GardenKit

The time: 15.15 Mission status: 5 done, 1 being done, 1 wont get done. Starting to get bored now.

The time: 08.30 The Mission: To service as many as these as possible today

How have you got on with the Stiga Pro 55?

Which model would that be?

I wrote the last post during lunch, and by sheer coincidence the next job to hit the bench was a deck that had recently been painted, I guess by the owner, It was pretty clean so I guess it has only been used once since painting. The picture shows the paint over the top of very large rust laminations. One such rust flake was loose and fell off as I blasted the air gun over it to clean away the few grass clippings. In my experience this deck will now soon perforate completely and probably accelerated by the overpainting. The JD deck has had the waxoyl treatment, which I have found to be the best.

I see all sorts. and over many years I have tried all ways. The biggest problem we face is that rust is already present. At one time I started painting the decks after a good powerwash and wire brushing, but then the next year I would find that the deck had carried on rusting UNDER the paint, and big slabs of rust would flake off. Of course, if we sandblasted the deck to get rid of all rust then painting might work, but its not economic to do and we may lose more metal each year through sand blasting than from rust. Then for a good few years I painted the decks with a product from Spaldings called METALSEAL. This is a chemical rust converter that hardens like a varnish and is meant to convert rust and seal it in. But to be fair, it is intended for light rust on exposed new metal before overpainting, a job it does well. But it did no good at all on mower decks, in fact I think it acted more like painting and the rust carried on underneath, So for the last good few years I pressure wash, wire brush and then apply black waxoyl. This works into the rust and counters the rusting action, so whilst the deck is parked up over the winter the rust does not advance. But this waxoyl does wear off slowly through the season, with very little evidence left by the next service. Underseal would be bad, as it would encourage rust underneath, just like paint. Over many years of seeing hundreds of decks back every year for service, the best protection has been from the Black Waxoyl. Golden works well too, but with the Black the customer sees that we have applied it.

Thanks for that positive post, Mr Dig-dug-dan. Its good to hear someone say it does work, rather than those who speculate that it will not. You are correct, the machine on the front is the new model. The blower is not so much a blower, as a 'thrower'. The material that has passed through the screen ends up in quite a large void. There is a double sided auger which brings the material to an accelerator chute in the centre which literally throws it up the chute. This uses less energy than a traditional blower. I have not seen it in action, but I need to get a few interested prospective buyers together and organise a demo session. Luckily the SW rep lives only a few miles away.

You just need to move the throttle cable in the little clamp on the linkage plate on the side of the engine. Slacken the screw in the clamp, pull the outer (black) cable through the clamp just a little, towards the seat, 2mm will probably do it. Then operate the throttle lever to full choke and check that the choke shaft lever is fully round to the closed position with just a fraction of play before the stop. When the engine starts and the throttle is taken off choke, the lever should detent at full speed (around 3000 rpm is fine), but the choke should be just fully off. Repeat the adjustment of the cable just 1mm at a time until you get it right.

These will handle small stones with no damage. When making comparison, also consider that they are self propelled and less than 850mm wide. Might make them attractive to landscapers?

So, do chippers like the CS100 handle green waste, or do they only like woody stuff? How do they handle steel and stones?

Maybe I will not sell them, but they do sell. They have only recently been launched and 8 have sold quickly. I am just having difficulty establishing the market audience.

Forgot who once said "sir, if you have to ask the price, you cannot afford it". These start at around £11500 plus vat RRP

Do chippers handle wet leylandii at all? I have to say I have put a lot of fresh leylandii through both the Major, and Minor machines with no blockages. This can only be better.

Haha, it would piss you off if it powered down mid chomp! No, there is a programmable delay, or they 'eye' can be turned off. If you had one guy on clearing up a long hedge reduction for example, it can be left running quietly in the background whilst the operator fetches and carries. Then it fires up when you approach with an armful to shove in.

Sorry to hear that you have problems, but pleased to hear you are on the road to recovery and back on the forum. Its been a bit dull on here without you!

