Witterings

Hadn't thought about a roller 1st, if I'm honest though I'd probably rather change the mower than create the extra work. Though about a meadow for part of it but it'd only cover a small part of the problem area and would make it even harder to clear up after the dogs, wouldn't want to just let it accumulate, it'd be a nighmare with flies in the summer.

I have a Hayter 56 with a roller and whilst it's brilliant in the summer we get a lot of worm casts in the winter and it's totally useless as one length of the lawn and the roller completely clogs up with mud, I'm sure it can't be doing it any goof either as it's constantly trying to drive with heavy resistance. My choices are either sell it and get one with wheels instead or buy a cheap mower for either side of the summer that works reasonably well, I try and keep the lawn fairly short and use it to pick up leaves in the winter as we have 2 dogs and it's really hard to find their poop if the grass is long or covered in leaves. If anybody's got any recommendations for something relatively "cheap'ish" that ,may be OK appreciated.

Guess this is a typo ... the D is next to the F on a keyboard ... As the Mrs really doesn't like the slugs as they eat her plants, I'll let her know what you recommend ... what sort of ferquency's required?

Cheers for everyone's replies, think it's made my mind up as I have quite a lot of wood and would have to pay for coal I'll probably stick with wood although I did fancy not having to top it up quite so frequently hence why the coal appealed. That said, if coal ash is a slug killer I could be awfully tempted to have a change of heart as we're plagued with the bloomin critters 😄

I've got a multifuel stove but believed you should either burn logs OR coal but not mix them. From memory I think part of the reason was your meant to use the vent underneath if it's logs and the vent in the door if it's coal. Anybody know if you should / shouldn't and the reasoning behind it?

Brilliant .... cheers guys 👍

I've used Stihl SynthPlus recently and am running low, is there any real difference between that and something like the Silerhook linked here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Silverhook-SHCR5-Chainsaw-4-54-Litres/dp/B00YTPOAKS/ref=sr_1_4?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Gcxuld6Xth1IbAmW56AaweTdLVKqEPBkFtuccDxqJjh_rDqezrR0kooIix705HSYGl4LmMxm4SDyLP-MkKRKtNDLKTHmnOyyO5kuYarrSDShvuIFPwwrnRdX1S5bL7JgURyon25WNA-RrshFPFFH-2AAk-4x3vI1NJXah2K7fOPe2Rv8VN6ANDRpLBvNGpaUVL9oZ799mRQ9bkGGfqxwFZbsAjX5lSlcwMSZ1uiR8uc.MEJWde8FiVstavG0juq2oE1Q2F1_doRVvm4Wd8relBU&dib_tag=se&keywords=chainsaw%2Boil&qid=1719048446&rdc=1&sr=8-4&th=1 One of the reviews the guy was saying this is "thin" and getting thrown off the chain meaning he used about double the amount so was a false economy buying it. What's people thoughts on the best budget oil / bang for the buck which gives decent protection?

It wasn't disbelief .. it was just the 1st time I'd seen a comment along those lines and you often get people in forums who don't really know what they're talking about making a comment for the sake of it so thought I'd check it out. Now this is where I have egg on my face ... I missed your sign off of 22 years+ Garden Machinery Main Dealer ... So I look like the numpty now 😄 Seriously though, a BIG thank you for mentioning, could save me from an expensive mistake and really appreciated 👍

I was sceptical as to why this would happen and just spoke to a dealership who do extensive servicing as well and they confirmed it. Guess it comes down to a trade off of how much work there is to do and if it's worth the saving in fuel as chances are it'll need a service / replacement parts if I then revert to Aspen which'd cost about £60. There's also the hassle / time element of taking it there / picking up it up which equates to lost income as not working. The alternative of running it just on normal fuel and then leaving it for long periods unused is likely to cause more extensive problems with a much bigger repair bill. Think I'm going to take the view I got a sh1t load of Oak for next to nothing and paying a bit more for Aspen vs what the wood will save me in gas bills is absolutely huge. Cheers to everyone for their help though and will use the Esso fuel for lawn mower and any other garden tools in the future.

That's what I was thinking, run it till it's dry, put a small amout of Aspen in and run it a bit more when I know there's then going to be a gap in between uses. Does anybody know what teh difference is then between Aspen and Ethanol free and does the latter last / safe to leave in a machine any longer than normal fuel?

Cheers to all for the responses ... didn't mean to pick out one reply (and sorry for the ignorance I'm about to display) but when you say Esso fuel .... I'm guessing it means from an Esso garage and they're the only ones that sell it???? Sods law we have every other garage apart from Esso near here .... any idea if it's just the same as some of the higher RON ones at other garages?

I normally use Aspen 2 as there's often breaks in between me using the saw but I've got a shed load to do in a short space of time and and have been going through loads of Aspen and still got lots to do. I was going to just mix normal fuel as it's cheaper, is 97/98 RON "better" for the saw or should I just use the now standard E10. It's a Stihl MS 261. Anyody know if one's better than the other for lawn mowers as well?

I thought wood was generally easier to spilt when fresh, I was doing some over the weekend with a mate and he said he thought it was easier dry and just before we do loads more thought I'd check in case we were making hard work for ourselves. Cheers for the help 👍

Is Oak easier to split when it's fresh cut or been left to dry out a bit for a few months and how long does it take to season ... obviously less time if it's split but is a year long enough or not really?

Must admit I wondered if that may be the problem from the size of chip, I'm using one of the Stihl 2 in 1's to sharpen. I've used them on other saws / chains before and they've been great, I checked what size I needed when I bought this saw. Sure I've got a gauge somewhere so can dig it out and check 👍