GardenKit

For me it's the fact that I am an Aspen dealer!

I agree that battery power is becoming a reality now, and as the popularity increases, the sales of Aspen may decrease, or at least the increase in volume will level out. Its amazing how rapidly things are changing these days.

I agree that being able to sell Aspen in 25litre cans in the UK would be an great advantage. But its not fair to accuse Aspen UK of not getting their act together, as they would love to sell it too. All Aspen is packed in Sweden and shipped to the UK in sealed cans (bottles) of 1l, 5l and 200litre. Sadly the standard 25 litre can is made of plastic and fuel is not permitted to be imported and sold (or stored) in the UK in plastic cans exceeding 10 litres under the Petroleum regulations. So, until government legislation changes (not likely) I am afraid that sellers and consumers alike, will have to put up with 5l, or 200l containers.

If you are good with the grinder the result can be just as good as any other method.

To be honest, I do not recall ever having a Honda hedge trimmer in the workshop, not very common round these parts, so I cannot comment. And, in answer to the OP's question, I sharpen with a 3mm thick disc on a 115mm grinder......By hand.....By sight. Takes 20 minutes on average, some quicker, some longer.

I charge £25 for a sharpen which includes a 'set' on properly engineered machines such as Tanaka which have a threaded spine and locknuts. Also included are several pumps of grease. Machines with spacers ( poor design IMO) take much longer to 'set' by measuring and changing spacers so this is only done as part of a £65 service which includes a sharpen. 50% of HS45 owners also have to pay a little more for a sharpen as 50% of HS45's suffer from bent blade syndrome and require straightening before sharpening. Poorest blades in the industry IMO. The blades that take the longest to sharpen are the ones that the owner has had a go at before coming to me. Just saying.

Anyone who can take the blades off and clean out the hardened grease in 2 minutes can come and work for me! However, anyone who sharpens with a Dremel can not.

To be quite honest, there is absolutely no need to remove the blades. Simply remove the top comb (guard) the position the blades so that the top and bottom tooth overlap i.e one half covering the other. This gives plenty of room to sharpen. Do all the exposed teeth on all 4 sides, then reverse the overlap and repeat. I do hundreds each year like this with no problem. It would not be cost effective to remove the blades.

Crikey, this is a very informative thread with contributions from some of the most knowledgeable members (and I don't mean "clever dicks"!). Something that was drummed into me during my education, many years ago, was that we all use the term 'vacuum' in the wrong sense. We refer to diaphragms being pulled down by vacuum, but in fact they are pushed down by atmospheric pressure into the void of lower pressure beneath. The lower pressure is caused by the venturi effect of the rush of air over a restriction in a passage (higher pressure one side of restriction, lower pressure on the other, or, in the case of the crankcase it is the drop in pressure felt when atmospheric cannot get into the cylinder fast enough. So the atmospheric pressure plays a big part in carburation, hence the need for re-tuning or even re-jeting at altitude. My college lecturer insisted that there was no such thing as suction, my girlfriend at the time however, disagreed.?

It was indeed me, I have hundreds of cut off cans serving as parts storage bins in my workshop and garage, its a great way to recycle some of the thousands we get returned to us. We offer all our Aspen customers the chance to return their empty can to us for responsible recycling via our weekly collection of recyclable materials by Suez. But to be fair, the cans are made of exactly the same plastic as milk bottles, so there should be no problem with them going in the household recycling. Just drain, leave the top off and remove the sleeve before putting out with the rest of your plastics and the collection team should take it, although I know that some of the guys can be plain awkward and leave bulky items behind. Aspen is indeed available from the pump in many western european countries, but we are a long way off having sufficient volume of sales in the UK for outlets to justify the expense of the tanks and the pumps, so I am afraid you will need to stay with 5litre cans or 200 litre drums for the foreseeable future. One beauty of the 5litre can is that it allows 350 outlets to stock Aspen in the UK, so there should be a dealer not too far from anyone. Disposal of the cans is really a very minor problem compared with the advantages there are to be gained from using Aspen, but I have had the disposal issue quoted to me on several occasions as an excuse not to use Aspen by people who had no intention of using it anyway. Those who really want the product do not worry about the price or the can disposal, they just buy it for the benefits. And, on the subject of price, its worth reminding everyone that the RRP of a 5litre can of Aspen2 is now £19.98 INC vat. I must admit we charge a rounded up figure of £20 because it makes the whole money taking issue much easier and nobody ever objects to an overcharge of 2p, but any dealer charging £20 PLUS Vat, is, IMO, taking the proverbial. There are plenty of dealers only charging the RRP, so no need to overpay for it by £4. Of course, it would be great to see the £0.58 per litre road fuel tax removed, and the government have been asked, but I doubt its very high on the government agenda at the moment, they have bigger issues to take care of. So don't use the tax as excuse not to buy Aspen, If you fancy using it, start now and reap the benefits for man, machine and environment. Oh, and stick with Aspen rather than the pretenders, its still the original and the best! Its great to see so many Arbtalkers using it now, a far cry from 7 years ago when I virtually lynched on this forum for daring to mention the 'A' word!!!

