Haironyourchest

An update, if anyone is interested: Phoned the Stihl Tech guy for Ireland. He says there is a slight bend in the Light Bars, its normal and will straighten out in the cut.

seed it with mushroom spores and give it back to the woods...

The still HP Ultra is claimed to have some kind of ethanol-binding agent in it, as well as stabiliser. I have never seen fuel stabilisers for sale around here, so I'll have to trust in the HP. Might start using it at 25:1 and see what happens.

Small Manufacturing/retail is a tough game to be in. You're at the mercy of medieval economies on the other side of the planet and their multinational overlords. Services are stabler. Until Aldi start selling robots that can paint hoses and prune trees.

Glad I don't have Huskys anymore so....Bought a Stihl ms250 some years ago, had been stored wet and dry for five years prior, run for an hour a year, probably filled from the same petrol can for five years too. Not a bother to it, had the fuel lines out and they were grand. Searved me for a few years of similar treatment, then sold it, still going grand. Im thinking about starting a business selling "Haironyourchest's Miracle Carb & Fule Line Restorer" "Store You Machines With The Miracle Unguent And They Will Heal Whilst You Sleep!!"

Granted this article is talking more about wire ropes that are used in conjunction with sheaves and spooled on drum winches, so a lot more bending and hence strand-on-strand friction occurs. A tirfor rope would not normally be subjected to these kind of bending stresses, unless you are using a snatch block.

Yes, good point. Look up the specs for your machine and find the proper handle length. As for greasing the cable, yes and no. When I said greasing I really meant oiling, as I wouldn't apply straight grease to my cabel either. The Lanotec is a heavy oil, a liquid wax actually, I seems to penetrate somewhat and does not leave much of a residue. I have not noticed any more grit pickup with the lanotec than without. Wire rope surface is gnarly by nature and if dragged through crud is going to pick it up anyway. If it does, I brush it off or while off with a rag when its tight and clear of the ground. The Tractel Tirfor service manual instructs liberal greasing of the internals of the machine, but warn against grease containing graphite or molydisulphide "as this could cause the rope to slip in the jaws" which is news to me. http://www.tractel.com/files/127192941183775.pdf But you can and should periodically lubricate your cable with something else, and it shouldn't slip. Below is an extract from Machinery Lubrication Magazine Wire Rope Lubrication Lubricating wire ropes is a difficult proposition, regardless of the construction and composition. Ropes with fiber cores are somewhat easier to lubricate than those made exclusively from steel materials. For this reason, it is important to carefully consider the issue of field relubrication when selecting rope for an application. Wire rope lubricants have two principal functions: 1. To reduce friction as the individual wires move over each other. 2. To provide corrosion protection and lubrication in the core and inside wires and on the exterior surfaces. There are two types of wire rope lubricants, penetrating and coating. Penetrating lubricants contain a petroleum solvent that carries the lubricant into the core of the wire rope then evaporates, leaving behind a heavy lubricating film to protect and lubricate each strand (Figure 2). Coating lubricants penetrate slightly, sealing the outside of the cable from moisture and reducing wear and fretting corrosion from contact with external bodies. Figure 2. Foam Penetrating Type Wire Rope Both types of wire rope lubricants are used. But because most wire ropes fail from the inside, it is important to make sure that the center core receives sufficient lubricant. A combination approach in which a penetrating lubricant is used to saturate the core, followed with a coating to seal and protect the outer surface, is recommended. Wire rope lubricants can be petrolatum, asphaltic, grease, petroleum oils or vegetable oil-based (Figure 3). Figure 3. Grease Lubed Wire Rope Petrolatum compounds, with the proper additives, provide excellent corrosion and water resistance. In addition, petrolatum compounds are translucent, allowing the technician to perform visible inspection. Petrolatum lubricants can drip off at higher temperatures but maintain their consistency well under cold temperature conditions. Asphaltic compounds generally dry to a very dark hardened surface, which makes inspection difficult. They adhere well for extended long-term storage but will crack and become brittle in cold climates. Asphaltics are the coating type. Various types of greases are used for wire rope lubrication. These are the coating types that penetrate partially but usually do not saturate the rope core. Common grease thickeners include sodium, lithium, lithium complex and aluminum complex soaps. Greases used for this application generally have a soft semifluid consistency. They coat and achieve partial penetration if applied with pressure lubricators. Petroleum and vegetable oils penetrate best and are the easiest to apply because proper additive design of these penetrating types gives them excellent wear and corrosion resistance. The fluid property of oil type lubricants helps to wash the rope to remove abrasive external contaminants. Wire ropes are lubricated during the manufacturing process. If the rope has a fiber core center, the fiber will be lubricated with a mineral oil or petrolatum type lubricant. The core will absorb the lubricant and function as a reservoir for prolonged lubrication while in service. If the rope has a steel core, the lubricant (both oil and grease type) is pumped in a stream just ahead of the die that twists the wires into a strand. This allows complete coverage of all wires. After the cable is put into service, relubrication is required due to loss of the original lubricant from loading, bending and stretching of the cable. The fiber core cables dry out over time due to heat from evaporation, and often absorb moisture. Field relubrication is necessary to minimize corrosion, protect and preserve the rope core and wires, and thus extend the service life of the wire rope. If a cable is dirty or has accumulated layers of hardened lubricant or other contaminants, it must be cleaned with a wire brush and petroleum solvent, compressed air or steam cleaner before relubrication. The wire rope must then be dried and lubricated immediately to prevent rusting. Field lubricants can be applied by spray, brush, dip, drip or pressure boot. Lubricants are best applied at a drum or sheave where the rope strands have a tendency to separate slightly due to bending to facilitate maximum penetration to the core. If a pressure boot application is used, the lubricant is applied to the rope under slight tension in a straight condition. Excessive lubricant application should be avoided to prevent safety hazards.

