DFB's Gardening Thread

[DFB5.0]

I have had a busy week refreshing several display areas.

When I started here 20 years ago, a lot of stock was displayed on the ground in boring straight lines. I hate having stock on the ground, the pots gets dirtier, are more prone to weed growth and in some cases, the roots can grow through the bottom of the pot and into the gravel underneath. These are all maintenance issues and take up valuable staff time to address.

As you have probably seen, a lot of the off-ground display is on drums made out of rolled Colorbond. The rest are on tables that are a mixture of long galvanized steel benches or square painted timber benches, both of which would be approaching 30 to 40 years old.

Everything else has been displayed on the ground or on makeshift tables made out of whatever was on hand at the time. In an effort to make a cleaner, less cluttered look, this week I went about refreshing and redisplaying these areas in particular.

Now, this won't win awards for carpentry precision, but compared to the hodge podge of what was there before, I am most pleased with the results.

In this case, I have used old pallets with reused timber legs attached at varying heights to create some interest. I also love how this is all modular, allowing for easy display or layout refreshes as needed.

These pallets are not treated pine, so their life within the wet environment of the nursery will be limited to 12 - 18 months. The legs are treated pine, so when the pallet has deteriorated, I can simply remove the legs and attach them to another pallet. The key thing here is cost................as in free! The boss is happy because it meant not having to spend any money other than for my labor and a handful of screws, and I'm happy because I get added tables to better display plants.

I still have a couple of areas to continue with next week, but overall, I'm happy with how this has made the place less cluttered and more cohesive looking.

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[Jackismydog]

Dear D,

Do you know the best way to level the turf? Is it better to lift the turf and add black earth then reinstall at the section I find lower than the others, or just use a good topping soil and spread it ?? When I do the lawn mowers, I sould like to have a planner surface.

For sure, on my 10000sq feet turf, this is not bad but not perfectly leveled... It like to impoved levelness.

Thanks again for all your precious advices!

 

[DFB5.0]

Dear D,

Do you know the best way to level the turf? Is it better to lift the turf and add black earth then reinstall at the section I find lower than the others, or just use a good topping soil and spread it ?? When I do the lawn mowers, I sould like to have a planner surface.

For sure, on my 10000sq feet turf, this is not bad but not perfectly leveled... It like to impoved levelness.

Thanks again for all your precious advices!

I wouldn't lift the turf, unless you want the exercise.

I had a low spot in my back lawn created by the decay of a very large maple tree removed many years earlier. I built up the soil in that location, raking and levelling in the process.

Depending on the variety of turf, the grass will rise to the top over time. If you are dealing with a large depression, you may want to do this in stages so you don't completely smother the grass. You want to use a sandier soil for top dressing, not pure sand though. It's best to do this in spring and summer while the grass is actively growing. Feed the lawn to help bolster regrowth.

 

[key01]

I have had a busy week refreshing several display areas.

When I started here 20 years ago, a lot of stock was displayed on the ground in boring straight lines. I hate having stock on the ground, the pots gets dirtier, are more prone to weed growth and in some cases, the roots can grow through the bottom of the pot and into the gravel underneath. These are all maintenance issues and take up valuable staff time to address.

As you have probably seen, a lot of the off-ground display is on drums made out of rolled Colorbond. The rest are on tables that are a mixture of long galvanized steel benches or square painted timber benches, both of which would be approaching 30 to 40 years old.

Everything else has been displayed on the ground or on makeshift tables made out of whatever was on hand at the time. In an effort to make a cleaner, less cluttered look, this week I went about refreshing and redisplaying these areas in particular.

Now, this won't win awards for carpentry precision, but compared to the hodge podge of what was there before, I am most pleased with the results.

In this case, I have used old pallets with reused timber legs attached at varying heights to create some interest. I also love how this is all modular, allowing for easy display or layout refreshes as needed.

These pallets are not treated pine, so their life within the wet environment of the nursery will be limited to 12 - 18 months. The legs are treated pine, so when the pallet has deteriorated, I can simply remove the legs and attach them to another pallet. The key thing here is cost................as in free! The boss is happy because it meant not having to spend any money other than for my labor and a handful of screws, and I'm happy because I get added tables to better display plants.

I still have a couple of areas to continue with next week, but overall, I'm happy with how this has made the place less cluttered and more cohesive looking.

