GardenKit

I am aiming to sell the Park Compact 4wd for £2500 Ste.

This afternoon, despite being busy with customers machines I took time out to prepare 2 recent Part Exchange machines for sale. As any mower is only as good as the cutter deck, and the decks on these were looking a little tatty, I fitted brand new decks to both. Full services on the tractor units and a good old polish up and the results are pretty good, especially on the articulated Park which is a 2006 machine. Preparing them to this standard allows me to get top dollar for them, and its quite satisfying work. Next task is to upload them to my website for sale.

Not to forget though that the 'company' has already paid 20% tax on the profits prior to voting them as dividends. In small companies such as ours its all the same pocket.

We had a strange day yesterday as virtually every customer through the door was after further supplies of Aspen. The Flamstore was opened so many times I thought the locks may wear out! Its really great to see the repeat customers coming back and to hear all the extremely positive comments about easy starting, low odour etc. They don't just like it, they love it. Then, the icing on the cake was from a Pro arb company in Somerset placing an order for two 200litre barrels following the pallet they had 2 years ago. The drums will be with them tomorrow. So thank you to that company (you know who you are!) The downside of selling Aspen is that I just cannot get on with my workshop work because I spend too much time in the shop:biggrin:

An old lawnmower blade is ideal.

A good machine, but hardly in the sub £300 budget of the OP. However, this Tanaka is. Tanaka TCH22EBP2 (62) Petrol Hedge Trimmer Low Vib

If you re-read my earlier post you will note that I was not doubting Eggs in this case, but trying to point out that items that look the same may not be the same. This is the sort of thing I mean. I googled a popular battery, Fiam FGC21803, and came up with this one. [ame]https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fiamm-FGC21803-21803-18Ah-Battery/dp/B009DKFKG2[/ame]If taken at face value without close study it would be easy to assume that this was a Fiam battery when clearly it is not.

A very valid point as long as the products are of same quality.

All the more reason to buy just one assured product from there dealer maybe?

Before I replaced any items on that mower I would be taking a good look at the blade and crank. If either, or both, are bent, the mower will shake itself to bits causing all the problems you quote.

The view from the dealer side (not the one in question!) Firstly, the whole point in stocking any item is to sell it and make money. When I stock any item I have to pay for it with my own money. We are only a small family concern yet have well over £50k tied up in stock at any one time, that's my money sat on the shelf rather than in the bank, but the whole point is for it to make me some money to live on, just like some of you may go out and earn an hourly wage to live on. So asking me to discount an item by £10 (for example) is like an employer asking his employee to work an hour for free. Secondly, although not doubting the OP in this eggsample, it is actually quite difficult to compare batteries. Ones that look alike, even from the same manufacturer often have different specs for different markets. So OE quality batteries are difficult to source from anyone other than the machinery manufacturer and are often highly priced, but lookalikes can be found on the web much cheaper. Some of these are designed to look like the originals, just like those counterfeit saws that look like Stihls. So buyer beware. Thirdly, as Pete B points out, if you buy a battery, or any other item from your dealer you know that if it is faulty you can take it back and the dealer will sort you out. In the case of batteries it is relatively common to get a faulty one and we will always swap it for a new one if the fault develops in the first year, but we get no warranty from our supplier on certain batteries so have to carry the can ourselves, another reason to make a bit on the sale.

Both excellent models, but just buy the one thats the best deal.

Seagull poo contains plenty of sand too. But amazing how many drivers try to clean it off without water.

So today we had a call from a lady saying she had been on to Mountfield about a problem with her mower smoking badly. She had told them it was only 2 years old and this simply was not good enough. Mountfield suggested that she call us as her local service agent , which she did and repeated her moan. "Bring it in and we will have a look" was our reply. So she did, and repeated her moan. We dipped the oil and found it to be 50mm above the full mark, hence the smoking. Turns out she tops it up with a little oil before every use 'just to be sure' Sweet little old lady really, albeit with a bit of a sharp tongue, but she mellowed after a helping of humble pie. She muttered her thanks and went on her way, after buying some more oil "just to be sure" she said.

