Does everyone have the same problem with retrieving things from tips or is it just down my way?
I can dump things but can't take anything out even if I offered cash for it as it's an OH&S risk. I know others who will go in after dark but it could be so easy to have a terrible accident in there.
It would make perfect sense to sort out the rubbish and separate the better things to recycle especially in the current 'green friendly' trend at the moment. I know of a tip that used to do this but once the council found out the bloke running the tip was earning money selling things they shut it all down.
I think all tips are the same these days, I couldn't believe the bloke at the tip yesterday didn't carry on a treat when I was hanging up on the scrap bin and I dragged the Powertorque up from down in the bin, up and over the top with one hand. I was impressed with that effort when I thought about it later. I think it was probably because it was right on knock off time and nobody else was around. That was a trip there on Friday and scored a good Tornado and again on Sunday I got the Powertorque, so how many mowers get dumped that you don't see
Yes down in Warrnambool Eccles have a scrap pile with all the old vehicles from farms that should be restored. Why they can be in better condition than the ones on the road!
They have an after hours drop off outside the gates but when I saw a Victa there at 5:30 pm I only left it 15 minutes and it was gone! It seems if you are on good terms with the scrap man and offer a slab in return you can get a few things from what I've heard.
If you Google 'Eccles scrap metal Warrnambool' you should get a Google Street view on the side of the page. The amount of scrap they have in the picture is nothing to what they have at the moment!
We have the same issues at our local council tip where depending on who's there on the day is actually going to decide the outcome.
Some guys watch you like a hawk and chase you as if you've stolen $1,000,000.00 while others will help you load an item into ones ute and say is there anything else you might be interested in ?
Picked up a great Talon yesterday (non sun affected) and when I asked if I could take it, the guy said "what lawn mower" and then actually lifted it into my ute due to me not being physically being allowed to lift anything heavy at the moment.
I will say that the Talon's are better made and engineered than the current style Victa's in the chassis department but their engines are the let down with soft metals that allow the seats to be pounded in by the valves resulting in no compression. Put a good engine on one and really you've got a half decent push mower.
I actually saw a full red plastic chassis mower with a Chonda style engine on it yesterday which blew me away on how cheaply it was made, so I decided to leave it there along with a Victa with a full crank 2 stroke on it. Just saw the chassis and I nearly bathed up.
Gee the garbage is certainly out there.
Cheers, BB.
I live a 24 Hour lifestyle, but every now and again I seem to fall asleep, well at least that's what my wife tells me.
That's interesting BB. I've given up driving 50 km each way to the tips now as there's no way of knowing if what you want will be there.
Re Talon mowers, I had one in early this year with a broken starter. The plastic tab on the cowling that holds the starter spring broke off so I ordered a new cowl & it's still going. It's a very nice mower actually. Not sure how long the motor will last in commercial use though.
I also picked up a Sanli from a friend who's housing commision neighbours had dumped over the fence. It looks brand new but the rear wheel adjuster mechanism is broken and the starter has broken. I'll see if it goes & hang onto the Honda clone for something.
Yes I'm finding that the engines are now rapidly outlasting the chassis'. I have a beautiful Briggs engine complete with the special mulching disc and the mulching blades which are damn expensive and surprise surprise what it was pulled from ?
Yes one of those crappy Victa pressed steel bases that had completely rusted through around the handle mounts and down to the rear wheel. The engine is superb, the chassis, well that's probably already been reincarnated into another one of those Victa bases on one of their last 2 strokes that Hermosil's got. (Sorry Hermosil)
I guess you've all probably worked out by now that I hate the later Victa's, their an absolute insult on Australian Made Products.
Have to agree with MF that the VC's were probably the high water mark of Victa production. It was all downhill after that.
Cheers, BB.
I live a 24 Hour lifestyle, but every now and again I seem to fall asleep, well at least that's what my wife tells me.
Yes I'm not really in the residential catcher mower area down here. Apart from the city folk who've moved to the country, everyone cuts the grass with a side throw rather than catching it.
Sadly most people have gone over to using ride-ons & a brush cutter where the ride-on wont reach. The problem is they choose a good agricultural brand name like John Deere but they don't realise that the mower isn't a heavy duty mower like a Greenfield.
