A mate of mine brought over a Victa vac, in excellent condition, he has had it for many years and he only used it a couple of times. Does anybody use these anymore or were they replaced by blowers. This thing is in very good condition so I don't want to chop it up is there is a use for it. The wheels are good for a Victa slasher and I am sure the full crank motor can be put to good use
So what is the verdict, is it worth keeping or better to just strip it for the parts I can use? I don't like destroying machines that are in good condition but if they have no further use then I guess it is a strip and the rest off to the scrap. I have a chipper here that has only been used once and that will probably go the same way. Honda motor on that is probably the only thing worth keeping. Crazy thing is people keep buying these useless chippers for big money only to discover it takes a weeks to get a few branches through them
People all use hand held blower vacs these days. I think VVs came out before. They are only designed to be used on pathways I believe plus they have to be plugged in, so are not very versatile compared to B/V hands helds. Victa pumped out loads of the things so I don't imagine they would be of any value to a collector. Those wheels would be in near new condition to fit onto a mower. Another opinion or two would be of help. Maybe these had exceptional power and ability. I remember a man from across the street got himself a fancy toy in the form of a new b/v and it couldn't handle those spikey seed balls that fall off a maple tree that clogged the machine.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
I think this is probably too good to chop up but I think they have become outdated because the blowers are much smaller and easier to use. As you can see the bag is in perfect condition.
Now that would handle maple tree seed pods with ease. I had forgotten the petrol powered part. My former neighbour would have liked to borrow that! I was thinking of the electric one. This thing is industrial.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
And the funny thing is Electrolux made mowers through their Flymo arm, so we have a bit of overlap there.
Yep, and Flymo even owned Scott Bonnar, for a few years in the early 1970s.
Norm, I agree that this machine is in rather too good a condition to want to part it out. The drawback with these was always the cost of replacement bags - even now, aftermarket VictaVac bags are in the $195-250 range, depending on material!
Might possibly be worth something to a lawn/garden contractor who works around swimming pools a lot?
Cheers, Gadge
"ODK Mods can explain it to you, but they can't understand it for you..."
"Crazy can be medicated, ignorance can be educated - but there is no cure for stupid..."
G'day all. The thing is that the Victa-Vac has nothing really to do with Electrolux or flymo. Sunbeam had control of Victa for a period from 1970. Electrolux had control of Scott Bonnar from 1970.
People all use hand held blower vacs these days. I think VVs came out before.
That's an interesting point.
Mechanical sweepers have been around sine the late 19th century. These looked like large side-wheel push mowers, but with a brush for a reel.
In fact, Rover was selling North American Lambert sweepers of that style in the 1980s!
Powered sweepers are big business today - for commercial use. In the domestic sphere the silly blowers reign supreme. [I love the sound of a leaf blower on a quiet Sunday Morning ]
Norm, are those wheels the same as the Victa Super 24s?
I think everyone is now using handheld blowers (pretty bloody useless).
I picked up an electric victa vac (about 5 years old), last year at the tip shop for $25. Luckily, the tip tests and tags electric, so you know that the motor works. It is great for vacuuming the back patio.
Probably with smaller house sizes, fewer people have the space for a reasonable size vac, let alone a petrol one. That said Norm, surely someone would still want a 2 stroke one in that good conditon.
CyberJack, I too find leaf blowers at 8 on a Sunday morning infuriating. But I think the worst ones are those who rev it for 1 second. Then idle and repeat. The gardeners (I use that term loosely) that were employed to keep the tiny garden of the next door units clean (when they were brand new and had home opens), would rev blip their Stihls for 15 minutes straight, then weed and tip their refuse over our fence.
Next day, just as I heard the real estate guy say to prospective buyers �the neighborhood is so quiet�� 2 stroke leaf blower time.
No doubt we will be hearing more 4 stroke leaf blowers in the future. Just saw one in the Aldi catalogue for $169 � will probably be popular like all those special buys are. I did find the fact they are offering a 4 stroke chainsaw very strange though.
Hi Jack, yes the wheels are the same as the Victa Super 24's, they caught my interest as I still have 4 or 5 of the 24's here that need rebuilding as all the repaired ones I had have gone and we are still in winter. In fact all the mowers I built over the winter months have gone in the last 2 weeks. Not sure what has caused this, we have only had a few warmer days recently.
