The Great Big Lawnmower Thread

deezell · 01-09-2019 02:05PM

It's a similar spec mower but a full size down. The Mccullough and Alpina were 97 and 98cm cm cut mowers, with engines to match. That stiga is an 84 cm cut, 14cm/almost 6 inches smaller cut, pro rata is 14% lower price.

peadar76 · 02-09-2019 08:32PM

deezell wrote: »

Paint the arse of the deck with 2 coats rust primer before first use and keep it cleaned and dry, or you'll have another perfect Honda engine attached to a few kilos of Iron Oxide in a few years time!.

Should I have done this with my Honda HRG536VYE ?

my3cents · 02-09-2019 08:37PM

peadar76 wrote: »

Should I have done this with my Honda HRG536VYE ?

Steel deck so yes, no reason not to do it at the end of this season.

Don't believe the crap about power coating a corrosion resistance the all the Honda advertising say they still rust out like any other steel deck mower.

peadar76 · 03-09-2019 10:19AM

Cheers. I presume it's the underside we are talking about? The guy I bought it off said to clean it and put wd40 on it

my3cents · 03-09-2019 11:13AM

peadar76 wrote: »

Cheers. I presume it's the underside we are talking about? The guy I bought it off said to clean it and put wd40 on it

Just the underside but also patch up any rusty areas on the top surface. Obviously you don't want a machine that looks like the work of Jackson Pollack on a brand new machine but an older one I wouldn't be too precious about it.

WD40 is a total waste of time on outdoors stuff. Its fine for a short while but never lasts. What I do on exposed nuts, bolts threads is give them a good spray of White Grease (something like https://www.amazon.co.uk/One-Professional-White-Lithium-Grease/dp/B0032NIWHK/) either water pump white grease or lithium white grease. Both stick really well and mean its a lot easier to do repairs down the line. Wipe any excess off with a cloth.

deezell · 03-09-2019 11:14AM

peadar76 wrote: »

Cheers. I presume it's the underside we are talking about? The guy I bought it off said to clean it and put wd40 on it

You need to cover any exposed metal, having scraped and wire brushed as much rust off as you can. On a new deck, your'e trying to supplement the factory dipped paint coat, often done without any kind of decent primer. This paint often flakes off in big pieces.

johndaman66 · 05-09-2019 12:52AM

McCullough M40 - 450 C with a B&S 450 Series engine. Was cutting wet grass about a week back with it in a bit of a mood.

Was clogged and instead of stopping it and clearing out the grass I shook it and kept cutting for a few mins. Has to go away for 5 mins and when I came back the pull chord was jammed - will only pull out a tiny bit, doesn't retract by itself, rather I need to turn the blade to pull it back in.

Presumably it seized when I shook it? Is there any hope of rectifying it if I open up the engine or is it most likely the case that its all fused together inside? Oil level was still full but presumably starved vital parts of the engine of oil after shaking it. I'd be by no means an expert with these sort of things but not bad by any means either. Wheels slightly bent and grass box broken but apart from that it wasn't in bad order so a shame to scrap it if its fixable without too much effort.

Emmersonn · 05-09-2019 06:22AM

johndaman66 wrote: »

McCullough M40 - 450 C with a B&S 450 Series engine. Was cutting wet grass about a week back with it in a bit of a mood. Was clogged and instead of stopping it and clearing out the grass I shook it and kept cutting for a few mins. Has to go away for 5 mins and when I came back the pull chord was jammed - will only pull out a tiny bit, doesn't retract by itself, rather I need to turn the blade to pull it back in.

Presumably it seized when I shook it? Is there any hope of rectifying it if I open up the engine or is it most likely the case that its all fused together inside? Oil level was still full but presumably starved vital parts of the engine of oil after shaking it. I'd be by no means an expert with these sort of things but not bad by any means either. Wheels slightly bent and grass box broken but apart from that it wasn't in bad order so a shame to scrap it if its fixable without too much effort.

