Every time I see a complete mower on a main road you turn your back and the next second it disappears ,I used to miss picking up a mower when I was on the wrong side of the road ,I would drive up the road to get on the other side and the mower would be gone.
I learnt from that and always parked on the wrong side of the road and walked across and a few times other people rolled up too late.
The other problem I see are scrappers that just throw the complete mower out for scrap steel.
Yeah you're probably right that they are the first to go ,I see people grabbing them just to decorate their garden.
Don't see much hard rubbish around here , you have to book a day for it to be collected and you are not allowed to put it out more than 3 days before the pick up day. You have to be quick to find hard rubbish around here.
I got most of my mower fleet off the leafy streets of Melbourne's South Eastern suburbs, East Malvern, Armadale, Toorak, Caulfield and Kew on Hard Waste days, was able to pick and choose, if it looked complete and had a bit of compression when pulling on the starter it was mine.
Maybe find out when there's a HW day in those areas and take a drive Norm.
Since I left Melbin for the bush in 2016 my reputation as a scrounger and fixer has led to people giving me more stuff, I seldom say no.
Works both ways, I have given away some perfectly functional fixed-up mowers, chainsaws, brushcutters to people down on their luck,and oddly enough they have then given me devices they have found which they have no use for.
I gave one fellow a good Victa Quantum mower. He has since given me around a dozen thingies which needed TLC and are now sitting here ready to be used, or given away.
For me it's not a business, just my penchant for keeping things out of landfill if possible.
Years ago I used to despair at not coming across any mowers whatsoever in scheduled council cleanup weekends. In the last few years I've managed to find some good ones, some of which I sold for a decent profit with not much work, most found unexpectedly by chance. I've time I found two as a guy was taking out stuff and within 30 seconds of getting to them, a man pulled over wanting them, asking If I was taking them before speeding away (presumably in a mild huff). I went to Newcastle for an unrelated matter and found two Victas across the road from each other!! One a PT with chute on the rear and the other a store brand 125cc Mayfair with sought after matching mustard catcher. Another time I was going home from the mechanics and someone had put out a 1980s white Mustang with "free was working recently" sign. I had to park three doors down across the road to park legally without blocking a driveway. The thought entered my mind to run toward it, and just as I approached it with my hands, a guy was throwing a u turn to grab it and screeched off in obvious frustration as I started wheeling it away. If I had only walked there I would have been the one screeching off!
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
Down here I would have thought it was gym equipment
I recently came across a rowing machine and pulled it apart on the spot to remove a substantial aluminium part to add to my scrap pile. Later I wished I grabbed the machine for my own use. Unfortunately I had cut a vital rubber band of the machine in two, so no longer worth getting.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
I found this catcher for Victa 85cc Compact and electric models outside a unit block but no mower. Are these catchers sought after or is it the mowers that fail at a greater rate unlike with the larger thumb latch models?
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
You should be able to get $30 for it , I had a couple working electric compact mowers but the front of the bases were broken so just dumped them in scrap metal ,it took months to sell a petrol compact mower that I had that was serviced and in excellent condition, cost me $100. couldn't sell it after months at $80. ,other people were asking $250 at the time for worse compact mowers ,in the end I didn't advertise the mower any more and someone came over and asked if I had one so I said a $100. and he bought it. When it was advertised people message you to buy the mower at half the advertised price and some of them were the ones asking $250 for a worse mower but same model.
I think you can only sell oldish Victa stuff to collectors as my buyer came from interstate.
I've got a lot of good thumb latch Victa catchers but don't have the time to sell them and I have heard of people just burning them as it would take too long to cut them up and fill the bins , so may have to burn them.
Hi Max, it only takes me a few minutes to cut catchers up and I remember once I was able to get 5 Masport catchers in our bin and still had room for our kitchen rubbish. Admittedly the thumblatch catchers are a bit more difficult to cut up but no big problem
I've got a lot of good thumb latch Victa catchers but don't have the time to sell them and I have heard of people just burning them as it would take too long to cut them up and fill the bins , so may have to burn them.
Cheers Max.
What a horrifying thought. That must smell.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
I probably should have said I would not burn them near any houses , so no smell if there is no one to smell it.
This reminds me of when I went to a Vietnamese guys house and I said to him there is a funny smell in here , he said yeah I've got a dog and I said it smells more like burning and he said, yeah it's in the oven.
