Quote:
Originally Posted by whynot
DFB FGXR6, you have made some great posts in this thread. There is just something about good lawn maintenance kit.
I used to do a lot of the mowing at my parent’s place when I was a teenager. Your post on the Victa VC Mustang brought back a lot of memories. As a youngster, I use to be fascinated by how the “fuel gauge” would work, along with the “magic eye” catcher gauge. Dad eventually replaced the Victa with a Briggs and Stratton four stroke.
When we bought our first house in 1988, we were really struggling financially (18% interest rates for a young married couple), and we could not afford a lawn mower. I was trudging over to Mum and Dad's place when our grass was near our knees to borrow their lawn mower. After about six months, Dad went out and bought a new one, 'cause the old one "broke". He told me that if I fixed his old mower that I could keep it.
I didn't read the hint. In desperation, I tore down the engine. It was one of the "gold" coloured Briggs and Stratton motors from the early 1980's. So, I pulled it apart. I couldn't find anything wrong. So, I put it back together reusing the old torn head gasket. I put oil and fuel in it, and it worked! Experienced users will shake their heads, but I didn't know any better at the time. I used leftover new engine oil from the maintenance I use to do on my old XC Falcon. (Hey, I was desperate and nearly broke.)
Anyway, the old gold-coloured Briggs and Stratton engine kept powering along for many a year, reused broken head gasket and all. We shifted houses in 1998. The gold-coloured Briggs and Stratton finally died in 2003 when I used it to mow heavily overgrown grass on a vacant block next door. Still using car engine oil, it staved of lubricant on critical parts during the heavy mow. Got clunky and died. That it lasted so long enduring so much abuse is testament to the Briggs and Stratton kit.
The next mower was a Rover with a Briggs and Stratton Quantum 5.0 with the 18" base. For me, it was a very expensive outlay at the time. A heavy beast that was only lightly stressed mowing our lawn. That lawn mower is fine and still going at my daughter’s place. I routinely change the engine oil (using the correct grade of lubricant).
The other lawn pest in this area is the local native called creeping phyllanthus (Phyllanthus virgatus). That is very invasive and the weed sprays that I have been purchasing from Bunnings only seem to knock it back a little. However, I have recently discovered Dicamba M and that has done a great job of knocking the creeping Phyllanthus on the head.
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You should have seen the look I got when telling a mechanic that I was using left-over Castrol Edge 5W-30 Synthetic in my lawn mowers. I figured that if was good for my Falcon, then it would be good for my mowers as well, but apparently I would destroy the bearings. I had been using it in Briggs & Stratton's for years by then with no issues, two of which I have countless hours on by now. I started using specific small engine oil after that, but I don't know if its makes a difference.
As for Bunning's and the lawn care products they sell, they are catering to the lowest form of stupidity by watering the products down to make them "safe". The result is sub-par results, which means you buy more and try again. The same applies to the chemicals sold to treat a variety of insect pests, which means you may as just hose things down with soapy water. But that's Bunning's, a company that sells you what THEY you to buy, not what YOU want to buy.