Muddy42

Combi cans are for mixed fuel on on side and chainsaw bar oil on the other. Not neat two stroke oil? I only ever keep neat petrol in rectangular 5l petrol cans. Mixed fuel goes in old aspen bottles (these pour really well). I fill the aspen bottle with 4 litres of fuel (again 4l pours better than 5) either from the pump or using a 2 litre measuring jug. Then I use one of these squeezable metering bottles to get 40:1. I refill the metering jug with Oregon two stroke oil, the Stihl stuff is rubbish.

The big debate for me is flail versus rotary action. Rotary seems to need less HP for a given width and the quality of cut is probably better if it mulches well, but its far more susceptible to damage when you hit things. I have an old Bolens rotary mulching ride on mower that is great for orchards and rough lawns. It is almost falling to bits, but easy to maintain. I wouldn't dream of taking it round a field or bumpy ground. That's flail territory. The zero turn mowers are a bit better for getting near edges and round trees, but there is not much in it compared to a hydrostatic gears.

To be fair you did ask "what sort of stuff will the flail cut through?". Plus you said you had various tractors, a quad and flail and that you wanted less machines, without really specifying which ones you wanted to sell. Don't be surprised if you get vague answers. Personally I try to use the most HP, ride on and least manpower for the job. Even if that means reversing into corners and into trees, its easier than a walk behind or a strimmer. Front tractor mounted flails are even better, although you get less warning of an obstacle, not that that matters much with a flail. Why not hire a walk behind flail and see how much sweat pours when you walk it round a field? I did this a few years ago, then bought a tow behind flail. Thanks

Something I have done is make a paper or cardboard copy of the bar, to help see what's going on, whether the holes line up and why its leaking. Clean out all that oil first. You could try opening up the oil hole on the bar to persuade the oil to flow. The whole white plastic clutch cover looks like it comes off with hex screws. That will help you see underneath and whether the black oil line can be replaced

Agreed, buy a PTO driven flail for one of your tractors. Tractors and PTO drive is for fields, rotary ride on lawn mowers are for lawns. The only place id consider a walk behind is for steep banks or awkward places like orchards, but most of the time that can be tackled with a strimmer rather than a dedicated machine.

I have a Chapman 120 Pro Flail with hammers and a 25 hp engine. It will cut through the longest grass, brambles or thin scrub. If towed with a quad, the quad needs to be >400cc and ideally with a low range box to avoid overheating or straining first gear. I have driven over large boulders and tree stumps without any issues. I find the cut is never as good with a flail compared to a rotary blade, but flails are more resistant to hitting things. I think its not possible to have one machine that cuts everything from lawns to long grass

The intake valve wiggle at the end of the motion that you describe is actually a good thing, being the compression release motion of the camshaft. I'm dealing with an engine with a broken comp release at the moment. But the lifter or crank could be bent, you wont really know unless you take the sump off. You may have to do this anyway once you are sure the valves are set ok. Its worth spending a fair bit of time to get the valves adjusted properly. The engine turns counter clockwise when looking from above. Use a headtorch to see when the piston is at top dead centre, then go on 1/4 inch. I would get a feeler guage. turn the engine over a few times, then check again. Black smoke sounds like the valve seal issue. But it might clear up on running. You should be able to move the valves in and out a bit by hand, do they all feel the same?

You'll get nowhere with holding council tax - bailiffs, court orders, court, then even prison. Its a tax like every other tax, not discretionary depending on the quality of service. The only thing you can do is try to get the property de-listed or merged with another property, but as stated above that may not be a great idea.

Did you replace the intake rocker arm, which looked broken in your photo?

Its hard to say, also the lifter could be bent. Can you shine a torch in there, not that you can see the lifter from that side. and onto the pistons? Can you move the intake valve (bottom one) by hand. You could try swapping the working exhaust rocker and rod onto the intake valve to confirm the moment.

Yes that's my understanding, the rods and rockers are designed to be the weak point. Yes, there is quite a lot of space around the rods. Maybe to allow oil to move around?

Gotcha. I guess you could revoke the residential licence but that would probably be permanent and affect the ability to develop or sell.

Yes, something is not right! When you move the engine, that bent rod should be moved in and out by a lifter which is pushed in and out by the camshaft. Thus it opens each valve in turn. - Is the exhaust rocker and valve still moving OK? - Can you move the intake valve in and out (that thing with the spring around it)? - Can you confirm that the intake lifter is still moving inside? maybe just unbend the bent rod and use it as a feeler. Was the oil level OK? penetrating oil can unstick valves. then gentle tapping

Post a video here of the valve movement if you want?

What do you mean by plot? If it used to have a house on it but that's been demolished, you can get it deleted from the council tax list. Land plots with planning permission for a house, a partially built house or even a house that's being substantially rebuilt shouldn't pay council tax. I hate streetlights in any village.

I think you are on the right track. I would remove the valve cover, check the valve clearances and see what the moment looks like when you turn the engine over. Are the push rods moving in and out at all. Its best to do this with the spark plugs removed, for safety but also so you can check whats happening to the pistons.

For the infrequently used machines I use alkylate/Aspen or similar. I just run and store them (indoors) with whatever fuel is left in the tank. Never had any issues. Just like the 'good-old-days' when we had proper petrol! I use E5 pump fuel in the frequently used strimmer and chainsaw with oregon two stroke oil at 40:1. I am literally using both every few days. At the end of the season, I run the strimmer dry, run with alkylate and then store. I check the carb and lines on the chainsaw every few months - so far all the carb has required has been a clean out with carb cleaner. I think fuel stabiliser is snake oil. Use fresh fuel. Pour out your fuel after using machines in the rain.

I've just checked your video of the GOLF piston again. As you say, you have pretty bad damage on both the exhaust side and intake sides. Its a good thing you replaced this. Also where both circlips intact? Did the new meteor piston have any play or tolerance?

I would stop using that for risk damaging the saw. Do you not still have the original one to put back on?

Agreed. Always pressure and vac test.

I can’t say I can hear the rumbling noise, but maybe that’s the audio. I think I can hear the high pitched rattle sound of worn clutch springs though?

It also helps if the saw wasn't running when it gets dunked.

The only times 120cc is worth it is where weight doesn't really matter and you need lots of power - milling or chunking up massive logs on the ground. I don't climb but I can't imagine that would be great.

So many different views! Sorry if you know this, but be aware that 881s have a totally different bar mount from your 500i. Personally I think 120cc is the only way to go if: - Doing any milling at all. Yes you get people saying you can get away with 70-90cc, but its so much easier and quicker with 120cc saw. - using any bar above 40 inches

I have an 088 (also 120cc) with 25/36/54 inch bars. My next biggest saw is an MS460 with a 20 inch bar (so a bit smaller than your 500i). With the 088, I mill, crosscut and block up big logs with it. Its great for all three of these tasks. I only mill with the 36 inch bar - which is ideal for one person milling of say <30 inch timber. I have owned the 54 inch bar for a few years but havn't really had the timber to use it yet. For crosscutting and blocking up big lumps of hardwood, the 25 inch bar gets a lot of use. I do prefer a 120 cc saw to a 70-90 ccs for this hard task. The extra weight of saw isn't really an issue when you are kneeling on the ground. I occasionally use the 36inch bar for crosscutting massive logs. I have to say, its pretty scary and unwieldy to use without the protection of the mill. For example, if you put the saw down, the bar is front heavy and can dig into the ground. All chains are normal (not skip) 30 degree ground semi chisel. I don't find rip chain makes a difference in hardwood and my 30 degree sharpening muscle memory is hard to overcome.