From the Daetwyler Rubber site (they make the rubber for Stihl) Stihl relies on expertise from Daetwyler Rubber For more than a quarter of a century, Stihl has relied on moulded rubber parts from Daetwyler Rubber. The products of the world’s leading chainsaw maker deliver high performance, even under extreme oper- ating conditions. This places tough demands on the components used in them and means that the mani- folds and hoses made by Daetwyler Rubber must be resistant to all sorts of chemicals like oil and fuel. At the same time, they are exposed to high mechanical stress and a wide range of temperatures. “Daetwyler Rubber offers all the materials and engineering ex- pertise needed to develop and produce these complex moulded rubber parts”, says Klaus Baumbach, Head of Purchasing at Stihl. In recognition of Daetwyler Rubber’s expertise and quality, together with its reli- ability and flexibility, Stihl has named the international rubber specialist Supplier of the Year three times. And not long ago, Daetwyler Rubber was the first com- pany ever to win this award two years in a row. From the "Stihl USA" site  "To ensure that any remaining ethanol is removed from your equipment, STIHL recommends adding a small amount of STIHL MotoMix® premixed fuel to the tank and running the engine for a few minutes to circulate the fuel through the carburetor. This will flush any of the original gasoline out of the system and protect the fuel system components from water absorption and fuel decomposition. If the machine is going to be stored for several months, it is good practice to empty the STIHL MotoMix® from the machine’s tank, then start the engine and run at idle (do not rev up the engine) until the machine runs out of fuel." So Im not worrying too much anymore...

Well Stubby, that's really upsetting to hear....Im going to have to obsess about it for a several days now, and compulsively search for evidence to the contrary to make myself feel better. I shall most probably walk to the toilet several times this evening to stare at my saws (keep em in the lavatory for security, shed security is nil) and visualise the fuel lines cracking. Thanks.....

No need for a special handle, just use any galvanised pipe that fits snug over the handle-stubs. Look after your cable, don't kink it or let it grind over rocks, and grease the cable and inside of the tirfor too. I use Lanotec lanolin based spray. If you want to have more fun-than-a-sonofagun look up rigging forces and angles etc. Easy to decapitate oneself with a busted cable if one gets:thumbup: it wrong. You'll feel like a superhero when you move something that shouldn't be possible to move by the hand and arm of man!!!

Good Man Yourself!

Hmmmm....interesting. If the coating is stripped would the aspen not keep the rubber supple, or does it have to be pump fuel? If so, better just keep them full of pump fuel. But I would have thought the newer saws rubber components would be way better than the stuff of years gone by. They supposed to be ethanol resistant anyway, which as I hear it is what is causing the problems. We did have rot in the fuel line of a couple of saws once, but they were going on fifteen years old...

Welding's a black art....maybe keep the amps up then but try a thinner rod? Keep the arc shorter maybe?

