Ty Korrigan

Well, I sincerely hope that cured matters once and for all but I don't understand how 2 burned relays and a fuse contributed to difficult starting when warm. Surely, not starting at all with that level of failed parts.

Well, visiting the UK this week, we took a footpath across fields for a chippy tea and came across Malva sylvestris. However, Mrs Lee tells me the Malva eaten by her tribe is softer, less woody and no hairs on the stem. I believe this may be due to 'provinence' I've observed plant species subtly changing features whilst still being classified as the same species as I have travelled across Europe, NZ, OZ or the USA. Common hogweed was one notable ubiquitous roadside weed that caught my attention this way. A great variation in leaf profile observed as I travelled South from Brittany to Spain on velo. So I'll try buying the seeds in Morocco though they may not endure the Breton climate.

This struggle, is it unique to the smaller self employed only?

At last, a great opportunity for saying yes to the clients offer of an electric socket!

May I ask a prying question? What price are these? Thanks Stuart

Oh! I was just chatting with Mrs Lee about foraging in general. The purslane that popped up in my onions and got weeded out is a Berber favourite. I got given a hard stare for that but Mrs Lee hasn't exactly been proactive helping me manage the garden. They make an Autumn/Winter dish from it. Then she showed me Malva sylvestris and asked if we could grow that as it is again commonly foraged and grown in Morocco.

I've just compared 5 years quotes versus invoices and we are running at 61% I've looked hard at the smaller local jobs and decided that if I drop my rate a little for 2023/2024, I may win more of these jobs I can do with my wife or students which are highly profitable given they are mostly in and around town and no wages to pay out. This means I can turn down larger jobs that give similar margins but far more stress and anxiety worrying about subbies and deadlines. I'll review matters in 2024 we go for an apprentice later that year. No finance and not planning to take any on for at least 2 years when we are planning to replace the truck. We want to see what the effect of the new emissions zones has on small businesses locally and perhaps vehicules will have evolved further in technology. As I drive through the South of Rennes I see our butchers 30 year old mobile shop and dozens of tippers and vans owned by Turkish tradesmen. The high rise blocks house people who mostly run older cars and I can't imagine everyone being able to replace these by 2025. It must be the same all over Europe...

I realised I missed off chestnuts as one of my few regular wild foods which we use for soup with pumpkins. However at times over half are hosting a maggot so in despair I've binned them and gone for the Supermarket ones instead. If I get my act together, I'll give elder flower and berry cordials a go. In secret, away from Mrs Lee's eyes and nose, maybe brew some parsnip wine.

Yes, pignuts in my garden. I've read about how tricky they are to dig up. Also Samphire, picked that a few times in Breton estuaries. Alot tougher and stronger flavour than the palid farm raised stuff sold in fancy deli's. I've considered Eryngiums too but I'll need to be discreet about digging those up in the dunes. Puffballs recently appeared on the edge of the veg plot, this is the smallest being fried in olive oil. No wild garlic locally and I'm not mentally up for nettles just yet.

Aside from a few select fungi and blackberries, I've not really bothered actively looking for wild foods though I'm considering giving pignuts a serious try. A recent thread on a French gardening forum for Brits has a discussion on Japanese Knotweed with a few people advocating eating it. A quick Google brings up endless articles and blogs on the health benefits of knotweed. If it is really so nutritious, why is it not commonly sold in our Supermarkets? Anyone here regularly consume knotweed? I understand it tastes much like Rhubarb so hardly likely to be a side dish with a main course. Stuart

Thanks for getting back and reposting even though it is not good news. GA Groundcare is worth approaching as they have a positive reputation and recently become certified to work on the Efi Vanguard's. Keep us informed and good luck.

GM might be able to supply a taller chute base. They did so for my 150P. Improved the throw.

Very nice. What department is your French abode in?

I thought that was a generic part. I see them for as little as 20euros on the web.

I suspect changing this pump and the engine running right might just be a co-incidence. Keep us posted anyway.

