GardenKit

Does the saw normally cut without snagging, or has there been a change to the saw since it last worked ok? Just wondering if you have accidentally fitted a narrow kerf (microlite) chain to a standard bar?

Exactly, if the word 'stretched' is good enough for Stihl, then its good enough for me.

I stand corrected by definition:blushing:

Sorry to contradict you Skyhuck, but chains most certainly DO stretch. Sure, the bottoms of the tie bars do wear down, but this makes next to difference to the length of the chain, as it does not effect the pitch. It is the pitch X the number of links that make the length. The pivot pins all wear minutley as time goes by, and as they do the chain pitch becomes longer, so therfore the chain elongates. Place the chain on a flat surface and stretch the chain out in a straight line. Compare the length of say, 20 links with a new chain. A used chain in good order will have usually stretched by about 5 or 6 mm over that length, or around 2%. I consider 2 to 3% to be about the max allowable, as the drive links will not match the sprockets and the chain will start to run high on the teeth, causing wear to the sprocket.

Thanks for all your efforts in keeping this forum running Steve, its much appreciated.

To be honest, if it was my own saw, and the chain had good life left in it, I would fit a link. But, as a professional dealer, I have to consider the risks of anything I do as part of my business.The last thing I need is comeback on a dodgey repair. It could be OK, in which case I charge £5 but give 20% to the Vat man and 20% to the tax man, so end up with £3.20, but if it fails the cost could be great, especially if an injury from a flailing chain resulted. In my opinion the risk of repeat failure and the possible liability outways the gain, so thats another reason not to do it. Other dealers may see it differently, but I do things my way.

Yes, you will notice I said "if the chain has seen a lot of use" In theory an almost new chain should be OK to join, but the question still remains as to what caused the break, and are other links stressed? The ones I get asked to repair always seem to be well used or abused.

Its very easy to fit a new tie strap to a chain, only takes a couple of seconds. But is it good practice? NO. Why?, Several reasons. The chain has been stressed for a link to break, other links could be weak. If the chain has seen a lot of use it will be stretched, therefore a 3/8 chain for instance, will be 3/8 and a bit. A new link will be 3/8 and therfore shorter than the others. it will set up vibration in the chain, causing stress and wear to sprockets. The ties will be worn low on the underside, but the new tie will sit high. Best in my opinion to bin it. I never join, or shorten, used chains.

All set to port your books when you give up the day job Steve:lol:

I would really love to Jon, but I can't. We will be in your village to visit the churchyard, one sunday in December, though. Maybe we could meet for a short while? No evil scrumpy though, I will be driving. Drunk plenty of the stuff in your village when I was a lad though!

As Old Mill Tree care says, must be coincidence, just one of those things. I would love to be able to blame the evil petrol for this, but can see no logical reason why. Very occasionally, when changing TO Aspen, I need to very slightly richen the L screw. This would mean that when swapped to petrol it would be running a little rich at tick over and may stall, but a rich mixture wont cause damage. Diaphragms that have been run with Aspen for years will be as good as new. Petrol will start to damage them, but VERY SLOWLY, certainly not in a couple of tanks, and even if damaged would be unlikely to cause engine damage. More likely that the change over coincides with an air leak developing, possibly the carb, or insulator, retaining bolts, or the pot itself coming loose. I do see quite a few of these. A weak mixture results and if not spotted quickly a lean sieze results.

Thats very true Steve. I do get some of my Aspen 'converts' who after a while drift back to pump petrol. They don't stay with it for long though.

Great news Andy. I will be really keen to hear your honest opinion of Aspen.

