Muddy42

Chapman also make good cutters, uk company with good customer service and part availability.

On the flails versus toppers debate, I disagree with the above statements about flails hitting stuff. Personally I find flails are more robust if you hit something because the axle is hidden. The worst case scenario is replacing some hammer flails or maybe a belt, whereas if you hit something really bad with a topper, axles and metal parts shear and you can set everything off-centre. If cutting brush and rides, you will hit something eventually. Flails do require more horse power for a given cutting width and speed. I believe an Antonio Carraro Tigre 3800 only has a 26HP engine so it will be even less at the PTO. This is really very small, so your probably looking at a 1.2m cutting width if a flail but around 2m if a topper. the mowers will tell you what the spec is. 1.2m is fine for woodland paths but painfully slow for doing large areas. Even with a topper, you can never really have enough HP for chest high grass growing in full sun. Its all a trade off. Whatever tool you get, make sure it is robust and constructed with thick metal. Some of the cheap Chinese ones are utter garbage.

The big choice is whether you go for a PROFESSIONAL range of saws like Stihl MS241, MS261 etc. These cost about £800 are solidly built, easier to replace parts, but heavier than a CONSUMER/PRIVATE saw. Consumer saws are lighter, less robust, but are much cheaper. For example the MS212 about £400. You could even go as small as a MS161 which costs about £150. This would only take a 13 inch bar though. I have a few of these cheap saws and if you took after them you can get 5-10 years out of them depending on usage. Any saw will die if you strain it or overheat it.

When chainsaw milling, even with a full size loader for the lifting, I find turning logs through 90 degrees and restarting the cut direction a bit challenging. Its easy to go out of square. Generally I start off making thick slabs for lower quality work (posts, outdoor furniture or even a small bridge once). Then I make narrower boards towards the middle where, when they are dried I will remove the heart and call the outsides quarter sawn. Then I make some thick stuff again at the bottom of the log. I re-stack the boards in order so I know what is what. Of course it depends if you have a long enough bar and enough wood to do this.

not a chance, even I could hotwire it! thanks. I think the problem is that battery health is not linear and that even partially discharging it can cause damage. Its a new battery and I've replaced the rectifier regulator. The wider issue is my stator is weak - only about 15v to 33v AC (idle to mid rev), pre rectifier in each of the phases when it should be 18v - 60v ish. That said I am getting 14.3v - 14.6v DC whilst driving around which should charge the battery. I've put in a voltage meter and I'll keep it under review for a while and trickle charge.

will do, if I cant find a fault Yes it has these fuses. I think the left plug is for higher current up to 10A. I'll try measuring at the fuses, but theoretically the reading should be the same. so is 1 uA = 0.001 mA and 60uA = 0.06mA. the meter is cheap, sorry I cant remember what is was saying on those ranges, I was too baffled by the scale changing again. so I have 0.06mA which is over the threshold of 0.01mA ?

This is a 2009 Honda TRX420 quad. I have been having some battery issues. The battery was old so I've replaced it. Now I am checking for parasitic draw from the system. The quad had been turned off for ages and the electrics are pretty basic. The multimeter is connected in series to the negative side of the battery. I used the left 10A plug first. My manual says parasitic draw should be <0.01 mA This is pretty basic. See picture below of my multimeter. Is this 0.06 mA? I always struggle with the units and greek letters for amps! when I move the dial the decimel place and units move around in a confusing way. The multimeter goes to zero when I remove the main fuse. No other fuses have an impact, so it'll be difficult to locate the issue. Thanks

please post a photo. If you want everything as original spec that's fine, but if you are happy to go off piste, you can make Vermiculte panels fit anywhere. A lot of modern stoves have Vermiculte top baffles as well as the sides. I use trial and error and pieces of cardboard to make a template for the vermiculite.

Hedge thinnings? That sounds too thin in diameter and something for a chipper rather than a logger. Thin stems are ok for kindling, but not great to burn indoors in bulk. Its all sapwood and the bark holds in the moisture if green.

A chainsaw that starts and idles OK, but cuts out when revs are applied, normally has a problem with the fuel delivery or throughput of the air and exhaust. The engine is not getting enough fuel for the increased demand. You say you have checked the air filter, but make sure its not still clogged with fine stuff. If its plastic it can be washed in hot water. The cardboard ones need hoovering or blowing out with air. Or briefly try running the clean saw without it and see if it makes a difference. Check fuel filter. Again after cleaning the tank out, I will briefly run the saw without the filter to see if that helps. Look for cracked kinked or restricted fuel lines. Look for clogged spark arrestor. remove carb and clean everything with carb cleaner, remove any dust. See if the diaphrams are still flexible. I try to do this without replacing parts and setting the carb at default settings. If you find the issue, replace both filters and tune the carb and the lines if they look old.

Id also check for air leaks in the fuel and impulse lines. Blow everything clean and bend the lines to check for leaks. Clean the carb and see if it needs a carb kit.

If you are worried about grass and weeds checking or competing with the tree and don't want to spray it, what about mounding? This is where a digger takes a scoup of turf and soil out and lays it upside down. This makes planting easier and gives the tree a headstart against grass. Its more common for conifers and it does make walking through the wood potentially an ankle breaking experience for a few years.

Yup I do that too. I use alkalyte aswell for the infrequently used bits of kit. So I calculate the amount to take it from 50:1 to 40:1. However I'm moving back to Apsen because the cans pour better than motomix and I'm too tight to buy their special funnel.

Well done. I don't know if it makes any difference, but I use a bit more two stroke oil in aftermarket pistons and cylinders, especially the first tank.

cordless angle grinder? As above, repairing fences manualyl is pretty soul destroying. Replacing the odd post is fine, but if its more than that (and it must be if the wire is rusting) its getting to the stage of full replacement.