Mowing .. - Page 30

LG17 · 10-10-2021, 09:21 AM

I have a Stihl HS45 hedge trimmer that I bought in 2010.
I used it regularly when I lived in Cairns as everything grows overnight up there.
I moved to my rural property in SE Qld in 2013 and put it in the shed with some other tools that I really had no need of anymore.
Fast forward to yesterday...
My wife planted some of that purple fountain grass a couple of years ago and it was looking a bit straggly and windblown.
I go to the shed and grab the Stihl, chuck in a bit of 2 stroke that I've has for years, prime it, choke it and pull the cord. It coughed but didn't fire up.

Pulled the cord again and she fired up and ran beautifully. Old fuel, old plug no matter!
Is Stihl, is good!

**janddbone** · 10-10-2021, 09:56 PM

I am semi pro on and off over the years. I am still 2 stroke for everything. Only now am I thinking of getting a 4 stroke Honda mower.

Citroënbender · 10-10-2021, 11:26 PM

Friday’s home mow was a nigglefest. The back of the mower has a folded steel tie/brace which the catcher bottom lip lands on. The left side lost one bolt, caught on a raised root and twisted - I then couldn’t pull the mower back without lifting the rear or it dug in heavily.

And the trimmer’s air filter housing vibrated loose, ejecting its filter element. Could I find it for love or money? Not until I ran over it with the mower.

Normally I seek thrift and longevity in my gardening kit - but was definitely dreaming about a newer lawnmower that afternoon.

ford12 · 11-10-2021, 06:26 PM

Hello all
Great thread.
I'm looking for a new mower, what does everyone recommend ?
Will only be used for home use and lawn area is relatively small. Approx 150 m
Thanks

Citroënbender · 11-10-2021, 06:32 PM

If you’ve already got decent cordless tools, this might be an ideal application for a battery powered mower skin.

ford12 · 11-10-2021, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

If you’ve already got decent cordless tools, this might be an ideal application for a battery powered mower skin.

Thanks for the reply.
Electrician at work swears by his Makita mower.
I can't bring myself to buy an electric mower.
It has to be petrol

**DFB FGXR6** · 11-10-2021, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ford12

Hello all
Great thread.
I'm looking for a new mower, what does everyone recommend ?
Will only be used for home use and lawn area is relatively small. Approx 150 m
Thanks

Petrol or electric?

roddy1960 · 12-10-2021, 08:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ford12

Hello all
Great thread.
I'm looking for a new mower, what does everyone recommend ?
Will only be used for home use and lawn area is relatively small. Approx 150 m
Thanks

...I'd say you are spoiled for choice these days ..Last week I visited our local Mitre 10 and at the store front there were about 10 mowers ranging in price from $299 I think to $550 . There were Yard Force , Masport , Makita that I recall .. The more expensive one was self propelled and the $299 one was a basic Yard Force . The Makita I think was somewhere mid range priced and was identical to my own 140 cc Makita , one of a few I have ..

In your case if you only have a smallish area to maintain It might be worth considering a battery pack unit ..They just keep getting better all the time ..

Just have a good old shop around and no doubt you'll find something pretty decent without going far outside your budget ...

ford12 · 12-10-2021, 08:28 PM

Do all the mowers these days have only a basic throttle control, it seems it's either idle or fast for cutting.
im a lawn freak and love my tall fescue.
I would have thought having the blades spinning as fast as you want / need would give a better cut.
Not sure if I like having virtually no control over rpm.
Or is it a case of there revving as fast as possible any way.
Not sure if I should just keep the old Rover going,

**FTE217** · 11-10-2021, 06:49 PM

Nope nope and nope re cord tools and I’m struggling to be convinced re battery even though I got a small blower one that gave up the ghost recently for small light work.
I’m just on 1300sp/m home with heaps of bush surround/gums etc you can’t beat good petrol product period.
Suppose if you have a small yard the other options work.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Tassie f100 · 11-10-2021, 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FTE217

Nope nope and nope re cord tools and I’m struggling to be convinced re battery even though I got a small blower one that gave up the ghost recently for small light work.
I’m just on 1300sp/m home with heaps of bush surround/gums etc you can’t beat good petrol product period.
Suppose if you have a small yard the other options work.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah agree 1300 sq mtrs would be stretching the friendship for a cordless.Son in law has a Dewalt ,goes well,but only cuts about 40cm.Mate has a Ryobi which works alright,but not as good as the Dewalt

**GasoLane** · 11-10-2021, 09:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tassie f100

Yeah agree 1300 sq mtrs would be stretching the friendship for a cordless.Son in law has a Dewalt ,goes well,but only cuts about 40cm.Mate has a Ryobi which works alright,but not as good as the Dewalt

Ooh I dunno, we're on almost 1000sq m and ours does alright, depending on how long the grass is as to whether it will do front and back on one charge.

