OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Walk Behind Lawn Mower Frames Reel Lawn Mowers, Atco & Villiers etc. Yardstar Reel Mower

Hi Michael, yes mate, I alluded to that possibility in my post also...that a replacement engine could have been fitted at some stage....but before Phantoma purchases any machine, I would like them to take a series of pics, so that we can assess the machine for general condition; including cylinder reel, chains and sprockets etc. This will give us a rough idea of the age of the machine.

Hi grumpy, I notice that you are referring to the Scott Bonnar Model 45 which has 2 build standards...eg. the Series 1 (as we have labeled it) has a solid engine deck and brass fittings, and the Series 2, twin rail engine deck and alloy and plastic fittings.
The Rover 45's (as far as I know) only had 1 build standard, but decorative subtle cosmetic changes applied during their run.

What is of importance is the fact that Phantoma is in Western Australia, where the prices (second hand) are considerably higher than the eastern states, and availability is less than we enjoy here.

I may be wrong Deejay, but I have the impression that the Rover version contained some additional cheapening features, such as a single row self aligning bearing on the clutch shaft, instead of the two row one used on both SB versions of the mower. I have a feeling there may have been other negative developments. That would, simplistically, give us three versions of the mower over time, each of which was inferior to the one that came before. Perhaps we could even say that the SB45 itself may have been inferior to its predecessor, the SB33?

The problem of high prices and limited availability for the older SB45s in WA has been highlighted at least once before. I tend to see this as more of a logistical problem than a barrier though. There should be some way to get a mower transported to WA.

Hello guys and thanks for all that info,
One of the sellers I can meet with on the weekend sent me a couple of photos via the mobile phone. He also said he was going to SMS me the serial numbers as soon as he got home. Still waiting on that part.

This is the Rover 45 that is apparently only 5yrs old. It has a plastic cover over the clutch like rolla16v mentioned. Only 5yrs old?
He's asking $750 and keep in mind everything is more expensive in Perth. Don't know why.

cheers.

Hi Phantoma,

It certainly looks to be late model. The briggs numbers will give a clearer idea. The 10 blade reel is a nice bonus as they are around $400 to buy new.

Perhaps ask if he can send you a picture with the chain cover removed - I'm sure Deejay can give you a much better idea of the mowers condition then.

Best of luck with your purchase!

Hi to John (Phantoma) and to Michael (Rolla16V), that looks to be a sweet mower and appears to be a late model, as far as I can tell from a pic....everything seems to be OK, though I would like a peek inside the chain-case, but the over-all condition looks to be a good buy!

I'm reluctant to ask him to do that because he seemed a little annoyed when I asked him for the serial numbers.
I'm still waiting on those and it's been 5 hrs since he said he would SMS them.
I actually asked if I could phone back in a couple of hours and he could call them out to me but he said he'll text me when he has them.

cheers.

Hi John, it will be handy if you get the numbers, but everything appears to be in order with the engine, it looks to be a fairly new model.
Obviously you will get a peek at them before you purchase.

The numbers will appear something like this:
Model 92908 Type 5185 01 Code 8708 2004. The numbers that you are interested in, I have underlined. That reveals a manufacturing date of the 20th August 1987.
Happy hunting John,

Thanks Darryl that's a big help if I have to decipher the numbers by myself.

If the mower is actually only 5 yrs old and starts and runs nice then I'll pay him the asking price but if it turns out to be older then I'll offer $700.

I won't forget what you told me to take the side cover off and check for pointy sprockets.

cheers.

Hi again Phantoma, its the small sprocket at the top of the chain case that is usually worn the most, and when it is worn out, it is so 'pointy', that the edge of the point is so sharp, you could almost slice your finger open if you weren't careful.
However, with this machine, I'll bet everything will be fine!
Happy hunting, John....Please let us know how you get on.

Thanks Darryl,

I haven't been able to get those numbers yet. I phoned back the next day (about 4pm) and asked if it was possible for him to read them out to me but he said he'll get them for me later because he was in the middle of something right then and then hung up on me.
WTF? Why is this so hard? He's definitely a grumpy old guy.

I didn't know whether to call back in a couple of hours or leave it until the next day. I'm starting to think he doesn't want me to have the numbers.
I suppose it doesn't really matter if the mower is 5 yrs old or 10 yrs old if it's been looked after, right?

