Gareth Dalzell

I see someones attempt to reduce Tax on fuel has gone pear shaped From the BBC Northern Ireland Website today: The UK's largest ever fuel laundering plant has been dismantled by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) in Northern Ireland. A customs spokesperson said the "industrial scale plant" was capable of producing over 30m litres of illicit fuel a year, the equivalent of £20m in lost revenue. The plant was discovered in a raid in Crossmagalen, County Armagh on Tuesday. A man arrested in connection with the find has been released on bail pending further enquiries. HMRC officers, accompanied by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), seized six storage tanks, 37,000 litres of illicit fuel, 1,000 litres of acid, pumps and associated equipment. Almost 21,000 litres of toxic waste, stored in barrels and in an underground slurry pit, were also removed from the site. Clare Merrills from Revenue and Customs said the plant was three times larger than any other plant found in the UK. "This particular site was capable of producing enough fuel to take a family saloon car to the moon and back over 40 times a year," she said. "This was a huge plant that we have closed down, but it's just one of a number we have found in recent months." HMRC Assistant Director of Criminal Investigation, John Whiting said it was fuel fraud on an industrial scale. "The sheer size of this illegal operation is staggering and far exceeds anything we have ever come across before," he said. "This activity would have generated massive revenue loss as well as tonnes of toxic waste - its economic and environmental impact on Northern Ireland would have been considerable. "The location of this illegal operation would suggest that the fuel was destined for both sides of the border, resulting in losses to both the UK and Republic of Ireland exchequers. "This operation shows the success of multi agency co-operation in tackling fuel fraud and why we will continue to work with our partners in the fight against organised crime."

"Cheap as chips" that's us:thumbup:. Big machines and sites close to base - we fly through big grass areas, especially when they are cut every 10 days. Remember even an Allen National 68" will cut 2 acres an hour - and we're cutting with 72" rotarys going more than twice the speed (see avatar)

If we had a machinery rep making comment on a bit of dirt on our machines being the reason why a major component failed I think I'd chase them out of our yard. Yes it;s nice to keep machines clean but it's not reason for them failing, only a means of observing a fault. Treegeek is simply passing on his experience and for that I appreciate his information

Probably best to bow out of this thread

Okay so tree felling is not their best event - but they,re still my service of choice for saving lives in fire peril, getting people out of trapped and entangled vehicles and retrieving people from our bombed buildings.

No honestly Dave, I think you definitely deserve a new pair

Nice one - the joys of being your own boss - choosing new toys. 3 years in business and making a profit - that's sweet. Don't under estimate being self employed - every day is a proud day. May your battery always tip that final load of chip at the end of day.

Not sure about some of the hopper features - you might need to do a few measurements and adjustments here and there.

Didn't you just mower over some daff's coming into flower at 54 second Obviously there's a colour blindness thing going on with the yellow machine and yellow flowers becoming invisible against it:lol:

That's my worry. Looking for a new saw this size and always like the KISS idea - keep it simple stupid. I know if I was on site whacking timber and a saw give bother I'd probably be able to check the basics - not sure I'd have a laptop to plug it into to do a diagnostic.

It was more for a few site we have around hotels, where they get a bit vocal when the hedge cutters appear. Also if there were a few tails to tidy up on a maintenance site. We currently run 10 sets of Stihl and 6 Kawasaki but just fancied something different - but only if they're up to it. I think you've answered my question - a possibly saved me a few quid in the process. Thanks:001_smile: Just read Justin post - might be converted if the deal was right.

I remember reading a thread on those ones a while ago now. In fact it might have been your thread and the same site? How are they performing? Would you get 60mins of trimming. I looked at them at Saltex and saw there were different battery option. Just can't make up my mind on buying a set

Hi Burrell Are those Stihl battery hedgecutters?

I think you've hit the nail on the head here. There is a lot more of it about than people want to admit. I was in a very large country garden/estate South of Dublin a few weeks ago and there were some very suspect looking hosts showing symptons.

