OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Restoring, Customising and Modifying Victa Walk-Behind Rotary Mowers Victa Commercial 21" 850 I/C SP

Un-boxing, assembly and fluids!

Victa’s are all semi-assembled and shipped in a singular large box. If bought from a mower shop, they will finish the final assembly as well as adding oil and fuel, an initial startup and inspection. In my case, having blacklisted the local shops, and no other neighboring towns stocking the Victa Commercial range, I bought this online from a vendor, which means I get the honor of getting the new toy up and running.











So, so satisfying.....................



First step after opening and unpacking the box is to install the lower handle, angled side pointing up...........ask me how I know this............



Next, the upper handle is secured using the locking handle cams.



Throttle and clutch cables are pre-installed, but the throttle control needs to be secured to the handle.





At this point, you will need to make sure the cables are routed cleanly and without the possibility of rubbing on the catcher flap. Both cables are then secured with a plastic clip.





The catcher is supplied pre-assembled.

For some strange reason, Victa only fit two blades to this model, despite the unit shipping with a four-blade carrier. I'm not sure if this was the seller or Victa, but there were an additional two blades included in the box. I don't have a firm reason why they do this, all I can think of is the fitment of two blades would slow down the discharge of clippings into the chute, perhaps making it more manageable for the half-chute arrangement? Either way, I decided to fit the additional blades.







It’s then time for the vital fluids. Now, I typically use Penrite 10w30 semi-synthetic oil in my mowers. The exception to that being my older Briggs engines, where I use the SAE30 monograde mineral oil to help reduce oil consumption. For a new engine, its generally recommended to use mineral oil for the initial fill, before swapping to synthetic after the first 25 hours. In this case, 600ml of Penrite SAE30. Then a full tank of 91-ron unleaded petrol (I don’t bother with 95 or 98-ron).



Assembled, oiled and ready to go, the engine fired right up. This is the first 850 engine I have had with the newer plastic carburetor, which seems to idle a bit lower than before. As I always do, I'll run the engine in, change the oil and then up the revs to about 3600 rpm.

Next, something completely pointless, but oh-so satisfying!