That is ingenious. Whenever I have to break down a pallet I am amazed at how strong these things are. They are a pain to break apart. You may get more life out of them than you think! Nice job.

 

[Balr14]

That is ingenious. Whenever I have to break down a pallet I am amazed at how strong these things are. They are a pain to break apart. You may get more life out of them than you think! Nice job.

Me too. I end up saving a lot of the boards in my wood pile for my wife's projects. The carpenter ants won't even touch them.

 

[DFB5.0]

Kept myself busy over the last couple of days by continuing the build of new display tables.

Having finished off the non-native shrub areas, I moved attention to this area in the natives that has been bugging me for a while. It's sort of a dead spot that hasn't displayed very well for a while now. This is also one of the more visible areas of the nursery, so a facelift was well overdue. Today's effort is my favorite so far, turning out way better than what I had in my head.

The legs might look like new timber, but they have been taken from the old timber pile out back. I have been checking and removing any nails before resurfacing by running the planner over them. My MSA 140 chainsaw has also been called into action cutting pallets to size.

This is all self-motivated work by the way, and it's been great looking forward to something at work.

 

[DFB5.0]

I have been using this saw more than I expected!

A few weeks ago, a Neighbour asked me to remove a couple of small trees that needed to be moved to allow access for the removal of an unused spa. I'm not sure if anyone here has ever had to cut a Letospermum (Tea Tree), but that timber is like solid rock, so it needed the grunt of the MS 271. And an opportunity to make some noise!

(Said spa has been causing her grief due to the council insisting that it be fenced off. The spa has been drained and not used in years, is covered and surrounded by existing boundary fences. But no, the council insist that it could fill up again, and that it must be fenced off...........even though she has explained that its been drained and covered and will be removed shortly. All this bulsh.t and yet we have miles and miles of unfenced channels servicing farms and orchard, a large unfenced lake, three unfenced rivers snaking through the district and a recently built fire station with a large drainage reserve that if often full of water and not fenced. But a pool or spa within a fenced residence is somehow a danger to all. Typical of an antiqued organization trying to justify their jobs. Rant over).

And today, after a rainstorm, this heavily laden Lily Pilly had snaped a few larger branches. Of course, I could have broken out my little folding handsaw, but that would have been a missed opportunity to make some noise.

 

[WD Pro]

At my sisters and spotted a bit of garden porn for you :

Second hand, but new to them (and her husband’s not cleaned it up yet)

WD

 

[DFB5.0]

Today was a planned day off, effectively giving me a "weekend" for a change. And I had every intention of doing nothing other than tinkering in the garage!

After waiting 107 days for a replacement part, I was finally able to get the Rover Combat back to operational order.

That part being the replacement fuel tank. Because this is an early Briggs & Stratton Quantum, I needed the earlier version of the fuel tank. The problem here is the aftermarket doesn't make a replacement part, so shopping OEM was the only avenue. This meant waiting for it to arrive in the country, although I strongly suspect the later version of the fuel tank would have fitted this engine, but I wanted to keep it original.

https://www.allmowerspares.com.au/genuine-briggs-stratton-fuel-tank-494351-497343-699392.html

Newer style -

Older style -

To recap, this mower was given to me by my longest serving client. It was actually last used by me more than 17 years ago and had sat at the back of the garden shed ever since. At the time, the engine would surge when at operating temperature and there was a fuel leak from the tank, enough to empty the contents within a few hours.

When they cleaned out the shed a few months ago (107 days in fact), he offered it to me, otherwise it would have gone to the tip. Let me say that would have been a huge shame as even though the engine needed some work, the alloy base was in perfect condition and the blade boss even has its original coat of red paint on it.

The first step, previously documented, was a clean to remove 17 years of dust and mouse droppings! :groan (That's Shine Supply Wise Guy for those here for the "detailing".)

For a 31-year-old lawn mower, it looks fantastic. Granted, a 17-year slumber probably has something to do with that.

I then replaced the spark plug with a Champion J19LM, the modern replacement for the CJ8. The old one wasn't too bad, but I was on a roll.

I then made sure to re-torque the cylinder head bolts as these have a habit of backing off over time, especially the exhaust side.

The handlebar locking handles had cracked and were not offering enough tightness, so I replaced those with some aftermarket cam-locks. These are not brilliant, so I will probably look into some OEM ones.

