BishBashBosh

Rather a late reply, but here was my solution to the melting chain brake issue. There's nothing as permanent as a temporary fix that works! It's a piece of baked bean can. I used a suitable sized socket as a mandrel and bent/hammered it roughly into shape, drilled a couple of holes and it attaches using the existing deflector's screws. The old deflector is still there beneath my "temporary" mod. Works a treat. One day I'll make a nice version out of some SS... probably.

This thread... Replacing MS181... is essentially asking the same question. 236 and 181 are in the same ballpark imo. As you'll see there's plenty of options and the answer will depend on your budget and a better idea of what you actually need it to do.

Keeping it related to ArbTalk, how about some drone interdiction?

Husqvarna Pulse Engine Tachometer PET-302R £20 from ebay. It's a Husky badged Oppama PET-302r, easy to use and reliable.

Might look something like this? Covert operation ?️‍♂️

ARV (Armed Response Vehicle)

You could try a heavy reduction as an intermediate step? The tree should reduce its root structure in response and so might give you an indication if you're likely to have problems. If it dies you've not lost anything, or you might decide you like the new smaller version.

2mm flat blade screwdriver according to the Echo Carb Adjustment Manual, although it is fitted with limiter caps by the look of it. You can download or view a copy from this thread. HTH

This may throw up more questions than answers. It would be useful to know the intended use, presumably occasional milling? I'm not sure of the wisdom or real benefits of using 3/8LP on a biggish saw, I guess you'd be sharpening it fairly frequently and the kerf isn't actually that much smaller than 404 iirc, something like 15% smaller. The milling specialists will hopefully be able to help. I think the bar mount is Big Husky (D009), which gives you lots of options, and the K12 is in the 4-5HP area. That's comparable to say a Stihl 441 which has a max recommended bar length of 25" (standard 3/8 pitch chain). So you might get away with a 28" bar and regular 3/8 pitch chain, something like Oregon RD (Rip Cut) or even Powercut 72/73, JGX is a skip version which might help. All a bit immaterial though if your saw won't oil a long bar properly, so that's first on the list. Hope that's of some use.

I tried the Husky Roller type and never liked it, never feels particularly stable to me and wear on the rollers looks like it will change the tolerances to me. Some people like them though? I always come back to the standard Oregon type kit and good quality files (Vallorbe for me). Saw properly clamped, I'll tighten the chain a little to stop it canting excessively and off you go. I keep 4 sharp chains with me and swap when required rather than sharpen in the field, and have one "end of life beater" for cutting absolute filth when it's unavoidable. I'm only a home gamer but have shown a couple of people who earn their living with a saw how to sharpen after they've used one of mine. I sharpen to original spec, so 25 or 30 degrees on most of my chains, and raker depth to standard spec too.

Yep, that's the one I have. For the OP's use they do the job, the brush cutter/strimmer is probably the best of the tools. The hedge trimmer isn't much use, the cutting action is quite slow, presumably from how it's geared as the engine is running to spec. My cheapy Bosch corded trimmer is far superior and for the long reach I have a Tanaka TCG 24 (straight shaft strimmer + hedging attachment) which shows the difference between the ultra-budget tools and a decent home owner model. You might find that the budget Hyundai cordless works for you. I guess it'll depend on exactly what you want it to do. The other option is to get some access equipment, a quality tripod ladder might be a better bet allowing you to use a Silky which in most cases will be quicker and less strenuous.

I bought one of the Green Lidl 4-in-1's a couple of years ago in their sale, £89? The engine unit is pretty good, starts easily, decent power but heavy. Saw attachment is ok, but it's a heavy rig when assembled and unwieldy, easy to knock the off switch which is irritating if you are using the harness.I rarely use it. A decent (non powered) pole + saw is imo just as quick, much lighter/more manoeuvrable, longer reach. As a home gamer I got a Wolf Garten telescopic pole and pruning saw. It's not a Silky, but 90% of the way there at 1/4 of the cost. It's proven tough and reliable, for most jobs I'm finished before I'd have had the Green Machine set up.

