The Legendary Scott Bonnar 45 / Rover 45 reel swap and basic engine service

[@jases12]

Great vid once again mate! Just what I needed to know for when I send my bedknife and reel off to get sharpened. Legend 👍🏼

[@theaussielawn]

Sorry thought I replied to you Jase. Thanks for tuning in. It should come in handy thats for sure. Enjoy the rest of your weekend mate

[@Chil3no90]

Excellent work 👏 Brenton! Very informative and straight to the point 👌👍

[@theaussielawn]

Thank you mate I really appreciate the feedback 😎

[@13thbeachgardeningservices47]

Loved this one mate, love the equipment maintenance ones. Bit different then the usual grass vids!

[@theaussielawn]

13th Beach Gardening Services thanks mate every now and then I’ll mix it up a little bit especially in the off season 🤘

[@craigmurphy5048]

I used this every year. Always good

[@theaussielawn]

Thanks mate 😎

[@jacobroach1946]

Awesome information mate. yourself along with Ben Sims have got me on the lookout for a rover 45 for myself, hunting one down like crazy 👍🏼

[@theaussielawn]

Jacob Roach best advice anyone can give you is don’t ask questions just buy it if the price is right

[@jacobroach1946]

Oh don’t worry I’m trying

[@theaussielawn]

Jacob Roach good luck let me know how u go

[@terentifitness4256]

I have one but i am from romania

[@Earthau]

Thanks Brenton very informative and great editing to include products & tools you used. My questions this week: 1) How will I know when the Reel and Bed Knife need regrinding? 2) How often would you expect to have to do this (every year or every other year)? 3) What can I roughly expect to pay for this process and what is it worth for a new Reel & Bed Knife? Enjoy your weekend!

[@theaussielawn]

G'day, You have asked some really really good questions here and I'm going to keep them as brief as I can, 1) when you can no longer cut phonebook paper cleanly with minimal reel to bed knife contact or when you first replace a bed knife blade with a new one or when you hit something hard when mowing causing damage to reel / bedknife. Some people do backlap their mowers (plenty of those sorta vids on KZbin) I generally get mine done once a year or a bit over a year. 2) Again it depends on how much mowing you're doing a season, How many twigs or stones you hit even the hardness of your reel and bed knife can play a part in how long it stays sharp. 3) You get what you pay for like most things expect to pay about $100-150 from memory but its been over 12months since i last got any done. I keep 2 freshly sharpened reels on the shelf here at home so Im never without a sharp reel in an emergency. A reel can last you a life time and never need to be replace (with proper care and maintenance) Bottom blades $30-$80 depending on quality etc. More info about that stuff can be found on the Scott Bonnar Restoration page on Facebook Cheers Brenton 🤟

[@Earthau]

@@theaussielawn Thank you Sir, you are a dead set LEGEND!

[@MrCrazytubeman]

Cheers for sharing Brenton. 👍

[@theaussielawn]

All good

[@benlumsden8666]

Awesome vid Brenton! Very informative and some great tips 👌

[@theaussielawn]

Thanks Ben glad you got something out of it. 🤟

[@padraig1994]

Great video, appreciate the detail. Keep the vids and tips coming 👍

[@theaussielawn]

Thanks heaps for tuning in mate hope your having a great weekend

[@jimmydickson8854]

Thanks for the tips mate ,what dose it cost to get the reel sharpened ,jimmy WA

[@theaussielawn]

It really depends if you are talking backlapping or grinding. But off the top of my head a couple hundred should have you sorted with a spin grind

[@thegreenandgoldlife1464]

Aye Brenton. Excellent vid mate! Some times just getting out in the shed and pumping the CCR while you tinker with the nuts and bolts can be therapeutic!!!!! mmmm. Too bad about the disease mate. Sure you'll knock it!

[@theaussielawn]

Rollin rollin on the river 🎶 😂🤟🎤

[@philrichmond5919]

Great info, well presented as always. Given me a greater appreciation for the Rover Kensington's cartridge system though! That oil syphon kit looks like the ducks guts, I'm going to have to get myself one of those.

[@theaussielawn]

Thanks Phil, The cartridge system is most definitely a quicker way of removing the reel its just a shame they run plastic gear cogs and have been known to break and are apparently very expensive to replace. The oil syphon kit is really handy tbh, I saw it one day a few years back at the hardware store and thought Hmm ill give this a whirl, It is very handy. Enjoy the last of your weekend 🤟

[@philrichmond5919]

The Aussie Lawn, the three plastic gears are cheap as, the white one on the cartridge is about £7 and the two pink drive ones about £5 each from GHS. It’ll cost more in postage from the UK! The roller drive ring and pinion gear are about £35, but that would be a rate failure. It’s all proven stuff as they’ve been around as Qualcast/Suffolk Punch for over 20 years, same design as Allett produce now. Anyhow, with decent SB/Rover 45’s selling for more than what I paid for the Kensington ex-demo from a nearby mower shop, the choice was made for me. All the lawn care youtubers have made the 45’s too expensive 😉

[@theaussielawn]

Phil Richmond I do agree the 45s are crazy money now 🤘 have a good one mate

[@lawncarewithtim4896]

Phil Richmond , spot on Phil with the price of SB’s currently. More inflated than the German dollar post WW1! I could not believe my luck when last year I picked up an SB 45 20 inch unit for $350! They are as rare as rocking horse excrement.

