wrsni

Quite correct, and the worst thing about that is that the customer thinks you owe him a massive debt of gratitude as he's given "you" 500 quid! Oh, and lets not forget that eighty something quid of it is only tax that you're collecting for HMRC before you even start.

Well why would they bother spending licence fee money just to get the rights to a Spanish championship? Won't be subscribing to anywhere to get it and won't miss it!

Sorry had to dash out mid-post. cont'd......... The Stihl policy seems a bit outdated, every manufacturer and supplier knows that the internet whilst limited in it's potential has to be at least a part of your distribution policy and is better addressed and incorporated rather than ignored and if it's done correctly the "non internet" dealers will be OK with it. Just another thing, if they genuinely value quality of service over scale and turnover then ALL their dealers large and small will HAVE to be on the same terms.

What gets confused in a conversation sometimes is the fact that a 33.3% discount from RRP actually gives the dealer a 50% mark up. Don't really know the Stihl situation but I've owned and run a motorcycle shop as my "day job" for a dozen odd years now and dealt with companies large and small so I've a fair idea how things should work and what's wrong when they don't.

That looks to be just the job! Thank you.

Wow, no messing there! Zero swing a good move if you consistently work with little room about. Definitely be easier on the neck! Health to use.

Sorry, yes forgot to mention that. Although the Burley can be supplied with a multi fuel grate if desired I believe it was originally designed primarily as a wood only burner,which was another plus for us as that's all will be going in it.

We're in the process of buying a stove to replace a high output back boiler behind an open fire and after a bit of chasing around and much brain frying it looks like it'll be a Burley Brampton. Just waiting on the plumber to call and suss out the removal of the back boiler and providing there's nothing cast up by that process (and we don't imagine there will be) then it'll just be a matter of a final bit of haggling and writing out the cheque. Pretty much ticked all the boxes anyway but the room seal kit was a big factor in deciding it. I strongly suggest you look in to that side of things if you have quite an air tight house.

Going to treat the little Dolmar to a (long overdue) bit of a service/check over including a new bar and chain. Firstly, anywhere particularly recommended to deal with or stay clear of, I'll be buying mail order either online or telephone, not bothered which. Second, baffling array of bars and chains available, don't need anything fancy or specialised but rate genuine good quality above price, also must be ok for hand sharpening, again any particular recommendations? My notion is just to go with Oregon as a safe bet but quite happy to listen to decent advice to the contrary or other alternatives. Finally, how do I know if I need a new sprocket to go with the chain or is it like the bikes whereby it's usually a given to replace it. Thank you.

Nice big blob of a quick setting chemical metal. Then when it's set file it down to shape, drill it and tap it. Not ideal but should do to hold a cover in place.

The problem stems from the modern abuse of the word "technician". Go in to anywhere selling anything mechanical and you'll see certificates up for their "factory trained technicians". What this means is they've sat through something in some cases as short as a half day course, done a little test at the end of it (usually multiple choice) that a chimp could probably pass at random and then they get the certificate, all of which obviously means sod all. All part of the modern culture whereby selling is king, and everything else is just a distraction.

Zero swing diggers are interesting and it really depends how you classify them. If you classify them by weight they'll always lack a bit compared to a conventional digger of the same weight as the weight sits in closer therefore has to be heavier to give the same counterbalance. For example, quite a while ago I had a Hitachi EX60URG which is the zero tail swing version of the EX60, same engine, pumps, hydraulic performance, etc, etc. Was a bit ground breaking when I bought it but was recommended to me by a guy who was importing stuff from Japan at the time and it did indeed turn out to be a cracking digger. Thing was, it was actually 7.5 tonne so if you classify it as a zero tail swing EX60 it was excellent and would beat a standard EX60 in almost every way, but if you classify it as a 7 and a half tonner then it was nowhere as it had the performance of a 6 tonne machine. So again, look carefully at the spec and see what it actually is.

Kubota do a 71 which is 2.8 tonne and I've driven those as they're a very popular machine over here with the hire companies. The difference between them and the 91 is night and day yet to look at the two they practically indistinguishable and the 71 is hired out as a 3 tonner, and I've seen them for sale as a 3 tonne machine also. So do your homework before parting with the dosh as small differences on paper can be a big difference in practice, and a decent example of anything around that size will be fair money and you want to try and get it right. Good luck.

My Kubota With long dipper it works out just under 3.5 ton. I bought it because it was a genuine private machine with low hours but thought it might struggle a wee bit sometimes. Not a bit, in fact it's been a revelation, well able for any field work but handy enough to use around the yard if necessary. Plan to put a grab on it and possibly a set of pallet forks. One of the best purchases I've ever made.

