GardenKit

Nice find, thanks for posting.

Try closing the gap on a 'dead' plug to that of a new plug. If it works again it could show that the coil is weak and can generate a spark until the gap increases slightly.

Sweeties are probably more damaging to your health:biggrin: Unless of course there is any heat involved

The problem with shipping is that it Hazardous, so therefore costs more. I doubt anyone could ship for any less than the £20+ vat that I currently charge.

Still got my daughter helping in the workshop for part of the week. She is doing really well and doing basic services to pedestrian mowers to a very good standard. But our workload has increased so much this year that it is still difficult to keep up,even working around 80hrs a week as I have for the last month. I am currently warning customers that they may be faced with a 2-3 week wait, but so far most work is done within 1 week. I have put the saws back a bit though, I must admit. There is only one pro user saw there, the rest are domestic users. The saws are my least profitable work. They always seem to take too long, for little reward. Maybe I should up the prices, then I might be keener to work on them. And of course they dont take up too much room, whereas the tractors need to be got out quickly as more are always coming in.

This has been the most positive week for Aspen users in a long while. Good reports from existing users both about the product, and some of the more active dealers. And, at last an Aspen Rep. Eddie has an enormous task ahead of him. Not only does he have to motivate some of his dormant dealers, but also break new ground and appoint new dealers. One man to cover the country, thats quite a challenge. I for one, wish him success.

Busy day here too Steve. Four ride on mowers fully serviced and two more part done waiting for parts. The pile of saws and strimmers is growing and some of the owners are getting shirty because they have been with me about 10 days. Still, its a very busy time of year and I can't please everyone even though I try.

The pumps are simple things, there is not much to go wrong with them and they dont really wear. The fact that yours worked after cleaning probably means its ok. More likely IMO to be a blocked filter in the tank, or a rubber pipe breaking up, or a blocked tank breather, or, as Spud says, a slipping drive arm on the worm gear. By all means replace the pump though if you feel the need. I think they are around £25.00 from memory. I can check tomorrow at the shop.

The plates and seals were not with it though Rich, or the bunged up carb.

I use this, combined pressure and vac pump. A very versatile tool, not only for crankcase testing, buy was recently invaluable when I had to bleed the diesel through on my transit.

As Rich says, they are meant to slip and will smoke when they do. They will do this lots of times. They do however need adjustment from time to time to compensate for reduced thickness of worn discs. This is done by setting the spring length. You should find the length in you operator book. Different lengths are used by different machines depending on the desired torque. It is in fact a good idea to check the clutch occasionally by letting it slip. On machines parked up for a long time the clutch plates can bond to the steel with rust. When I was in Ag Engineering part of the pre season service was to slacken the bolts, spin the clutch to polish the plates and then reset the spring lengths. The grease nipple lubricates the centre hub, not the plates.

Most 'primers' are actually 'air purge pumps' When the bulb is sqeezed it forces air past a valve and back to the tank. When released it forms a vacuum which pulls down the metering valve in the carb allowing fuel to be drawn up the pickup hose and through the fuel pump into the metering chamber. Keep pumping and all air will be replaced by petrol, and petrol will return to tank. For a purge pump not to work there must be an air leak allowing air into the system rather than fuel. This cold be in the pickup hose walls, metering diaphragm or nozzle check valves. Could also be that the pump diaphragm is leaking. As you have just rebuilt the carb I suspect that the gaskets and diaphragms have been incorrectly assembled or the metering arm is too low to be operated by the diaphragm. If a pipe is being pushed off the primer, it can only be by pressure and this should not be possible as the pressure side returns to tank. Are you sure that you are not trying to push fuel into the carb rather than pull fuel out. (pipes wrong way round)

post 2151, page 216 for the Ms180 pump replacement

It may need replacing, but it may just need cleaning, they tend to block with fine sawdust. Its an M5 thread you need to pull it out and you will need to move the handle to one side to get at it. I posted pics on this thread a few months ago about how to do it.

This pressure is created by the vaporisation of fuel being shaken up, or heated up in the sun or by a running saw. It does help to push petrol through but should not really be needed as the fuel pump should pull the fuel through. After all, the tank will vacuum if the breather is blocked and the fuel level drops. It allows atmospheric air pressure in, it is this 14.7 psi pressure which pushes fuel up the pickup hose to the carb fuel pump when the vacuum is created in the pump on the induction impulse. I do however often give a troublesome saw a good shake to increase the tank pressure over atmospheric to get a carb 'primed' ( OK , they should not need priming, but it does help)

If its a remote pump, rather than on the carb, then have you put the pipes on the right way round. Take the pipes off and operate the pump, you will find if its working and which is in, and which is out.