Check the underside between the cutting blades and the deck to make sure that the wet grass has not balled and jammed the blades.

johndaman66 · 05-09-2019 08:53AM

Emmersonn wrote: »

Check the underside between the cutting blades and the deck to make sure that the wet grass has not balled and jammed the blades.

No definitely not, it was one of the first checks I made.

my3cents · 05-09-2019 09:01AM

Take the top cowling off (just 3 bolts on the base model but some have loads of pointless plastic as well) that should also remove the starter rope rewind. Then couple of very small bolts to remove a screen off the mechanism that engages with the shaft when you turn the blade. iirc that mech then screws off the shaft. Now check which is jammed the starter cord and its rewind mechanism the main drive shaft - turn the shaft with a spanner on the flywheel nut or the starter engagement mechanism.

This is the bit that might be jammed https://www.ebay.ie/itm/171760491200 - Starter Clutch they call it. It has a load of ball bearings that drop down so that one always engages for starting but are all thrown outwards when the engine starts so they can't engage anymore. They sometimes very very rarely get jammed. If its jammed the top cover pops off so you can see whats going on but don't loose any of the balls.

dar_cool · 05-09-2019 03:06PM

Snapped deck belt on my husky last week due to trying to cut wet grass. Rang a few local places and all said new belt would be 60 euro. Got one for 20 pound on eBay. I for one am not looking forward to Brexit!!

Emmersonn · 05-09-2019 03:26PM

On deezell's recommendation I have gone with the Alpina BT98 B. Thanks deezell. Just wondering from anyone who have bought from Agrieuro. How is the machine delivered by the courier . Is it by van or lorry and how is it actually unloaded. in the crate.

deezell · 05-09-2019 04:40PM

dar_cool wrote: »

Snapped deck belt on my husky last week due to trying to cut wet grass. Rang a few local places and all said new belt would be 60 euro. Got one for 20 pound on eBay. I for one am not looking forward to Brexit!!

You can buy the equivalent generic belt from Reliance gear and bearing in Bluebell or Fox engineering in Baldonnel business park for virtually any mower once you know it's standard length, profile and composition. Dealers will only have the brand part number and corresponding spare part price. You can get the generic equivalent here on this site
https://www.ratioparts.com/ansicht/Ratioparts/index.php?UID=9852&mo=Shop&op=&Von=10
In this example for Viking belts, the last belt on the page is an SPA 12.7 by 1507 median diameter. You can click OEM comparison on the left to see the original Viking part number, the mower it fits is on the right. The stihl/viking dealer will most certainly look for €60 for this and the rest, but Google spa 12.7 1507 v belt and you wil get a host of generic suppliers, for as little as €10 or less. E g,
https://www.bearingstation.co.uk/products/Belts/V_Belts/SPA_Section/SPA1507
Sometimes the original belts are Kevlar, so a standard composition belt will not last as long. Also, the originals may be designed for a jockey wheel clutch if you don't have electric clutch for blade or hydrostatic for traction , so will need to be fully wrapped type to slip as the pressure is applied. Ordinary v belts used on jockey wheel clutches tend to slip then grab fiercely, nearly stalling the engine, and in the case of traction belts, lifting the nose of the mower up in the air.

rn · 05-09-2019 10:08PM

Just to update. Husqi gone for 120. New mcculloch delivered for 399.

Assembled it this evening. Didn't get to run it out due to too late and having no engine oil or petrol. Might give it a run tomorrow if its fine.

First impressions are it's very similar to previous husqvarna. Except mcculloch add loads of cheap light plastic bits, where husqvarna machine was basicly metal. Disadvantage are it's slightly smaller, the handle doesn't fold for storage as easily. The handle is missing soft foam grips, so it feels cheap. The attachment system feels weak.

