Hi from down under

[Semtex]

Welcome aboard !

Yeah cheers

 

[7394]

Logert gogert I’m retired now.Over the years I’ve seen technology go from more humble beginnings to the highly complex machines.Lately I’ve been researching more into Tribology and how lubricants play a better part in preventing wear in my spare time but the mainstream synthetics sold today are only Group 3 Hydrocracked mineral oils.The true synthetic oils are Group 4 Poly Alpha Olefins and Group 5 Esters.And they need to be mixed for the ultimate protection.I studied for about 5 -6 years at Tafe automotive school of engineering in my early years but side tracked, became a police officer and worked in the transport workshops.

Very true & a Shame about the Group 3 oils being passed off as true full synthetic.

 

[Semtex]

Welcome.
No need to do anything other than check the oil before you start using it.
Unlike other engines, governed engines run at governed speed around 3200 rpm for yours so cylinder glazing from excessive idling is not a problem.
Very important is to fill in your warranty card & send it back
[/

Hello,

Yep,,,hard to beat the old 2 stroke engines. Less moving parts. It's not uncommon to find find old Lawn-Boys still running after 50+ years. I find Honda's are the best 4 cycle engines. Keep clean oil in it and the blades sharp and you'll be good to go for a long time.
Regards

Jeff

I have to agree,2 stroke engines can go forever but any leak from oil seals or gaskets can disrupt the next intake cycle and despite the 2 power cycles they are rather gutless under load and tend to dig up lawn.Though far more reliable in the long term for their simplicity.And they will mow lawns with large gradients that would render a 4 stroke starving for an adequate oil supply given they aren’t pressure fed.With modern lubricants their lifespan is increased significantly .A huge improvement compared to the smelly,fuming 2 stroke engines of yesteryear.One day we just might have the perfect lawnmower engine, unfortunately it would probably be a small traction electric motor without the fumes or reliability issues.But hey,that would take the fun away from repairing these living,breathing machines

 

[Semtex]

Well said and thanks for the welcome.Honda makes great engines and you are spot on about idling for too long.An engine that relies on the crankshaft to splash oil upwards needs some additional help in my opinion only so I will be trialing a 100% PAO & Ester with a full Zinc level slightly above Honda’s oil specs to see whether wear can be eliminated.If I don’t get 25 years from this engine for home use I would be disappointed.The majority of all engine wear occurs during start up and since its a NO Shear oil and Polar in nature it should lubricate exceptionally well and most suited to air cooled engines.I have known of others taking a different approach and using Nano particles of solid lubricants such as Tungsten Disulfide,Graphene and P.T.F.E in a synthetic base mainly for commercial use and getting longevity out of their engines.But something I’d only consider when it’s over half way through it’s working life and only if warranted.

 

[Ron_AU]

Lawn mowers aren't too choosy on the oil they use.
That Honda is going to run for 10 years or more, whatever oil you feed it, guaranteed.

I'm in Australia too, and have owned several Victa mowers. Lots of torque when new, but when the rings wore you'd get blowby into the crank case which stuffed up the two stroke cycle greatly. Result: no torque. And as for any two stroke, high fuel consumption compared to a 4 stroke.

Then 2 strokes were a no-no because pollution, Victa offshored the engine supply and finally the whole mower. I figured why pay for the Victa name on the mower when the same country can sell me a Sanli for half price or less? So jumped ship.

 

[Semtex]

Lawn mowers aren't too choosy on the oil they use.
That Honda is going to run for 10 years or more, whatever oil you feed it, guaranteed.

I'm in Australia too, and have owned several Victa mowers. Lots of torque when new, but when the rings wore you'd get blowby into the crank case which stuffed up the two stroke cycle greatly. Result: no torque. And as for any two stroke, high fuel consumption compared to a 4 stroke.

Then 2 strokes were a no-no because pollution, Victa offshored the engine supply and finally the whole mower. I figured why pay for the Victa name on the mower when the same country can sell me a Sanli for half price or less? So jumped ship.

