stoker-steam

Spider mite will be a problem, no matter how clean you keep your coop. The best spray I have used is Columbine Colombine Pigeon Products I use this on the birds, just put a sock end over there heads and get the spray under the feathers from the vent right up to the neck. Lovely coop there,

I used to go to that pub back in the late seventies when it was a bikers pub, it used to be packed out, tons of bikes lined up at the front. Happy days:001_tt2:

I have an Arrow Ecoburn 7 Multifuel, its made of rolled steel so will not crack, the door is cast but very heavy. The bricks are rectangle and simple in shape you can cut new ones from vermiculite board, I mainly burn logs in it and have a plate fitted over the grate bars to ensure a slower burn, I love it.

You are all Barking, you need a " Hello Kitty " Most definantly the best Chainsaw in the World

I have had chickens for years, we have six Ex Batts at present. I would agree with the other posts, do not bother with these tiny coops that say they will house ten birds they are very flimsy and not big enough. You have to be a contorsionist to clean them out, never mind getting the eggs. I would go down the route of a Garden Shed, build your coop bit inside the shed with a steel pop hatch leading out to a fully wired outside run, if you can place the run on concrete or slabs. If its on soil it soon spoils and gets full of nasty things that will do your birds in, oh and it stinks This means you can have your feed bins in the shed, you can clean them out in any weather and you do not have to be as flexible as a gymnast. I do have roosting perches, but I can not get the birds to stay on them, I have been told this is common with Ex Batts. So I took them out and just keep the bedding clean, the shed cost £117 from Flea Bay and all the wire was scrounged from a skip. My only problem has been rats eating through the shed floor, traps has sorted this for now.

I was a bit surprised, the chap at Jonesies is of the opinion that the chain rides up the sides of the wear tracks then slips back down into the rut and gives you a tight and then loose chain. No point putting a good chain on a worn sprocket, with the new sprocket and chain all was well, I will pop down and get a new bar soon just to finish the job off, that will bring my £150.00 bargain up to £230.00. Still under half the price of a new one I am well chuffed with the saw, but I do not think I would ever recommend an E Bay saw unless you have had a very good look at it, I think I was very lucky.

It was the rear sprocket, this surprised me as the wear looks even and not to deep, All the best, Chris

The saw is now sorted and running as sweet as a nut, thanks again for your advice and help, and thanks to FR Jones for there good service and advice, Cheers

I know the risks of buying second hand, I was seduced by the thought of a bargain, plus the price was not bad for Flea Bay, I usually laugh at the silly prices they go for. Here is the bar and bits I do not think its in bad nick for the money, it certainly was not looked after, it was filthy and caked in crud. But a good clean, carb strip and general going over has brought it back to something not bad. The piston and bore is fine, the carb linkage shows little wear, as do the trigger parts. I would not be surprised if this was not the original bar and chain, but then I am a novice. Jonesie has very kindly agreed to give it the once over tomorrow to assess the worth of pouring more money into it, Cheers

Thanks for your advice Peeps, I tried it with the new sprocket and old chain and still had the slack / tight senario, so I have gone back to the old sprocket for now till I see about a new bar. I have not put the new chain on as thought it would be was folly placing it on what could be a duff bar. I will have a look into that site I am sure it will be of benefit for my limited knowledge on saws. I will DTI the crank and see if it has any throw on it, I have said before about E bay saws, its a real roll of the dice. I paid £150 for the saw and thought it was a good price, but am now wishing I had gone to Jonesie and got a 260.

The Sprocket is a bit worn, the bar is straight and the sides are parallel and are not thinned out, I have dressed it up and it looks ok. I guess you do not think it may be a worn nose sprocket?

Hello Folks, I am on the scrounge for advice, again. I have taken a risk and purchased a E Bay 036, it has done a bit of work but seems in not bad condition, I have given it a thorough clean and service. I have noticed that the chain goes slack then tight as you move it around the bar, I have bought a new chain and sprocket but I have a feeling the nose sprocket on the bar may be worn, I have kept the old chain and sprocket on for now as I am reluctant to put new parts with old, so thought I would put a new bar on it together with a new clutch bearing. Can you advise me on the best bar and supplier please, All the best

My advice is to pop in the the local plod and ask, after all its them who will be pen in hand if all goes wrong.

I had this problem with an MS180, It was finaly solved after much messing, the lower crank case half had a small crack in it just over the seal area, when the motor warmed up the crack opened and the mixture went lean. One bottom crank case later and its fine, This fault could only have happened new from Stihl, had me scratching my head for a while

I would be very very wary buying a saw from Flea Bay, they go for silly money, I noticed a MS180 go for more than Jonesie was selling them new for???? And you have no idea what has gone wrong with them in the past, they may have nipped up and scored the bore, but still run fine on a demo, or may have a vague electrical Gremlin that will only occur when its just bloomin perfect.get a new one all the way.

The chippy in work thinks its Pitch Pine, it certainly weeps oil when its burning. I will not be using any more of it thats for sure.

I use thes a lot in work, they are designed to cut out a sudden loud noise, I am not sure how they will cope with a prolonged racket. I will test them and find out

These are staying in the skip, the wood looks like Deal or some type of soft wood, if it was any sort of hard wood I would definately have salvaged it. It seems to have been impregnated with some type of oil, smells a bit like pine loo cleaner, I thought this would make it burn like a Banshee, but its more like trying to burn asbestos. I was told by the way to never burn Chip board, laminated woods, as they burn with such a fearce heat they can damage your burner. Is this true??

I had a rummage through a skip and came up for air with a ton of old Parquet floor blocks that were some type of soft wood, whizzo I thought, great for kindling How utterly wrong could I have been, I split it thin and the stuff just will not burn Its now back in the skip!!

My thoughts are with his family, what a blow! And such a waste, so tragic.

Thank you for all the tips and tricks fellas, I do like the look of Gransfors Bruks Spliting Maul, and one thing I have learned in the short time I have been on this planet is to get the best you can afford, I have lost count of the times I have purchased cheap tools to make do and might just have thrown the money away. But I do not go daft, in saying that I do like the feel of a good tool, Fnaar Fnaar:blushing: The money I save cutting and splitting my own wood and fitting our flue liner and stove, I will spend on a good maul and give it a go, I will not be looking to a powered splitter as I need the Phizz to keep my " Baby " in trim:001_rolleyes: I do use shin guards, and split on top of a solid chopping block thats 18" tall, any lower and the flyers come back at your shins Cheers again

You experienced chaps might think this a daft question, but here goes. What would you recommend for splitting firewood for the small production home user, an axe or a splitting maul? The reason I ask is that I use an Ex Royal Navy firemans axe (Liberated off HMS Eagle just before she went to razor blades) to split my wood, often I get lumps of wood flying through the air, as you know firemans axes have a gentle taper. If I were to use a maul I think the wood would fly violently in all directions due to the wedge shape of the maul, would this happen? Cheers

It would have been a Coal Tit Erm, Sorry

I split it into small logs about four to five inches round and eight inches long as I have an 7KW Aarrow burner, so the spitting bussiness will not bother me.

I must admit it was easy to split, but so wet that when the axe bit the sap splashed into your eyes on the odd accasion, I have it stacked into a metal log store wall which is open to the air both sides which has a waterproof roof, It should be ok for next year, Cheers