john87

What are sawlogs?? john..

Yes, i would NEVER use that "bio" crap. Echo warn you not to in a big way, promising dire consequences if you do... john..

Oh, it is ok, i can read, thanks.. I will just leave this here.. [Hint, what do you think the oil reservoir is made out of?]

Ah.. Never heard of the diesel thing, but good idea!! I like the idea of the synthetic oil, but Echo instruct not to use it in my pole saw and i do not want to have two separate types of oil hanging about.. john..

I looked up the Exol oil.. The heavy version is ISO220, that is about SAE60.. I would imagine that unless you are working in 90 degree heat, that would be FAR too thick.. In the cold here i doubt the pump would be able to move the stuff.. They do a "standard" grade too. That is about SAE30, which would be more like it here in the uk i think.. I was using the rock oil barguard stuff. That is about SAE30. It seems great in summer, but when it was cold a while back i did start to get worried if it were not a bit too thick. It is certainly tacky stringy stuff.. I will just have to see how i get on with the new stuff [the husqvarna premium] and see what happens.. john..

Hi there, The link you gave was very interesting. The talked about adhesive and cohesive strength of the oil film. Now, i happen to be a bit of an "expert" in the difference between the two! I have a qualification in materials technology, part of which was the joining of materials by adhesive means... Adhesive strength, is the ability of the adhesive, in this case the oil, to resist being pulled from the surface of the substrate [our chain] Cohesive strength on the other hand, is the ability of the adhesive material to resist being pulled apart ITSELF, So, in the case of glue, the glue itself would pull apart, whilct leaving a layer firmly attached to both parts of the substrate.. It is hard to know what to do for the best, as on the one hand thick and tacky will resist being thrown off, BUT if an oil it too thick to flow where it is required, like around the pins of the chain, then these will be running dry.. Many years ago i was involved with the lubrication of some cast iron slideways on a machine. We thought that EP90 would be the stuff to use, but in use, the oil quickly turned black with wear particles from the cast iron. We then used a thin, light oil. Problem instantly cured.. The thick EP oil that you would think would be perfect, turned out to be too thick to penetrate into the moving parts owing to the tight clearances between the parts.. With chain oil, it is hard to know what to do for the best.. john..

Hi All, Now back in the day, all chain oil was gooey sticky stuff. In recent times i have used Stihl Forest plus that i "think" was sticky, Rock oil barguard that is well and trully gooey and sticky, and now i have bought some husqvarna premium mineral chain oil that does not appear to be sticky in the least.. What do you all use?? The makers of my saws [Echo] specificallly say NOT to use synthetic or vegetable oils, so they are right out.. Just could not understand why the husqvarna oil does not seem gooey and sticky?? What you all think?? john..

I am not sure, but possibly not.. it is the difference between a "mixture" say dried peas in water, and a solution, say salt dissolved in water. As the cold does the damage, it is fair to assume that any additives that separate out because of the cold, are in solution, and so the cold causes them to precipitate out, in the way that in school chemistry you could have a saturated solution and as you cooled it the dissolved sustance would precipitate out to form crystals.. Shaking it all you like will not dissolve them back in.. I know that the base oil itself can start to separate out too.. It is known that the additives dropping out MAY be a bigger problem with synthetic oils, but i would imagine you would need it to be minus 20 or something for a long time. Oils also have have additives that simply settle out with time [so i presume they form a simple mixture and not a solution] You might be able to shake them back in, but i doubt it.. The recommended "shelf life" for oil and grease is about 5 years.. john..

Looks to me like it would not be cheaper at all by the time you pay to have the drum delivered.. Then you have to store the thing and decant a bit out all the time.. john..

That is all i ever use in all my stuff. john

See post above about mixing oils... john..

Ok, oils.. Mineral oils. Mineral oils are distilled from crude oil. You heat it up and the lighter fractions evaporate off first, to make stuff like LPG, naptha, petrol all the way down to bitumen. Somewhere in the middle is oil. The stuff has various additives to make it suitable for whatever the end use is.. Fact one. Oil has a shelf life.. It WILL oxidise with age, but more importantly, various of the additives are metallic in nature, and, given time, WILL settle out of the oil.. So, the 30 year old 40 gallon drum of oil you pinched from work is now no good!! JASO standards.. FB, [the basic old mineral stuff] is just as oily as the latest synthetic, BUT the synthetic grade "FD" burns a lot cleaner so your engine will not coke up as much, AND, although the "oilyness" is not much different at ordinary temperatures, the synthetic stuff, is MUCH more resistant to breaking down at very high temperatures, which, in a chain saw screaming it's bollocks off, is a very good thing, so use what the makers tell you to use.. Synthetic oils. Synthetic oils are based on petroleum, but chemically modified, so unlike mineral oil, every single molecule is the same. There are various types of synthetic oils too.. Some are reserved for industrial uses, as for one thing, they are not compatible with mineral oils and it you mix them the whole lot sets into a gel.. There are also LOTS of problems with compatibility with seals and gaskets and plastic parts too.. The type that is generally used for engines and the like are based on polyalphaolefins. You CAN mix this stuff with mineral oils and this is what the "semi-synthetics" are, BUT, it is not a very good idea at all to try to do this yourself [mix the two i mean], as the additives used in each type of oil are not compatible with each other. So the idea of mixing two oils to make a hybrid recipe all of your own is a very bad one!! There are also problems with compatibility with seals and gaskets and plastic parts with this stuff too.. Fact two. As i said, mineral oil has a shelf life. Problem is, so does synthetic oil, potentially a shorter one too, the biggest problem being that especially if stored in cold temperatures they are more likely than mineral oils to have the additives settle out of them.. So, buy the oil as you need it, [not ten years supply] and USE WHAT THE MAKERS TOLD YOU TO USE.. As i said in a previous post, "ultra" "super" "dogs bollocks" all means nothing, you need to go by the JASO or ISO standards, anything else is marketing guff.. john..