Stihl 241 is a pro grade saw (better construction, adjustable oiler and better power to weight ratio) than some of the other saws you've mentionned. I'd throw the Dolmar PS-420 SC into the mix, on a 14" bar it'll fly and is a rugged and dependable saw, amazon has a price of £330 to give you an idea, but Shavey on here is the man to contact. Depends on how much dealer support is important to you. I really don't like tool less chain adjusters, minimal benefit but plenty of downside. Easy start/start assist however, I really like. Having had shoulder issues and various surgeries the jerk/grab of some 2 strokes is the one thing that can really aggravate it. I've never had an issue with these types of recoil starter, they add about 100g weight and 10mm width to most saws, well worth it for me. The Huskie versions I've seen have 4 lugs against 2 on the regular version so may be more durable by speading the wear? Stihl's Elasto-start is just a starter handle with some give in it, Ergo-Start is spring assisted. Dolmar above is a full spring assist iirc. Huskie, Smart Start is just a combined choke/start switch, not a recoil assist. Husky documentation and dealers frequently muddle this with their assisted start. Those models have an "E" designation, often lumped together with tool less chain adjusters.

To save you the effort as I've got it open. 360TES Starting position Hi 2 3/8 Low 1 7/8 Idle 1 1/8 Obviously worth checking yours has the correct carb for these initial settings, you never know! And I'd echo the comments about them often being set up lean, all 3 of my Echo 2 strokes benefitted from fattening up. Echo Carb Adjustment Table ~ EU spec. < There's a link in post #1that'll let you open or download the Echo specs and procedure for adjustment, then tweak to your preference. HTH

Leccy saw, leccy post van. Whatever next? Leccy chippers are a way off. Great vid, nice to see the postie wearing PPE too.

Bosch NanoBlade! 900 grammes of twig mangler, don't forget your PPE.

Log head...

There's much to like, I was just pointing out some of the areas which imo fell short. For balance I'll add that: -it's easy starting, -the supplied line head follows the Oregon pattern, so it's easy to load and has easily replaced line guides -Quiet. Overall levels and also the pitch make it less intrusive than many -The castings look very well executed (Mag rotor, head gear case) -A quick peek down the plug'ole showed a very cleanly machined exhaust port -The shade of Orange is very pleasing I'm expecting this little machine to do just fine. I'll update once it's had a proper thrashing. ___________________________________________ Ref the manuals: I come from a technical background where you'd get a kickin' for presenting any documentation like that from Tanaka. I appreciate it's only a 2 -smoke (sic) weedwacker, but the basics could be covered on a single piece of A4, I can see some owners not familiar with garden machinery installing cutting implements incorrectly, or discovering the larger TCG27's not compatible with the TPH-200 hedgecutter (26cc max iaw the supplied manual). Details, but it's not hard to get them right.

- Fascinating, and confusing! Mine is labelled 24 Lightweight on the engine, the box still has tape on it from FGM Claymore so I'm assuming its a genuine import? It weighs the same as your's anyway - I can't agree with your rpm reasoning GK. I've a number of manuals which state the rpm and conditions which apply. Usually its given for the line head, and specifies the head model, length of line, or requires the guard and line cutter to be fitted. Eg: Echo 222ES Nylon line G138 180 *4 with shield :9000 - 10000rpm I think I'm even more confused. I do agree it's still a relatively light and well balanced machine. I found some crud partially blocking the carb intake (over moulding/swarf from the filter body) and she seems to have a bit more pep with it removed. My earlier " it's hard to recommend " comment comes down to two things. The lack of dealers and stock means many people will be buying without handling the product and secondly the documentation and specs are poor and unreliable. That's not a great combination, and if you're one of the lesser players you need to be providing better information than the big boys. It's a very low cost exercise. Get the specs right, consolidate the model designation, write useful model specific manuals and get a few videos on YouTube. Lastly switch that switch for a nice momentary off job.

