spudulike

Yup, I run a Rover Mower and chipper both with the Locin engine, seems OK to me.

OK, fit a new one, Locin are fine and Predator seem to be good on the Youtube tests but not sure if they are USA only then the Honda can be a nice little bench project for the winter.

Probably a thuja and not leylandii....or anything else if his knowledge of nature is like 95% of the UK population. I was asked what a blackbird looked like once when we heard its warning call. My response....bird like and black

Well I did....see earlier post....... bearing in mind that ours is some 12 years old so probably not as "user friendly" as the modern ones. We are running a flow temp of 34 degrees during the day....yup, you read that right....as I said, Low and Slow, that is how this old banger likes it. It is these cold winter months that are the worst. May look in to one of these low heat pump rate tariffs but many charge more during peak so they may just balance out. We do maintain 17-20 degrees at this flow temp for 95% of the time so not too bad on that front.

Just to clarify, the smoke was coming from the breather and not the exhaust? If the breather, I would agree, time to pull the top end apart and check the piston, bore and rings.

Low and slow on the heat and flow....and don't get me going on why electric is 4X the cost of gas meaning a COP of 4 is needed to break even. I inherited the pump and is offset by the PV panels FIT otherwise heat pumps are not worth it unless you are a true eco warrior and want to bankroll the saving of the planet. Heat pumps are actually pretty economical, around 3500KW on all electric we use other than space and water heating, the same....3500KW on heat and water heating where 12,000kw of gas would be typical for our house.....cost wise...errrr....the same, fantastic! Why don't the people trying to get us to go for these pumps just lower the electric cost for them I have left out two years of trying to get the most out of the thing!!

Basically, I find in life that designers often design something that can be made to work better than they ever intended, I have found this in commercial manufacturing equipment and domestic purchases through my life. When I shut all my stove dampers down, thus shutting off all air to the burn, I would expect the fire to pretty much go out. When I did this (before I modded the stove), the fire would just carry on....big orange flames, firewood burning away quickly and zero control. I know from previous fires, I could go from orange flame, to dancing thinner blue flames of the burning gas from the firewood to putting the fire with a deep red glow out by gradually shutting down the dampers to nothing. My stove will now do all this and have reset my original stove settings to leave the air wash on full (albeit with my modded plate restriction), the air input around the rear of the upper part of the stove but the lower front and flue damper closed. The result is more heat, nice clean glass (so I know the burn is good) and longer lasting firewood. I just don't accept what others wouldn't notice and chip away at issues until I have them beat. Want to hear about the Air Source Heat Pump......actually, it would take too long!!

bit like Troy Balyiss back in the day!

On these type engines, 175-230psi will give a decent gain in power, beyond this, combustion will be stifled as is seen on many very high revving two strokes...14,000 isn't that high compared to many racing bikes of the era where these compressions would be excessive. If you have tested/run/modded many saw engines, you find that the difference between 150psi and 175 is like chalk and cheese in pickup, power, torque and chain speed under load. Your cheaper saws with decent compression may be being held back by muffler design, poor ignition advance, carb air flow and design, combustion chamber design, port duration and blowdown figures etc. Compression is just one part of the equation.

This all sounds a bit familiar. we have run stoves for around 30 years, the latest one was the first with a flue damper but it needed it as the fire tends to burn pretty vigorously with everything shut down even though previous stoves could be almost put out by cutting back the air getting through via the dampers. I was convinced this wasn't right as logs just burnt away far too fast and one night, stuffed tin foil in the top air wash damper and there it was, the fire became starved of air so I made myself a plate that cut the air wash down considerably and now get a far more controllable burn down to slumber and the glass remains very clean. The characteristics of the burn completely changed and now the wood lasts with no adverse effects. All I can surmise is that manufacturers now leave an intentional amount of air entering the combustion chamber to achieve eco figures even if the stove is fully closed so a nice clean "eco" burn is achieved. It is most likely that the average fella in the street is viewed an idiot and has no idea of how a stove should work, look, react and be controlled/adjusted.

