by all the contractors in
the area, least to say not many of them use the Pr--ks any more. Got me a
Masport now been goin strong for 8 years starts first time every time.Even
the missus can start it. She has discovered that no one annoys you when
mowing the lawn. After all it is hers the kids thought it was great when I
wheeled it in on Xmas day for her all those years ago.


"len gardener" wrote in message
...
lol good one norman,

yup my sales advice to customers always check that dipper, and in our
summer use mono-grade oils eg.,. 40 sae to 60 sae, the multi-grades
are made for cars.

enjoy

len

snipped
--
happy gardening
'it works for me it could work for you,'

"in the end ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do" but consider others and the
environment
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gardenlen1/

my e/mail addies have spam filters you should know what to delete before you
send.