I planned to go see him tomorrow morning sometime anyway so I'll phone back this arvo to make an appointment for Saturday to check out the mower and ask one last time for the serial numbers.

cheers.

Hi John, yes mate you are right, he sounds like a grumpy old guy and there will be no probs with the age of the mower that he quoted....and you will see them when you go and look at the mower....don't forget, first impressions are often best....if, to you, he seems at all dodgy, don't buy it.....as Kenny Rogers once sang....you gotta know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em....

Hello guys,

I found another nice Rover 45 going for $750 and it's actually much closer to home. He says he bought it 3 - 4 yrs ago. This one is only six blade cutting reel.

The Model no. 45058
Serial no. 4058223
That's all he could see. Is that any help for manufacturing date?

cheers.

Hi Phantoma,

Those numbers are from the ID sticker but don't give any indication of a manufacture date. The appearance of the machine is consistent with a late model however.

Unless you are planning to mow quite low, there may be no benefit to the 10 blade reel.

Cheers, Michael

Thanks Michael,
So for palmetto buffalo lawn you wouldn't see a superior cut from a 10 blade reel?


cheers.

In my opinion no, hopefully Darryl will be able to give you some further advice on this also.

But here is my understanding of it...

Firstly buffalo should not be mowed too low. It's bad for the health of the grass, increases the thatch build up (amazingly quickly in summer), reduces it's disease resistance and if mowed really low for some time can actually kill it. Buffalo should be maintained somewhere between 30-40mm in the summer months. In contrast couch will happily thrive at heights down to 10mm in summer.

The second consideration is the difference in frequency of cut between the 6 blade and 10 blade reel. Decreasing the frequency of cut (more blades or rpm) at height, can cause a fanning or turbulence effect that prevents the grass from being cut cleanly.

I'm not suggesting that you will have a worse or better cut with the 10 blade reel, though I don't think you will see a noticeable improvement with it on Buffalo. A 6 blade reel on a Rover/Scott Bonnar does a beautiful job if well setup and maintained. I have both 6 blade and 10 blade Rovers myself.

If you're interested to read some more to get a better understanding (and have it explained much better than I can), here are a few pages with good info...

Info on Cylinder Mowers and Frequency of Cut

Dangers in mowing Buffalo too short

Cylinder lawn mower heights for Buffalo grass

Excellent, thanks for all that great info Michael.

Hi John, no mate, those numbers don't help with a date, the closest we can get is the 'code' from the black cooling air cowl on the Briggs....that will give us the date of manufacture of the engine....which gives us the approximate age of the machine (unless the engine has been replaced, of course)but that in itself would be rare for such a relatively new machine.

Hello again,

This is the equipment that I have ended up with and I'm pretty happy with it all even though I spent more than I intended to. Total cost was $1100 for the lot.






The mower is a fully restored Rover 45 by a retired lawnmower mechanic who does it as a hobby now and only makes very little profit.
That's a brand new B&S motor on the mower. He has four other new B&S motors on his work bench to go into other restoration projects. They've been sitting there for a while though because they're a bit dusty but you can tell they're brand new. I even saw a couple of new honda engines as well.

He took the side cover off and showed me that this mower has all new chains, all new sprockets, new handle grips, new bottom blade, new height adjustment mechanism for the reel, new throttle cable etc, as well as a new paint job and stickers.
The cutting reel is not new but has 12mm-13mm of blade left and he had it sharpened during the restoration.

The project he's working on now is a Scott Bonnar 17" restoration and he was repainting the framework in the Scott Bonnar Green.

The $50 (non-starting) Victa edger I mentioned in another thread actually runs well. All I had to do was to drain the old fuel out, put a new spark plug in and filled it up with some fresh fuel. (25:1)

The green edger is a 3 or 4 yr old locally made Pionex which has had very little use and is like new. It's so easy to use and maneuver and runs smoooth.
I'll probably just alternate between the two edgers every time I mow the lawn so that neither of them is just sitting idle in the shed.

The new Pionex edgers are these ones,
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/malaga/lawn-mowers/lawn-edger/1028313998
but I like mine better with a sturdy triangular frame and a single wheel at the front which makes it a bit easier to go around curves.

cheers.

Well done mate, the Rover looks like its just rolled off the factory floor! At $1100 that's great value for the quality of machinery that you have. It's certainly a better deal than the yardstar and victa edger that you were looking at in bunnings.