difflock

CPH our local larger hire outfit, has only very recently started putting tracked dumpers on hire. It had puzzled me that they were not before, so I asked why? Answer was that they had previously looked into the running costs/economics, and that the prohibitive undercarriage maint and costs were the choker. I must ask what changed in respect of undercarriage maint, or perhaps demand was simply sufficient to allow them to charge enough to cover costs. m PS Surely a local engineering company could reverse engineer the rollers and knock them out for significently less, even if perhaps they did not last quite as long?

I have seen "log splitter" valve-blocks, for sale by Whitehouse. I unserstand this to mean the valve-block with the oil injection or whatever it is called however it works SYSTEM that recirculates some of the returning oil to speed up the ram return stroke. I imagine. but anyway such valves are now commerrically available

There is only one walking boot. Lowa Combat GTX High leg. At least for my feet. Only prob is, it is a £500.00/year footwear habit. Soles and uppers both being "done" after 6 months. m

Here at Work we are/I am currently getting a lightweight alloy beavertail body built on a Canter/Fuso/Mitibshui chassis. Body will weigh about 640kg, leaving a legal Payload of just about 4000kg (incl the Dvr unfortunately) So guessing 3800kg usuable (with an electro-hydraulic full width tail-ramp too!). This will allow us to move a 3.5 tonne excavator, with some attatchments. If needs be the allowable 750kg trailer allowance could bring another attatchment/buckets/rockhammer along behind. Or bung the excess buckets/attatchments on another light truck, since generally more than one truck on site anyway. The key is carrying the "indivisible" load, being the basic 3.5 tonne digger. cheers m PS Already bought a "fingerbar" cutter for the digger, should be low oil-flow, so should work, though not tried yet. The appeal is getting a machine that can top wide/high hedges, as well as face them. My next cunning purchase is a hydraulic driven chainsaw bar, to cut higher overhanging branchs, without climbing. If the fingerbar cutter does not work on the digger, it can easily be re-deployed onto the 640 Avant.

Peasgood, Photos no work. But, It is the sum of few things; (i) Hybrid? fruit body still green and rockhard, ALL other blackcurrants ripe/very ripe. (ii) This at the very top of the stem, where the fruit is ripest. (iii) Growth habit is different, fruitbody sticking straight up on a short stem, not dangling like the blackcurrants. (iv) Plus it looks more like a bloody gooseberry, ovid in shape and stripey. cheers marcus

Lee, The wife has given an inordinate amount of Jam away over this past 5 years, and the sugar and (some of) the jars arnt/wernt free! (About £0.40 per pot for the Pallet of pots I bought) Essentially randomly to delivery men, tradesmen etc. Plus random acquaintences/friends at work. Plus neighbours. Like that about the Sikh temples though Lee, a very good idea. Re the photograph of the hybrid, no Macro facilityon my wee camera (brill in other respects though), but I will try Peasgood. cheers marcus

Ca? My understanding was the gooseberry had fertilized these 3 blackcurrant flowers. Hence the hybrid fruit. Need to get the hybrid seeds to germinate, to see what fruit (if any) they in turn produce. cheers m

How voltage sensititive are LED's? Or simply fit 24V bulbs. But I gather sometimes towed by a 12V veh m PS See http://www.strictlyleds.co.uk/155-12v-24v-20-watt-led-floodlight-ip65-rated-work-light.html Or has this light perhaps got built in electronic control gear to throttle the voltage down to 12 V

Going to be expensive jam if we price in the picking labour! 2 of us for about 10 hours each today = 35 kg picked and cleaned. In the pissing rain. But we got 32 No. nominally 8 kg bags put away.(And prob just over 1/2 way) PS The wife also discovered 3 hybrid blackcurrant/goosberry crosses, at the top of a blackcurrant stem directly above a small gooseberry bush. She had picked the biggest most gooseberry looking one before she realized. Still very unripe so probably the seeds will not grow?

17-18mm in dia, and 225 grammes on a 550mm length of branch. Left the camera in the car today cos it was pissing down.

Perhaps the key difference between a baby Ag type tractor, and a Far Eastern compact is mechanical or hydrostatic transmission. For the smaller stuff I dont imagine I would consider a mechanical transmission, hydro all the way, reason, say cutting rough grass, simply "play it by ear", backing off the "go" pedal as the revs drop, and moving more smartly through the lighter bits. Also fabulous for loader work. And no clutch to perhaps fail prematurely. I would also consider a Kioti. or kubota (prob more about so a better choice) cheers m PS I would say you are "on the money" HP wise btw.

