4-stroke lawn mower?

[kman-oz]

G'day all,

The day had to come eventually and so the 25+ year old Victa 2-stroke mower has gone to the great meadow in the sky. Or rather, I refuse to spend any money on a mower with more rust holes that a similar vintage Alfa Romeo, and so it will be recycled.

As a result I'm in the market for a new one. Now, my experience with 4-stroke mowers is a little dated and centres around the idea they they are more efficient but require more maintenance. Today one of work mates is trying to convince me that the 4-stroke mower is the way of the future and is in fact less hassle than a similar two stroke.

My particular very old 2-stroke steel bodied Victa had served as a commercial mower for more than a decade in my hands and was serviced only every couple of years at most. This alone is a very convincing argument in my book. However, I'm happy to submit to the elightened and change my opinion.

So, I've got less that 150m2 of lawn and a human powered cylinder mower, which works perfectly except for the fact that it's now Spring and I have to cut the grass daily if I'm to keep on top of it this way.

I was just going to pick up a second hand 2-stroke and call it a day (I refuse to buy a new mower because it will rarely be used outside of Spring), but I'd very much like to hear about experience with modern four-stroke mowers if anyone can spare the wisdom?

Thanks in advance folks.

Dave.

[petersemple]

I haven't got any experience with modern 4 strokes, because like you I tend to buy them a bit older. Every so often you need to drain the oil and replace it, but then you don't need to mix up 2 stroke fuel. It is quieter than a 2 stroke. I also found that the head gasket on my old Victa 2 stroke was a disposable item and I got pretty good at replacing them. No idea how to do it on the 4 stroke. I guess it would be a similar process but I've never had to do it. Replace the spark plug every so often and it seems to be happy. Main thin gis to make sure you don't put too much oil into it. I've done that a few times and it's not pretty.

Peter

[murray44]

I have owned both. I have only ever had a standard 1/4 acre block.

I like the 2 strokes. Mixing 2 stroke is easy (especially if you buy one of those 2 stroke oil bottles with the little squeeze bottle on top, hard to explain but look through them, you find one).

Changing the oil on a 4 stroke (at least the one I had) is messy, the drain plig was above the cutting plate and it made a real mess when you dropped the oil.

Yes, 4 strokes are cleaner, more powerful, quieter(?) but I still like the 2 stroke. Nothing to go wrong in them either.

[funkychicken]

Hire a neighbourhood kid to push the cylinder mower, It'll be cheaper than a new mower

[Geoff Dean]

I've got a Honda 4 stroke mower, it is about 5 yrs old now, it replaced a 20yr old second hand Honda 4 stroke that was given to us. Main reason we replaced it was the wheels were kaput, and it was going to cost over $250 to replace them. It also used a single 21" blade that cost about $45 and needed to be replaced every 18 months or so.

I have replaced my crappy old 2 stroke whipper snipper with a Honda 4 stroke model. I have a 4 stroke Honda garden tiller, same engine as the whipper snipper.

When my crappy 2 stroke blower vac packs it in, I will be replacing it with a Honda 4 stroke blower.

Get the picture?

[Big Shed]

We have a 14 year old MTD self propelled 4 stroke (Briggs and Stratton 50), apart from the occassional air filter ($10) and changing the oil (when I think of it, twice so far I think), no maintenance whatsoever.

Quiet, not nearly as smelly as a 2 stroke.

In fact if I will ever need to replace my Stihl (2 stroke) brush cutter, or my Stihl (2 stroke) chainsaw) they will be replaced with 4 strokes. If the MTD ever packs it in, will be replaced with a Honda 4 stroke as well.

Have a 5.5hp 4 stroke fire pump, sits under a cover at the dam in all weather, always starts first time and is now 10 years old.

Look at outboard motors, most are now 4 stroke.

IMHO, Honda make the best 4 stroke motors, bar none.

Make pretty good cars too, wife had a Honda Prelude for more that 10 years.

[kman-oz]

Honda 'ey? The fellow trying to convince me owns a Honda mower, I'm seeing a pattern here. As much as I'd like one, $200 is about all I can spare at present. Everything Honda goes for a bit more than that, but a B&S powered Masport or Victa is within reach.

Interestingly, I walked through the Big B and had a quick look at new prices just to get a feel, and among the units on the shelves there was only one 2-stroke. They really are going the way of the dinosaur huh?

What's the feeling on a basic 3-odd HP B&S powered Victa or similar second hand? Am I buying someone elses problem or are they bullet-proof enough not to worry about. I've repaired mowers before and I'm confident doing any work on it, but I don't want to spend more time repairing the damn thing that pushing it. Got a second child on the way and time will be at a premium.

Thanks again all.

Dave.

[Calm]

My last mower was a special at Kmart - but not from Kmart.

I went into a mower shop and asked why so many second-hand mowers and he told me he had the contract for all the Kmart mowers that were returned faulty. - If someone bought one and it wouldn't start or a wheel fell off (circlip missing) Kmart gave them another new one and this bloke got the old ones - changed the spark plug or fitted a circlip and was then selling them about 20% off the Kmart price.

Mine was 2 stroke victa and very cheap IIRC.