There was no fuel in the tank or the carb, but no oil residue either. As to who backs down? Well in this case its not me, a siezure of this kind can only be down to operator error. If the plug was white/light grey then it could be deemed as a weak fuel to air ratio, but in this case the plug was a healthy colour and yet was crusty, showing that it had been running well for some time. Even in the event of a lean sieze I would be reluctant to accept liability. The machine would have been OK when it left here and the mixture settings would have been right. So much can happen between a machine leaving here and being brought back, even in a few weeks let alone a year. As said before, the outfit that uses this is staffed by volunteers from all backgrounds. They have 2 stroke and 4 stroke petrol in their store. Its easy to guess the honest mistake that occurred, why cant they be honest and admit its possible? I dont need this hastle. Grrrr!!!

A customer came in today complaining that the FS86 brushcutter I had serviced just over a year ago did not start well. It was apparently OK before I serviced it. Now, firstly. I know it was OK when I serviced it, I would not let it go otherwise and secondly, is it not a bit strange to wait 12 month to complain? Anyway, I said I would take a look, which I did. It definately would not start. The plug was a nice coffee colour and had a reasonable amount of crust, so it must have been used for a while since service. A compression test only registered 50psi, so took of the exhaust, and hey presto, a well scored piston appeared. I phoned the customer who insisted that no way could it have been used on neat petrol, despite it being used by numerous volunteers on the site. They insist it is due to the service. Why do people have to try it on? they must think I was born yesterday.

I have had prolapsed discs in the lower back for years. I walk like a gorilla at times and have a job to bend to do up my laces. I have had great pain and I have moaned about it. Reading this post however, has given me one of those 'life defining moments'. I can work,I can walk, I can sort of bend, so I am going to try never to moan again. totally inspirational, 'headgroundsman'

Every business is only as good as its staff. It will be on challenge for AAoil to apoint more dealers, and another challenge to get those dealers to sell volume of Aspen. If a dealer thinks that they can put it on a shelf and it will sell itself, then they they will not sell much. Only those who already want the product will buy, and at the moment there are not that many of those customers around. These will be the dealers who say 'Its not worth stocking, we wont sell much'. Other dealers will take an interest in both the product, and the customers who may have a use for Aspen. They will take the trouble to tell the customers about the benefits of the product and see the potential. These dealers will sell the product and be very glad that they do. Sadly, very few dealers and staff will bother to fully understand Aspen. I have taken a great interest in Aspen, and as a result have sold a little more than I expected. Its still not a lot in the grand scheme of things as my area of influence is small, 80% of sales will be within a 5 mile radius. I wonder if we will see Andy's gauntlet picked up today?

Yep, can even diagnose the problem, and the cost. £245 will get you a machine as good as new, well actually a new machine. BIN IT:lol: Of course, that will be like a red rag to a bull, Spud will fix it and post loads of pictures showing us how he did it. i still say BIN IT.

You are not the first to be caught out with that metering diaphragm stud, Steve. You may be the second, because I may have been the first.

You got the bug bad mate. No going back now, that pager will rule your life. Seriously though, I take my hat off to you.

My daughter starts with us tomorrow......help!

Maybe the sleep starting of the topper is to get rid of the sleep wood:lol:

the burning Aspen can. See, no smoke!

I should really shut up now, Andy, and wait for AAoil to reply, but I have to say, I think thats a very noble challenge.

Good points about the cans, they got me thinking. Andy's point about volatility.. I have noticed that the cans are always very clean, I often cut them up for storage bins. However, I thought I would do a little test. This could be classed as stupid, but I did it anyway with no problem. I held my lighter to the neck of a just emptied container! There was no 'whoosh' as you would get with petrol, just a very gentle ignition and a low yellow flame slowly burning from the neck. I believe this is due to the lack of solvents in the fuel. I let the container burn. It took an hour or more for a 5 litre container to very gently burn away. There was no smoke and virtually no smell. The residue was like hard candle wax, and believe it or not, water was constantly puddling under the burning container. This backs up what Anglo have said about the cans releasing only CO2 and H2O when burnt. I dont suggest burning as a preffered disposal method, but it would appear that storage of empty containers present very little risk or environmental impact. I will post some pics later. The cans are made of High density polyethylene.