Advantages over old mower. It's rear wheel drive, which I prefer. It's definitely lighter than the old machine. It's got a very easy to use height adjuster for all 4 wheels. It's got a deck hose attachment to help clean the deck.

deezell · 05-09-2019 10:32PM

Great price for Rusty Husky, (Great name for a C&W singer). Must be the age and Honda engine wot done it. McCullough a bit tinny and flimsy alright, but you got away with €279. Paint deck before use as per previous posts, then the wheels will fall off before the deck rusts.

fryup · 08-09-2019 11:53AM

The blade engagement lever snapped off my castlegarden ride on...is that an awkward expensive job to fix?

how much ball park?

my3cents · 08-09-2019 12:18PM

fryup wrote: »

The blade engagement lever snapped off my castlegarden ride on...is that an awkward expensive job to fix?

how much ball park?

Which part? The bit under the deck that moves the lever you pull or something inbetween? Parts aren't hard to get btw and not that expensive.

deezell · 08-09-2019 01:45PM

I'm assuming manual blade engagement. Had to repair this on an older Castelgarden TC102, the lever on that was bolted on to a short part which formed the base hinge part and pulled the pulley tensioning cable. The two part construction allowed the lever to hinge left to right to enable it to catc9h in the retainer, as well as front to back to pull the cable. The lower bit broke, parts 2-3, the main part of the lever was intact. I had to remove the grass chute to get inside to repair, tight enough.

listermint · 08-09-2019 05:04PM

Have a husky power push with a Briggs and Stratton 650 Exi on it.

One of those long life 'no oil' change jobs .

She started running low rpm today after couple of minutes cutting. Use the mower maybe ever 6 weeks or more as have a robot mower for most of garden.

Changed the oil out completely. Emptied the fuel in case it was gone off and replaced with brand new. Checked the spark ok. Took off the air filter etc . No change in Rpm.

She starts up grand but is running about half or less rpms. Not enough to cut a blade.

Any ideas what to check next. She's about two and a bit year old hasn't had a hard existence.

my3cents · 08-09-2019 05:12PM

Think thats one with a carburetor bowl? Take the bolt out of the bottom of it and then pop out the float and needle valve (often held by the pin that is the hinge for the float) clean the end of the needle and put it back together.

briggsandstratton.com/eu/en_gb/support/faqs/browse/carburetor-rebuild.html if you skip to Step 2 you can often do that without removing the carb from the machine.

listermint · 08-09-2019 05:56PM

my3cents wrote: »

Think thats one with a carburetor bowl? Take the bolt out of the bottom of it and then pop out the float and needle valve (often held by the pin that is the hinge for the float) clean the end of the needle and put it back together.

briggsandstratton.com/eu/en_gb/support/faqs/browse/carburetor-rebuild.html if you skip to Step 2 you can often do that without removing the carb from the machine.

Ya pretty sure it has a bowl alright.

my3cents · 08-09-2019 06:04PM

listermint wrote: »

Ya pretty sure it has a bowl alright.

What happens if its not been used is that you get residue on the needle valve after the petrol has evaporated and the needle sticks.

listermint · 08-09-2019 07:51PM

my3cents wrote: »

What happens if its not been used is that you get residue on the needle valve after the petrol has evaporated and the needle sticks.

Il have a bash at that this week then. Cheers.

fryup · 08-09-2019 08:49PM

deezell wrote: »

I'm assuming manual blade engagement. Had to repair this on an older Castelgarden TC102, the lever on that was bolted on to a short part which formed the base hinge part and pulled the pulley tensioning cable.

yep thats the very one,

so how much €€ do you reckon deezel ?

deezell · 08-09-2019 10:10PM

fryup wrote: »

deezell wrote: »

I'm assuming manual blade engagement. Had to repair this on an older Castelgarden TC102, the lever on that was bolted on to a short part which formed the base hinge part and pulled the pulley tensioning cable.

yep thats the very one,

so how much €€ do you reckon deezel ?

