Chainsaw For Logging Recommendations Please

[wyk]

All the name brand 2t mix oils claim to have fuel stabilisers in them. How much, and how long can the fuel last, I dunno. But it will likely last longer than your octane will. In mixed fuel, the octane rating starts to degrade the second it is mixed, and depending on your quoted source, can be as much as 10% less octane within 3-4 months. Then there's the ethanol issue. I think there was a guy did some testing on it with stabilisers... might have been the farm guy. Lemme see if I can find the link...

 

Here we are:

 

 

Personally, I just use the saws. Seems to keep the fuel the freshest. So not much to contribute there. The only thing is maybe that I have a Husky strimmer that is 15 years old that I only use in spring, and maybe a couple of times in summer. Never added anything to the fuel other than mix, and it spends 99.9% of it's life sitting with a fuel tank maybe 1/4 full that I empty before use. Never a problem. It paid for itself long ago.

 

[Bolt]

Aspen without a doubt.

 

 The first saw (well actually the second saw I guess) only went tits-up due to a knackered carb.

 

Why sent the next saw the same way.

 

If £230 has just been spent on a new saw,  Aspen is at worst about £20 more, and it will last for tanks and tanks and tanks and tanks.  £20? Not exactly breaking the bank.

 

Why mess about mixing fuel, draining out fuel, disposing of unused fuel, buying fuel stabiliser, getting carbs refurbished.

 

Just get a pack of aspen and forget about it.

Edited November 15, 2019 by Bolt
.... and Aspen comes in its own can. pump fuel needs the purchase of a additional can.

[Witterings]

1 hour ago, Bolt said:

Aspen without a doubt.

 

 The first saw (well actually the second saw I guess) only went tits-up due to a knackered carb.

 

Why sent the next saw the same way.

 

If £230 has just been spent on a new saw,  Aspen is at worst about £20 more, and it will last for tanks and tanks and tanks and tanks.  £20? Not exactly breaking the bank.

 

Why mess about mixing fuel, draining out fuel, disposing of unused fuel, buying fuel stabiliser, getting carbs refurbished.

 

Just get a pack of aspen and forget about it.

 

Must admit this is where my mind's going as well .... is there any difference between the Aspen and Motomix .... only reason I ask they have the Motomix near me and saves me a 20 mile round trip to get the Aspen.

[Stubby]

4 hours ago, Witterings said:

 

Must admit this is where my mind's going as well .... is there any difference between the Aspen and Motomix .... only reason I ask they have the Motomix near me and saves me a 20 mile round trip to get the Aspen.

I have not used Motomix but have used Aspen and Husqvarna " Power XP " fuel  and I cant tell the difference So I would assume  Motomix to be similar . 

[GardenKit]

18 hours ago, Bolt said:

 Aspen is at worst about £20 more, and it will last for tanks and tanks and tanks and tanks.  £20? Not exactly breaking the bank.

 

 

Of course I agree totally, except for one thing, and its something that many people overlook in their calculations, as they seem to think their petrol is free.

Aspen is at worst only about £12 more than a pump petrol/oil mix.

£12? Still a lot of money but it breaks the bank a little less than £20!

[markrufrider]

On 12/11/2019 at 16:58, Witterings said:

I’m looking for a chainsaw for logging for a wood burner and general use around the garden.

 

Years ago I had a Stihl (not sure which model but pretty entry level) which was great until I left the garage door open one night and it went walkabout … I wanted a replacement quickly and stupidly bought a McCulloch because that’s what B & Q had in stock and before amazon prime existed J.

 

It sat unused for a few years and the diaphragm is knackered and can’t be replaced / repaired economically and I’m not prepared to spend good money on bad.

 

I don’t want to buy something else that can’t be worked on that easily so have probably narrowed it down to Stihl or Husky (they’re the only names I’ve heard of as good ????) but am open to other suggestions provided they’re reliable, easy to start both cold and hot and things like a diaphragm can be replaced without having to buy a whole new carburetor.

 

I’ve looked at the Hushy 135 Mk2 and the Stihl MS 181 and 181 C-BE … does anyone have any comments on any of those (good or bad) and are there other makes as well thought of I’m not aware of and ticks all the boxes??

 

Any help and suggestions would be much appreciated!!

have a look at the echo range 

[Bolt]

22 hours ago, Witterings said:

 

Must admit this is where my mind's going as well .... is there any difference between the Aspen and Motomix .... only reason I ask they have the Motomix near me and saves me a 20 mile round trip to get the Aspen.

Sorry, I was using Aspen as a generic term for alkylate fuel.

 

I get Aspen as they sell it next door to where I work, but I would assume that the other brands are much of a muchness.

[Bolt]

9 hours ago, GardenKit said:

Of course I agree totally, except for one thing, and its something that many people overlook in their calculations, as they seem to think their petrol is free.

Aspen is at worst only about £12 more than a pump petrol/oil mix.

£12? Still a lot of money but it breaks the bank a little less than £20!

Indeed...... what I mean was that for a spot of domestic forestry, the cost of fuel (£12 or £20) is an insignificant cost when compared to the expense of the saw (£230).

 

 

Edited November 16, 2019 by Bolt

[Bolt]

The other good thing about alkylate fuel is that you can feel a bit self righteous 'eco-wise'. 

 

To avoid the risk of smugness, I offset my green credentials by using mineral based chain oil (and therefore suffer no oil pump problems either, as a bonus*).

Edited November 16, 2019 by Bolt
Only for non-work related domestic saws, obviously!!

[Witterings]

12 hours ago, markrufrider said:

have a look at the echo range 

 

Someone who obviously didn't read all the thread and where a few posts ago I said I'd bought an Echo  ?

Not a problem and not knocking it as I've done the same myself.

 

I also rang the person who I spoke to and asked him about Aspen and he said in essence it's the best thing you can use, 95% of their more expensive repairs are on the fuels systems where they don't use it and when he was working it was almost a no brainer to not have a saw's down time.