So watch the specials at Bunnies/Kmart/Mitre 10 wherever then ask them what happens to the returns/warranty claims

Hope that helps.

Cheers

[BobL]

In fact if I will ever need to replace my . . . . . . or my Stihl (2 stroke) chainsaw) they will be replaced with 4 strokes.

The only production 4 stroke CS available I know about is a makita/dolmar but they are a touch on the teeny weeny side.

Specifications: Makita DCS34 14" 2-Stroke Chain Saw
Displacement -- 33 cc.
Max. engine speed (w/bar & chain) -- 12,200 RPM
Power rating/BHP -- 1.4kW/1.9
Net weight (dry w/o bar & chain) -- 8.2 lbs.

Although they do have comparable power to weight ratios to their 2 stroke cousins it will be interesting to see the compromises made in longevity in getting the weight down to meet these specs.

[pellcorp]

$200 is about all I can spare at present. but a B&S powered Masport or Victa is within reach.

I bought a Masport 4 stroke, but it was closer to $500. Fantastic mower, starts on first pull and is very quiet in comparison to the 2 stroke. Its great not having to mix fuel, and it definately does not smoke up the place like the 2 stroke I had before.

[Big Shed]

The only production 4 stroke CS available I know about is a makita/dolmar but they are a touch on the teeny weeny side.

Specifications: Makita DCS34 14" 2-Stroke Chain Saw
Displacement -- 33 cc.
Max. engine speed (w/bar & chain) -- 12,200 RPM
Power rating/BHP -- 1.4kW/1.9
Net weight (dry w/o bar & chain) -- 8.2 lbs.

Although they do have comparable power to weight ratios to their 2 stroke cousins it will be interesting to see the compromises made in longevity in getting the weight down to meet these specs.

By the time I've worn out my Stihl hopefully they have some good 4 stroke chainsaws.

Then again, I may wear out before the Stihl does.

[BobL]

I bought a Masport 4 stroke, but it was closer to $500. Fantastic mower, starts on first pull and is very quiet in comparison to the 2 stroke. Its great not having to mix fuel, and it definately does not smoke up the place like the 2 stroke I had before.

No self respecting modern 2 stroke engine should be make any visible smoke. Any 2 stroke making visible smoke is either not tuned right or users are using too much 2 stroke lube. The lubes available these days have very impressive additives to aid in better burning and suppressing visible smoke formation. Most engines could even use about half the recommended petrol/lube ratio without any long term damage to the engine. It's a pity the newer lubes are so successful at reducing smoke because some users still think that two strokes have to make smoke so they add more lube than necessary and this just causes even more unburnt lube to be exhausted into the environment.

What I'm getting at is there may well be many reasons not to run a 2 stroke but making too much smoke is not one of them.

[damian]

Here's my 2c worth:

I've had both. I think it's more about the machine you buy than the number of strokes.

Honda seem to be indestructable in most things although the little portable outboards seem to have some question marks.

I've had a rover 4 stroke B&S motor self propelled 18" cut for 10 years or something. Bought it second hand for $90 cos it wouldn't run. Got it home, tried turning on the tap and it went for years. Last month it got it's first ever service, $130 air cleaner, oil, blades, clutch etc etc

I've got a rover ranger ride on I bought a couple of years back. I have an acre and mow about 1/3 of it. Sometimes 35 degrees and mowing that much is too much for me. Tecumse 12 hp runs like a clock and cuts grass 4' high.

Had a victa model 18 I mowed with for years. Started it with an electric drill on a nut on top. Ran great weighed nothing. Got 2 stihl brushcutters and a chinese cahinsaw all 2 smoke. All run fine. Stihls are buggers to start if sitting for 6 months or more. Can't blame them, I get like that after 8 hours sleep sometimes

Opinion worth what you paid for it

[pellcorp]

No self respecting modern 2 stroke engine should be make any visible smoke. Any 2 stroke making visible smoke is either not tuned right or users are using too much 2 stroke lube. The lubes available these days have very impressive additives to aid in better burning and suppressing visible smoke formation. Most engines could even use about half the recommended petrol/lube ratio without any long term damage to the engine. It's a pity the newer lubes are so successful at reducing smoke because some users still think that two strokes have to make smoke so they add more lube than necessary and this just causes even more unburnt lube to be exhausted into the environment.

What I'm getting at is there may well be many reasons not to run a 2 stroke but making too much smoke is not one of them.

Fair enough - I am certainly no expert. I do however like not having to mix fuel anymore. I just have to remember to keep the oil topped up!

[kman-oz]

I bought a Masport 4 stroke, but it was closer to $500.

I'm only looking at used gear, not new. There is a fair selection of used 4-stroke Masport, Victa and Rover gear around which are my primary interests presently.

An interesting observation here, the more popular brands seem to be holding their value a little better in the used market, but without feature backup. Comparing a couple of used Victa's with used Rover's produces some interesting findings. With the same low-power B&S engine, the Rover will have a sturdier catcher, alloy base, larger cutting diameter, four folding blades and a greater height adjustment. In terms of features it seems like a no-brainer, but I've used Victa gear all my life without incident.

Better the devil you know, or does the Rover really represent better value?