ThrustSSC
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Everything posted by ThrustSSC
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Selling firewood with vat at different rates
ThrustSSC replied to logmancheshire's topic in Firewood forum
Solid fuel, yes. Wood, no. In this context, "solid fuel" means coal, coke, anthracite, etc. Business use for biomass is still 5%. I think wood is unique in that. Don'tcha love our complex tax system. It's crap like this that creates loopholes for people to avoid tax with! -
LOL, it's a competition tool! They do this a lot in the US and Oz. Hence saws like the legendary V8-powered Predator. If you ask me, the Predator is the winner here. At least it's hand-held - of a fashion!
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Yep, that helps! Many thanks for the tip!
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PS But it is the only saw on view in the shed - purely as a decoy for the pie keys ;-) (Sorry, but Arbtalk won't let me use the term p i k e y for some reason)
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2012 576XP-G. I don't consider the 2005 Ryobi 4545 from my domestic firewood production days to be a chainsaw...
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"Cutter" brand plain leather gloves. Got several pairs. Still not worn any of them out. Unlike Stihl chainsaw gloves which generally last me about a week max...
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It's a known pain with 550s. Usual trick for a hot start is: 1) Do not hit the decompress under any circumstances when hot 2) Try to pull it over without touching anything else. If it starts, cut. 3) If it doesn't start, one or two (max!) pulls with it on choke 4) Choke off, it starts no probs, get cutting The decompress is what kills it, in my experience. Aspen helps a lot, too - far less vapour locking.
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Husky battery power tools - too expensive now or cheaper in long run?
ThrustSSC replied to SteveA's topic in General chat
Oh yes! But that's the norm with new technologies in the market - prices halve quickly, then halve again shortly after. Look at Dyson - 20odd years ago they cost over £1000 (so about £2000-£3000 in today's money). The lesson is: if you don't have a very short-term payback on the investment, hold back and be a "fast follower" rather than "leading edge". But at the same time I've no intention of buying any more petrol saws until I know which way this is going... -
I've had the same with Husqvarna Vegoil. Going back to mineral on the next drum - chains always going slack and bars getting worn at a hell of a rate.
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Or use a dive tank with an adaptor... Plenty of capacity for field use during one day.
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Husky battery power tools - too expensive now or cheaper in long run?
ThrustSSC replied to SteveA's topic in General chat
As well as the three different-capacity batteries that go into the tools, Husky already do a couple of backpacks with longer-life. The bigger-capacity one of the two looks like an all-day-on-one-charge job. -
You can get the adjuvant separately if you want, too. I use Solar Plus when I'm spraying the broadleaves with Polo. The docks go down in a day... Am planning to try Clinic Ace plus Solar Plus against RoundUp to see if it's as effective. It'll still be a fraction of the price.
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Husky battery power tools - too expensive now or cheaper in long run?
ThrustSSC replied to SteveA's topic in General chat
Fumes. Alkylate fuel (Aspen) only helps deal with _most_ of the issue. Some still remains. Carbon monoxide among others. Plus they're lighter, so less strain on your back! -
Husky battery power tools - too expensive now or cheaper in long run?
ThrustSSC replied to SteveA's topic in General chat
I share your concern, but if you're using those batteries for chainsaw (approx. £250 for a quality item), strimmer (ditto for reasonable price), hedgetrimmer and possibly a brushcutter, then the cost looks more sensible. Given I pay about £50 every time I order 3 cans of Aspen, I can see that £400 paying me back very quickly. Like you I'm watching all this very closely as the health benefits are huge, and the potential wallet benefits are also good! One would hope the price will come down quickly - it generally does in new technologies. -
LOL! Mine, too. But thank you to those who contributed. Given I'm likely to go battery for the other kit, the battery cost is less of a concern - I'll already have them. But point taken on bar length cross-cutting! APF2014 is only round the corner from me. Might be worth seeing if there's one I can try out there to see how it compares. Alternatively, even though we know battery is the future, it might be worth waiting for the next generation seeing as I'm not a day-in-day-out heavy user.
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Thanks, Logit. And from the lack of other responses, I guess they're not in general use yet, then! I did notice that Husky are doing battery backpacks now - to give hours of use on one charge. An interesting option, provided the saw can be attached and detached quickly.
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Chaps, 95% of my saw work is crosscutting for firewood - using a 576XP and 550XP, mostly the 550. I'm intrigued by the 536Li, particularly given I need to re-equip on hedgetrimmer, strimmer and brushcutter, and there are battery equivalents that use the same batteries, making the 536Li a very inexpensive proposition. Bearing in mind the amount of Aspen I now go through, the idea of electric without a cord to cut through or trip over is very attractive. I could see it being the main saw, backed up by the two petrol units, if it proved up to the job. Have any of you out there got much experience of this saw? I'd be most interested to hear of your experiences and views. Thanks in advance!
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Odd - I've been getting the opposite problem with the rollers recently. They've been cutting too high towards the end of a chain's life. Very annoying!
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I'm with Ben. Current prices are around £33-£35 a cube for cord at the moment around here.
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Like the man says. The plain leather ones last forever...
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Like the man says. There's a good reason our bonfire is only just far enough from the cordwood pile to keep the cord safe. The village kids and the family love bonfire night round our place. A proper fire instead of some old pallets and planks than burn out in no time!
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Had an interesting lesson yesterday. Was out in the wood pile with my 550XP and 576XP. Both used to be poor starters when hot, but settled down - or so I thought. I ran out of Aspen, so I made up some pump fuel plus quality Stihl oil and carried on. The 550 in particular played up no end on hot starts. I wonder if the problem I had back then - which was before I changed to Aspen - was actually vapour locking from the ethanol in the pump fuel. Certainly I've had no issues with it at all since changing to Aspen. The headache, vile taste and stinking clothes were an unwelcome reversion, too
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Just wanted to say thank you to everyone for their responses. Glad (sort of) that it's not just me. Looks like I'll be getting a Stihl one - much easier if I have to mix a batch of pump fuel up, too, 'cos I'll be able to see the level in it (I generally use Aspen). I wonder if the Aspen will help avoid the cracking of the spouts?
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Yes, it does. And TGB has hit the issue bang on - it's getting the thing to sit plumb that's the problem. The knurled ring goes on fine, but the middle tube bit sticks at all sorts of angles. Sort of glad to hear it's not just mine, if you see what I mean?! Are the Stihl ones any better?
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Just what we've all been saying all along about these saws. No doubt they were destined to turn up on eBay: BBC News - Lethal chainsaws among port seizures, says trading standards report