I picked up an electric victa vac (about 5 years old), last year at the tip shop for $25. Luckily, the tip tests and tags electric, so you know that the motor works. It is great for vacuuming the back patio.
G'day Tyler A well-thought-out response there. I can't say the electric Victa-Vacs have been well documented. They were certainly a new design [see below]
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CyberJack, I too find leaf blowers at 8 on a Sunday morning infuriating. But I think the worst ones are those who rev it for 1 second. Then idle and repeat.
Don't get me started Tyler. There are two things that really grind my gears: lounge seats fitted to ride-ons, and leaf blowers. Those that rev them (as you described) is a particular annoyance. Who do they think they are? What are they in charge of? A racing car!
Roll and Rock may not be noise pollution but leaf blowers are! I wish we had an ODK Sniper Service for all this.
I'm going to take a cold shower! -------------------------------------------------- Jack
CyberJack, I too find leaf blowers at 8 on a Sunday morning infuriating. But I think the worst ones are those who rev it for 1 second. Then idle and repeat.
Don't get me started Tyler. There are two things that really grinds my gears: lounge seats fitted to ride-ons, and leaf blowings. Those that rev them (as you described) is a particular annoyance. Who do they think they are? What are they in charge of? A racing car!
Roll and Rock may not be noise pollution but leaf blowers are! I wish we had an ODK Sniper Service for all this.
I'm going to take a cold shower! -------------------------------------------------- Jack
You would hate my old 1989 Ryobi lawn Hornet with lawn sweeper attachment. It sounds like a WW2 air raid siren. Just be grateful I use it once a month if that and only for about 10 minutes max. You would prefer my friend's Weed Eater blower (aslo an Electrolux company) which is incredibly loud but at least has fixed throttle settings. Here is a vid of one like his with the sound. I quite like the noise to be honest!
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
And Jack, this is an email from a mate of mine who mows lawns and uses his 24 on a regular basis on lawns in the inner suburbs of Melb. He swears by it and the old G3 carb never gives him any problems. He has a chuckle when a Jims man goes past when he is using it, they nearly run off the road.
RECOA INC Mon, Aug 6, 9:43 PM (1 day ago) to me
They are amazing.
I did a back yard of a commercial property yesterday - went over it twice with the slasher - I raked up about 1/3 of a green bin of cuttings - the rest just kind of got spread out and could not be noticed.
You would hate my old 1989 Ryobi lawn Hornet with lawn sweeper attachment. It sounds like a WW2 air raid siren.
Hi Mowerfreak ... I feel 'Hate' is too strong a word for the Ryobi. I certainly loathe the advent of noisy leaf blowers.
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They were also painted grey Jack and fitted with a Honda motor, they were obviously still being made until recent times.I guess B&S put an end to them.
Hi Norm Yes, Norm. I guess this was Victa's most enduring model then? And yes, I think the VV did survive until the Briggs takeover. I note, though, that the electric Vac is still being sold.
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Was there a powertorque VictaVac?
I had to think about that ... Yes, Victa-Vacs were certainly fitted with Powertorques from the early eighties (best guess).
[/quote] You would hate my old 1989 Ryobi lawn Hornet with lawn sweeper attachment. It sounds like a WW2 air raid siren. Just be grateful I use it once a month if that and only for about 10 minutes max. You would prefer my friend's Weed Eater blower (aslo an Electrolux company) which is incredibly loud but at least has fixed throttle settings.
[/quote]
Not sure if i got that quote bit working right Mowerfreak.
That's the same leaf blower i normally use - except mines yellow since its a McCulloch - bought from the tip with the common loose cylinder head - bore wasnt too scored though. I saw the data sticker on it when I tore it down to fix - it said (effectively) 'Designed in italy, made in China and assembled in America'. i said straight out that it would probably try and kill me somehow. It did.
Turns out McCulloch cheaped out and put a thread on the crank shaft that will undo its self if not torqued to the point of shearing. Tuning carby, I hear this metallic pinking noise (the little end bolt) so i let off the throttle - the spinning was the only thing holding the blower impeller, and metal mulching blade plate (its supposedly a vac as well) on to the crankshaft. As soon as the momentum went, the impeller dropped off and the mulching blades went flying out the side (away from me luckily).
Now the nut is thoroughly loctite'd on
Those old Ryobis were good - I've grabbed 2 from the tip, the bores still had factory honing marks on both. I quite like those Ryan USA engines.
