Paddy1000111

9 hours ago, manco said:

am i the only one thinking the older and more burn-ready stuff is on the bottom and youre gonna be starting off with newer wood?

im thinking a side to side approach is best, unless you do some kinda top in bottom out system.

 

Think you missed the fridge 😂

5 minutes ago, Rennie29 said:

Whats everyones opinion on how far you would stump grind roots? Done a job recently where the woman wanted a stump removed and got a call back to say i had missed part of a root... which was about 5 metres long ... went back and got it. Wheres the line?

I don't do a huge amount of grinding but when I have I've only promised 8 inches of soil. Enough to grow grass on. had customers ask for every root to be removed for planting shrubs etc but there's no way unless you go in with a decent size digger or some sort of radar, map it all out.

For doing really level cuts I've gone around with chalk or even just scored with the bar just to mark out a cut line. As long as you follow the line on the first cut then keep the tip of the bar in an already cut part and follow the line around then you can get some level cuts.

I agree with @Dan Maynard about the sharpening thing. A dull chain is a dull chain but if you clip something with a stihl full chisel I often find myself taking .5-1mm+ off a chain because the sharp chisel edge gets damaged quite far back from clipping a stone or nail 

I'd go with Portuguese laurel but usually the leaves are more jagged on the edge? 

19 minutes ago, ledders666 said:

It's the flat profile of the captain hook which is the appeal. My thinking being in the appropriate tree the hook would be kept on my harness. And used with my second short line when needed. Now I always have 2 ropes on me I can see it getting alot of use by clipping it to the second line when needed

That's why I quite like the grapple, the one I have folds down. I ran a grinder over it to take the teeth off and round it off a bit as it would damage the cambium otherwise. 

This is the one I bought 

3 Claws Grappling Hook Folding Stainless Steel Outdoor Climbing Survival Tool UK

WWW.EBAY.CO.UK

---

Lightweight and compact size with folding claws, very easy to carry and use. For outdoor activities, survival training, adventures. 1 Gravity hook. Hook size: 7.8" 3.9" 0.39". A...

I get it off eBay. It was less than the other suppliers with postage etc. That was for 4 barn door hinges.

Unless you really NEED a Captain hook then I'd just buy a grapple off eBay. I got one of the stainless steel folding ones and it's super handy for transitions or when you need to get to a weird location. It will take my body weight without an issue. At the end of the day neither can be life support anyway.

Definitely go with osmo. It's expensive but you won't need much. It's UV resistant and you can touch it up down the road. 

Oak beams externally always go grey though. It's part of their character

7 hours ago, Rob Thompson said:

I'd never be without one, it'd be like leaving the house with no trousers ! I have a basic little one for conifers and such like. But the pride of the fleet is my 8m poison ivy double ended, hitchclimber on each side, dmm shadow and ultra O biners, with a thimble loop on the long end, f&&&&&g sexy bit of kit ! If I'm climbing srwp and mrs, then my other rope wrench is with me in case I need to really hang on it for a position. To be fair, that never happens with the twin rope, but I like to be ready !

Sounds like a nice bit of kit 👌 when I said about no lanyard I meant not having it on a branch, I'd never climb without one 👍

I think sometimes its easier to not have a lanyard on, especially when doing an awkward rig where you have to "dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge" as they say in dodgeball 

15 minutes ago, Con said:

Is it ok to derail the thread now?

Go for it. It's going to go at some point 😂😂

Basically no, there's nothing written in the stones of HSE saying you must have a lanyard attached during cutting. It says:

Rope access and positioning should only be used if there are at least two separately anchored lines - one the working line and the other a safety line. The user must be connected to both lines using a suitable harness. The working line should be equipped with a safe means of ascent and descent and have a self-locking design to prevent the user falling if they lose control. The safety line must be equipped with a mobile fall protection system connected to, and travelling with, the user of the system. 

The afag guidance (401) says:

Climbers need to carry an adjustable lanyard to provide, when appropriate, a

secondary anchor to prevent the risk of pendulum swing. Lanyards are a key part of

a tree-climbing system and have many uses, particularly as a supplementary load-

bearing anchor point when working in the crown or when changing anchor points.

Lanyards need to be adjustable to provide sufficient support to the climber.

The side attachment points on a harness are designed for support (eg where the

feet are on a branch or other part of the tree) but not suspension. Some harnesses

provide forward attachment points suitable for suspension. It is important to consult

the manufacturer’s instructions for the harness.

Do not attach the lanyard to one side alone.

I can't find anything anywhere saying you must have a positional strop attached when using a saw. 

To be fair, the squirrel thing is to do with the intentional trapping of them not if you find one stuck somewhere. I've had to get one out of the drain before because a customer was one of the animal rights lot and loved squirrels to bits. Had a regular glove on and just grabbed it by the scruff of the neck and threw it about 6ft across the garden. Seen a dog have a nose piercing from one before and I'm not messing with that 

I've been running Stihl full chisel, sharp as hell and last for ages crosscutting or in the tree but I'm tempted by other companies semi-chisel options for domestic work on the ground where the trees are absolutely full of shite a full chisel gets absolutely demolished by even the tiniest bit of junk. One little bit of crap in a tree and I'm grinding .5-1mm off the chain which is a lot of life lost... 