My old Victa Vortex and yours met the same fate but old mowers never die they just don’t mow grass anymore.No doubt the older Victa two’ees had it all and longevity plus.I picked up my new lawnmower today then checked all the torque settings and sprayed some solid lubricant containing Tungsten Disulfide,PTFE,Molydenum Disulfide,Boron Nitride over carby linkages which dries to a protective film and sprayed the Blade Brake Clutch handle fulcrums and throttle fulcrum points and under the mower.And removed the spark plug to put a few squirts of Flashlube valve saver oil in and around the piston rings and turned the engine over by hand to work the oil through once topped up with Honda oil.Then removed the rubber grommets from both the throttle and Blade brake cables so I could work as much graphite powder down into and around the cables by working them back and forth and adding more until they felt well lubricated.I used to gravity feed Graphite powder right to the bottom of the cable and then fitted the rubber covers back in place when replacing clutch cables on cars.They worked smoother with less wear.
I fitted an Iridium spark plug gapped to 0.030”instead of the standard plug.Then it was time to fill with fresh fuel and check for any leaks.After starting it for the first time and idling it for 3-4 minutes I set the throttle at varying RPM after it warmed up and allowed it to cool down to check for leaks.Then started it a few hours later and got it warmed up again and mowed the back lawn.I repeated the past few steps and finished the front lawn at mid throttle or higher.I drained
the oil whilst still warm and saved it in a glass jar for later inspection.Once the engine feels like its producing full power then its time to use a 10W-30SN/CF JASO MA PAO and Ester Synthetic with full Zinc.It will be interesting to see how it performs with such a slippery,no shear oil and engine cleanliness and lower wear with the extra Zinc when I adjust valve clearances.I’ll use Red Line
complete fuel system cleaner higher in Polyetheramine which should keeps the carby ,combustion chamber and valves clean in a few tankfuls of gas prior to every oil change then get the Borescope in there to view the progress over the coming years.Maybe I’ll repeat this at the percentage required for the size of the fuel tank prior to 3 yearly oil changes.I installed a digital engine hour with tachometer gauge and a new battery that will remind me to change the oil .It’s only a lawnmower but as well as doing the job it’s designed for its just as important to be trouble free for as long as possible.If Honda is a better brand and used by working professional owners then using it in my garden ,I would expect to get 20-25 years.I like to experiment with oils and this one is recommended for Honda engines and the spark plug is the correct heat range.

 

[bertsmobile1]

Actually the 2 strokes produce less TOTAL pollution than the modern lean burn 4 strokes.
If you check the EPA tags on the engine most limit compliance to 2 to 4 years by which time the bore is so worn that they start burning oil.
Add to that the embedded pollution in an aluminium engine is close to 4 times that on the iron Powertorque so you have to run them for a very long time before you get to a break even point.'
A point that gets lost with the "If you can not see it then it does not exist crowd "
The power torq engine was not fully off shored to China and the plant in Adelaide only closed down in 2016.
The Chinese made version was made specifically for a single retail chain where "lowest prices are just the beginning OF YOUR PROBLEMS " .
The ones sold through mower shops were the locally made engines and will run for 50 years if not longer .
Never heard of excessive ring wear, but perhaps only happens with the cheapie Chinese engines.
What does happen is the O rings go hard and leak air which causes them to run lean and in particular the inner manifold O ring & the O ring on the pull start shaft.
Over oiling the mix causes a carbon build up under the decompressor piston so they leak compression out of it when running.
I have only rebuilt around 100 of them so do not consider myself to be expert but most times I can get one running like new again for just over $100 including labour.

The Eco -Torque , which is Tier III compliant was finished and ready to run but Briggs abandoned it .There are rhumors that they would not honour the original joint developement undertaking with UTS who did the work, but my friend at UTS could not go into that for obvious reasons .
Basically it had different piston porting with a pear shaped port ,modified carb & decompressor outlet feed back into the carb.
Coil checking can only be done on the secondary unless you know the value of the resistors in the current Hall Effect trigger chip , which AFAIK Victa never made public forcing workshops to buy the very expensive coil testers .