I was involved with a bloke that was arguing about planning and permitted development rights to do with his house. You can build various things i will not go into using a certain percentage of the "curtilage" of the house. Now, some years previously they had sent him a map with this curtilage outlined in red. Now though, they tried to say this was a mistake and they had drawn the red line in the wrong place. So, it is established fact that a council will say what suits them at the time. As regards the verge i would say that UNLESS it is the case that land was subject to a compulsory purchase, such as when building a motorway or the like, then the landowner owns the land up to the centre of the road. A search of the land registry will sort it out..

Just asking as i saw someone the other day with a very long bridge, much much longer than mine, and i just wondered why this might be.. Should have asked them i suppose.. john..

At the end of the day pay ZERO interest to anything the bod in the shop says, or the name of the oil, super, ultra, bloody marvelous, or best oil ever made. This all means nothing, simply marketing guff.. Just look in the makers manual for the saw, See what Jaso grade they specify, then ONLY use this grade. That is all you need to do.. Completely avoid ANYTHING biodegradeable no matter what it it is.. [unless you want your saw to be biodegradable too that is..] I have four echo saws and here is what echo have to say on the subject of chain oil.. Think this might be of interest to all of you.. In regards to chain oil [in the manual for my Echo pole saw] they say that; "To prevent plastic deterioration, do not use synthetic or silicone chain oil" so i would not be using any of that stuff.. They also say in the manual for my CS-7310SX.. " Vegetable based chain oil quickly turns to resin and adheres to oil pump, chain, guide bar, clutch needle bearing and clutch assembly. It causes malfunctions and shortens the products life" and that you are to "flush out" the system with mineral oil if you ever use vegetable based chain oil.." Therefore, ONLY EVER use ordinary mineral chain oil, nothing else WHATSOEVER... hope this helps someone...

Hi all, I have seen that you can get replacement bridges for your harness of different lengths. I was just wondering what the effect was of lengthening or shortening the bridge?? What happens?? Only thing i can imagine is that a shorter one would increase forces in the harness owing to the flatter angle of the bridge when loaded.. What else happens?? john.

I used to have one serial number 1005. Wish i still had it, was a brilliant mower..

Hi there, Yes, i went out and i bought a pulley and exactly the same cord as you have, and as you say, it fits beautifully. I bought another two pinto pulleys after that. They are really nice quality. I wanted them to tend friction hitches on my flip line and my lanyard and they work sooooo well, one handed adjustment is so easy now!! john..

I was talking about historically. My links with the site go back 47 years. There are piles of drawings that must have cost the earth in beautiful leather bound books just left to go mouldy.. john..

That is 1.74 m3 so say 3 m3 for the two of them. john..

Ahhh, now that is very interesting. I know that the site has had a few planning applications over the years and they just LOVE spending VAST sums on surveyors to make drawings that are then basically just dumped.. john..

Thanks all!!! Now, a few years ago a tree with one of these tags fell over. I googled the initials on the tag and it was indeed a tree survey firm.. I was informed that a few weeks ago that someone DID come to have a look at all the trees and the one tag looks brand new, it must have been them that fitted it so they must have been a tree surveyor type person.. What would a tree surveyor be looking for?? Some of the trees are pretty much fit to collapse, but would they not notice and record this?? john..

Hi all, Some of the trees i have to do with have small numbered tags nailed to them. Some are just a number, and others are a few letters and a number, something like; "BTC 123" that sort of thing.. What is that all about?? I know of some trees that DEFINITELY have a TPO on them, but no tag, and other trees that have no TPO but do have a tag. What is the reason for these tags?? Is it to do with TPO's or something different?? john..

Yes, i looked on that website. They say that they will get more about next March i think it was. I am supposed to be getting a standard solid one assuming Echo have them in stock but i thought if a lighter one could be had, then may as well. Like you said though, on a 20" bar would it make much difference?? john..

Yes, i have got a 20" solid bar coming for it. I would like to get one of them sugihara light ones, but they seem to have disappeared?? It is the same mount as large husqvarna's [Husky Group 4????] john..