I then waited...........and waited...........and waited........and emailed...........and waited..........and then emailed..........and finally the fuel tank turned up, joining some new fuel line, air filters and a carby rebuild kit. Which is where to take off from today.

https://www.greenacresmowers.com.au/fuel-line-and-clamps-to-fit-briggs-and-stratton-qu
https://www.greenacresmowers.com.au/air-filter-pre-filter-spark-plug-fits-briggs-strat
https://www.greenacresmowers.com.au/carb-repair-kit-for-briggs-stratton-max-quantum-mo

My plan was to simply replace the tank and see how this went. After researching, it was looking likely the fuel leak was causing the surging issue. When the throttle was cracked into the choke, the engine would smooth out, leading me to think that the carby was not the issue and that the engine was simply running lean due to a lack of fuel flow.

First step, I removed the air filter cover, followed by the throttle cable.

I then went to remove the fuel line from the tank, which I immediately found the problem...................

So, the leak was caused by a perished and cracked tank outlet, which finally separated when I went to remove the clamp and hose.

The three top mounted bolts and one side bolt were removed, and the tank lifted off the engine.

New tank ready for install. At this point I realized I had the later version of this tank, which offers a slightly bigger volume and extends further rearwards. Thankfully, it still fitted this engine. The larger fuel volume is not a bad thing, from experience, these engines are pretty thirsty. '

While I was this far in, I wanted to take a look at the carb. This meant removing the air filter housing, which I took the opportunity to clean while it was off the engine. That housing was changed to plastic on later engines. I also cleaned that part. I then removed the old fuel hose from the carb. Also note the breather hose comes away from the metal pipe and remains with the housing.

That hose was well past it, so I'm glad I thought ahead and ordered a replacement.

I then removed the bowl, which is held in place by one single nut which also functions as the main jet. You will also note I had installed the new hose to the carby.

The bowl was surprisingly clean, no sediment or varnish.

Main jet / bowl nut, which was cleaned.

Because of the condition of the bowl, I decided to not go any further. I did however replace the perished bowl o-ring, and replaced the main jet gasket, both included in the kit.

The old carb inlet gasket was in bad shape and was replaced with the item in the kit.

Once the carb was back together, I installed the new tank. I cut the new hose to length and fitted it to the tank nipple. Using the heat gun to warm up the rubber was a stroke of genius!

With the air filter housing reinstalled, it was then time for the new air filter.

This engine was only fitted with the one paper element, but some were also fitted with a foam pre-filter, which I decided to include for thoroughness.

The green filter fits into the plastic cover, the paper filter is then placed over that and then installed back on the engine.

I then installed the recoil cover, which this engine was missing for some reason. The throttle cable was also re-installed.

While it should have had a "Quantum 35 XE" decal, I couldn't find one for sale, so I used the Briggs & Stratton logo supplied with the new tank.

It was then time for a test run. I filled the tank with some fresh fuel, thankfully no leaks from the tank, new hose or from the carb bowl. A this point my heart sank because the thing wouldn't fire. :doh

I removed the plug and sprayed some starting fluid into the cylinder and got it running. I then realized the choke was not engaging, causing the cold start issue, a quick adjustment to the throttle cable solved that. After letting it run for a while, I was confident the replacement fuel tank had solved the surging issues. :dance

It was then time for an oil change.................

I'm not a big fan of using SAE30 mono-grade oil in small engines, this stuff is so thick and syrup like. But these older Briggs had looser tolerances and really needed this type of oil.

The old oil that came out still had a red hue to it, leading me to a theory. I suspect this mower had been serviced before it was put away. Newish looking oil, brand new blades and a decent looking spark plug. I think the thing was serviced in an attempt to address the surging issue, but whoever did it didn't dig deep enough.

Because this is an older Quantum, the carby still has high and low speed adjustment screws. Briggs frustratingly removed those on the later engines, presumably for emissions and to stop owners messing about with them. Those newer engines really don't idle, the throttle only controlling high and low speed running. But this engine can be throttled down to a nice tick over, making catcher emptying much nicer. It also has a more pronounced top end without having to play with the governor to extract those extra revs.

Top end adjustment............

Idle adjustment..............

A little video demonstration.................



