chrisj
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Everything posted by chrisj
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Pouring with rain with a strong, bitter cold wind. Not pleasant at all.
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I've had a 550 for a while now and I'm well impressed. Well balanced, powerful, torquey, and starts like a dream as others have said. Sounds great too, reminds me of a trail bike rather than a chainsaw.
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I was just browsing through my pics and came across this. Not terribly recent this one. Taken in Atherstone in the Midlands.
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Oh, is that how it works?! I thought it was just a co-incidence that I'd picked a user name that had been invented for the thread title.
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I also have an outdoor pursuits instructing business and I've found the same with my website for that. Often South America. Also West Africa. I'm assuming it's dodgy SEO companies looking for companies to spam.
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Thanks for the tip, I'll check. I always use Stihl oil so quality should be fine.
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Thanks Gardenkit I think you may have had it. The exhaust was plenty tight, but looking closely the oily yuck was between the engine fins on both sides level with the exhaust port, and taking the exhaust off the gasket looked pretty crappy. So first step looks to be a new gasket for the exhaust and then see where we're at.
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Yes I've been following the other thread discussing 4 mix.
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Thanks Gardenkit. Oil and mix are the same as ever. The exhaust didn't seem loose at all but I'll check again tomorrow. There are ways to spend a rainy Saturday than tinkering with machinery. As I say it's 9 years old and was due replacement anyway. I have worked it really hard the last week or so, so I think something has just failed finally. It would be nice if I can fix it up as a spare though.
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Oh and I checked the shaft for play while I was dismantling it and there was no sign of any movement what so ever.
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My first thought was the upper shaft leaking grease but when I dismantled it that side of the flywheel was clean as was the end of the shaft. So I had thought it was likely the seal. The noise it was making was a bit like when it's running low on fuel and revs up, but loads worse, and was a bit intermittent. I checked the H and L screws setting and they're where they should be so it isn't just the tune gone out.
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I now have an Acoustic Bass that has joined the collection but I don't have a pic of that handy.
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Thanks Spud. I'll have an investigate tomorrow.
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If it's leaking mix out, is it possible it's leaking air in, accounting for the high / weird reving?
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That makes sense and is what I suspected. The seal looks ok visually, is there a way of checking it? I've got it on the bench all stripped down with the flywheel off. Also is it an easy fix?
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A few days ago my KM85 Kombi engine started leaking dark sticky oil. Then near the end of the job yesterday it started making a horrible noise. Sort of roaring. It reminded me of when the exhaust breaks off on the car. I've stripped it down and can't find where the oil is coming from, the oil had been thrown all over, although it was pretty filthy and horrible behind the flywheel. The 2 issues could be unrelated but it seems a real co-incidence that both came together. Has anyone come across similar before or got any ideas. The machine is 9 years old and doesn't owe me anything. I'll be getting a replacement but if I could fix it to keep as a spare it would be great.
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I do part time outdoor pursuits instruction. I try to steer clear of the doing taster sessions for kids outdoor centres and instead focus on more serious skills coaching.
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No. It's fine for mowing because the grass areas I cut aren't too slopey. The steepness is in getting to and from them. Hence the reason that I like the blade brake so that I can leave the engine running and drive the mower in and out of the difficult ones rather than having to push it up. If the grass was that steep then I'd certainly be looking at other options. My grass cutting is spread between larger commercial areas that are fairly flat and large and small domestic lawns, some of which are on the flatter parts of a sloping garden, meaning that it's a pain getting the mower in or out but fine once you're there. It's not a major drama. The Honda has always driven in or out without any problems and gives a nice cut when dry, but when it's wet it has a habit of clogging in the mouth of the chute, which is why I was looking around at other options before going for another Honda.
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Thanks IVECOKID. Always good to have more than one view on a machine.
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I used a 4 wheel rather than roller mower Gnome so I don't have to worry about damage to the roller from hard surfaces. I'm sure lifting the roller / rear wheels works fine for you. In my case I'm not moving from one lawn to another. As I say I'm in the mountains and have very steep access to many of my gardens. eg. at one client I have 30m down a 1 in 4 to get to the lawn and 30m up the hill to get back out. So driving the mower out makes a huge difference. I'm hearing a lot of people mentioning drive problems on newer Hondas which is putting me off going for another Honda even for normal use, let alone for me that needs to be able to drive it around.
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I've seen people mention Sarp Ariens and Weibeng in other threads. Unfortunately I don't have a dealer in my area that carries Sarp or Ariens and I'd rather buy from a (relatively) local dealer for the backup than buy a mower on-line. There is a dealer that lists Weibeng though so that's worth a look.
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Yes if I went for the Honda it's the HRX476 I'd go for. I'm just shopping around though because my Honda HRB is a pain blocking if the grass is wet, and where I am it's often wet. I'm liking the look of the Viking MB755 though. Hmmm choices, choices.
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If that happens sneak over and tuck a business card into each bag.
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If you get on with him then, maybe just ask him to cover the fuel and oil, if it's not loads of work. Always worth keeping the neighbours sweet. Otherwise if it's loads or he's a git then £20 an hour, minimum of a full hour sounds ok.
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Thanks for the tips folks. Gives me a few things to check out.