Exactly. Luckily throughout most of the UK there are now very few rural filling stations so most have a quick turnround. The thing is, you have no means of knowing the quality of fuel you are getting, and it does change a lot. Tesco petrol is turned around quickly once it gets to the pump, but in my opinion, is absolute rubbish. I see more problems from Tesco petrol than any other.

Thanks guys. This is a brand new model just launched. Apparently quite a few orders have been taken already. It is not intended to be an alternative to a chipper, as it is a shredder. Now, I don't have experience of using chippers, but I am told that they have shortcomings when handling green waste, which is apparently where the shredders come in to their own. By all accounts you can put just about anything through them from whole shrubs, branches with heavy foliage, sweepings and rakings, old fence panels etc, as well as timber up to 5". Another advantage is that they are much quieter in operation than a chipper, so better in an urban environment. This new model has the option of an 'Eco Eye' which senses operator movement. When the operator walks away to grab some more brash, the unit powers down to tickover, and opens up again as he approaches with a fresh fill. This saves fuel and keeps the noise nuisance down to a minimum. All in all I was impressed, and can see a good market in the landscaper sector, rather than Arb.

Me too Bill, same with dirty fuel. Otherwise they don't always believe you when you phone them up with the bad news.

Had a visit from the Eliet rep yesterday. He came to introduce me to the new Super Prof 5. I have sold the smaller Minor and Major machines, but never anything this large. Thought I would share and ask for your opinions. Should I sell them? [ame= ] [/ame]

OK, so I started doing what Eddy does best, and trawled through PDF's looking for compression figures. Not so easy to find for some machines, but found the Tanaka ones. I have serviced and repaired 1000's of Tanaka's for 25 years and never before have I found the figures! I have always gone by 'general rule' of 150psi being good, and indeed some do pull that, but many have run perfectly as low as 110psi. Using 'general rule' I would have condemned these machine to serious repair cost. But in fact, the accepted figures on the brushcutters are actually 105 to 140psi. So the point is, just be a little aware of not relying on compression figures unless you know what they should be. Found Echo saws at between 135 and 145 on a PDF. Still found none for Stihl, would be interested to know if anyone has any.

Aspen certainly has Fuel Duty added. Its a painful 58p per litre which we would desperately like to lose. Cant say for sure that Motomix does not have it, but in a way I hope they do not. Because if they don't and its legal, then we can get the Tax off Aspen too. But if they do not have it at present but should have it, then they are going to have to add it at 58p per litre which will put them much higher in price than Aspen.

In general, yes Steve, I agree. But not all engine run at the same pressures. I have seen engines run perfectly well as low as 110psi and this could be where they should be, but without the correct figures the tests are just a guide. For instance, according to these figures copied from Eddy's PDF we would be writing the K1260 off straight away. Compression pressure Average value for new engine: K650, 700 = ca 150 psi, K950 = app. 130 psi, K1250 = app. 110 psi.

Quite so Eddy, and well researched. I had meant to say "like most other manufactures" as I knew some bright spark would set to work on google. Stihl do not issue pressure readings or procedure in their manuals for 2 stroke equipment, but they do for 4 mix. This could be why Bill had seen that the gauge was only for the 4180 powerhead. Like I said, I think compression tests are a valuable aid in the diagnosis of an engine problem, but those tests must be done properly and used in conjunction with other diagnostic methods. If you cannot get a published figure to compare then whatever reading you do get is only a guide.

Remember, its the base petrol that degrades, rather than the 2 stroke oil. So mixing smaller quantities only works if you are buying fresh fuel each time. There are plenty who say they have never had a problem, and that could well be true. But its probably more accurate to say they have never been aware of the problem. Petrol does not 'start to go off after 30days", it starts to degrade from the day it is refined. As each day passes the fuel becomes a little less efficient, a little more corrosive and a little more liable to cause an engine failure. Most manufactures will say not to use fuel over 30 days old in their machines. Aspen is by far the best fuel to be using in small engines, its more expensive than petrol but stays fresh indefineately.

Another example of Echo being superior to Stihl:biggrin: