No mower is a one fits all type my mate has at least 7 mowers that he uses depending on the job he is doing and he takes which mower/slasher he knows the job requires. He has 3 Hondas, 1 three speed self propelled ( still working) that he uses on very gentle straight forward jobs, a 2 speed self propelled that has a blown box that he uses as a push mower that he can bash around a bit and a non self propelled one. These all have catchers so they get used on various jobs that need the clippings collected.He then has 2 lightweight 2 stroke sidethrow utilities, not really sure what he uses these on but I assume he uses these to clean up around the edges and in the harder to get places around trees and garden beds etc after he has run his 24 over the bigger areas. He has a standard PT/catcher mower that is just a back up machine for what I don't know. He also has a Deutscher self propelled that he was conned into buying, I tried to talk him out of it, but it is far to difficult to use on suburban blocks
My converted FC to PT 24 has a warning on it that says. "This mower is for professional use and does not comply with certain safety standards for domestic mowers". Its about the only sticker left other than the Super 24 one. There may be some small amount of sense in that. I can not see any safety issues myself but it is a bit of a brute, a lot bigger and noisier than any domestic mower. Having said that I find it easy to use on my yard. Its not really much heavier to push than normal and you can swing the front around under trees and even under a caravan easily. I do not think it saves much time on my 600sq m block. To much time spent in the hard to get at areas. Its slightly quicker but not much.
Its just about to go to its new owner, my brother in Eden NSW for a half-acre kikuyu block thats a bit steep in places.
Trust me Jeff there are a lot of people out there who should not even use domestic mowers. Half acre of kikuyu it will handle easily. I saw this one on Gumtree , hasn't done much work, these are $900 new and obviously just a poor quality toy, only comes with a bar blade so has no spinning mass to help it get through long grass, not really a slasher, just an imitation and fitted with a problematic Briggs motor, just ask Speedy. https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/st-kilda/lawn-mowers/24-slasher-lawn-mower/1212424286
Yes I had seen these advertised new. It looks to have a steel base reasonably heavy guage. The self propelleled drive looks to be just a roller that drops down on to the main belt. You would think that it might slip on the taper. I have bought these EBay type of things before. They look good but inevitably do not work very well and end up just taking up space. Probably not much wrong with it though but as you say the cutter bar is not a patch on the heavy blade disc. Maybe if it was $50 & fit a PT.
It is a bit of a pity with this yellow one Jeff, I have fitted a modified carby on it, it starts easily on a gentle pull but it has this strange noise. I have a couple of jobs I can use it on and see how it goes and grass season is over here now so nobody will be wanting one till probably September
I delivered the Super 24 to Eden in combination with a trip to spend time with relatives. Its mowed the half-acre kikuyu yard twice now with good results.I was there for the first time and it was suggested that perhaps the cut quality was not quite up to the standard of the Powertorque previously used. We pulled off the blade disc, removed the blades and sharpened them even though they were new. While we had the blade disc off we noticed that the diamond shaped blade holes were definitely the worse for wear. They had been welded up by the previous owner but had started to crack slightly again. We welded up the cracks and built them up to more closely to the correct shape, ground the face flat. and put them back on. Now the wings on the blade bolts now seem to engage OK in the disc and you can tighten them up properly. .A new blade disc will probably happen in the future but they are very expensive so will just suffice with the current one inspected regularly for tight blades and cracks for now.
Latest reports are that the cut finish is much better now. Its a very good kikuyu lawn but the time saving with the 24 is definitely worth it. Its a bit heavier to push up some of the steep hills.
Well done Jeff they are a brilliant machine, I guess I will one day have to buy a blade carrier as one machine I bought was missing it, but I have been too afraid to look for one because of the expected price. I was contemplating getting one laser cut out of 5mm plate, no that should give some spinning weight
I guess a laser cutter might be able to cut those diamond shaped holes, not sure. But that would have to be flat wouldn't it, not with the centre recessed like the OEM. The original also has the outer edge folded up but that might not matter. Sure would have some spinning mass.
The discs are about $100 plus postage from ODK. That's probably quite reasonable really. although substantially more than the cost of the whole machine in its original state. At least you can get them.
