Muddy42

Very true. I burn anything

Tarps rip, tin is noisy, pallets are awkward. I've tried all of these and found them all a bit Heath Robinson and unsatisfactory. Personally unless you are going to put a proper supported roof on that stack, Id just leave the logs where they are and bring them in during 2026.

Obviously a large open-sided shed is the best (and involves less handling) but not everyone has space for two or three years worth of logs. Personally I find wood seasons quite quickly uncovered, I guess it receives even more wind and sun and maybe the rain helps too to freeze/wash out the sap? Even if a seasoned log then gets wet this tends to just be on the surface and it quickly dries out. The downside is that you need to move the logs in to your undercover store eventually - choose a dry day in the summer

@doobin

Actually Ive just checked and my disposable cans are 86% argon, 14% CO2. What about that? I'll do some testing first. Last time I tried them my local Hobbyweld only had massive canisters and were trying to puish me towards rental which annoyed me. I'll try them again.

Interesting that does make sense. I can get decent flux core results when welding thick metal, more power and longer periods of welding. Its any thin metal or repeatedly tack welding where the results are poor. I do have some proper MIG wire and a few disposable gas cans. Thanks.

thanks

OK, will try that again Thanks. Maybe the photos don't show it, but I did do loads of prep and was only welding onto shinny metal. The patch was made of painted old metal. I ground it right bad to shinny metal and I'm pretty sure it wasn't galvanised. OK

I am repairing rusted out holes on a mower deck that is about 2 or 3mm thick. I cut out the damage, ground everything clean and shaped pieces of metal for the repair using masking tape. I did little tack joints to hold the patch in place whilst I did some bending, then welded the rest. The weld seems to be sitting on the surface, with insufficient penetration. I am using a 200amp MIG with flux core, set to about 1/3 power (I tried a bit more amps but blew through). Since I have reversed the polarity on the welder for flux core I was getting some OK results on thicker metal, but this is really poor. Any tips welcomed. Thanks

It was ethanol free in certain parts of england, but since August 2023, Esso say everything has up to 5% ethanol in it unfortunately.

Yes and I did wonder how long it would take Esso to change their processes. I guess you would have to start testing the fuel to find out for sure.

I don't have one, but all I would say is that personally the handles and air controls look to be made of thin metal that might be weak. I like the fact they have vermiculite on all 5 sides as this material is incredibly easy to replace if broken. Other than that they are just the run of the mill steel box with a glass door. Also if you are using an installer, Id follow their recommendation. Then you have more grounds to complain if any part of the system doesn't perform.

Unfortunately not. Esso state on their website that premium their E5 now contains ethanol.

Here is a picture of my current playground (a few weeks ago now). I'm slowly working my way through this massive oak. I havn't measured it but the butt is probably 8ft in diameter and I can see a few stones in it. So far I've been cutting logs at the weekend and splitting and stacking during the week after work as my daily exercise. The logs will be for personal use in my house. I'll be able to speed up when the days get longer. I'll probably mill some of the medium sized bits in the summer. The butt looks quite rotten and probably too big for my 5ft bar and/or the loader. Unfortunately I find selling hardwood makes marginal economic sense after I account for the fuel, machinery and hours involved. Id have to pay someone with a forwarder to help move the butt. Also I expect the country will be awash with hardwood after the recent storms.

I just resort to iphone calculator. Generally I start with 4 litres of unmixed petrol in a 5l aspen can, that is 4,000 ml. 4,000 divided by 45 would be approx 89ml. I have a variety of sizes of plastic measuring jugs. I use the 100ml jug to measure out just below 90ml of oil. Drop that smaller measuring jug into a 2litre mixing jug. Pour in some petrol and slosh it around a bit so everything is dissolved and the smaller jug is clean. Pour back into the aspen can. Repeat with more petrol if you want to. Job done. Denny all knowledge of the smell of fuel.