sandspider

Thanks. Yes, I'd like to see pics if you have them handy... Cheers.

Ahh, shame! Looks like it could be a bit of comedy fun! Not at 2 grand though...

I did find this, looks quite fun! Not as useful as an actual tractor... http://item.mobileweb.ebay.co.uk/viewitem?itemId=281235874219

Thanks all. Too much choice! Carpenter, which of yours do you prefer and why? I'll go and look at zetors and john Deere's and try and get hold of a copy of tractor and machinery magazine too...

Thanks gents, sorry to hijack OP!

Thanks all. There's no hurry, as I said it's early days - so I'll definitely try and get to Shaftesbury. Thanks.

They do look good though! But that is less important than it working well...

Thanks, that's useful. Seems I have a lot to learn! I'm assuming eBay is not the best place to buy? They seem fairly pricey on there. I will go and have a look for farm sales etc. near me.

Thanks chaps, some food for thought there. Will go and read the other thread. Forgot to mention, I'd prefer diesel over petrol / TVO...

Hi all Bit of a vague question, and quite far in advance of actually needing one, but got to start somewhere I'm trying to figure out which tractor to buy. The plan is to eventually have a few acres of land, some trees, some sort of smallholding, and I'm looking for one tractor (possibly compact) to do everything necessary. This could include: Carrying things (loader / bucket) / towing a trailer Running a log splitter / saw bench (so I guess a PTO and 3 point linkage would be needed) Mower / topper Harrowing / rotavating (reasonable horsepower needed) Extracting felled wood? (Winch, or just driving compact tractor between trees) Post knocker? (Probably not essential, but could be useful) Digging holes? Anything else that springs to mind! I'd have a budget of maybe £2,000, and would be looking at second-hand. I'm fairly handy with spanners, but I'd like something that will not require too much work and will be reliable when needed (possibly not that regularly). I don't want to pay just for a name, unless it's a good name on a really good tractor! 4wd would be nice, but probably not really essential... I like the look of the MF35, but I know it's not compact, and they seem to be quite expensive for the age and condition - are you just paying for the MF name / popularity? Or a Ford Super Major... Perhaps something a bit more modern, smaller and Japanese - Iseki? Kubota? Yanmar? Any thoughts? What would you (or did you) get?! Thanks.

Cheat!

Slightly random question for those that have a log burner that heats water as well as providing direct heat. What do you do in Summer when you want a shower / hot water?! I assume you still have to light the burner, but doesn't that make the living room (or wherever the stove is sited) uncomfortably hot? Or would you light the burner early in the day, heat a storage tank or thermal store, then shower from that as and when needed with the stove off and the living room cool? Just a thought...

I'll have to fish out my old dissertation electron microscope pictures! They're of crayfish gills, so not directly relevant to the thread or the forum, but the magnification and detail are amazing...

Looks nice. I assume you pull the handle towards you to bring the blade into the wood, rather than taking the wood to the blade? Can I ask what sort of price that was?

I was doing it to mix the 2-stroke oil back in again! (That was my concern, not the breakdown of the petrol or the oil). Didn't see any signs of the petrol breaking down, and the saw ran as normal... Out of interest, does the petrol break down on its own, or when mixed with 2 stroke? Or both? Or...?

I've used 6 month old fuel mix (supermarket fuel, and the petrol had been sitting in the petrol can for a year or more before mixing) without problem. (Give it a good shake before fuelling saw, obviously). Having said that, I'm only an occasional chainsaw user, so it might be that damage is happening but very very slowly... The saw in question is only a Spear and Jackson job, so not the end of the world if it does die in a few years, but it suits my needs very well.

snopes.com: Reuse of Plastic Bottles No mention of lady hormones there though - more advice to keep plastic bottles out of sunlight / heat. (Which makes sense).

No mate, you didn't say it would kill you, but I remember Evian or someone saying something vaguely similar. (And that the water originally in it from Evian or whoever was fine in there for ages, but you shouldn't put tap water in it). Seemed a bit bonkers to me, but maybe there's something in it after all? I suppose if they bottle it without any air in it, a reaction might start when it gets air added to it along with the new tap water...?

I thought that was dodgy science put about by the bottled water companies? "If you keep our water in it for years that's fine, but if you empty it and put tap water in it it will start to break down and kill you..."!?

That's a lovely gnarly old tree. Glad it was saved rather than chopped, well done.

That's a good idea. Kick up enough fuss, show there's a problem that makes people angry and something might be done...

Thanks NH. I might PM you with a question or two if that's OK.

I disagree, partially at least. I've got two cars off Ebay - both in good condition (with minor faults I was aware of) and both at less than market price. I took a long time looking though, and bought locally having seen the goods first. I also bought a chainsaw off eBay. Spear and Jackson, £70 odd inc postage, and it's served me well for my light use. Possibly a bit of luck there though. So yes, you can get good stuff off Ebay, but it's worth doing the research first and take your time. Try and inspect before you buy. And hope you'll be lucky... (Also, watch out for fake saws - no one would want to make a fake S & J chainsaw!)

It would definitely be 10s rather than hundreds of thousands. Ideally I'd like a house (or barn, outbuildings etc.) to go with it (in which case it could then be hundreds of thousands, but with a more normal mortgage), but proving a bit tricky so far. Oh well, I enjoy looking.

Yep, Triodos said no as I'm a private user not a company. (Though I saw they lent to a private individual on one of those house tv shows). I'll have a look at Lombard. Cheers.