We've got a Ego EGO 56V Brushless 18"

Tassie f100 · 11-10-2021, 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GasoLane

Ooh I dunno, we're on almost 1000sq m and ours does alright, depending on how long the grass is as to whether it will do front and back on one charge.

We've got a Ego EGO 56V Brushless 18"

Sorry made a generalisation about battery mowers.I am thinking the cheaper $3-500 jobs not the $1000+ size.I know there are battery powered ride ons for $4-10 thousand which apparently are pretty good!but then again a $10,000 zero turn petrol is a pretty good bit of gear

.:4:. · 11-10-2021, 07:02 PM

For mowers, my personsal opinion is just go for a 4 stroke. Dont go for the cheapest, go one or 2 levels up, so still not overly expensive. But something with a suitable chassis and a motor where maintenance parts are available. My grandpa had a cox with a briggs and stratton motor. That was a good unit. I have a victa with a briggs and stratton, again a good unit for domestic work. So mine may only be a 2 blade, but for my domestic use its fine. 18' deck, 158cc, well its a decade or more old but was a tad shy of $300 new. Blades are cheap, same as the spark plug and oil, stuff you only change after a long time. Its not that hard to run down the servo to fill the petrol can.

Tassie f100 · 13-10-2021, 03:02 PM

So some “expert” reckons there are more emissions from a petrol leaf blower in 1 hour than 20 hours driving a car from Melb to Brisbane.So more from less than .5 litre of petrol compared to at least 100 litres.Obviously some peoples numbers work differently to mine.

MITCHAY · 15-10-2021, 07:05 PM

A lot of rain recently here so more weeds to pick out and even the lawn ready for a haircut. Gradually thin the weeds out as the season goes on

.:4:. · 15-10-2021, 10:16 PM

Thats actually a question ive wanted to ask. So, ive changed the blades on my mower before, theyre swingbacks. My understanding is if you wang something solid they dont get as munted as possible. How do solid blades go when you incidentally hit the unexpected?

LG17 · 15-10-2021, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by .:4:.

Thats actually a question ive wanted to ask. So, ive changed the blades on my mower before, theyre swingbacks. My understanding is if you wang something solid they dont get as munted as possible. How do solid blades go when you incidentally hit the unexpected?

Not good at all...

I changed my Husky ride on to swingbacks after breaking a couple of spindles.

roKWiz · 17-10-2021, 04:20 PM

Well got around to picking this little 110 series John Deere up today as a bit of a experiment to see how it goes as a mini front end loader and who know maybe even cut the lawn with it.
Good to see its all US made, including the Kohler 19hp engine.(sorry DFB no Briggs) Needs a little tidy up etc usually ride on ripped seat, some scratchers but all works well.

Work Horse · 17-10-2021, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roKWiz

Well got around to picking this little 110 series John Deere up today as a bit of a experiment to see how it goes as a mini front end loader and who know maybe even cut the lawn with it.
Good to see its all US made, including the Kohler 19hp engine.(sorry DFB no Briggs) Needs a little tidy up etc usually ride on ripped seat, some scratchers but all works well.

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Nice.

Mini front end loader, 4 in 1 bucket?

I can see a back hoe attachment would come in handy also!

roKWiz · 17-10-2021, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Work Horse

Nice.

Mini front end loader, 4 in 1 bucket?

I can see a back hoe attachment would come in handy also!

Yep, but using lineal actuators. You can buy those already from JD. plus a box blade, rake, rear mini crane.