That video was taken before I fine-tuned the carby, managing to get the engine to hold a stable idle without compromising the top end performance. I did want to check the rpm's with my digital tacho, but I have somehow managed to lose the dam thing. :doh

People have been telling me to sell this mower. After mowing some lawns with it today, giving it a decent workout with and without load, this thing rips! Despite having a claimed 3.5 hp, low for the 190cc capacity, it has a great top end to compensate. It's not going anywhere! :birds

Such a satisfying little project, one that I would have liked to have completed earlier, but good things come to those who wait.

 

[DFB5.0]

As a follow up to yesterday's Rover revival, I managed to find where I had hidden my digital tachometer................

Idle speed -

Full throttle, 3600 to 3700 rpm -

While there was headroom to tune it higher, I decided to back it down a touch...........

Most lawn mower engines don't get near those numbers anymore, you are looking at 2600 to 2900 rpm out of the box. With this older engine, I can adjust this with the tuning screws, something missing from all new mower engines. The way around that is to tweak the governor spring tabs but that tends to lack precision, so you need to be careful. More tension on the spring, more rpm, less tension and less rpm. You also need to be mindful that doing this can make the governor more sensitive to load and cause surging.

If you're going to do this, I would also suggest having a tacho to make sure you're not going too far. Like the Beer-Bob who mows my Neighbours lawns, his Honda GXV 160 sounds like it's about to take off, I reckon he's got it spinning close to 5000 rpm.

 

[DFB5.0]

This is easily the oldest mower in my collection, a 1970's Victa VC Mustang. This is what my grandfather called his "motor-mower", always set to the lowest setting and virtually never ran at anything more than half throttle. As a kid, I loved this thing, I guess I still do.

In the late 90's, he finally decided to retire it from use and replaced it with a 4-stroke Rover, but I get the feeling he preferred his old Victa. Pa gave me that old Victa, which I have had running a few times over the years but it's sat idle for most of those 25 years.

With my latest run of mower resurrections, I wanted to focus some attention on the old Victa. It was running the last time I had it out several years ago, but would it today?

First, a little history on this era of Victa. With a 16-inch alloy deck and powered by 125 and 160cc "full crank" 2-stroke engines, these machines were very long lasting. They had a two-piece crankcase, a separate cylinder barrel and a flat cylinder head. The full crankshaft permitted a top mounted flywheel.







After 1984, those full crank engines were replaced by a simpler "half-crank" Power Torque engine. These were only made in 160cc form and had a single piece cast iron cylinder and crankcase capped with a flat alloy cylinder head. The flywheel was bottom mounted, and the top of the crankcase was capped with a plastic starter cup and sealed with a rubber o-ring. I feel these engines are a bit rougher running, but no less durable. Presumably, the Power Torque was quicker and cheaper to manufacture.

My VC Mustang is a later model, fitted with a plastic G4 carby rather than the metal G3. Earlier examples with the G4 didn't have a primer at all, later models like mine had a remote primer. The later generation of G4 LM carbs had an integrated primer and were used right up until they stopped making 2-stroke engines in the mid 2010's.

My first step was to clean the poor thing. P&S Brake Buster for the body and the excellent Bilt Hamber Surfex HD for the oily bits.

Removing the cowling proved difficult due to the rusted screws, but I persevered and got there in the end. I actually replaced them from some new ones I had in stock. Note the fuel cap must be removed as well.

With the mower clean, I spritzed some Carpro Hydr02 on, rinsed and then dried off with the EGO. The cowling was temporarily reattached with just a single screw just in case I needed to go back in. The air filter was not up to scratch so was replaced with a new one I had in stock.

It was then time for the moment of truth, would it start? As expected, the tank was bone dry, so some fresh 25:1 was added, the primer push and to my amazement, still worked. I selected the cold start position on the throttle. One full, two pulls, three pulls and it spluttered to life.............just. Initially, I thought it just needed to clear its throat, but it just wouldn't rev at all. Again, I thought I would just let it chug away and see where that would lead, to no effect.

I pulled the plug and it was clearly getting fuel, so as a hunch, I took off the cowling and removed the muffler, which is held on by a clip and through bolt.

The exhaust port was fine, save for the cactus gasket. I then got out a flat bladed screwdriver and started poking into the muffler outlet, which is routed downwards into the deck and not accessible on the machine. What came out of the muffler sort of confirmed what I was thinking........................50 years worth of carbon!

With as much carbon removed as possible, I opened up the outlet with the screwdriver and reinstalled the muffler and tired again...........................



(Sorry about the video formatting, I just couldn't get it right).

