TArrryan

Hello Arbtalk I have a 20Hp Briggs and Stratton vanguard engine powering a Countax A20/50 ride on mower. In the past month I have noticed it's been using allot more fuel than It did at the beginning of the year, one tank use to last the day but now I'm using more than 2 tanks a day on the same work!! There is also a loss of power when climbing slops, this becomes more noticeable with the cutting deck engaged, after pausing the mower for a few seconds the revs will pick up again and you can carry on for a short distance longer. I have also noticed a very strong petrol smell around the mower when it is running, I have checked for leaks and none have been found (the fuel line is only 2 feet long) From looking inside the carb while It's running we can see one cylinder is getting more fuel than the other, The over fuelling cylinder has a very wet spark plug while the other spark plug is as dry as a bone. we have removed and cleaned the carb twice now with no change to the jets. We have tried very hard to find the source of the problem and we are now beginning to lose patience with It. Ill quickly list what else we have looked at. The tappet clearances have been set correctly (we have the workshop manual). A full service carried out (oil, all filters, spark plugs) with no change in performance. Both cylinder have been checked for loss of pressure and are running at 160-170 psi. Spark plugs have been swapped with no change. Both cylinders are pulling in an equal amount of air. There is no smoke coming from the exhaust (white, black or blue) oil level remains constant. There Is a fuel pump on the side of the engine but we do not suspect this otherwise the problem should be common to both cylinders. Has anyone got any ideas?

looks like someone squeezed out a load of play dough through a sieve!!

hope it is TPO'd. the silly bugger deserves the fine for the shoddy work!

I have no interest In fast cars or expensive holidays, as long as i can provide for myself I am happy, I don't understand these individuals who amass billions and do nothing with it. I would use my billions to build a research institute where great things would happen!!! It may not be beautiful but it can inspire people and do great things for those around it as long as its done correctly I present to you myself for judgement!! happy workers are good workers and as long as people remain loyal to me, I will look after and be loyal to them. I think of a commanding officer in the army as a example, would you be loyal to the officer who hides a hundred miles away from the battlefield and give orders over a radio, or be loyal to the officer who fights by your side getting his hands dirty?? I hope to be the latter,

I agree and understand your point completely, its why china is a economic power now!! I like Loyalty and attention to detail, both quality's which are insanely hard to find now days, If you can find a employee with both of those then you are on the right track.

Which ones Garth?? I cant remember who's who on here any more!!!

never setting ones eyes on a fixed plan is a wise idea, there's so many variables in life that it will certainly never happen how you imagine it. I instead think of all the potential outcomes and try to steer myself towards the most favourable one.

As some of you might know by now (but most probably don't) I am only 24 and have been running my own garden services business for the past 3 years with increasing success!! A good friend recently asked me where i wanted to be in twenty years time, this has got me thinking about how my business will advance and develop over the years, I certainly don't expect to still be running a local garden services business when I'm sixty, neither do I plan to work for anyone else ever again!! however neither do I plan to stay in the landscape garden sector all my life, I have only just started thinking about this and was wondering how hard it would be to take on self employed electricians and builders on projects and expand into building and construction, eventually providing enough work to sustain your own work force!! have any of you ever though about how you want you business to expand? will you be happy building a business to live off of, or do you want to go beyond your comfort zone and build a empire ????

ah I like the idea of walnut and Elm, gonna be hard for me to get it seasoned though

At the moment I am trying to collect the wood i need to make a clock, but I'm going to try and make a special one. The idea Is that I will use 12 different 30 degree sections of wood to make up each hour, I'm in need of 6 lighter pieces and 6 darker pieces so it's easier to differentiate between the hour sections. the image below should show it better than I can describe. I currently have a few sections in mind covering the obvious spices but I was wondering what kinds of wood you could suggest for me bear in mind I'll still have to get hold of them so no silly suggestions please If the center of the clock warps and splits too easily Ill cut out a circuler piece and set in anouther round section of wood. all waxed and polished afterwards of course

There is of course the extreemly rare overpriced job! I did one a while ago where I realised part way through I'd asked for far too much (almost 30%!!) I must admit I never said a word and they were still happy with the price, They said they would be in contact with more work. In my first year I made a million pricing mistakes, even charged half the amount i should of on one job!

seems there has been a explosion at the nuclear plant, radiation levels in the control room at the plant are reportedly 1000x normal levels while outside at the main entrance they are 8x normal levels. the japs are smart resourcfull people, if anyone can deal with situation I'm sure they will.

looks like I'll be hiding the van and wearing a paper bag on the 28th!! I explained the situation to her and she's decided to just have the side off completely. not gonna be a proud day but not every job will be a happy one unfortunatly, on the upside she insisted on cash!!!

Thanks for you kind words everyone, may the good times start! Its probally the first time since I started that I feel like a proper business, no more jumping into the back of the van with the chainsaw to try and fit a bit more in there!!! It feels great to just toss it into the trailer without jamming it in the van. I got £120 for 6 hours work today with the trailer!!! straight away things are better next big three purchases (£1000+) are a CS100 chipper, new van and a holiday to japan again. also plan to get a loil leaf blower, MS-192 and a long hedge cutter among other items.

shall be onto that tomorrow afternoon gonna be harder to break into than alcatraz once I'm done with it.