GardenKit

As bob, I just bring them up to compression stroke, then a short, very sharp, tap with a hammer and punch located on the little lip on one of the 3 arms. Get the tap right and it spins straight off. It does take years of experience to get that 'tap' right though, so maybe a piston stop or cord is the best bet. But dont use the hammer and punch method when using a piston stop, better to use a removal tool and nice even torque. Again, just as Bob does, if the clutch has a hex head, or I have an adapted socket, then I use the air wrench. Some say this is brutal and causes crank damage, but this is not so. I have done it many 100's of times with no problems. The 136 however does not lend itself to making an adaptor, easier to whack it.

I agree with all the others, which is not much help really. It does, as Spud says, sound like its running out of fuel. With regards to the fuel pickup pipe, I have just had a look at one on my bench and TBH, if the pipe is genuine Stihl the filter cant really get stuck anywhere. The hose is only about 75mm long inside the tank and the filter falls neatly to the bottom, or the RH side when in a felling cut. The filter does need a little weight to it, some non genuine ones can be a little too light. I notice that the inlet manifold (boot) has not been renewed, just replaced. I recently had a 440 with similar symptons. The boot had a small hole which opened when the saw was on its side and the AV rubber flexed. The boot was old and hard and did flex well when the AV,s did. This however caused a weak mixture and loss of power, but did not die like yours, which, as said sounds more like a fuel issue. Good luck

Most fuel preservatives are in fact, anti-oxidants. The largest reason for fuel going off is the reaction to oxygen (oxidation). Anti-oxidants slow down the process.

Nothing wrong with the image of Disco and Trailer IMO. The biggest problem is getting it fitted into many domestic driveways. I know its a little different, but I used to take my trailer behind the van when collecting machinery for repair, just so I could pick up more in one trip, but it was a PITA getting it into drives, or hitching it off and leaving it on the road, what with chocks under the wheels etc. Now I dont bother and the trailer only gets used once or twice a year. Many of my pro gardener customers use vans rather than pickups because of the security issues. If you can park in the drive its not so bad, but if you have to park on the road with kit in the back??? Transit size is the most popular, VW Caddy or Transit Connect are a little too small.

I wish you good luck in your new venture then:thumbup:

Rich, sorry, my post was not meant as any form of criticism. Its just that I feel that anyone setting off on their own needs a very clear idea of the type of work they intend to do. Once they have this, they can plan their marketing around this. Its very difficult to market yourself as a 'general allrounder' as many potential customers will be suspicious of this as 'jack of all trades, master of none'. But as Pedroski rightly says, it is great to be able to turn your hand to any task,and once you have established yourself with a customer in your advertised capacity, you will be able to offer varied services to a trusting customer who will then percieve you as 'able to turn your hand to anything'. The problem with having contacts who offer you, for example, driving work is that while you are doing that your core business could be being neglected. I apologise for patronising you if you already have that clearly defined view, or if your ideas differ from mine. Different methods work for different people.

Rich2484. Well done for having a go at working for yourself. Get it right, and you will not look back. You have been posting on here for some time now and most of us will have formed an idea about what you do, but I bet that none of us are sure. One minute you are a tractor driver, then a groundie, then a grass cutter, then a mechanic and so on. Please dont get me wrong, this is not a bad thing,not many people are so versatile, but in the same way that I dont know what it is you really do, then neither will prospective customers. It may be better to try to specialise in one aspect so that you build up a name for that type of work. Maybe choose the best skills you have and the ones that pay the highest return. For instance, mow 4 lawns a day at £25.00 each, or service 4 lawnmowers at £75.00 each. Just a thought, not a critisism.

Briggs have noticed a problem with some of their pastic carbs recently. They seem to be losing plastic from the surface which then blocks the jets. This has been put down to the inreased rates of ethanol in petrol over recent years. Maybe the same is happening here with the internal surface of the tank being attcked by the ethanol and leaving a residue which then washes through.

Not trying to push Aspen here, but all the Husqvarna books I have seen so far reccomend the use of Aspen fuel. Now Aspen is premixed with Aspens own 2 stroke oil, not XP, so this would suggest that XP is not needed when using petrol. I guess the issue is more that an oil of equivalent grade to XP (jaso FD) should be used, rather than some cheap non branded oil.