[@philrichmond5919]

Lawn care with Tim, that’s a good pick. You’ve just got to be in the right place at the right time. I just can’t fathom why the prices have gone above a brand new mower. My old neighbour just had a 17” SB he’d restored for sale at $2300, and he’s sold it. You can buy a Masport 500 Golf for less! Hopefully the insanity goes away soon. Meanwhile, I’ve got a Qualcast Panther manual roller mower to work on. It was free. Stripes beautifully too.

[@musc258]

Hi, I'm hoping to pick one of these up this weekend. Could you give us a rough indication of the cost of getting the reel and bed knife ground? Also the cost of the new reel and bed knife?

[@theaussielawn]

Hm about $150 for a spin grind. New reel cost about $500 i think but could be wrong. bottom blades are about $30 I think. Hope you enjoy your new mower mate

[@njoyridin3928]

Any idea of how to remove the bar that sits just behind the front roller? You undo the two bolts but it won't release because the bolt thread in the bar protrude into the main frame of the mower 🤔

[@theaussielawn]

Yeah i know the one you mean, I just cant recall off the top of my head how it comes off. There is a really helpful facebook page called Scott Bonnar Restorations there will be some very knowledgeable people lurking on that page

[@njoyridin3928]

Thanks for getting back to me. I found a video where someone replaced that bar, once the blade reel was removed there was enough flex in the frame to bend the sides out and release them. In the middle of a rover 45 restoration 😅

[@paulthomas3782]

Happy Days mate great Vid thanks for the WD40 foaming cleaner review haven't seen this product before. Good luck with the dollar spot.

[@theaussielawn]

Not a worry Paul. The WD40 stuff is really good, Spray let penetrate, agitate then hose off... Winning!

[@stephenclapson8389]

My rover 45 is cutting in on the motor side. Any tips as it leaves lines.

[@theaussielawn]

It could be the reel to bed knife adjustment or it may need a rear roller realignment. They would be the first things I’d look at

[@stephenclapson8389]

Thanks for tips. It is cutting paper all the way along. Thanks for any advice.

[@adamtropiano6371]

Is crc tac 2 ok for the chains and pto shaft? And inox mx4 ok for reel and height adjusters?

[@theaussielawn]

Im not 100% sure mate but if it says its suitable on the tin give it a whirl and see how they both go

[@chisel83]

Great channel mate, love my Bon Scottar. Subbed 👍

[@theaussielawn]

Thanks for subscribing mate, welcome to the circus 🎪 cheers Brenton

[@chisel83]

The Aussie Lawn 🍻

[@lawncarewithtim4896]

Like the other chap from 13th beach, I think you make excellent Maintanance videos. Top job Brenton. It could be the holy question with lawns, is it equipment first or lawn first? You certainly cover both topics.

[@theaussielawn]

Thanks Tim, Its a tricky balance but I just do what I think will be of interest to people 🤟

[@GorgeyWoofy-jb3ip]

The 8 blade cylinder gives a nice cut

[@theaussielawn]

Its a happy medium I believe

[@robertalleway9751]

Excellent video brother! Now please excuse me, I now need to go service mower my reel mower

[@theaussielawn]

G'day Robert Thanks for the support bro, Have fun with the service 🤟

[@robertalleway9751]

@@theaussielawn You're doing a great job on the content development. Luckily I looked at my rover, I had loose engine mount bolts on and dodgy spark plug. Thanks for the reply

[@theaussielawn]

@@robertalleway9751 Wow lucky find you don't want any frame cracks to happen

[@RobinHedstrom]

Thank you! I don't have a Rover but good value anyways. Keep going!

[@theaussielawn]

Thanks mate, Wow just noticed you have a lawn channel in Sweden? How good is that! I'll have to have a look although I won't be able to understand Swedish 😩🤟Cheers Brenton

[@RobinHedstrom]

@@theaussielawn Yes, I do and I love it. I need to figure out how to get it to work for non-Swedish speaking people too. If that's another channel or subtitles or something else.

[@theaussielawn]

@@RobinHedstrom In the mean time ill just watch the scenery haha 🤟

[@RobinHedstrom]

@@theaussielawn some of the shorter videos have subtitles, which you can choose to auto translate into English. However, it's not consistant sadly.