Sounds like you must have gotten a lemon or two .
I fit a lot of new engines from the Tornado base which is pure junk ( and still being used ) into old base plates and am yet to have one come back for anything other than
a blade change or if the customer was listening to me a bi-annual service .

Good luck with your Sanli.
Nicest thing I can say about them is they are reasonable value for money .
One of the brands that I do not fix , but strip down for scrap metal when the owners refuse to take them back .
Rather like Ryobi, if you get a good one then no problems but if you get a lemon you are very much on your own.
Did you look at Product Review before making the purchase ?

 

[bertsmobile1]

Logert gogert.Yeah thanks mate,you are right about that! Thanks for the welcome.My first mower was a 2 Stroke Victa Vortex with a phenomenal lifespan of 26 years without an engine overhaul .As gutless as they come under load and it cut Santa Anna couch rather badly.It felt like I had moved up to a Rolls Royce when I bought my first Honda Buffalo Bull with its powerful,torquey 6.5hp engine and it still has its original blades after 15 years.Suffice it to say,I’d be really disappointed if I didn’t get 25 years from my new HRU196M2 with the commercial GXV160 engine! Moreover,I will install a digital engine hour gauge recommended specifically for Honda mowers.Furthermore,I wish Honda hadn’t produced the Blade Brake Clutch and Engine Brake Systems! I hope I don’t see the day when there’s an OBD2 dongle and sensors everywhere and a miniature Catalytic converter like on my car.I have meticulously serviced both lawnmowers and our gardening equipment over the years and use the ultimate synthetic PAO &Ester engine oil after breaking it in on Dino oil for a short while first.What type of longevity are you guys getting out of your lawnmowers?

Just so you know the Vortex runs at 3000 rpm in order to make it very quiet.'
The Honda runs at 3200 rpm for the same reason.
The standard Victa runs at 3600 rpm
To get peak performnace form a Vortex engine you need to do some maintenance and you seem like the sort of person who would do it.
Mine will chew through 1' tall tussock grass if I get busy and miss a few bits.
Contry to popular belief, the power-torq engine does require maintenance and in particular replacing the O rings which no one ever does so they leak air and just keep getting harder to start The decompressors should be replaced every 10 years as the spring get weak and the diaphragm goes hard so I always fit an aftermarket one which is rebuildable.
If dust has not worn the flutes off your blades in 15 years then you must have a very wet yard or very clay soil.
My commercial customers get about 100 hours out of a set of Honda blades or 150 out of the aftermarket heavy duty blades that are 0.5mm thicker.
Couch is a difficult grass for a rotary to mow when customer with couch comes in complaining about poor performance from their mower I loan them a used drum mower.
Most of them never come back .
It needs to be cut too low 1" for a rotary and is very fine so dose not get caught in the draft like broader leafed grasses do.
I am surprised that the Honda did such a good job unless it was fitted with 4 high lift blades.

It is difficult thing for most people o understand that when it comes to mowing what is important is getting the right mower for the type & size of the lawn and to that extent the brand is of secondary importance
with the exception of the 4 blade cut n mulch models I would never recommend ay Vict for couch lawn , they are designed for hard grasses like buffalo & kikui .

 

[Ron_AU]

Good luck with your Sanli.
Nicest thing I can say about them is they are reasonable value for money .
One of the brands that I do not fix , but strip down for scrap metal when the owners refuse to take them back .

Have two Sanli mowers. Oldest around 5 or 6 years of age. Both cost me around AU $200.
Don't really need anything better for the standard suburban quarter acre front and back lawns.
I'd rather have two of these than one Honda. If the Sanli dies permanently after 7 years, no harm done. If a AU $800 Honda dies in that time, lots of tears due to the relative price tags.
Have had no problem buying spares, carb and coil off eBay for around AU $50 for the two, and NGK make the BPR6ES plug if I need a replacement.

But no doubt a Honda would last longer. If your mechanical ability stops at being able to pull and check the spark plug before you need to take it to a workshop, you are better off with a Honda.
Each to his own.