So, the muffler was preventing the engine from breathing. As you can hear, it idles and runs hard! It's noisy, it's smoky............. I wouldn't have it any other way!

Idle speed -

Full throttle -

It cleaned up ok.................

I'm conflicted with this mower. I would love to return it to showroom condition, but I would never use it again, and that makes me sad. So, at this stage, I'm going to fix a few things that I can deal with: a replacement fuel cap with the integrated fuel gauge, a new spark plug boot, a new muffler, some replacement stickers, a replacement orange hub cap for the rear wheel and hopefully a catcher in better condition. Some of that I have already found, the hub cap and catcher are proving difficult.

But it is running. And I can't begin to express how happy that makes me feel.

 

[Balr14]

Wow, I don't think I have ever seen a two stroke mower.

 

[DFB5.0]

Wow, I don't think I have ever seen a two stroke mower.

They were extremely popular for decades in Australia. Virtually every household had a Victa 2-stroke. It's been said that a Saturday morning in Australia during the 60's and 70's was marked by the sound of Victa 2-strokes motoring away and the blue haze of smoke that lingered in the air.

Having said that, Suzuki used to make a 2-stroke lawn mower engine that was mainly used by Rover in Australia and Toro's in the US.





In both cases, emissions compliance killed these larger 2-stroke engines. The last 2-stroke Victa was sold in 2018. Which is a shame because NOTHING cuts rough, tall grass like a 2-stroke, which is why I have a fleet of them for when the going gets tough. While they do bog down a bit, they just knuckle down and power through..................in a cloud of smoke and noise!

You can hear in these videos the engine accelerate away as they hit rough, tall grass rather than bogging and instantly stalling like even the stoutest 4-stroke would.







And what's better than a 2-stroke mower? A twin-cylinder 2-stroke mower!

These were horrendously noisy and thirsty, meaning they didn't sell many of them when new. I WANT ONE!!!!!

 

[DFB5.0]

VC Mustang update...............parts have arrived, which I have started tinkering with.

First, the replacement fuel cap.

To be honest, I'm not exactly sure how these work, but the clear plastic "dagger" is supposed to indicate fuel tank level. This piece snapped off many years ago, at one point it was floating around in the tank. I thought it might have still been in there, but no dice. A small detail, but one of those little things that made a Victa a Victa.

Next, a brand-new Muffler.

https://pushmowerrepair.com.au/product/victa-vc160-muffler-clips-gasket/

This is probably not needed, but with what I managed to scrape out of the original, I wanted to start fresh. I ordered the kit form, which includes a reproduction muffler, two clips and a gasket. The original gasket did absolutely need replacing.

I have refitted these mufflers a couple of times, and they are always an absolute pig to get right. The bottom clip especially due to a lack of clearance. The clips themselves attach to the ribs on the cylinder head, the clip is then levered to latch onto the muffler. I have since read up on an easier method, where you fit the bottom clip first and then use leverage to attach the top clip. Next time.

Next, the spark plug boot, the original was perished and cracked.

https://pushmowerrepair.com.au/product/victa-spark-plug-boot/

This item is not OE, rather a generic part. In my case, I cut the end off the plug lead to remove the original ring connector. The kit is supplied with a small Philips head screw, which is driven into the end of the lead. The screw then helps clip to the spark plug. A choice of plugs is given, but I stuck with the classic Champion CJ8.

She fired on the first pull after that, then promptly popped the muffler off. Bugger, try again DFB. :doh And if you think a Victa 2-stroke is loud, then you should hear one without a muffler! :lol

Included in my order was length of the correct fuel line and a replacement fuel tap, which was only just starting to weep. I decided to replace the fuel inlet, breather line and decompressor line.

https://pushmowerrepair.com.au/product/victa-fuel-line/
https://pushmowerrepair.com.au/product/victa-fuel-tap/

Next, I want to work on those dodgy looking electrical wires coming out of the carburetor, which are the cut-out wires. I'm pretty sure they are the work of my grandfather, most likely a repair with whatever he had on hand. The replacement decals have also arrived, and I'm also looking to repaint the flywheel cover and sort the rust on those cylinder head "spikes".

 

[GT 550]

Booked the dyno date yet? The muffler is obviously creating a lot of back pressure mate time to get a free flowing unit on that monster.

This is so cool, I'd never have thought you could get replacement parts for a mower this old.

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