Question is, why would this very simple pump be affected by the heat of the engine?

Move over Monet, there's a new kid on the block. Seriously, luck with the soil plus dedication with watering and weeding. I sent a sample of soil off to a laboratory for analysis. It came back as high in everything but calcium which at 5.9 pH is expected. I'd home tested to 5.5 pH but thought lower still. The Blueberries are telling me the soil needs more acid in their area. 18m3 of water so far this season. The bounty of veg is regularly given to neighbours and the local food bank. I'm freezing as much as practicable but I'll require another freezer in a few weeks. Bit overwhelmed to be honest. Greenhouse is impassable, too small with too much planted. Carrots yet to come in, sweetcorn, yellow French beans, squash, parsnips, beet. Turnips look a bit rank having taken a hit from flea beetle. Onions are outrageous. Broadbeans very heavy crop. Mrs Lee makes a pease pudding with them. Only 3 cardoons a Moroccan favourite. Basically thistle stems for tagines. I like them young otherwise they are fiberous and bitter. I'll plant more artichokes for the good lady wife. Jerusalem artichokes growing like weeds. Raspberries, 9 so far but I expect an explosion of fruit in 2024. Marrows waste of space. Courgettes next year. Salads too much sown. Parsley and coriander, 4m linear of each harvested and it is regrowing fast. Coriander needs another cut this week. Leek-a-rama, both bought seedlings and sown from seed. Spuds, Charlotte and a violet variety which is sweet and tasty and gives well over a kilo per plant. I need to concentrate on learning how to preserve.

Honestly, it is good for my mental health to know I am not alone. You are talking about the high pressure fuel pump not the lift pump and if so how much was the fuel pump? Also, if you still have the old pump, I suggest cutting it open to look at the filter. Tell us what you see.

Any update on this Shaunpaul?

I often rented a Bugnot during the Vanguard Efi debacle. Got rather fond of it Flails are slow, no good on wood but the fixed hammers with carbide edges are pretty good. Drum arrangement and easy to work on. Single roller with toothed belt. It was loud and unbraked with a hand brake acting on the tyre.

Yes in France. Shredders are highly popular with landscapers. No-one burns except farmers and 'God' who has been particularly active...

I've a high Google rating locally. I live in a rented house and operate out of an attached garage with my other kit kept on a local farm. 75% of our work is within 15kms 20% 15kms-30kms and 5% second home owners mostly over 100kms I find the further away a client, the more likely it is they have already called several others closer and so are just fishing for the lowest price rather than the reputation and quality of service. One day I'll move out of town to a place we own some 25kms away but need to domicile the business in town first. Moving will add 50kms per day for the truck and an hour to the day not to mention quoting travel and time.

I've had my Aspen Bio chain oil chewed before.

The third time the engine had running problems, the chipper was away for 15+ months at the next closest Briggs Efi certified mechanic over 2 hours away. The first Efi guy an hour away was a sulky twunt with a permanent Gallic shrug. After a few months of renting and wee Chinesium chippering, I decided to blow my house deposit on a new diesel chipper rather than go into the Autumn without a reliable machine. The mechanic updated the ECU (but didn't change it) changed all the sensors, changed the fuel pump, disabled the bonnet sensor, emptied and cleaned the fuel tank, spark plugs, fuel filter then gave up and told me to either buy a new engine or take it back. I refused to accept the machine back because though the warranty was over it was still valid because the fault occurred within the warranty period. In the end I appealed to Mark at Basco? Briggs import and distribution in the UK. Mark sent a new engine to Europe though once in the hands of Briggs Europe took a few weeks to arrive in France then the mechanic Bruno took 3 months to install it. The chipper was left outside under a tarp for most if this time which caused the much vaunted powder coating to lift off in large flakes. It runs sweetly though I cannot justify keeping it as a second chipper. So it is off to auction in September. Auction because there is no comeback in the event of a major fault developing.

Have any dealers ever actually fixed this fairly common fault or do Vanguard owners just give up and go back to diesel?