SteveA

Oh 'eck. I've started having a few issues with hot starts.... despite pumping the primer bulb and setting it to fast idle (choke on/choke off) it sometimes really doesn't wanna start. Seems to be flooding itself a bit as there's a bit of smoke after it fires up.... and sometimes it doesn't want to pick up on the throttle (bogs down and stalls). Apart from the hot start thing it's running fine & cold starts are no problem either. Should I try a hotter plug as suggested earlier in this thread? cheers, steve

Great thanks. Our Florabest is about 1.35kw (43cc ish). I guess it may be best to keep the line below 3mm for that. cheers, steve

I've been using the 43ish cc Florabest strimmer/ brushcutter from Lidl. It's bright green and it's awesome and it was only £90! cheers, steve

Sorry to hear that Stubby, that's horrible. I was working on our polytunnel beds and heard a buzzing sound, looked up and there were thousands of bees circling around. One of our Warre hives had swarmed. They eventually settled nearby on some grass.... so I popped a Warre box over them and they climbed up inside.... then I carried the box and placed it on top of the hive. Lid on top... job done! cheers, steve

Nice, good plan. Does the slope of the sides make much difference?.... 70degrees has been mentioned but would it make much difference if it was 45degrees (or thereabouts)? cheers, Steve We've got clay soil so no problems there. Not sure what a drott or a kob pyrot wood chip stoker is? Kind of lost me there! cheers, steve

It's been a couple years since the last comment.... what's your user reviews after lots of use? Portek Power Strim fixed head vs Oregon Jet Also, what's the best line to use in either of those? Just for cutting grass.... cheers, Steve

Hi Alec, what you've described above sounds like my best option, at least for now. Cheers, Steve

If I dig a hole on our farm it'll fill with water pretty quick but we could do an above ground version of this (we've already got quite a few mounds of subsoil to build it with).... Earth Pit Biochar - Simple, Easy, Cheap - Complete How-to cheers, Steve

Thanks Openspaceman.... excellent answers & even more food for thought! Sorry, I may need to retract my galvanised tank dangerous toxic substances comment.... from my hazy memory I think it was tin cans that were the problem, ie, using large dog food tins for the rocket stove chimney. A fire in a hole in the ground sounds like a simpler option.... I'm warming to just doing that now. Already got a mini digger so digging holes is easy. hmmmm But maybe that ain't so good for pollution?? cheers, steve

The Village Idiot mentioned the above earlier in the thread.... so it must be true. cheers, steve

I'm a little bit further on investigations for this flooring job and came across this DIY instruction page, quite useful info in this: How to Make and Install an End Grain Wood Floor from Scratch I'll be making our blocks a fair bit thicker than the ones in the link above. Will probably be cutting them in the round with a chainsaw mounted on a Portek Logmaster sawhorse, like this: Portek Logmaster Saw Horse Then I'm hoping to be able to split the rounds into fairly rectangular blocks using my Gransfors froe.... which should work okay as it will be splitting down through the grain/ rather than running across it. cheers, steve

Is that a galvanised tank? If so, according to what I've read on rocket stoves the galvanised coating can let off some pretty bad toxic substances.... best to be avoided. Apparently stainless steel would last far, far longer than the usual more common mild steel barrels. I've been considering making a brick retort as I figured it would be long lasting and relatively cheap if using reclaimed bricks. Trouble is.... finding plans for one ain't so easy. cheers, Steve

Looks good.... Portek Power Strim 4Pro Replacement Strimmer Head cheers, steve

Awesome answer! Very impressive mathematical stuff. If traditional kilns & pits are banned does that also mean that open fires & inefficient wood burners should also be banned? cheers, steve

Yeah ~ I should read more of that Positive Thinking thread. cheers, steve

Then again I don't know why I question such things as embodied energy or a bit of pollution when we have monstrous pollutive things such as this: The world's largest cruise ship and its supersized pollution problem | Environment | The Guardian cheers, steve

Cor blimey guv, I dint know Hazel could return at 2:1 ....we have a few acres of unmanaged Hazel coppice (overstood) that needs a lot of stool hacking so turning it into charcoal/ biochar at 2:1 sounds like a super dooper option. You kind of nearly answered my question.... what I'm saying is.... eg; would a Hazel burn at 2:1 ratio have 50% less emissions compared with burning a different type of wood at 4:1 ratio. And how are emissions tested on a device that gets so hot and leaky to the outdoor environment?.... especially at the stage where the kiln lid is off/ or retort door is open, or earth clamp smouldering? Another question I have is on embodied energy, and probably much harder to answer:.... Are the emissions from manufacturing & repairing metal retorts as bad/ or worse as burning charcoal in an earthy pit (that uses no metal)? cheers, steve

Probably a tricky question to answer and I'm not sure how a reliable test could be carried out: According to various charcoal making techniques; is there a direct corellation between input/ output ratios and emissions? I've been assuming an insulated retort would produce far less emissions than traditional fire pit methods & ring kilns. Cheers, steve

I'm forever leaving my sense of humour at home when it's windy & rainy. cheers, Steve

I also rate DPD very highly, probably at the top of the list. We've received umpteen deliveries from them and all have been on time; they also do really well at matching the correct street name with our house number.... unlike UKMail! cheers, steve

Exactly. cheers, steve

Not sure about the fine? Leave it long enough and the wild flowers will come. Have you tried suggesting cutting paths instead of mowing the whole area?.... and maybe with a larger mown circle somewhere in the middle for people to sit or lie amongst the sound of the bugs and critters? Cheers, steve

I've also had problems with UKmail before. They were entrusted to return a package to us worth a couple £k ....we paid extra to cover the insurance (heaven forbid, in case the worst happened). They said it was delivered to us - but we hadn't received a thing, not even an attempted delivery note. So we contacted them to make a claim for the missing items... They said we'd signed for it.... so we asked to see the signature, but they didn't supply it. That went on a couple weeks and then we got a knock on the door. Turns out they had posted it to the same number as our house (number 28) but in a completely different street!.... a builder had signed for it whilst the owner of the house was on holiday. The owner of the other number 28 kindly returned our package. Insured or not, there is no way I would use UKMail again. Other delivery companies are probably just as bad. Fortunately some are excellent. cheers, steve

If you gather any further info and photos on that would you mind plopping a thread for it on Arbtalk? I think Robin mentioned they were putting a brochure together for it, but I've not chased it up. We're hoping to get a bit of funding towards the cost.... via EU money, that's because we're part of the EU. ie, not everything is unfunded by the Tory party, yet.... cheers, steve