Alec, its obviously a fuel supply issue. As Rich says, it could just be that the carb is incorrectly assembled and the metering diaphragm is not pulling down far enough to open the needle. The 'pop off' test may prove this. With the carb in place pressurise the carb via the inlet pipe from the tank,then pull the saw over with the choke closed. Each induction stroke should see the pressure guage drop. If it does not, then revisit the carb assembly. If its OK then the problem may lie with the impulse. Your hose should be OK as its new, but check the gasket twixt carb and base plate. If its the wrong gasket, or incorrectly assembled it may be blocking the impulse passage. Not sure what Rich means about pressurising the tank though.

Interesting prices Morten, thankyou.

Thanks for that reply Jon. Its good to hear that there ar other dealers out there who know the product and its worth. We have seen too many negative posts about dealers not being able to sell it, or having it but not knowing what it is. Its about time more dealers woke up to Aspen. Barrie

Nice one Eddy, its good to know my efforts have not been in vain. Has anyone else been encouraged to use Aspen because of this thread? It would be good to know. No dealer will sell it if he just sticks it on the shelf and waits for someone to buy it. He and his staff need to explain it to each and every potential user, but to do that he has to have a full understanding of the products and its benefits. He has to identify which aspects of the product will appeal to the customer. Is it ease of use (no mixing), long shelf life of fuel, consistant easy starting or extended engine life. Or is it the health benefits, either long term or short term that appeal to the customer. The first 'sell' is the hard sell, after that the customer comes back time and time again for his top up. Thats extra footfall through the dealer door. Sure, the profit margin for the dealer is low, and some may say its not worth the hastle of that first time consuming 'sell', but if the guy comes back through the door on a regular basis instead of going to the petrol station he will inevitably find something else to buy. Of course, some just opt to have their fuel sent by carrier and you never see them in the shop, but that at least takes the dealer less time so makes up in some measure for the low margin. All in all I am very happy with the product as are all my customers.

A good question indeed, and Eddie may be able to answer that. As I have said before on here, I have one of the highest turnovers of Aspen in the country, and possibly the highest turnover of the 4 stroke variety. 80% of my sales are to domestic users, without them I would not be selling the product. The domestic users love the stuff and never grumble about the price. But in all probability if B&Q were to sell it the price would increase, as the profit margins would not be great enough for them (have you ever seen anything cheap in B&Q?) I know that the domestic market is the one to target for growth, but I still want the product easily available to the pro guys who want to use it, but the low margins are one of the biggest reasons why many dealers won't stock it.

I guess then, that it is down to anyone interested in using it to do their own cost-benefit analysis. Every potential user will place a different value on the various aspects of each fuel and make his own choice.

They do need to pop off at some point though and its not a good idea to pump them too high. Better to test them by pumping up to around 20 psi with the carb assembled, then apply vacuum to the cylinder end of the carb and watching the needle drop when the diaphragm pulls down. I usually just cover the inlet end of the carb throat with my thumb and suck on the cylinder end. If you are cautious of putting a carb to your lips you can test it on the saw by pulling the engine over, each stroke should see the pressure drop as the induction vacuum pulls the diaphragm down.

Wow, what an evening on this thread! And what a welcome for Eddie, it seemed a bit rough on him earlier on. He does not have the benefit of knowing the characters on here, and knowing which ones to ignore, so I hope it has not put him off. Still, there was plenty of support for his product later in the evening so maybe we will see him again, lets hope so. On the subject of price I think we have to just accept that Aspen is the price it is. Lets face it, if it could be cheaper then it would be, its a commercial world. It really should not be compared in price to petrol for all the reasons stated by Steve, it is after all, a different product. If logs were cut to uniform sizes and packed in 10kg sealed, printed boxes and shipped in from Sweden, I wonder what price they would be in comparison to those tipped loosely?

Hitachi did indeed buy Tanaka some years back. The Hitachi machines are mostly just rebranded Tanaka, although lately some chinese built stuff has been introduced into the brand. The Tanaka brand is run along side Hitachi in some markets, the UK being one. Most Tanaka machines are the original Japanese built quality product.