OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums General Discussion Forum Power Equipment...Mishaps and Funny Stuff VICTA Imperial - Magic Catcher System

Hello ODK engineering lovers,

This machine is currently offered on an auction site.
This is a super-rare Imperial with Victa's Magic Catcher System
Note the red hook on the handle. This is as brilliant and as thought through
as the Predicta system. An engineering marvel!

I don't see a path for the cut grass over the mower, or a deflector to make it go there. I can't believe that even Victa could design something as badly as that. More likely it's a tenant's improvement, and he kept his lunch and a small car fridge in it.

Hello Grumpy,

Yes, that's why I put it in this section, and used the cheeky emoticon
Yes, some previous owner or the seller has done this.

Grumpy, I was flabbergasted when I saw it, and I don't think it is a deliberate deception.
We have a whole generation not familiar with front catchers [or reel mowers!]. This
presents as someone - with no idea - purchasing a red hook from the hardware and a
plastic catcher off a handmower and doing a bit of 'handy work'.

I have seen SB45s on auction sites with the catcher mounted upside down, but I have
never seen anything as ridiculous as this! It's a gem.

Cheers
------------------------------
JACK.

Here are some more auction house photos. Amazing.

I think the catcher on the back is a great idea, they were really ahead of their time. You can see they made this for mowing right up to the fence line and great for storage tooo.

There were a pair of SB Diplomats, which do have a rear catcher, for online auction in Qld; that ended on the 22nd.
Went for $200 the pair... Search the Bay of Fleas completed listings if you want a look!

Damn!

I wanted this to be a funny post with clever, witty responses! Like:

- All roads lead to Imperial Rome - I bet the stairs in the photo lead nowhere... or;
- Mower by Victa; catcher by Bunnings ... or;
- Mowing into a headwind, about 10% of clippings might reach the catcher ... or;
- Imperial mower; plebeian catcher ... or;
- I find the red hook clashes with the black hook ... or;
- The Predicta system kinda worked. Didn't it?

Anyway...

For the serious folk, I have written on rear catcher power mowers here:

https://www.outdoorking-forum.com.au/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=59982#Post59982

Not satisfied? Try:

https://www.outdoorking-forum.com.au/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=51487#Post51487

p.s. I contacted the seller and asked this:
"What is the black plastic thing and how does it work."

His response:
"It's a grass collector."

Precious!

Just Proves the Saying...There is no such thing as a stupid question..Only Stupid People.

Well maybe we cant see what's in between its legs...So who really knows what hes done. It may actually work...

...........

Hmmm...

NO. It can't mate
It must surely have a roller, and the deflector plate pushing grass forward is intact.
The frame has a curved lip downward at the back (for frame rigidity) with about a 10mm gap
between the rollers and the underside of the deck. It is just TOTALLY ridiculous.

The most important question is, how much stuff can you carry in the thing before the mower tips over backwards? It could be a really useful combination mower and self-propelled mobile toolbox, if it has a reasonable payload.

FYI: the 'grass collector' carries a ton (.910 tonne) of laughs.
This induces what engineers have termed 'barrel-over'.

Hope this helps.
---------------------------
JACK.

The engineer who designed and built it must have arms as long as a ranga other wise for a normal person to mow with it you would be doing the short shoe shuffle , well done jack for the post
cheers all damo

On a less humourous level, it just may be that the front edge of that black thing (which I note he called a "grass collector", not a "grass catcher") drags slightly on the ground and scrapes up some of the cut grass that the mower throws out forward. It may work a bit, at least if the grass were fairly long when it was cut. Pity it's a roller mower though, or it would have a better chance of success.

On a less serious level, that reminds me of the legal games played in marketing.

"Your Honour, my client never claimed the machine had a grass "catcher" [using finger gesture movements].
Records show that he offered a grass "collector" [same gesture]. Your honour, my client admits
that his "collector" had limitations but ... none-the-less, it did "collect" ..."

This was humorously portrayed in a Simpson's episode where a 'Juice Loosener' was
presented. The manufacturer never promised the machine would actually 'extract' juice.



All very funny.
------------------------------
JACK.

Hi Jack, and many thanks for posting this gem...
As i have often quoted..."You can lead a human to knowledge.....But you cannot make him think"!!

Dorothy Parker, while playing a word game, was once asked to use the word "horticulture" in a sentence. She instantly replied, "You can lead a whore to culture, but you can't make her think". This was a parody of the old saw, "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink", of course.

If you enjoy the Parker wit, you can find a bucketload of it here:
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dorothy_Parker

Hello all!

Thanks Deejay, I remember you telling me that quote variation. Brilliant!
Grumpy, that is so un-Grumpy; but nonetheless as good - and as clever!

I don't think I will be able to keep a straight face when 'horticulture' comes up
in conversation again - as it does - without thinking of the Great Grumpy and Dorothy Parker.

p.s. In this post, there is a nice juxtaposition between my reference to The Simpsons (low culture)
and Grumpy's reference to Dorothy Parker (high culture). This gives a balance to the art of story telling.
It is also an example of the educative power of ODK.



http://www.dorothyparker.com/index.html