Update: I ended up buying the 2390 sight unseen (!), as there's no dealer with stock anywhere remotely near, always a bit of a risk and I'm in two minds about it. Firstly it looks well made in the main, some good quality "plastics" are used, GF35 for structural parts for example and fit and finish is pretty good. A few little things let it down, the air filter cover looks and feels vulnerable, the filter itself is a budget foam affair and the on/off switch is the type found on the cheapest of machines. A better quality momentary off switch would be better and a virtually zero cost item for the manufacturer. After I'd run it once that switch made me look at it more carefully. The hedge trimmer attachment is really nicely made and the box marked "Made in Japan", the engine unit packaging didn't have any such markings. Beneath some of the suppliers packaging tape I found the importer's label and then you find the engine unit and shaft are made in the PRC. It's miles away from the usual chinese quality, and lacks that special smell!, but still it should be made clear as most of the literature is written to mislead imo. Next: Model designation. As far as I can tell there is no such model as the TBC-2390. The engine unit is marked TCG-24ECP, the shaft marked 2390-series. Confusing. Next: Tech Specification. Low weight is the headline grabber for this model, at a stated 3.9kg in "strimmer mode". Which is incorrect. Engine + shaft + handle weighs in at just under 4.4kg (4.7kg with the guard) excluding the supplied line head. Whilst all weights will be nominal in documentation that level of variance isn't acceptable. It is still a lightweight machine, but such differences are misleading. The supplied manual gives a weight of 4.1kg for both the TCG24 & TCG27 models. I did briefly use it and performance was ok, and it had enough go to power the hedge trimmer and neatly cut new growth. The strimmer will do for most domestic jobs, although on longer grass it'll bog if you get too ambitious. There's a rotary carb which would make user adjustment tricky, WOT was 8800rpm (strimmer) which sounds reasonable, but the documentation is so poor that max rpm isn't clear. The TCG27 model appears identical from the supplied manuals, just having a different P&C and presumably carb jetting. If so then weight should be the same, as the manual states, and the extra power would be welcome. So whilst the machine is decent for the money, it's hard to recommend given the inaccurate specs and dubious descriptions. HTH

I've been using it for 3 or 4 years. The vid doesn't prove anything, other than the operator can bog a saw when he wants to? More go from your saw? Highly dubious imo. SynthPlus: -Does the job it's supposed to, -much thinner than regular oils. Adjust the oiler or you'll run your saw dry. -Doesn't gum up -Relatively expensive

Many thanks for that info GK. Whilst I very rarely use a brushcutter blade it's nice to know that the capability is there. I'll seek out a dealer this weekend and report back on performance if I make a purchase.

After much digging in the manuals vibes look broadly comparable to other manufacturers, although not explicitly stated for the 2390. Tanaka documentation isn't great and retailers seem to quote randomly from generic manuals when giving specs. For example engine output varies between sites and some retailers bundle a brushcutting blade when the manual appears to state not to use one with the 2390 . They get my award for worst website too. That's the sort of use I'd be putting it to, so good to hear that 1'ish HP is sufficient. This would be for my domestic use only, so fairly light use, I doubt I do more that 20 hours strimming a year. The lightweight model appears to be in the Premium line, whatever that means, but has a 5 year consumer warranty. I did look at the TCG27EBS, decent supplied harness helps with the extra weight, but there's also a lot more competition when you accept a weightier machine, just to cloud the issue. Might have to seek out a dealer with stock and have a day out. Sometimes there's no substitute for handling the goods. Many thanks for your replies gents.

I'm looking for a straight shaft brush cutter with the option to occassionally use a hedge cutting attachment . I tried being cheap (Florabest multi-tool ) but it's a heavy and loathsome machine, the hedging "tool" is particularly awful/useless. The tiny Tanaka (TBC-2390) has caught my eye. It's very light (3.9 Kg), from a reputable brand, can have the TPH-200 hedging attachment fitted, and within budget. -So has anyone got any experience of this little weedwacker and/or the hedging attachment? Powerwise it should be ok for strimming duties, I currently have a Stihl FS-50 which is sufficiently powerful for dealing with long grass on fence lines and reeds in my brook etc. -Will the little 24cc (1.0hp) Tanaka have enough grunt to drive the hedging tool reasonably well? It'll be used to trim soft green material like Juniper, conifers, Laurel and the thin extremities of Hawthorn a couple of times a year. Thanks for any responses

Cracking game against Saracens. Nice work Bath.