On a side note, I walked past a guy using an Oleo Mac Leaf blower today - sounded great and was amazingly smooth and quiet compared to the domestic use half cranks.
Hi Tyler, do you mean that Weed Eater was also badge engineered as the McCulloch you have? My friend's one got a loose head recently I believe, and he said the gasket had been put on at the factory with part of it folded over! Good to see somebody at last acknowledge how great the Ryan engines of the old Ryobis are. If nothing else, they are simple and have the torque to operate the assortment of optional attachments available at the time. I find that the older they are, the better as proven when I took a green 1980s built one and a later one from the 1990s in for a compression test and the green one came up trumps at 120psi vs something like 70psi for the later one. I still use it now.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
Yes � Weedeater badge engineered Mcculloch � mine is called the McCulloch Electrolux BVM250 � don�t know the Weedeater model number though. I have actually seen an Orange Husky branded one exactly the same � must have been some low end stuff for a brand like husky. I can�t find this exact model, but I found their previous models shared (pictures attached). These were late 90s.
I know they ended up buying Talon, McCulloch (from Electrolux), Jonsered, Partner, and several others, so that�s probably why.
[Edit: Electrolux owned Husky - as well as Weedeater. Now the Husqvarna Group encompasses the above, plus Poulan and Flymo. I Learn Something new everyday :)]
The Weedeater Featherlite was the Mac TM251, the other I�ve got is a Weedeater WT 320 cls, same as MT 320 cls. Except colour.
In case you haven�t already guessed, I have a line trimmer addiction
With regards to the Ryobi Ryan motors, I too agree the older ones are better. One I�ve got it 1991 (roughly) and takes a cj6y plug, the other is mid 90s and takes a dj7y. I can�t make a distinction on compression � because only the earlier one has a clutch. The older one seems better though. I intend to get an older green one sometime, when I see one at the tip that is in ok condition.
There are slight differences in the bodies I see but can tell they are basically the same design, especially the Mac & Husky shells. I did notice the sound of an orange one I saw emitting that same distinct note as my friend's Weed Eater, which had me wondering. The orange Husky you have shown now explains it. Very happy to have picked up these tidbits of info regards the brand sharing here.
I have a Kazaa straight shaft whipper snipper I splurged on in 2005. I felt I deserved a high quality weed whacker so chose the most expensive model on display at Bunnings. The staff member said it would fit the bill as far as being up to the toughest tasks. It has a Mitsubishi TU26 two cycle motor that takes 25:1 mix so has the added bonus of taking the Victa fuel just like the Ryobi, without the need for a separate mix. The power delivery and smoothness is superb and continues to serve me very well, though it has always had a problem with fuel dripping through the fuel cap due to a dicky washer I just couldn't be bothered to chase up. I use whatever is on hand which only fixes the leak for a short while before I have to stick any old washer I can find in again and that fails too. I just try not to tip it sideways, and everything's good.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
I'm trying to find a fuel cap for a Mitsubishi at the moment, they seem to be a mongrel size. MF if you can find some 3mm nitrile sheet you can easily make up a washer, it is expensive but does a great job
Well my grandson found a use for the Victa Vac. He does a number of places that are long grass (can't call them lawns) that only get cut once a year, probably to keep the snakes and council off their backs. His problem was the time it was taking him to rake up the grass after running his 24 over it. He finds it is much quicker to run the Victa Vac over it and it gives a nice clean job
Tyler put me onto this Victa Vac with a straight fueled PT on it. Ok I thought I would grab it just for the wheels and tank as spares for any of the 24's I repair when I get a chance. Haven't seen any come up for sale for some time though. Anyway I am not sure where to go with this one, replace the motor or just part it out. Does anybody know how the motor connects to the fan wheel, does it just have the normal blade boss and nut arrangement. Reason I'm asking is I think I recall Max saying that you couldn't use the F/C motor on a mower because it had a straight output shaft and I'm wondering if they did the same with the PT motors. I'm guessing I will have to pull it apart to find out if it is worth fixing. Then I have the situation of weather I just hone it and put a set of rings in it. Not sure if anybody wants them anymore apart from Ironbark ( I haven't forgotten, hopefully heading your way end of April)
I had tried to send you the link to that powertorque-engined Vac but for some reason my phone wouldn’t let me do it. I thought it might be up your alley, especially being reasonably close by. I’m glad you got it.
I was planning to call and set up something for after Easter with your F/C so we’re on the same track. I’ll make sure there’s cake!
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