2016 since I done that, trying to find record of purchase, I gave all my parts diagrams away when I sold the mower in 2017, but... I've tracked it down. This was the type used in the older tc102, 1998 onwards, but there are others.

mountfield-clamp-lever-102cm-122cm-models-old-type-382774209-0-1964-p.jpg

mountfield-clamp-lever-102cm-122cm-models-old-type-382774209-0-1964-p.jpg

https://www.mowerparts.ie/mountfield-clamp-lever-102cm--122cm-models-old-type-3827742090-1964-p.asp
€21. If it's the same as yours you're sorted.

deezell · 08-09-2019 10:44PM

Same part no. Is popping up in this west of Ireland Massey Ferguson dealer. Massey had garden tractor mowers most likely made by GGP. Part with them is only €13.50. No image but I'd say it's same part,

https://whelansgarage.com/parts?part=cg3827742090

johndaman66 · 08-09-2019 11:17PM

johndaman66 wrote: »

McCullough M40 - 450 C with a B&S 450 Series engine. Was cutting wet grass about a week back with it in a bit of a mood. Was clogged and instead of stopping it and clearing out the grass I shook it and kept cutting for a few mins. Has to go away for 5 mins and when I came back the pull chord was jammed - will only pull out a tiny bit, doesn't retract by itself, rather I need to turn the blade to pull it back in.

Presumably it seized when I shook it? Is there any hope of rectifying it if I open up the engine or is it most likely the case that its all fused together inside? Oil level was still full but presumably starved vital parts of the engine of oil after shaking it. I'd be by no means an expert with these sort of things but not bad by any means either. Wheels slightly bent and grass box broken but apart from that it wasn't in bad order so a shame to scrap it if its fixable without too much effort.

my3cents wrote: »

Take the top cowling off (just 3 bolts on the base model but some have loads of pointless plastic as well) that should also remove the starter rope rewind. Then couple of very small bolts to remove a screen off the mechanism that engages with the shaft when you turn the blade. iirc that mech then screws off the shaft. Now check which is jammed the starter cord and its rewind mechanism the main drive shaft - turn the shaft with a spanner on the flywheel nut or the starter engagement mechanism.

This is the bit that might be jammed https://www.ebay.ie/itm/171760491200 - Starter Clutch they call it. It has a load of ball bearings that drop down so that one always engages for starting but are all thrown outwards when the engine starts so they can't engage anymore. They sometimes very very rarely get jammed. If its jammed the top cover pops off so you can see whats going on but don't loose any of the balls.

I went at it today. There was a bit of plastic broke off the inner housing of the chord rewind and the chord had managed to come outside the housing and jammed. Unbolted the chord rewind and and rewound the chord into it. Going again! The same might happen again but its going again for the moment. The chord is not retracting fully so something amiss with the spring not providing as much tension as it should, but all good to start it adequately.

deezell · 09-09-2019 07:07AM

You need to pre tension the rewind spring on the recoil device by pulling the cord out somewhat, then winding it back around the pulley, so that the spring remains tensioned when the cord retracts to the grip. Can be finicky to get right. The entire recoil unit is not expensive to buy, maybe €15 on EBay or used salvage from a mower or hire shop.

fryup · 09-09-2019 08:44AM

deezell wrote: »

2016 since I done that, trying to find record of purchase, I gave all my parts diagrams away when I sold the mower in 2017, but... I've tracked it down. This was the type used in the older tc102, 1998 onwards, but there are others.

€21. If it's the same as yours you're sorted.

i mean how much to get it repaired in a repair shop ?

kaiserrussel · 11-09-2019 07:04PM

kaiserrussel wrote: »

kaiserrussel wrote: »

I took the plunge and purchased the stiga estate from agrieuro.

https://www.agrieuro.co.uk/stiga-estate-5092-ride-on-mower-briggsstratton-engine-grass-collector-mulching-system-p-10498.html

Let see how it goes. I’m probably a little mad buying so late in the season

Hi all

Mower arrived today so with fading light I’ll see what’s involved in getting this this together.
Not sure how much assembly is involved.

Hopefully not too much

The Great Big Lawnmower Thread

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