It could be that the couple of years storage with old fuel in the carb has caused the bowl ring and/or bowl retainer seal to have perished. New, solvent rich, fuel has then dissolved some of the seal material causing the leaks. It could also be that the fuel lines have degraded causing external leakage from the hoses, and possible also allowing degraded material to stick in the float valve allowing the carb bowl to fill right up and overflow into the carb throat from where it can flow down the inlet manifold into the upper cylinder, causing flooding. The rubber tip on the solenoid could also have degraded with old fuel, but will not cause starting issues or fuel leaks.

Everything that Spud says, BUT, before fiddling with screws just ensure that the petrol is fresh and mixed with oil at the correct ratio of 50:1 or you may try to tune out problems that do not exist. The adjuster screws are slotted, but have limiting caps, but to be honest, these 'old school' saws tend not to be as lean 'out of the box' as the newer design low emission saws.

Even if stored empty Steve, the carb can still suffer from the degraded residues of fuel, and the diaphragms can harden and misshape. And, exactly as you say, it may start (on the purged fuel) but not run as its unable to pump for itself. Not many of those old four stroke Stihls around now Steve, if you get it sorted maybe you should include a can of Aspen 4 on your next delivery. I can't see how having a loose fuel cap can effect it either.

Was it stored on petrol Steve? (as opposed to my favourite liquid) When an engine starts first it is running on the fuel drawn into the carb by the purge bulb, but, when running, the internal fuel pump takes over (the 'pump' is in fact a diaphragm) During storage, if using petrol, the fuel can go off and become gummy. This can block the internal filter and render the diaphragm valves inoperative so that the internal pump does not work. A carb overhaul will fix this. Other, storage induced reasons, can be degraded fuel hoses and, or, impulse hoses,and gummed tank filter as well as sticking inlet or exhaust valves. Hope you get it sorted.

As said, the single speed and non split roller of the Pro version overcome some of the reliability issues, but they still have the flimsy underbody panels which are allergic to even small stones, and the fact that they simply do not collect anything other than short dry grass. The 'wedge' shape, pre 2005 models were brilliant in comparison.

Me too Steve, as they use a fair bit of fuel! I think they will stick with it, as it will definitely work for them. They first enquired prices about 6 months ago and have been debating it since, and no doubt comparing prices. But our prices are as good as any, and better than some. So, even though they are based only about 4 miles from us the pallet will be delivered direct to their yard from Anglo American Oil on our behalf, with no delivery charges. The same can apply to any UK postcode exc highlands and islands.

If I am honest I have this seen this too, but not on all the saws, and not big time. Once rubbers are replaced they will not fail again if kept on Aspen

We had a very pleasant surprise today when we received an order for a pallet of Aspen from a local, well respected tree surgery firm who have decided to take the plunge and convert to Aspen. Aspen is the word, and the word is spreading:001_smile:

We have just done a 56 today, with new underbody panels, new belts and new freewheels in the roller. Even the new belts are slack, but surprisingly it now drives well, but for how long? I gave up selling them a long time ago, as they should simply be much better then they are.

The blade bolt is a normal RH thread, but its quite normal to spin as described. Use an impact gun if you have one, but if not, clamp some vide-grips to the edge of the disc. Insert a block of wood where it can catch, then turn the bolt anticlockwise until the blade is stopped by the wood, and keep turning until the vise grips contact the blade, Then the bolt will undo. The belts on the Harriers wear very quickly, we change them on every service that we do, so just because they were replaced last year does not mean they are OK. Replace them again now. They may still be slack though, because its a rubbish design. The clutch within the gearbox is also pretty rubbish and its not at all unusual to need a new gearbox every couple of years, especially if the cable has not been kept correctly adjusted. To check if its the gearbox or belts at fault you really need to get in a position where you can get line of sight on the gearbox pulley, whilst the engine is running and the clutch lever is engaged. The mower needs to be against as solid object and someone else needs to be holding the the clutch in and applying a little downwards force to 'load the roller' until it stops rotating. At this point, if the gearbox pulley is still spinning then the belts are OK and the clutch is not, or needs adjusting. But if the pulley stops spinning then the belts are too slack, or worn to drive it. BUT, the procedure outlined above puts the viewer in a VERY DANGEROUS position close to a spinning blade, so of course THIS SHOULD NEVER BE DONE!

Or just whack a punch through the exhaust hole to knock out any mesh or carbon