Peter 1955

We're back to trust. Most of my new clients for the disco are happy to pay a deposit after signing a contract, but prefer to pay the balance in cash on the night, when they can see the whites of my eyes. Regular clients are allowed far more relaxed terms. Trust. When someone pees in the water supply ( such as the last minute christening passed on to me who stiffed me for £200 and the venue for £400 ) you tend to mistrust all customers for a while after.

Indeed yes. There are one or two folk with reputations lower than a snake's bottom, who have been known to ask for payment in advance, only for a catastrophe involving poorly relatives, poorly vans, and/or other terrible events to prevent them doing what they agreed to. I did a wedding where the singing waiters had stiffed the organisers ( groom's parents ) for a considerable sum and vanished, also the caterer ran off with as much cash as he could liquidate a week before the event, and was last seen heading for pastures new. Trust works both ways. Quite possibly. Understandable. It can take a while to build up trust, but a minute to lose it.

I strongly suspect an element of tongue-in-cheek with that remark. As log burners become the must have fashion, the stuff folk were happy to dispose of for free has become a valuable commodity. Round here, ready to burn logs are £165 per cubic metre, so the DIY version must now have a value.

In my ( usually ) night time occupation, as a Mobile DJ, because of events along the lines of those described above, it's becoming the norm among Professional DJ's to issue a contract stating that full payment will be made possibly a fortnight before the event, or they're not loading up the van to even set off. Every time someone posts on Facebook/Forums that they've been stiffed for their previously agreed wages, these folk point out that such terms and conditions preclude this possibility. Some things are paid for in advance, others not.

All good advice from everyone above. I too have a top handle Makita battery saw, and for certain jobs, it's great. When you don't cut continuously, and not more than about 4" diameter, batteries last well. Start logging 6" plus stems continually, and six 6Ah batteries won't keep you going, even with a twin charger. It's not designed for that. I love mine, for trimming up fallen branches into manageable lumps, or pruning small branches, it's great.

Which is why I thought the flail head was unnecessary. Until I used it. You are correct, without the mulch plate it's good, but with the flail head, I've cut stuff I couldn't see over from the seat.

I'm unfamiliar with the machines mentioned in the first post, but some of the larger Husqvarna riders can fit a flail head. One of my customers got one as well as the cutter deck, and I thought it was a bad idea. Until I used it. 😉

I was young when I started driving ( the beauty of farm living ) and I wouldn't be surprised if my son was even younger. His Mum used to let him drive our car to the school bus on a morning! 😀

Well Boys and Girls, the smoke has turned white, and I will shortly be nearly £500 poorer. 😒 My local dealer gave me a keen price on a KMA 200, and the decision was made. My son's place of work have got the FSA 200, and I can foresee a spot of comparative testing happening. He's a big fan of the cow horn handles, while I have never really got on with them, always getting the R version myself. I've got one or two petrol power units in the shed needing a good service, so the case for electric was reasonably strong. I may get them serviced, I may try to sell them to offset cost a little. Thanks for all advice given.

Well, my plastic licence arrived today, and as expected, C is not on it any more, but B+E is, which means that no 7.5T any more, but I can't remember the last time I had a go in one, so not a huge loss. So be it.

That's two of us. For one thing, it's far easier to see at 50:1. When I started using both 2 stroke mix and neat in various machines, I was using red Stihl oil, so I put the mix in red cans, and neat in green. Unfortunately, I was then told that the 4mix Stihl engines needed low ash Super, which is green. I now have green mix in red cans, and neat in green cans. I daren't change over, as I would get mixed up at some point. The mate who has started helping me is red/green colour blind, and I have to tell him to use the tall cans for the mowers, and the square ones for all the others. 😕

Drifting away from the original question? I think this is the first post that has actually addressed the question directly, thank you. 😀 I don't intend to undertake vast clearance jobs on battery power, or fell vast swathes of woodland with a battery saw. What is becoming abundantly clear ( at least to me ) is that while battery power can't compete with the constant ( refuelling notwithstanding ) output of petrol, it can match it for short periods of time. It wins on noise levels and ease of starting on stop-start jobs. I think that as battery technology and neighbourhood noise intolerance progress, people like me will be embracing battery tools more and more. The last time I plugged in a mains drill was to put one inch holes in steel, otherwise it's battery every time. Thanks for the thoughts everyone, I think I'd better start saving up for the 200. .

Many many years ago, I bought into the Kombi System concept, and as many of you will realise, once in, it's difficult to get out. It becomes difficult to justify a single purpose unit, unless it has performance way beyond what the Kombis can offer. Although I like lots of power, I rarely need anything with more than the 130/131 engines can offer, I don't need clearing saws that will make light work of the average rain forest. I've been really happy with my Kombis. I recently asked about the MSA300, and got some good advice from many of you, most of whom said don't! I now fully appreciate why you said that, as your criticisms were absolutely valid. It's a numb piece of kit, whose only real plus is its power and lack of noise. It is however fulfilling a very useful purpose for me, and due to me buying batteries on the freebie deals, I have five of the big ones. The prescient among you will already have seen where this is going, and what the question will be. Do any of you use/have experience of the battery Kombi power units, and what do you think? Also, there are now three sizes, 120, 135, and the mighty 200 has recently appeared. I'd already sort of dismissed the 120, but can the 200 justify the extra cost? Over to you Boys and Girls, the floor is yours. Thanks for your thoughts.

While I know you're correct, and while we all know that fifty years ago these were automatically granted, sadly I don't have the paper licence to prove it. I don't expect to need to drive a 7.5t vehicle, so I can accept the loss. Thanks for your input, I agree totally.

Good advice. I would if I could, but my paper licence is nowhere to be found. ☹️ The good news is that I have no entitlements other than what I got when I passed my car test all those years ago, so nothing at risk, hopefully. I have heard of the officer's problems, and believe them to be true, though I have no evidence.