[@theaussielawn]

@@RobinHedstrom Ok great Ill be sure to have a look 🤟 Thanks mate Cheers Brenton

[@camdaniels3750]

hey mate, im in deep into the vids here. Is your mower/sharpen guy up your way or does he happen to be in syd ? just snagged a 45 that i want to do some work to, there is a cylinder mower "specialist" near me but he does not have a very good rep. again great vid mate. cheers

[@theaussielawn]

Hi mate he is sydney based but the reason I don’t mention who he is , is because his not fully setup to deal with the domestic market at this stage. He specialises in golf and bowls. I think I know the bloke your referring too and Defs avoid him 😝 Try VMR on stalkbook or Macathur mowers maybe

[@camdaniels3750]

legend thanks mate

[@markkearns6231]

Great video, you have done an excellent job explaining the technical stuff! Thanks. It would be nice to see more tech stuff from time to time. What is your opinion on the Protea Mowers? Keep up the good work 😉

[@theaussielawn]

Thanks Mark its a balancing act between informing and boring and hopefully its not the latter in this case haha. I have not had any exposure to the protea apart from seeing one at lawn fest a couple years back. It seems ok maybe one day I will have the opportunity to review one

[@pyra6517]

Is there meant to be a lot of play in the front reel ? It moves a good 10-15mm when it gets lifted up. Great video

[@theaussielawn]

reel or frost roller? Maybe it's the way it looks on camera. I don't have a fancy front roller YET haha it has 1mm or 2 in it but its never really bothered me

[@pyra6517]

The Aussie Lawn yes front roller what needs replacing if there’s lots of movement? A bearing or something? I guess I might have to pull it apart

[@theaussielawn]

@@pyra6517 From factory there is no bearings (which is the same setup as mine) as the end caps wear the play in the roller increases, you can get fancy aftermarket stuff which is of top quality that have got bearings etc. Or you can simply replace the front roller end caps (the black plastic things on each end) if your after a cheaper fix. If you are on facebook jump across to Scott Bonnar Restorations page there are a heap of very friendly helpful people on there that can answer a million more technical questions than me.

[@pyra6517]

The Aussie Lawn yeah I’m on that page. Thanks for your help ;)

[@brendan8322]

Hey mate, hoping for your advice, while I had the mower laid back adjusting the reel as you described, the engine oil leaked out onto the floor and into the carburetor through the tube that connects the carb to the back of motor. Do you have any thoughts on why this happened? It was just laying back on the handles I assumed it was ok given thats what you did.

[@theaussielawn]

That’s really odd, is it a flat head briggs like mine or a different brand or an overhead valve engine?

[@brendan8322]

Yea looks identical to yours, 3.5hp briggs same. Theres a breather or maybe they call it an emissions tube which runs out of the carby into the back of the motor. Thats where the oil ran from the motor into the carb and also leaked out through the rubber grommet which isnt a very good seal. Maybe someone else on here has come across this.

[@jasonlim9772]

@@brendan8322 this happened to me today too, which led me searching on KZbin for videos

[@RockoP89]

Very handy video thank you

[@theaussielawn]

Thanks mate Im glad you got something out of it. Enjoy the rest of the weekend

[@terrystarr3012]

Hi, what is meant by the term twin rail 45 regards

[@theaussielawn]

Hi Terry THe 45 refers to the model the mower in the vid is the later Rover branded machine its called the Rover 45. Originally the mower was made and sold by a company known as Scott Bonnar. It was then called the Scott Bonnar 45, Earlier versions of the Scott Bonnar had a single sheet of steel that the motor mounted to, These have been referred to as a "solid deck" The twin rail means the motor is mounted to 2 steel rails hence the "twin reference" hope this sort of helps answer your question, Cheers Brenton

[@ryang2940]

Great video!

[@theaussielawn]

Cheers Ryan hope you have a great weekend

[@fortune214]

Who does your sharpening?

[@theaussielawn]

G'day Cameron at this stage I don't want to say without his permission as last time I spoke to him he wasn't taking on new customers. However if he is I'm happy to share his name

[@Murrabung]

Don’t feel too bad brother. I’ve got dollar spot as well 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

[@theaussielawn]

Ben Simpson clearly your lawn and mine have been somewhere they shouldn’t have been 🤣🤪

[@Murrabung]

The Aussie Lawn yeah our lawns have been very naughty indeed. How dare they do it to us after all the love and care we give it 😂 😂 😂

[@theaussielawn]

Ben Simpson exactly, bloody spoilt things they are 🤣

[@Murrabung]

The Aussie Lawn bloody oath. I show mine more love than I do my kids lol

[@theaussielawn]

Ben Simpson 🤣🤣🤣

[@booobface]

Fuckin awesome vid!!

[@theaussielawn]

hahaha Thanks Brendan have a cracking weekend mate