Al Smith
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Everything posted by Al Smith
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Well now then with the little pieces of firewood I would assume the stoves are small also .I tend to think you would have to stoke them every few hours just to keep them burning . My personal stove is not all that large,maybe 50,000 btu if that but it pretty well heats an 1800 square foot house even at the cold winters we get here . I can load it up at say 9 pm in the evening and it's still nice and toasty at 6 am the next morning . That takes a little practice like having a good bed of coals and some larger pieces of oak or hickory to bank the night fire . Not that big of a deal though .
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Makes sense but I really never thought of that fact before .It would be a pain in the rump trying to stack 8 inch pieces . Like I said 16" is about standard here but Magnus in Sweden said most stuff is cut around 24 inchs .Just makes a diff where you are at I guess .
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Oh I suppose it's just a different way of doing things . Generally speaking we in this area just cut it in 16" lengths and split and stack it on pallets to keep it from ground contact .That way it's all done .Tarp it down in rainy or snowy weather and it dries just fine . Then too I don't think we in these part have the rainy weather that the British Isles is so noted for either .
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Not that it's any of my business but why would you leave it in long lengths to dry only to cut it down to size later ?
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Well you have to take into consideration of what and the size of it you are splitting as to the design . In the part of the US I live in we are often concerned with huge rounds ,36" or larger oak .These would be nearly impossible to load on a splitter that was not tiltable .Thusly most splitters,including the one I built have the foot plate on the end of the beam and the knife or cutting wedge mounted on the end of the cylinder rod . For small stuff you can run it in horizonal mode or tilt it up for those rounds that might weigh 200 pounds or more .
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Well,it' not quite as simple as that . The Walbro WT 326 is a fixed main jet carb whereas the two models of Zama are fully adjustable models . Of the Zamas the C1Q-S16A is used on the 020T and the C1Q-s32 is used on the 200T .The main difference being the 200T carb has a compensater type head for use as the so called "intelecarb " .In other words the carb kind of self adjusts to conditions of flow of the main air filter . Either of these carbs will work .If you don't want the intelecarb thing to work just don't hook up the hose from the carb to the air filter box ,simple enough .
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This carb model for reasons unknown has been plagued with problems .The usual malfunction is a crack that developes in the metering diaphragm side of the carb body .If that be the case there is no repair only replacement . This is a picture of a faulty Zama carb from a Stihl MS 200 T which was sent to me from Australia several years ago .
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Carbide is costly no matter where you buy it.It's a lot slower also than standard chain and needs machine sharpened . The average decent filer can file sharpen a 20" loop in less than 10 minutes .I can do one in about 5 .A majority of us on this side of the pond use either round filed chisel chain or square ground. Mostly the western states on the later for the large soft wood trees . The best thing you can use for stumping is old fashion chipper chain but I don't know if it can be found on that side of the Atlantic .Second best would be semi chisel . Do as you wish on the carbide but the general opinion is it's best left for rescue work and not timber cutting .
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Well,due to the fact we have none over here my choice would be none .Ha Ha Ha .
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Some of you know my great grandparents came over to this side in around 1895 or so from Nottingham . Some of that furniture they brought with them still looks as fine as it did over 100 years ago .I imagine that originaly being in dwellings whiich used coal and food stoves dried the wood so ever slowly it did not develop cracks as it would have had they had central heating systems in those early days . Elm,or at least the species grown localy and actually nearly all gone from Dutch Elm is a nearly split proof wood ,tough and stringy .It makes timbers that are super strong and planks that will bend under heavy loads and not break as easily as oak .
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A properly timber framed building will last for centurys .The type wood used was pretty much dictated by what was available locally .My fathers' timber framed barn was make around 1900 and is framed of sugar maple . A few still stand that were framed of oak and build most likely 1870 . It makes since that the British Isles would have older buildings .Many have fallen to disrepair on this side of the big pond . The craft of timber framing is nearly a lost art these days . From what little I undersatand at it the framing was erected from undried or green timbers .Any planking,finished lumber etc would most likely be better to be dried .Air drying will get it to 12-13 percent moisture which is fine for an outside structure . Inside stuff is best to taken to what is called stabilizing moisture content which is 8 or 9 percent .
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Oh they are complicated little rascals to work on ,I'll grant you that . The first one I worked on it must have taken me 45 minutes to figure out how the handle assembley went together . However making a broad statement that the saw is a piece of junk because a person doesn't know how to work on would be like saying a Rolls is a chunk of junk and compare it to a Honda Civic . Oh by the way that Husky 335 is not what a person would call a sweetheart to work on either .To get to anything on it you have to disect it into little pieces .For example just to replace the oiler shaft you have to take it clear apart as the shaft is on the outer cover of the saw .
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Well everybody is entitled to an opinion .As to the Husky 335 I have three in my shed with bad oilers . Seems odd but my 3 little Stihls,020 top handle,020 T plus my souped up Ms 200T all start good ,cut good and oil good .So much for rubbish .