It's definitely only warranted from the date of purchase. Even if it replaced the day before the warranty expires then the warranty runs out the next day. When you think of it you will see it's quite fair, you willingly bought a product with 12 month warranty and that's exactly what you got.

The Kohler operator book states 100 hrs for oil changes with filters at 200 hrs. I would not exceed the 100 hrs under any circumstances and would change more frequently on engines doing less work. For example, an engine running less than 100hrs a year would get an annual oil change. For the cost of the filter I would personally change it whenever the oil is changed, then it will never be overlooked. Oil and filters are much cheaper than engines so worth the investment. Oil not only lubricates the engine but also carries away the contaminants as well as cooling the engine in the case of an air cooled unit, so make sure the oil is always full to the max mark. It amazes me how many people think the minimum mark is acceptable, it really is not.

I would have no concerns for the saw itself when subject to these temperatures, so leave it with the tank cap fully closed. It will be fine. But I have definite concerns over the petrol fume laden atmosphere, its an accident just waiting to happen. Don't smoke when entering, and don't fire the saw up. Inhaling the fumes will not do you any good either, long term. Also be aware that your fuel will deteriorate much more rapidly when subject to temperature changes. When the temperature drops the tanks will draw back in from the surrounding air and if that air is damp the moisture will be gobbled up by the ethanol content of the petrol. The first effect will be the formation of water in the bottom of the tanks, and if unused, this water will react with the ethanol to form a gelatinous gunge which will cause engine issues. By far the best place to store your fuel, either in cans or in the saw, will be in the cool, stable atmosphere of the stone built shed.

Ed, the new fuel from Huskie is NOT rebranded Aspen. It may be similar, it may be just as good, only time will tell. Aspen have been producing and developing Alkylate fuel blends for over 30 years and their plant and labs are dedicated solely to Aspen fuel, but the Huskie product has been outsourced by Husqvarna. A few years ago Huskie were selling rebranded Aspen but had a struggle getting their dealers interested so withdrew the product. However, over the last 4 or 5 years sales of Aspen have soared in the UK and most dealers, as well as customers, have taken the whole Alkylate fuel thing seriously. Hence Stihl and Huskie now marketing their own versions. Aspen however, is still the original and in my opinion , the best.

In all honesty the Stiga and castle garden do come from the same factory, but are handled by different companies in the UK. The 92 cm PGX140 HD Castlegarden machine uses the same chassis as the Stiga 5092H, but with a smaller 13hp engine, different body work, and a smaller grass box. The Stiga machines always tend to carry the higher specs than their cousins.

Morning Carlos. I may be a bit biased as a Stiga dealer, but here goes. The 3084H is the smallest of the Stiga tractor shaped ride ons, but is well built and good value for money at a new price of £2199 inc towbar and mulch kit. I have sold many of these over the years with very few problems and the customers are more than happy. If you need a machine of these dimensions then this is the one to go for, but if you can accommodate a slightly longer machine with a little bit more width, then its worth spending the extra £150 on the Estate 5092H which puts you up to the 9kw (18hp) engine, heavier duty chassis and deck, as well as an extra 50litres in the grass box (290l). Also get the 'comfort' seat and LED headlights. This machine is just incredible value at £2349. Stiga is now probably the strongest brand in the UK as Mountfield and Atco are now all incorporated within Stiga Ltd. There are Stiga, Mountfield or Atco dealers all over the UK and Ireland, probably more than any other brand, so spares and service will never be a problem.

Cool. Please pm me a link or number, that beats paying the Briggs price.

The TT20K is standard equipment for Briggs and Stratton dealers and available as a Briggs part from any dealer. We have one at both workstations as we cannot be bothered to share! Not cheap though at around £180 inc vat

Like a summers day here today. Bright sunshine, really warm, and lots of smiling faces. Honest!

I have never known such a wet winter, even our sandy soil is waterlogged. Devon was the wettest county in the Uk in March. Brilliant today though, had to cast a clout around lunchtime.

You are soon going to need a new one Stubby, that one has seen some serious work!

Ah, sorry Beau, but following my post, and knowing your dad did have a Stiga I made the wrong assumption!

Did he have a Twinclip Beau, or an older model Stiga. The new Twinclips have an incredibly tough gearbox. Some of the earlier Stiga's did have gearbox issues though.

Not so with the Stiga Twinclip mowers. They are designed to fold and the cables are routed so as not to catch or get damaged. Very good mowers too, with domestic and Pro variants.

Its a new compliance regulation called General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Its very complex but ALL business, however small, have to comply. Basically it is to ensure that information you store about customers is secure, and that the customer is fully aware of how you use the information you store. He also has to give consent for you to keep data on file, and to use it to contact him. Its much more involved than this and presumably has massive impact on big business practices, especially those holding sensitive information about customers, but ANY data held that can lead to identification of a customer counts. For instance, even a clipboard in the front of the van with customer details on the job sheet is not secure. Its truly massive, and we all have to comply or risk very large fines. I really don't understand how it impacts the small business, hence this thread.