I spent a good part of last winter planting out 8 acres of new woodland so if we can survive for the next 7 to 10 years I hope our energy needs will be taken care of beyond that.

As we speak there's a big pot of rice pudding sitting simmering and the kettle whistling not 10 feet away from me, and the radiators in the rest of the house near fit to lift your skin, courtesy of some well seasoned alder in a Stanley solid fuel cooker. So yes, it burns really well! Oh, does stand a bit of drying, and don't even think about burning it green.

We have a Stanley solid fuel cooker which is used to heat the entire house and it runs on either coal (coke) or wood. The wood is our own and comes from various places but at no cost other than the labour involved however sometimes I'm too busy at my paying job to be able to cut, chop or whatever and it's coal only for a while. A bag of good quality coke is costing us £16 at the minute and two bags will keep us warm and toasty for a week in all but arctic conditions. That's heat in the living room/kitchen and hot water 24/7, with radiators on for an hour between 6 and 7 in the morning, and from about 4 or 5 till bedtime at night. With sticks/blocks I can cut down to about 1 bag of coke in the week but that will require 10 - 12 good bags of blocks (depending on the wood) to replace the one bag of coke. Well for me that's a saving, but it's not hard to do the maths and see that it would make no sense to purchase the wood. The economics versus oil would probably be a bit more favourable, and we're also putting in a wood burning stove in a centrally located room to see if we can get a bit more heat out of the wood, good though stanley may be, but still on pure cost terms, wood simply doesn't compare, you need to look at it's other attributes.

A properly set up drum mower will cut just about anything put in front of it, if it can't be cut with a drum god only knows what you'd go in to it with!

Sounds like another doomed "wildflower meadow" project then! Anyway, for this particular job the topper will probably be the best bet, cheaper, easier to rake up, and the cut itself will be adequate. For other work, well there's no such thing as a universal mower. Flail has some advantages specific to some jobs, but plenty of characteristics which would be a distinct disadvantage in others, not least, cost and hp requirement. I think you'd need to have a very good idea of what sort of other work you'd be at before parting with the dosh, even within flail mowers themselves there are different types of flails to fit depending on the work, all running in to big money.

Mairs tails are a classic case of control rather than elimination. I built a kart track at home and it was surfaced coming up on 7 years ago now and there's one section of it where the wee rascals still poke up on a regular basis. Glyphosphate kills whatever comes through but there's always more every spring and this year for whatever reason they're still coming, had to spray half a dozen just last week.

If you're happy enough with petrol, Grand Vitara. Absolutely bulletproof (like all Suzuki's), newest ones very civilised on tarmac but unlike most still a proper off-roader, and sensible money.

Agreed, have had three 3cx's of various specs over the years and driven many more, also various shovels and telescopics and all excellent kit to use and staggeringly tough. I suppose you have to give them a couple of duffers. Oh, and their phones are total pants as well!

Actually no! Very, very seldom you'd see even anything JCB over here sub 7 tonne. Only one JCB dealer covering all of Northern Ireland and they do very nicely thank you with sales of back-hoe loaders, quarry spec shovels, and the smaller shovels and telescopics to farmers, so given that the mini/midi market over here is very competitive they probably don't push them much.

Should have stated that i'm in Northern Ireland (thus the "over here" comment) and it IS the case that the major hire companies prefer Kubota. Also when I state "utility" companies to be precise I'm actually referring to a couple of major contractors who actually do the work but it is the case again that they by and large use Kubota, some have actually dabbled a bit with other stuff and gone back to Kubota again. Obviously a 1.5 ton digger with zero tail swing and expanding tracks for example will be a completely different beast compared to one with conventional tracks and counter-balance. My point was that with a "standard" 1.5 tonner (give or take 50kg) there's not been a heap of difference in any that I've seen, they all end up in a very similar place as regards performance. Now there may be something out there that's totally **** and I've just been fortunate enough never to have to drive one, but I've driven just about every decent name you can think of at some time.

I've driven a lot of 1.5 ton mini's and owned a Bobcat, there's not much between any of them really and as with all things when buying secondhand it's probably as much about what turns up at a good price, good condition, etc, rather than getting too hung up on any make. Start going up the weight scale however and the differences start to become more pronounced. That having been said, I'd always lean towards Kubota and was fortunate enough to unearth a genuine low hours 91-3 last year when I was looking for something midi size. It's phenominal, punches way above it's weight and even for someone who's driven more diggers over the years than I care to remember very, very, impressive. Doubt I'll ever part with it. Wouldn't agree with the point on their "cosmetic" robustness however, most of the major plant hire and utility companies over here run Kubota and give them dogs abuse which they stand up to as well as anything and better than most.