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Ah bless your hearts,it's obvious you aren't saw mechanics . A 200T can be a bit of a bear to get the handle apart or back together ,especially if you are not familiar with working on saws ,Stihls in praticular . Relax,have a little tea or a pint and ease into it.If you can't remember how you got it apart take notes while you are doing so . Fact is I did a thread on another web site so if anyone is interested speak up and I'll stick on here .I could also imbed a link but I won't do so unless the administrater says it's okay .Don't want to step on anyones toes .
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Different conditions different mind set . A 60 cc saw is a good firewood size .They handle a 20" bar with no problem.they aren't heavy unless you only weigh about 120 pounds soaking wet . Go with a better quality saw,even an older one .Taken care of it will last you a lifetime only cutting 4 cords a year. Don't get me wrong you can do real well with a little 40 cc saw,many have and do . One day though you just might get your hands on a 60 and wished you would have bought one. I makes no diff ,they all cut wood .
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Stihl would never in a million years ever admit they had a problem . I've dealt with machine tool makers that hail from the same country and mindset . No sense sugar coating it,that lot is just plain bull headed . The 200T's are about the best actual pro model trim saw on the market but this carb issue thing certainly has blacked their eye . Those little things are not cheap any where in the world and to pony up that much money only to have problems like that would be very discouraging,to say the least .
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The 039/Ms 390 is basically a mid sized firewood cutter .They do okay but aren't really a pro grade saw .I have however seen them used in a professional situation and they seem to do fine . Now then with regards to the 211 which I' ve never seen .If the mechanic is not cognisant of what they are looking for it could be over looked real easily . What the problem was on the 200T carbs and perhaps on this model was a tiny crack under the metering diaphragm in the carb body which would expand as the saw heated up thus opening into the carb innards and causing a lean run condition .Unless you have eyes like an eagle it can be very ellusive to find .Sherlock Holmes' spy glass helps .
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I think I may have been one of the first to put pictures on the net of the faulty Zama carbs that Stihl was using at the time .Makes no diff one way or the other,they have or had problems . In conversation on another forum a Stihl guru in Pacific north west of the USA ,Andy also spoke out about them .Now weather or not the company has rectified that problem or not I can't answer . As it is now myself nor Andy participate in that forum any longer so I don't know what if anything has been done but I assume something .Those carbs kind of gave Stihl a black eye ,so to speak .
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We have not had leaded gasoline [petrol ] for years and years . I usually run Hi-test or 92 octane rating in the saws . I can't say weather leaded gaosoline burns cooler or not .The tetraethel lead was added as an antiknock compound plus it aided in lubricating the exhaust valves on old 4 cycle engines . However even during the leaded era McCulloch recomended what was known at the time as "white gas" which was lead free but formulated differently that modern fuels . That recomendation was for racing engines but I really don't know how many followed those guidelines .
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Oh I just don't know .More people than not rely entirely too much on what the specs say the saw should run at RPM wise . To set a 200 T at 15,000 rpms might sound good but often times you can drop a thousand and they run better . That might sound silly but I've seen it in action .Any saw,souped up race saws included have to have that high speed "4 cycle" cackle to be set right .That richness at WOT no load will turn into power once it hits the cut and will actually cut faster believe it or not . Lean fuel does two things,firstly it burns hotter secondly it doesn't carry the oil film to the parts . Tune them as you wish but I know how the pros do it and am just passing it on .Remember,it takes fuel not air to make power .
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The great oil debate must be a world wide thing which nobody agrees on . I could care less what anybody runs as far as brand or mix amount .I have always ran at 32 to 1 and have never cooked a saw ,stock or modified and I have some that are 50 years old . Do as you wish though,it's your saws . Now from what I gather you folks are under different rules than we on this side of the pond .However if a person just pulled the screens from the muffler of the 200T and readjusted the carb not only will it run better but also last longer . Those things use a bottom muffler with a side discharge which is not the best of designs for removing heat from a running engine under heavy load . The heat has to go someplace .It not outbound it will migrate inbound and fry the saw innards .
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Slight correction on displacement .038 av--61 cc 038 super --66.8cc 038 Mag --72.2 cc . bores of 48 mm,50 mm ,52 mm respectively .
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Yes indeed nice stack .Worth the time to take the effort IMO .
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I never heard it called rings before,perhaps a regional thing eh . Never the less if you let it lie in unsplit pieces it will take forever to dry and some species will rot from the inside out before it dries . I suppose I live in a less rainy climate than GB but I only tarp the stacks down from about first of Nov. to late May,during the snow and rainy seasons . Placed on pallettes or skids to keep it off the ground plus properly stacked it dries and keeps just fine. Heaped up in a big giant pile chances are the inside pieces will either rot or grow mold and the bottom of the pile will become unusable in a year or less .
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I'm not sure if I own a saw that doesn't leak at least a little bit of oil . My 200 leaks a tad but not too badly .Maybe I shook something loose when I did a super port on it .