Some people just can't be told about quality can they !
Anyway my dump scored Talon runs like a new mower again. Who makes these older looking Briggs style engines (like the 375 Sprint) that are put on them ? I'm a tad surprise if someone said they were made in China as all the bolts around it are still imperial 3/8 and not metric.
Cheers, BB.
I live a 24 Hour lifestyle, but every now and again I seem to fall asleep, well at least that's what my wife tells me.
Hi BB, No they can't! What is disappointing is a big brand like John Deere just use a basic design that really sums up the term Lawn Tractor. They can't be used for anything more than large areas of lawn otherwise they really struggle and leave a cut finish worse than a Chinese MTD.
However, I can see why people buy them as they look like a mini version of a real tractor, they are very comfortable to use without feeling like you are going to fall off or rollover, every control falls to hand and servicing access is well thought out.
They are just let down by a twin rotor cutting system that doesn't time (or overlap) and allows an "escape path" when cutting more than 3" tall grass and a feeble deck pressing that fatigues and allows the rotors to fall off!
Then if you look at a Greenfield/Cox, they are expensive, the cut width can be 10-15" narrower than a John Deere and has a very poor turning circle. Not everyone likes going backwards and forwards to cut the grass around 20 trees in an orchard when a cheaper John Deere will turn around the whole tree at full lock...
Who makes these older looking Briggs style engines (like the 375 Sprint) that are put on them ? I'm a tad surprise if someone said they were made in China as all the bolts around it are still imperial 3/8 and not metric.
I wondered that as well. Since B&S make all their single cylinder engines in China now according to the 2016 update seminar and that the Quantum L-head design has been replaced by a new OHV engine that cries out Honda all over to me, I presume the Chinese have been allowed to manufacture them just like they have done with the Honda GX engines that are not available anymore. (That is just my thoughts though.)
I have converted a couple of Talons back to Briggs using the carby/tank setup and a Briggs pull start, all the parts interchange, what I have found is the Talon either doesn't do as much work as the Briggs do because usually the oil in them is clean compared to the Briggs which is usually dirty, no idea why. Carbys usually need cleaning, but no different that any Briggs Quantum but the good thing with the Talon is it has a primer which many Quantums don't
the good thing with the Talon is it has a primer which many Quantams don't
That is one of the things I think Briggs could have done back in the 1980's - many farmers grew tired of pulling countless times to prime the carby when a Honda GX would start first go. I find the Keihn carbies leak if the fuel tap is left on though.
Someone said to me recently that they were so pleased with their Cox they bought a new one this year. I asked what motor it had and they couldn't remember but it couldn't be a Briggs as it started first go...
I have a 12HP horizontal shaft cast iron block Briggs & Stratton waiting for restoration and it used the float bowl so it seems they were just hanging onto the Vacujet/Pulsajet for the consumer models. The silly thing is if your little lawnmower engine is an absolute pain to start you probably won't want to buy a bigger engine from the same company when a Honda will start first pull.
I think you'll find the leak comes from the crappy plastic washer that seats around the bolt that holds the fuel bowl in place. I found mine did that and I just replaced that cheap plastic piece with a new fibre washer.
No more leaks.
I live a 24 Hour lifestyle, but every now and again I seem to fall asleep, well at least that's what my wife tells me.
Yes BB they leak there but I'm also finding they flood the engine and fill up the sump. Seems the floats are sticking even though nothing seems to be damaged.
LRT, the biggest problem with any of these motors that don't have a primer is the choke not closing fully. I find with any old Quantum without a primer, as long as you can get the choke fully close they will often start first pull if not the second but usually the first. Same goes for all the Chondas, they all require a tweeking of the choke lever to get the choke closed, if not you are wasting your time, pull for a week with the only result a broken pull start
BB I have had a number of those red plastic Lawn Beetles here, the Chonda isn't too bad, to adjust the cutting height you have to unbolt the wheels. I still have at least 2 here I have never looked at, motors will probably run ok if the carbs aren't rusted up which they usually are. I have cut a lot of the bodies up and put them in the household rubbish bin
