Last year we reviewed a trio of Victa gardening tools as well: the 82V range. Serious power, tested on our rural block.
This time we’ll go a bit more suburban and test the 18V Mower, Line Trimmer and Blower.
We have a somewhat surprising result.
Read on!
We’ll start with the simplest tool: the Victa 18V Blower
Simple because no assembly required, well almost.
Just connect the blower tube to the housing. Insert the battery and switch it on.
Interesting detail: the On switch is actually a speed dial – from 0 (off) to 5. Can be handy when you have stuff that’s harder to move, like small gravel or sticks, or when you have to blow against the prevailing wind.
Most of the time you’ll use just one speed and personally I would have preferred a separate On/Off flip switch in addition to this dial.
The highest speed equates to over 200kph which can keep an airplane in the air given enough volume! In reality the speeds of this Victa 18V Blower will do the job it’s intended for quite adequately but it’s not a mini tornado. Which is a good thing.
And noise levels at 105dBA is quite reasonable.
Not much waffle on this simple product: it works well and promises to do so for a long time as ALL of the products in this 18V line up carry a warranty of FIVE years for consumer use.
And if you determine that you want one or more of the other products we’ve tested and buy into the Victa 18V ecosystem, the Blower console (no battery or charger) is only 99 Aussie bucks.
$189 for the complete Kit.
Victa 18V Mower – Lightweight but a Decent Cut
This is in interesting proposition aimed squarely at the suburban households where a) making too much noise is a no-no and b) the grass is easier to cut than on my bush block.
We always give our review equipment a hard time here, knowing that if they pass, they will have a much easier life in Metropoliana…
So we let loose on tough, rough, rubbish grass that was tall and wet. All things you should not do.
Have a look at the pic below.
Yes, the Victa was victorious but I would not recommend this environment for your mowing pleasure. It’ll do great in a yard that’s reasonably well maintained and when it is dry.
Worry about battery life? You shouldn’t be as the dual 18V batteries are rated at 5Ah each and together generate 36V which is good for 30+ minutes of mowing.
The dual battery charger will make short work of the recharge while you have a cuppa.
The model we reviewed was the larger one with a cutting deck of 44cm. Not sure if there’s much of a market for the 37cm one.
Starting is easy and safe. I like the soft start feature where the engine spools up to full power in 3 secs.
The battery charge can easily be read from the 3 LED indicator near the upper handle. A more precise remaining capacity can be seen on the batteries themselves in percentages. When I was done after about 10 minutes of heavy mowing the batteries still showed 58% left. In normal conditions it should run for more than 30 minutes.
When faced with long grass use the mower on the highest setting. Easy on the motor, better for the grass and less chance of hitting anything that’s hidden in the long grass.
The Grass Catcher can hold 50 litres and fills up very quickly! Personally, I cannot believe they did not include the mulcher plug on this model for direct discharge on the grass. It’s an item that I always use on the bigger Victa 82V model. Maybe I should 3D print one myself? It should cost Victa only a couple of bucks to include it with all models and the manual also depicts it.
Conclusion
The Victa 18V Mower is lightweight but very capable, easy to store and to maintain, safe and easy to use and QUIET.
At $499 Bunnings is a good place to look.
Victa 18V Line Trimmer
Expectations were fairly low on how this very lightweight line trimmer would cope with the very tall grass around my fruit trees…
Again, this trimmer is not meant for heavy duty, but we’d love to go beyond its intended purpose to see how it would hold up.
Call me surprised – very pleasantly surprised – when it was the perfect way to get rid of that grass around the trunk!
I’m always careful not to damage the bark of the tree when line trimming. This unit has a bump guard to protect any object from whipper snipping damage.
There’s another great feature I like: this machine is also an edger: just tilt the trimmer guard assembly to the 90 degree angle and roll the guide wheels along the edge of the grass. Brilliant!
Other adjustment angles are also possible for comfort of operation, like 30, 45 or 60 degrees of tilt.
Finally, one more handy feature: a refill spool is already attached on the front handle. If you run out in the middle of a job you don’t have to rush back to the shed to find a spare spool.
We’ve reviewed the 82V line trimmer last year which was a power house – a real brush cutter bush basher. And heavy. I know which one I prefer to use now that I know how capable its 18V younger sibling is. I love the minimal weight and stress on my sore back!
Conclusion
I have said it all above. Just go and get yourself one.
Only $99 for the console and a 100 bucks extra for the Kit which includes a Briggs and Stratton 5Ah Battery and Charger.
Better yet, go and get into this 18V Victa ecosystem: a couple of batteries and you can power the whole range, including a hedge trimmer.
Highly recommended!
