today for me was new mower day
tldr first: I mow 1/2 acre front yard with push mower, back yard 2 acres with a ride on, I got this its great
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So, 18 months ago my trusty Rover 18" 4 stroke was at the end of its life and I was considering a few choices to replace it, the front runner was the big honda alloy deck.
The local dealer had a 2 weeks until next shipment of honda mowers and in that gap my father spontaneously gifted me a new mower... an aldi mower
... It wasn't cheap at $350, it felt quality at first touch and worked well for a year.
Basically this without the self propelled
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Its chassis fell apart in a year and after being cobbled back together it lasted the past 6 months as "functional".
I was again deciding Replacement options, Budget of about $1000 frontrunners where the 21"honda and the rover duracut but I was open minded and preferred non self-propelled.
Then came yesterday afternoon,
I was at a buddies place helping him do fork seals on his wr450f and spotted a shiny new mower beside its box
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A victa hurricane limited edition 20" 144cc engine, large wheels
"new mower any good?" "yeah love it" 20 questions later I was pushing it around his yard (put 2 racing stripes in it about 1m wide lol).
He had checked reviews before buying and the only complaint was the large wheels stick out 2 inches past the deck so you cant mow right to edging or brickwork.
Not an issue for him or me as we both brushcut the edge before mowing. and surprisingly well under budget at $550
Sold
I popped into Bunnings this morning to get one and right beside the 144cc hurricane was the limited edition Victa fighter, same mower but the larger 170cc engine and red instead of yellow.
For the extra $50 I couldn't buy the little motor one,
home assembled and used,
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Went that quick and easy I tossed it in the ute between the supercars qualy and race and went and mowed the lawn at my sisters house
(I do that she mops my house, easy trade)
better yet after going well under budget at $600 it was upgrade time.
My husqvarna 2 stroke blower died 12 months back and I'd been using the tiny dewalt blower I use to blow sawdust away at work, extra budget lead to upgrading that too
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the mower, so far love it, its very big but still lighter than the rover or the Aldi and it only just fits where I like to park the mower beside a project car.
Not surprisingly I found
The large wheels stick out 2 inches past the deck so you cant mow right to edging or brickwork
The 170cc motor doesn't/hasn't bogged, large catcher fills right to the top without the chute clogging,
The 170 is a bit louder the the 144 but I use blutooth earphones while doing the yardwork anyway. actually recommend both the hurricane and the fighter for the money.
The blower, it's good, not great, 2/3 as good as the husky and twice as good as the lil dewalt (which punches above its weight)
Happy days
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