Well that sorted it then didn't it. Not sure why I got so many MS880s in that had gone pop. I always put it down to the fact that they had been left on the shelf for months with half a tank of fuel in them and then used again for a big cut and seized. Must have been coincidence You may get away with it on strimmers or trimmers due to them revving less and not being under heavy load but try it with a decent pro saw having been left for 6 months and go in to a large continuous cut and your luck may well run out. An expensive test. I always put many seizures down to a possible number of factors, perhaps old fuel, slightly lean, perhaps a slight air leak and probably a longer cut...it happens, I would show you a large bucket of seized pistons but they are long gone. Nothing personal but all my old fuel goes in a mower or chipper and this discussion is similar to the fella that said chainsaw clutches cant spin off if you leave the side cover off!!

That gauge looks like the Gunson Hi Gauge. A standard 372XP - 150-170, Modified - 185+psi MS200T, Standard 150 on an old one, 175 on a new cylinder, 200+ modified. The rest, no idea what they are.

carefully as on any engine!! No idea but do expect timing marks on the crank flywheel and any pulleys on the cam/cams. You probably need to make sure the engine is set on TDC when doing it....hopefully pretty standard, good luck. Check the valves haven't contacted the piston crowns when the belt failed.

Just read this and other forum equipment maintenance threads, develop your own thoughts from issues and see if you are correct as the dialogue continues and others comment on possible fixes. YouTube has many vids that may be of interest. Get a few scrappers, strip and learn. One of my things is to question every part and question what it does and why it is constructed in that way....a sort of fit, form, function type analysis.

It may be that the decompressor is holding the valve open or has burnt it out. I haven't had one of these units apart before but typical loss of compression on a 4T engine would be piston/ bore/ring wear, valve clearance or worn seat issues or blown head gasket. These engines are probably like the Stihl 4 stroke engines and lift one of the valves for easy starting. When the tappet clearance is too great, starting I'd much harder on the handle. Your tappets may have too little clearance. On the carb, make sure you get the emulsion tube that resides behind the main jet, out and clean both the jet and tube. It has small holes in it that, if blocked, cause hunting issues. Double check the choke mechanism is opening and closing as it should....some are automatic, some are manual and then make sure the engine governor looks OK, many take them apart and don't get them back together correctly. Just a bit of my limited experience. Some interesting vids on YouTube comparing these type of engines, some even analysing the metal in the used engine oil.

As per Gareth's suggestion, strip the wire ends, slip on shrink wrap, twist the wires together, solder, move heat shrink in to place and heat. That should work best.

Fix the Honda if it is fixable at a reasonable cost otherwise Locin make decent replacement engines - many equipment companies use them.

Try turning the H screw anticlockwise 1/4 - 1/2 turn and go from there. The 260 should have a carb where the H&L screws work independently of each other. The 026 had the type of carb where adjusting the H screw threw the L screw adjustment out and vice versa....more tricky.

The throttle linkages are coloured and the first part that may be red will join with the other linkage that is red...pretty simple after the first few👍

You couldn't make it up could you. Modern life at its best.

Funny enough, my mate made the same comment. We still have one of our first neighbours stay with us for a week each year so can't be us, one side is always fine, all the good in them and the other side.....you've got it. The latest one started before we even moved in so there goes your theory...sorry!

That was my first suggestion, it makes sense and may be the wake up call he needs.

Stubby, just recognize that we are dinosaurs in a modern world. What you are experiencing is the "New Way" of doing things. One day we will die, the pain will end and we will pass all this crap on to the new generation that have generated these shyte methods of engagement. Good luck.

Some people confuse being nice or pleasant with being soft so with people like your neighbour, I would suggest telling him to fu$k of your property otherwise you will take him to court and sue his arse off for criminal damage and trespass, If he wants to get agressive, tell him again to f$ck off and speak only to you through your solicitor...he may get the message then. You have to understand that some neighbours are pretty obnoxious people and need putting together in a small community with other obnoxious neighbours so they can all piss each other off and leave the decent people alone. I have had three properties in adult life and have experienced pretty toxic neighbours in all of them so speak from experience. Sorry for your current predicament, it isn't easy, good thing we have gun law in the UK!!!

Well....that got to the point...good old Youtube!