Yes Jeff a lot of thought would have to go into it as the blades need to be recessed into the plate and my press isn't wide enough to put the depression in the center either
The bloke with that 600 brought it over today. He bought it from somebody in Deer Park a couple of weeks ago, pretty dodgy job on it, fan shroud and top cover missing,no tension on the pull start, cord hanging out 3/4 of the way, blade carrier blade holes chewed out, and the motor had been straight fueled. He said he got it running for about 10 mins after he got it home and was adamant that he had put 2 stroke in it. No idea how he got it running when I pulled the head off. Anyway I put another motor on it, fixed up the bits that needed fixing and he went away happy. Another saved 2 stroke 600.
Hi BT, I welded the holes up, they were not too bad, maybe opened up about 1/4 inch, that is what happens if the bolts are loose. I have had much worse where I have had to cut up a standard blade carrier and weld the depressed sections into the 24 blade carrier. It is a fair bit of work, but there is not much alternative.
I'm a bit tired at the moment and not thinking straight. A mate is having problems with his 24 full crank.A couple of years ago I made up an adapter manifold and fitted an LM to it. Has been working fine but he rang last night saying that it starts and runs for a few seconds and stops, prime it again and same deal. I can drive over to his place and fix it but it is a 40 min drive each way. I have told him to remove the fuel tap and blow through it to clear the filter out. When fitting the carby I fitted an inline filter before the carby so I doubt there will be any problem with the main jet filter. The fact it starts and then stops says it is firing up on the primer fuel each time so it is a case of where the fuel flow is being interrupted. The other potential is the float needle, when he presses the primer does it flutter the float and allow a bit of fuel through and then stick up in the seat again? Any thoughts before I drive over and replace another float needle of which most here would realize I am very sick of doing.
^I think the fuel tap is the first port of call before the needle. If possible he should test with a tap he knows that flows well. I do a visual check by seeing how fast it pours out of the fuel line. There generally should be a steady stream off fuel rather than dripping of any sort. An ultrasonic cleaner on the tap filter stick would be worth a go as well. I immersed mine in acetone in a small jar before putting that in the ultrasonic cleaner water. After about ten minutes I noticed the stubborn varnish start to come out of the filter.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
Thanks MF and Tyler, couple of ideas for him to try, main problem is his mechanical ability is not too flash and simple requests for him to try something usually end up causing a disaster. Let you know how he gets on.
Hmm, maybe Victa two strokes aren't for him. Unless you are prepared to hold his hand each time something goes wrong, relying on phone calls isn't going to cut the mustard here. Maybe you should do a buy back!
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
MF, he has at least 4 Victa 2 strokes, couple of utilities, a steel base PT and the 24 that I can remember and they usually don't give him any problems, it is just when something goes wrong he is all thumbs.
He blames it on being tired at the end of the day and rushing and I think a couple have been damaged by the blokes he has working for him from time to time, they grab the wrong can of fuel. He carries drums of straight fuel because he has a few Honda mowers as well so it is easy to get cans mixed up.
I know a guy who paints his fuel caps yellow or red - red is 2 stroke because the can is red and he uses red coloured oil, and yellow is regular - because the can is yellow and regular fuel is normally yellow
Straight fuel should be in blood red as in death to your two stroke!! A skull and crossbones should be added as well! Putting the other into a four stroke not so catastrophic.
I was thinking about the four stroke small engines too Tyler (Aldi are selling a four stroke chainsaw at the moment), but they still seem to be the exception due to weight and oil starvation concerns. I used a Honda straight shaft whipper snipper once and came away impressed at it's performance. It made a pleasing noise and I liked it's super quiet idle sound. Put put put put put....
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
I thought it has always been red container for straight fuel, green for mixed fuel, ie 2stroke and yellow for diesel. I think blue was for Kero etc, can't go wrong.
Hi Jeff, that is the same mob that was selling them before they are back up to $125 but I did see a bloke Melb trying to flog them last week for $175 plus $25 postage. Strange thing was he was using the same pic as the OPE ones.
This is the 24 I am doing at the moment, I made up a manifold to fit an LM carby to it and have filed slots in the cup starter so it can grab without slipping all the time. Starts easily now, another great machine brought back from the dead