"Tirfor has legendary status as far as i'm concerned....Rock steady pulling power!" Well that's two supporters! Relieved that you guys love the tirfor! That's what I think Jon, the tirfor is like a scalpel to the plant machinery's sledgehammer. There is a time and a place for big winches, but a trifor will go where a big winch never can. Part of the beauty of the thing is the zen-state you get into while cranking the handle. Sure, it seems like nothing happening, but its all about the journey....crank...crank...crank...rest...crank...like, "wax on, wax off"...

Have you seen the "Artesian Firwood" guy's video? So mad it could work...

Promise Of Prometheus - Heritage Hearth Supplies

Have you tried turning down your amps and going slower?

I really love this thing, and the more I use it the more I appreciate what a truly elegant tool it is. There's a lot of ballyhoo on arb forums about chainsaws and heavy machinery, but hardly ever a mention of the humble Tirfor. I find this sad, so I'm going to undertake to champion this divine gadget. Before buying my 800kg tirfor I tried to glean information from the web, only to come up with nothing much. There are a couple of youtube vids and a few mentions on various boards, and thats it. No real reviews, no fanboys.... Cant understand why this gadget doesn't have a massive fan following?? Its bloody brilliant! A real honest-to-god work of inspired engineering, elegant, reliable, simple to build, astonishingly effective, incredible versatile. Mine is a chinese copy, but TÜV stamped etc, and has been fabulous, for €145.00. Some years back there was a thread on Arbtalk about what size of tirfor to get and the consensus was 1.6 tonne. I personally feel that the baby tirfor is better, for the simple reason that I can position it with one hand and tighten the shackle or lock the clutch with the other, basically that I can manage the weight of the thing on my own. I often want to rig it at head hight to get some lift on the end of the log I'm dragging... I also use this little guy with two massive snatch blocks and 12mm dyneema capstan winch rope to pull 2400kg. Below is a vid of me pulling a rhododendron stump with this setup. The combined weight of all the gear adds up to a big tirfor, and takes longer to set up, but the versatility is unbeatable. The one thing I want to finish with is that tirfor cable isn't really designed to be used with pulleys. It works, but puts a hell of a strain on the rope wires and will prematurly ware out your rope. There's been a pile of research done on this...So I only ever use the winch for a straight pull, and use the dyneema extension if I need compound rigging. Next addition to the collection will be a 2 Tonne ratchet lever-hoist. Anyone got any Tirfor stories? I dunno about the rest of yous but I'd love to hear them.... [ame] [/ame]

If you worried about it just empty the petrol tank, half fill with aspen (orange bottle - with added 2-stroke oil) and idle the machine for a few minutes, let the aspen saturate the works and clean out any petrol mix left in the carb, lines and filter. Then leave the machine to overwinter full of aspen, next season start it, run for a bit, then pour the aspen out back into the can and use petrol mix as per usual. Should be able to make a gallon of Aspen last forever that way.

And get the biggest chinese ratchet cable puller you an find, and plenty of heavy-duty rope (not cheap blue stuff) and read up on rigging. You will encounter trees that are leaning the wrong way you want them to fall, or, like stubby said, are stuck. Better to pull from a distance than mess around close up to a dodgy tree.

My (yesterday's) job somewhat more pedestrian than the previous posters...Clearing some 20-30 year old ash, birch and sycamore that were planted close and never thinned. Wires on the side they were leaning, so had to pull them over with my wee ratchet puller and then skull-drag them out of the mess with my baby Chinese tirfor. Love that little tirfor, what a gadget! https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipMCcbzrJ3im0s0y3-Qb46p2jx8yBne7ED_fQAvv/photo/AF1QipOa_ijuTAsovkl2VAY5tpzyVgXuGP7i3n2QPfUm

Strim with a mulcher blade?

what about a cheap small quad and trailer?

I drive a '04 1.5 diesel Kangoo, and tow a 4x7" Paxton car trailer with mesh box. The box is pretty rigid, and with a few planks strapped on the top makes a great stable work platform. Kangoo is nice cos you can drop the passenger seat for longer cargo space if you want.

Kveldssanger, I just started reading your thread, way back fact 3 or 4 about the failed attempt to reforest the Black Country and how some of the derelict land greened up naturally. Im fascinated by the regenerative power of nature, around here, when they harvest spruce and leave a no-mans land of sticks, mud and churned up bog and clay, it takes about ten years to completely regenerate a forrest of sallies, birch mountain ash, holly, rhododendron, just from windblown seeds.