Tonz · 17-10-2021, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roKWiz

Well got around to picking this little 110 series John Deere up today as a bit of a experiment to see how it goes as a mini front end loader and who know maybe even cut the lawn with it.
Good to see its all US made, including the Kohler 19hp engine.(sorry DFB no Briggs) Needs a little tidy up etc usually ride on ripped seat, some scratchers but all works well.

i have same model but use simply as a mower, tough little basket, I am not gentle or nice on mowers, but it keeps coming back for more.
The only hassle is the reverse peddle takes some getting used to and fine balance of the foot.

**DFB FGXR6** · 18-10-2021, 07:07 PM

Got screwed on a job today. I don't normally take "walk-ups" anymore, they can be more trouble than they are worth. This one was a neighbor to an existing client so sounded like a pretty easy one to pick up. I accepted the job yesterday after talking to the lady, agreed on a price as I knew it was only a couple of small sections of lawn around a small unit. I should have looked it over then and there because when I got there today the grass was near knee high.

The trick with these sort of "feral" jobs is to cut it twice, once on a high setting and a second pass to get an even finish. This is easier on the machine and the operator. The Victa dug in hard and got the job done, not stalling once! So what should have been a quick 20 min job turned into 1.5 hours. Needless to say, I made no money out of this job.

.:4:. · 17-10-2021, 07:06 PM

So my mate who is useless towards the use of tools asked me if i had the new chain for my petrol powered motor sword. So this mate came in late in the game when i was helping out my other mate removing a tree stump and with chainsaws you dont have to be a brain scientist or a rocket surgeon to know the moment you hit the dirt, chains shot. Also, cutting tree roots in the dirt, no need for further explaination.
Anyhow, so shot chain didnt do very good once its goose was cooked.
So my inept mate took the bits of the stump for firewood. He asks me today if i have replaced my chain. Answer being yes, i also have a spare. I only make bets financial if i know im going to win. In this case i didnt make it financial, just verbal. My mates angle was no chance my crappy motor sword can cut that. My angle was pig ignorance and arrogance. I knew it would deffinately make a dent as underpowered as it is, went in with low expectations as in loose the bet, hence why it wasnt financial.
I should have put $50 on it. My crappy chainsaw just ate. 20 cuts, all clean cuts no friction burns, the biggest being pretty well the legnth of the bar so not heaps confidence boosting but it did it. I didnt lean on it, just let the tool do the work. So suitable preassure, nothing over the top. Chains still deadly, i did check chain tension like a paranoid android, never needed to adjust that. Chainsaws scare me, id rather check chain tension and adjust as opposed to cutting my face off.

Tonz · 20-10-2021, 02:16 PM

Bunnings still do refunds ????
don't know just asking.
otherwise the rubbish bin I'd say

Citroënbender · 20-10-2021, 02:23 PM

Probably a broken wire on the lead-in. Easy to test by manipulating the cord when it should be running, but isn’t.

xkxlxm · 21-10-2021, 08:40 AM

Thanks. I will try manipulating the cord. I got this trimmer from a family member; he wouldn't have a receipt so a refund isn't an option.

slowsnake · 21-10-2021, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xkxlxm

Thanks. I will try manipulating the cord. I got this trimmer from a family member; he wouldn't have a receipt so a refund isn't an option.

I bought an ozito 1/3 sheet orbital sander, run it on bog for 30 seconds and it started smoking! ( no, not cigarettes )....
I unplugged it and walked outside and decided I was an Olympic hammer thrower, I grabbed it by the plug and spun around and let go, I was aiming for the dam, dident make it over the trees, its probably still up there, lol..that was 2007, RIP......

danzvtil · 30-10-2021, 08:31 PM

I picked up another baller customer, this time on acreage, a day a fortnight, money no object.
Because of this I picked up a backpack sprayer
https://www.stihl.com/STIHL-power-to...652/SG-51.aspx
What a beast! Only problem is, the straps aren’t well padded and hurt your shoulders, I might have to make some modifications.

**DFB FGXR6** · 30-10-2021, 08:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by danzvtil

I picked up another baller customer, this time on acreage, a day a fortnight, money no object.
Because of this I picked up a backpack sprayer
https://www.stihl.com/STIHL-power-to...652/SG-51.aspx
What a beast! Only problem is, the straps aren’t well padded and hurt your shoulders, I might have to make some modifications.

Very nice!

Well done on the new customer too.