We run 3, 4, 5 or 6 dogs, mostly rescue types. Been doing it for over 20 years. No pet insurance ever. Sensible Vet bills paid Ex cash. Though 10 year ago I did pay over £400.00 for the stupid(i.e. thought he was fit for a Staffie) Dalmatian chewed up by the said 1/2 Staffie cross, that was the only significent " hit" during these years, and purely due to my neglect/inattention. cheers marcus

Stuff the "early and often" oil changes. (i) Observe the dipstick oil level, top up if necc. (ii)change engine oil at the manufacturers recommended intervals. (iii)Use the correct grade of oil from a reputable manufacturer. From someone who took our first new bought car to 253,000 +miles, and all absolutly factory origional (cept for starter motors) First on Case No. 1 Tractor oil changed every 5 thou, then switched to semi synth and changed every 10 thou. And worked hard, very hard, for her keep. m

Just drive it! Wor 60,000 mile turned Octavia 1.6TDI was collected from the showroom in Lurgan, driven the wheen o mile to the M1 at normal congested "A" road speeds, then upper-normal "M" way speed the rest of the way home, about 50 or 60 miles. I let the DSG worry about gear changing. I never "fleeced" her from cold, simply allow a few miles/minutes to let the oil circulate/warm up. Then drive normally. Her does NOT use a drop of oil, well the merest, merest smidgen. cheers MPS In the early days, on the way home at Lunchtime I did properly "thrash" her, but only for about 1.0 to 1.5 miles on a particular stretch of road, and only if the temp needle was "normalized" in the middle, after such a threashing, I then drove sensible and let the turbo simmer down before "pulling the strangler".

Moniecarrie Engineering

No secret, just time, I find the picking quite theraputic mind, being essentially mindless. This year Senior Managment decreed we were going to start a bit early (she will make pectin from the greener ones) as with the quantity, they will prob be overripe by the time we are finishing. We now got 4 soild days (12th hols over here) and weather permitting this will make a big hole in the picking. SM is also pruning back hard this year, so simply filling a wheel barrow with the Lopper cut branchs and bringing them back to the table to process. This also allows us to process during showers or downpours too. In the meantime I have also picked about 50kg of Raspberries. First 21 cu ft freezer near full, and currently eying up my mothers empty freezer (also a 21 cu ft'r) Then the Blackberries and Sloes. Def must get Bees too, instead of fattening the neighbours/villagers.

The other one I'll be a little more candid about the details I tink you meant "circumspect"

Ma blackcurrents are:001_tt2:, that is!

What is the pontential for getting the engine "chipped" (& pun intended) or re-mapped, if this is otherwise the right veh at an acceptable price. Since v common & straightforward in cars. m

Not a foggy notion, but probably? about the same as Riko/Uniforests offerings. Anyway Marshalls Agric eng are the dealers. They also do Dalen and that rather attractive German built bandsawmill

A tip from the Ag side, Dad and his brother pulled over some massive Ash trees when I was a boy, I remember measuring some of the stumps at 3' across. With a DB 990 or indeed a Universal 540, both light tractors. BUT Hitch a trailer on the back, loaded with 3 to 5 tonne of aggregate, connect the wire rope to the back of the trailer, pick the lowest gear in the gear box and GO! The weight of the trailer both gives the tractor wheel added traction AND prevents the rope pull from lifting the back end. Akinda "counter-intuitive" but logical. cheers M PS That tree does not look like any kind of monster to my eye. Not with 330HP tractors weighing 8 or 9 tonne out there, never mind the potential of a ballast trailer. Or even a 200/250HP one with weights front and rear thereon. Cheers M

I cannot see ANY connection between road safety and towing in the 3rd/outside lane, and regardless of speed either. A car or van will cause just as much carnage as a car and trailer, or van and trailer. Accidents, 90+% are caused by driver error or inattention. Mostly by car and van drivers without trailers too (statistically) Not speed. Not mechanically defective vehicles. Not road nor weather conditions. Nor indeed trailer towing. Cause collisions/accidents. but drivers do. From someone who recalls they might have towed at 80 odd in whatever lane was available, when safe to do so. regards, Marcus Spruce Pirate, I presume to prevent the slower trailer combos holding up the traffic, no other reason.

We have the "exact" same truck, year 2000 (ish) A syncro, proper oddball on the UK markey way back then if I recall, and I think it was actually an import? A very useful, low geared tow vehicle, and despite being proper scruffy, popular with all staff. The clutch has never been an issue despite towing regularly. m

Withams are currently selling off surplus "Combat Engineer Tractor", fully amphibious, on tracks, with a clamshell bucket and high capacity winch. They have unfortunately already removed the 2" rocket that fired the anchor for the winch. Cheers M