waterbuoy

Thanks - but would you suggest/recommend that I do run it on Aspen etc or should I be OK to stick with petrol?

Evening all I have recently bought a new MS 261 to join its older/bigger sibling (MS 066) and a small Makita battery saw. It is replacing an old Husky 55 from the early 1990s. I freely admit that I am what some on here refer to as a weekend warrior; I am not a professional arb worker but I have been using saws for more than 40 years and have dropped many a large (or small) tree and process upwards of 20 cube a year. In addition to owning and using three saws I use a variety of other 2-stroke machines - brushcutters, hedgecutters, stihl-saws, generators etc and half a dozen outboards between 2 and 200hp. I have used 'conventional' 2-stroke mix (ie petrol and the appropriate oil) for all machines with no issues - at least ths far. I use the highest grade of petrol available and, in the case of the MS 066 and generator, drain the tank if I am going to be leaving then for a while. The other gear is used regularly, and I run the ouboard tanks down before storing them for the winter. However, I am noticing that even using the higher grade of petrol it goes stale after just a couple of weeks and the equipment becomes more difficult to start. Simple question - for the new saw, should I now move over to Motomix/Aspen/other brands or will I be OK to stick with petrol? Unless advised otherwise I am reluctant to swap the other gear onto Alkylate as I have heard of issues when this is done with older fuel-lines etc (and the MS 066 drinks fuel!). I also have a relatively local supplier of both Motomix and Aspen so can keep a couple of cans in stock and replace as and when required. Thoughts appreciated please.

Is that not for warranty purposes?

Thanks for the prompt Steve Whilst I am far from a professional I have four saws and a chipper, together with brush cutters and hedge cutters plus a 1.8 tonne digger. I will try to collate the details of the saws and list it on the register - if nothing else so I have a record for if/when it does get nicked.

Splendid looking tree all the same!

TBH it doesn't appear to be that different from the (ironically named) SSE THTC tariff - 'Total Heating Total Control' - on which SSE control when they switch the supply to our storage heaters remotely from their control room more than 100 miles away. It has been around for decades.....

Judging by Steve's recent post about a certain Christmas tradition I think you may be heading in that direction anyhow

Pity it wasn't arsenic

At least he has kept peeps distracted for a couple of days - it isn't as if there is anything else going on at present!

To be fair that is only a week away - and at least the nights are getting shorter now!

Thanks for highlighting Caledonian Cranes - I drove past their East Kilbride dept just a week ago and didn't even know they existed. Looks like they have some very useful kit in their hire fleet.

A couple of thoughts ref 'lump sum' 1 A lot of the current situation with strikes etc is due to a very recent step up in cost of living. Being a perennial optimist, some of these costs may decrease in the future - diesel has already dropped back down to under £1.60 a litre in these parts for example. A lump sum would potentially cover the current situation without commiting to long-term budget increases. 2 Did the nurses not get a lump sum payment as rcognition of their work during Covid lockdown etc?

I did my best 'Hale and Pace' impression last night as a bouncer for the local High School 'Snowball'. Judging by the appearance of many of the 'young adults' they shouldn't be able to to dress themselves at 15/16, let alone decide that they wish to change their gender FFS. Had an interesting discussion with some of the teachers and another parent about the issue - we were all of a similar view that, in many if not the majority of cases, it is often a cry for attention and/or help. Removing the requirement for medical support in the decision making process is hardly a positive step either (IMHO)

Or, to quote another thread, 'blocking the impulse pipe'!

quick flashback to 'when Harry met Sally' for some reason - two minutes (ish)

720kg

I bought a 261 over the counter last week whilst working in Bala and can confirm the labels definitely say 'Made in Germany'

Drove down from west coast of Scotland to North Wales last night to do some site visits today. Enroute temps were -11 on Beattock and Shap, and -12 between Corwen and Bala with freezing fog just to add to the fun. Woke up this morning to -14 and found the B&B central heating was not working! Have had a superb day driving round my childhood haunts all over Snowdonia, with clear skies and temps getting as high as a positively balmy -3C but typically between -7 and -10C. I have never seen Snowdon as clear as this in over 50 years of visiting.

But surely not securing an outrigger is neither trivial nor non-serious - as this case sadly demonstrates? An outrigger which is not secured is either going to take out a vehicle coming in the other direction or, in this case, something or someone on the nearside? That is (IMHO) not 'very unlikely' but instead closer to 'probable'. So far as your PS is concerned then this case suggests that isn't so.

Strike's me that life is cheap based on that judgement

Does your house/home insurance not include public liability? If not then can it be extended to do so? Our garden is surrounded by 35m tall spruce trees, with the closest neighbour just 6m away from the closest tree! Our insurers have confirmed that we are covered should anything untoward happen

You need to make a post in the 'Free Tip Sites' thread giving details of what you are able to take and an idea of location (approx) and access etc. However, I wouldn't hold your breath - recent increases in cost of living etc has resulted in an increase in people looking for wood for stves etc.

😲 mid-winter we can get through that much in a day, let alone a month!

Sadly the language is set to English (United Kingdom) but, being an american compny, MS appears to default to the American spelling if there is any possibility that it is acceptable in the UK - z vs s is one classic example, but it will correct color to colour. It isn't just the word processors though - just about any device or software on which you can enter text does the same.

I've been self-employed for more than 40 years and still find pricing some jobs challenging if not impossible. My day rate varies widely between 'what I think I can get away with' to 'how much do I want this job' - top and bottom of the range can differ by a factor of ten.