ATC, as others have said, thats a pretty tough job that will require a 40cc or larger brushcutter. I also agree that an Oregon Jet head with flexy blade will do the best job. Sure, you could do it with the Ryobi, but it will be a very slow task and you wont complete within your very low quoted price. You will almost certainly kill the Ryobi in the process. Best IMO, to save the Ryobi which will continue to be of use on light tasks such as lawn edges, and if your finances permit, buy a 40cc machine which will last you for years and enable you to take on jobs such as this in the future. No need to waste money on Stihl though. You can save £100 or so and buy a quality Japanese product such as Tanaka, Kawasaki or Echo that will be just as good. Good luck with your business.

Treediver has posted very good links, follow those and you will not have any trouble. You will almost certainly find that the gap has widened, possibly to the point of preventing the decompressor from working. Tip, a normal 0.1mm feeler guage is a little too wide at the tip. It is best cut down to about 3mm wide at the end so that it fits on top of the valve stem and between the pressings on either side of the rocker arm. It can easily be snipped with a good sharp pair of scissors.

Glad to hear it, I was a bit baffled as they normally change over well. I do'nt even need to tweak the carb in many cases. What about your other saws, are you using Aspen in them too?

Adamam, are you saying that it runs ok when you switch back to petrol, or that it was Ok on petrol and did not adapt to Aspen but you have not tried on petrol again?

The 038 was that clean when it came in, and always was. I did not pay much for it but he was happy. I will probably sell it on when the novelty wears off. I dont really need it at home myself. The screwdriver thing with the 066 sounds feasible, but the team who own it always bring their saws to me for repair, only doing basic service themselves, so I dont see anyone sticking a screwdriver in there. If the gap were a little bigger I would blame a mouse. maybe a very tough baby mouse with dwarfism. ( well, its more likely than them doimg their own tinkering:lol:)

Another saw today was this 038 AVS with reported starting issues. I have serviced this for years and it is seldom used. It started fine for me with the first 'burb' on the 6th pull as always. It turns out that the owner, who is no longer a young man, was losing the strength to get a decent pull and actually did not need the saw, so I bought it from him as my 35 yr old Partner 55 has about expired through neglect (I know!) I promise to look after this one!

Had a Stihl 066 today with report of erratic behaviour, especially on the horizontal cut. Had a good inspection of the inlet boot using a pencil beam torch and saw a small nick in the edge of one fold. Replaced the boot (and the impulse line for good measure). Seems fine now. I guess the AV movement allowed enough flex to open the hole. (you can just see the yellow showing through on the picture) Another saw (a 360) was playing up. This was due to the plug in the bottom picture. I see plugs like this several times a year, which is why I always change them on a service.

I've never tried it, nor am I likely to, but it looks a great way to spend an afternoon off. I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. By the way, I had never even thought of the pro's or con's of carving living wood, but I now totally agree with you. It seems just wrong to it, and there appears to be no need for it.

I guess it must be the time difference?

The 4 mix engines have been less than satifactory, it looks like Stihl are slowly introducing 2 mix engines to replace the 4 mix, and not before time IMO. If you have one and want to get the best out of it use the Ultra oil. I doubt it will solve your starting issues though, this is more likely due to worn valves with excessive clearance.

But as they said at least 16 times today " we wont let it dampen our spirits"

Think I saw somewhere that she's married.

Is the battery fully charged, and are the terminals clean and tight?

Just like the good doctor says,definately use a long reach hedgecutter, swing it round like a demented person and chop the brambles into little bits, its really very easy and you can keep your arms away from the thorns. You will probably find that the brambles issue from not too many roots, but grow up and spread out. Once you have found the root crown you can use the hedgecutter to cut it off at ground level. When you have a ground cover of bramble sticks, go over and over with the mower and chop them up. Then rake up any large bits left. Repeat the mowing regularly and the brambles will give up trying to regrow by the end of the summer.

The HT75 is indeed a Pole Pruner. oops, overlapped with deans much more informative post!

Only once did I run a saw up with the clutch on, but not the drum. That was scary ( and it was a long, long time ago) Luckily the bits missed me, but a light fitting and a window did not fare so well.