GardenKit
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Everything posted by GardenKit
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Many ride on mowers have 'timed decks' where the two blades are driven by a toothed belt. These definitely give the best cut, but the downside is that if used roughly the belts can break and they are expensive to replace. Sometimes the blades show that there has been an impact which causes failure, but sometimes there is not obvious reason. Yesterday, during a service,I caught one of the culprits of belt failure before it damaged the belt, showing the importance of keeping the top of the deck clean.
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Good fuel management would have saved this customer some expense. The Stiga ride on ran for only a few seconds after refuelling. As it turns out it was not just petrol he refilled it with. The dark area in the bottom of the tank showed up when a torch was shone through and shows the level of water in the 12litre tank. A serious amount of water!
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Haha, yes indeed, a very shrewd move for him, but no challenge for me, and not much profit in a funnel! Seriously though, I never recommend anyone to use Aspen in their ride on, there is simply no need throughout the cutting season, and it would be crazy expensive. However, every ride on I sell, or service goes out with Aspen. Sold units get a full tank and serviced machines have all their old petrol drained and the tank cleaned before adding about 3 litres of Aspen. This way I know that the machine will start first time when required however long it may be left unused. (providing the battery holds its charge) I do have one customer who uses his rider all year on Aspen though, and it runs so sweet! My own old Stiga Park ran out of petrol half way through the cut on Sunday last, only had Aspen at home so filled up with that and it was instantly like a new engine, incredible difference.
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The MB253T is an economy mower with a single speed transmission. This means that the forward speed is directly proportional to engine speed, so as long as there is no 'slip' present in the drive (e.g. loose belt) there is no way of speeding up the forward speed beyond the designed speed. It may however be possible to increase the engine speed on the governor control. Typically engine speed is set at a level that keeps the noise below the legal limit, but this is usually below the rated engine sped of the engine. You can increase your engine speed to a max of about 3600 rpm , but I would suggest around 3200rpm is a nice compromise and probably quite an increase over the present setting which is probably around 2800.
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How do you clean your circular saw blades ?
GardenKit replied to gensetsteve's topic in Firewood forum
Hi Steve We have a fencing centre next door who have a production shop for fence panels, gates etc. A couple of years ago I was chatting to the manager who said he was having tremendous problems with resin on his blades. I suggested he try the AgeaLube hedgetrimmer spray, and gave him a can. Now he is a regular customer for this as it has totally cured his problem. Available from most Aspen dealers.
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Aspen does in fact have a very slightly lower density than petrol. Whilst the difference will have no effect on WOT mixture it may just effect the engine whist running on the idle jet, especially if the the saw was already on the lower limits (a bit lean) whilst on petrol. So sometimes a slight tweak on the L screw is required, normally only 1/16 to 1/8 of a turn counter clockwise (richening) will do the trick. No need to be afraid of tweaking this screw, you can do no harm to the saw, but don't be tempted to fiddle the H screw unless you understand what you are doing. The H screw does not need touching anyway for aspen conversion. But as said in my FAQ page, there may be already some carb damage from pump fuel which may need fixing.
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First question. The electrode of the plug will still take on the colour associated with combustion efficiency. What will be missing are those black carbon deposits around the metal outer bit of the plug, and the black carbon that builds up in the cavity between the core and the body. Both the plugs in the picture are used plugs, the one on the right has had a season in a hedge cutter run on Aspen. Second question. You must have seen pictures of those flames constantly burning off the top of the distillation towers and crackers. Thats where they go in the plants that do not have the Alkylation plants.
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I have just written another informative page about Aspen and added it to my website, I would appreciate comments, good or bad. Barrie FAQ's about Aspen Alkylate Fuel - -
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£20 for fitting new cord.... very reasonable, I would have been £25.00 if done on its own, but to be fair I would have included it in the service price if done with a service. £60.00 for service.... I would have been £70inc vat, plus parts, but would have include the rope replacement and would have tuned the carb and sharpened the chain. After all, without a sharp chain how can you tune it, as you have to do a test cut or two? As for the other dealer with his £10 to investigate and quote.... well he is a fool, that's worth at least £25.00. Why do so many people think they should not pay for the time taken to diagnose and quote?
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It is the ethanol content of petrol that is hygroscopic, but Aspen contains no ethanol, so absorbs no water. Rather than me having rewrite all the merits of Aspen read this thread from the beginning, or visit my Aspen information at Aspen fuel, a perfect match for garden machinery I hope this is of interest. Barrie
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The little feckers would not have been there if it had been run on Aspen:001_rolleyes: I doubt they crawled past the tank cap threads one at a time to get in there, more likely they set up home in an empty jerry can with an open lid. Then one day their owner filled up his can and unknowingly drowned the poor little pets. A few weeks later he drained the last dregs of his can into the mower tank before leaving the can in the shed once again with the top open.:big grin: Aspen, being in sealed containers is always 100% clean and guaranteed earwig free ( see the small print)
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Reckon there must have been about 60 of these little blighters in this fuel tank, these are just a few!
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know not many would use Aspen in their ride on. but it may have saved this fuel blockage! I
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Its a good job I did not see this post last night Dave, as I would have had to ban you forever from my FB page for attempting to cheat. But you got it right anyway:thumbup1:
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I cannot really understand why a dealer should be out of stock, after all its easy to see how much is left in the cabinet, and max restock time is 3 working days from order. But having said that I admit we did once have our last can go out just as the new pallet arrived! For those who have to make a special journey to get Aspen it may be worth direct delivery. It will add £4 per can to the cost if 6 cans were ordered.
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Be pleased to help whenever you are ready Tom.
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Fair enough John. But if you ever change your mind you know where to come.
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Hahaha, maybe Steve. But happens I was made first. Hmmmm
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If you google it you will find an online supplier who will send you just one 5 litre can, but he adds £10 to the price. The best I can do is £24 delivery on minimum of 3 5litre cans. But you will like it, honest, so why not buy 3?
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I'm getting bored now, keep checking this thread but nobody asking about Aspen. Nobody praising it and nobody condemning it! Nobody grumbling about price or availability. Is my work here done? Is there now universal acceptance of this fantastic product?
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No offence intended Jon:biggrin: Remember I was brought up a couple of miles from where you live, so can talk the same language:lol: Really just testing to see who reads this thread but does not comment!
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:beerchug: that's ok MATE I no THATS why that why ARBTALK IS BEST FORUM ON Internet, thanks mates,so what do you think about that then?:beerchug:
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As you know Steve, I do not port. But I am always a bit cautious when a customer wants 'just a tune up' Its no good attempting to 'tune' an engine unless the filters are clean, fuel pipes intact, fuel fresh, etc etc. So really a 'tune up' can only be done properly after a full service. Anything else is really a bit of a shortcut and can result in tuning the mixture to compensate for problems which really need to be identified and fixed.
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If its just 'tuning' rather than 'porting' then any dealer can do it, its not exactly rocket science. The only complication is that there may be reasons for them needing tuning that may need fixing first, and really a service should be done before tuning.
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Just a little change from pistons and things. Today I found that I am never too old to learn. I have overhauled thousands of carbs, but somehow have never done a Zama RB. This one is on an Echo 265ES LR hedge cutter and see very few Echos for service in this area. Anyway, the RB is a Rotary Barrel carb like a Walbro WY but a bit more fiddly. So I pulled this one down just like I would a Walbro, but did not notice the tiny roller shown in the pics, so I lost it. I did not know it had gone so I reassembled, but the barrel was now notchy to rotate. A bit of googling revealed the problem, and luckily a carb kit includes a new roller. I thought I would post my mistake so that others can learn from it, hope it helps someone.