Nothing fancy in the compost department - general purpose no brand in particular - I think we are using a westland one at present. At this stage of the game it's only a meduim for keeping the roots moist and it won't be growing much into it. The more rootball/soil you have got the better. In a nursery environment this tree would probably have been uncut and root pruned half a dozen times by now and would have loads of fine fibrous roots in a compact rootzone. Your poor tree has had quite a shock and as mentioned Birch don't do shocks very well. It if does look like it is going to take, get it into the ground in its final position as soon a possible. They always do better in the ground. And remember don't forget the water

Make sure the growing meduim is well filled in around the roots - no air pockets below the roots. Keep it moist but don't drown it. Make sure it is well supported so the roots can't move within the bag. Birch would be the more difficult specimens to re-established when they've been yanked out. Ensure the mix around the roots is topsoil with some compost mixed in - not just pure peat compost. Don't let the rootball overheat in the sun Don't feed it at all this year until you see good new growth and it starts to establish in the "pot" Did you get plenty of rootball with it when it came out or was it bare root? Got to be worth a go - good luck.

And don't forget the tri axle trailer has a lower payload capacity than the equivalent twin axle because it is heavier to start with. Yet everyone thinks because they have three axles they can carry more legally.

Like someone else said, you'd need a bit more detail to give an exact cost. Frequency of cut, whether grass has to be collected, how far from base. Commercial rates for cutting large areas are low but still profitable,but you need to be "sweating your assets" if you are going to compete in this market. A private client may be willing to pay a premium rate for a good job. However you may make more money elsewhere. How about subbing in an associate landscaper. You are looking at about £50-65 to cut a football pitch (6000m2) approx

Something from BBC Northern Ireland earlier Rocket fuel... Wendy Austin | 13:41 UK time, Friday, 25 February 2011 Is there anyone out there who hasn't noticed the speed at which oil prices are rising.? The crisis in the Middle East has sent the cost of oil sky high. No sooner have you put petrol into the car, than the red warning light seems to start flashing again. And retailers have warned us that petrol and diesel prices are set to rise even more....soon it could cost over a hundred pounds to fill up your average family car. Motoring only for the rich - again? But why are they so very high? The turmoil in the Middle East isn't helping matters, obviously. But there's more too it than that.....if only someone could explain it properly... Cue David Horgan - he's managing director of Petrol Resources,and came onto the programme to tell us more - it's all to do with Stock Market speculation, apparently, and buyers working themselves into a frenzy over reports from Libya - even though only about 2% of the world's oil comes from there. The bad news - that speculation is likely to continue while TV screens round the world show the continuing violence there ;the good news is that this latest boom might soon reach tipping point, and prices could plummet again. Back to the bad news - since the government is looking at ways to raise money, it might try and increase fuel taxes. Swings and roundabouts - and no immediate light at the end of the tunnel . Maybe listener Bob was right when he texted that it could be cheaper to go to the space shuttle than to fill up at the end of the road! Have a good weekend - stay put?

Lets not worry about the legal bit yet. Lets just hope he mends soon and things get sorted. It's not going to be much fun for anyone involved with this one, the guy it happened to, the guy that was using the saw, the other people on site, the guys boss, the guys family etc etc etc

We've got some Harrier 48 Pros, now about 3 years old and running well although only used on fine turf areas, so they haven't had a hard life (Etesias for all the heavy cutting) These Lawnflites look interesting, although they also look heavy. Had some Honda Pro roller mowers before and had a few expensive repairs and because of their weight manual handling was an issue. Raywood - I'm guessing CJ's for the Hayters and Cathcarts for the Hondas?

Absolutely - our Landy Defender Station Wagon went up by 64% this year. No change to the policy or accidents. Did shop around but once they hear it has 9 seats most other insurance companies drop off. Our Ford Transit van policies range from £349.41 for one of the SWB ones to £472.21 for the biggest LWB ones. The others are between these - strangely no two van have the small cost even though 3 of them are the same - just depends on when they are renewed and the market at the time I guess. They are underwritten by Aviva through our broker.

Give him his white stick back and help him home - its alder that's why it's burning wet.

Do you mean stem injection type applicators. Could you mean Stem Injections Systems Stem Injection Systems | Japanese Knotweed | Giant Hogweed | Himalayan Balsam | Eradication and Control

Amazing what they have for sale. Found they had a Brand New oil pump for an old Stihl top handled saw for a friend, which couldn't be found anywhere else in the Uk. Was talking to him at the weekend and says its working perfect now.