Ermine moth caterpillars are the ones. Got them in my village! 

On 13/06/2021 at 17:22, john87 said:

Hi Matty,

 

So basically then, all i would have to do, is to arrange for an assessor to come and see me, or go to see them, and just show them that i can look at a tree and decide if it is safe to climb in the first place, [thing not defective] find a suitable place to anchor to, and get myself up in the tree and down again safely, using the correct equipment, and have an awareness of things to look out for and an awarness of what the risks were and what could go wrong; That kind of stuff??

 

john..

 

No, not really. You're expected to know how to do risk assessments, how to carry out aerial rescues on ropes and spikes. How to branch walk etc. It's not a walk in the park and there's no chance you're going to pass it without training. 

Bit like a driving test. Even guys who've been driving for 10 years would fail on some silly little mistake. I bet if you took a climber who's been climbing for 15 years and got them assessed they would fail 

8 hours ago, openspaceman said:

Can you explain a breakdown of the cost? Extra diesel used etc.

I just meant the upfront garage cost of them plugging in the computer and setting it off. It will also need an oil change after ~£70-£160 depending on the car. Plus fuel used which all depends on how long the car is running. It doesn't use a huge amount of fuel though as it's not under load, just a high rpm hence why it's not good for the engine.

8 hours ago, openspaceman said:

Yes that's the sort of thing, just a way up the road from me.  How does £240 plus the time to take the exhaust off compare with a forced regen?

Depends on how bad it is I guess. Forced regens are cheaper (£100 ish) but are really bad for the car and you aren't guaranteed that it will fix it. Sometimes it's so coked up that it needs a second round and even then it's a maybe. 

Dpfs only usually fail when something goes wrong in the engine like a turbo oil leak or split boost hose causing excess smoke. If oil can get into the dpf then it blocks it up real bad. Given the choice I would rather go with the removal and liquid flush

https://youtu.be/dAxXfR0xVPw 

There are machines that clean them. They seem to use some sort of high pressure pulse cleaner and some form of detergent. 

At the end of the day, a dpf holds particulates. I would rather have them cleaned out and disposed of responsibly than have them "burnt off" i.e released as smaller particulates...

I start mine with the brake on just for safety sake really. Lots of the time I'm starting it in a small space and I can see myself clipping something and kicking it back into my nuts or something stupid. My old man was a paramedic and he went to a job where someone cut their nuts off with a saw 🤢

I start it and then click the chain brake off straight away when it's cold and let it warm up. The rest of the time its warm and I don't start it in the fast idle position anyway. 

2 hours ago, Mike Hill said:

No.

 

You run down a turbo because when you shut off an engine the turbo fan is still spinning. Idling the engine for a while allows the fan to slowdown without running out of oil.This is especially important with turbos mounted higher up as the oil will actually drain away from the bushes.  There is precious little oil fed to most turbo compared to how fast they spin.

To be fair, it's both afaik. Turbos on a lot of higher power modern cars are water cooled as well as oil cooled but if you shut off the engine at max chat not just can it lead to cast warping but the oil burns into the bearings and creates a sludge. Turbos spool down relatively fast depending on size. 

Have a read of this: https://www.team-bhp.com/tech-stuff/idling-rule-turbo-charged-cars

but to summarise what it says: HKS - a top Japanese manufacturer of turbochargers - has this to say:"The number one cause of turbo failure is oil "coking". Oil "coking" occurs when a turbocharger is not properly cooled down and the oil that normally lubricates the center cartridge heats up and forms solidified oil deposits."That burnt oil eventually goes on to block passages.

38 minutes ago, openspaceman said:

Sounds far more sensible.  Why can't you swap the exhaust on a a chipper and have it cleaned? After all it must be sensing a higher back pressure that  indicates a regeneration is needed.

Exactly, it goes off to be cleaned and you get a cleaned exchange unit. 👌

3 minutes ago, PeteB said:

I heard a story about a tow tug tractor where the driver kept on hitting the 'delay' for a regen. Eventually, the thing would not work and the dealer had to get involved and on the advice of the manufacturer, it had to to an enforced, long term regen cycle. It was sat in the yard at full chat for a day and a half to clear it out! The exhaust was glowing red and it used a massive amount of fuel too!

I've done a forced regen before on a ford focus. The thing was so hot that it melted the tarmac underneath and had to slide a bit of sheet metal underneath. So bad for the car, not just being at 3500 rpm for an hour but the heat and the back pressure must have been unreal.

I can't remember what company it was now, Volvo maybe? They have cartridge dpf units in their hgv's that get exchanged at a service and they go off to a regeneration centre for a clean.

You were lucky then if it was giant hogweed rather than the regular stuff. Giant hogweed can cause blindness and all sorts!