Muddy42

Yes, replacement tips would be around 50% of the cost of a new bar according to chainsawbars.co.uk True, I try to use the smallest bar for the job and my MS 261 probably can handle 90% of what I cut. But occasionally I have to clear up some monster trees, block up unsplitable logs and then there is milling. That's what makes this saga even more frustrating, these bars have had so little use, the paint is immaculate!

Yes I may well just have to replace the bars Gareth. Very annoying.

I don't think so. When the siezures started, I even tried starting off with the tension slackened off a quarter of a turn, but this didn't help.

Cheers. I'll get in touch with Gator. I can see arguments both ways - thicker oil would stick, but thinner oil would 'flow' along the bar groove better. Potentially thick oil (for a given outdoor temperature) could stress the oil pump. You don't want all the oil to be flung off the tip because you want some for the return chain journey where most of the cutting takes place. You want the oil to lubricate and keep the bar nose sprocket cool. Its a tough ask ! All my saws are pro saws with adjustable oilers set to max, so 'volume of oil' shouldn't be a problem. i keep the bar grooves scrupulously clean and ensure oil pumps are working. My main concern is having to replace bars prematurely which would be seriously expensive and frustrating - neither has even worn out a chain yet!

Thanks. I'm looking into it. Is it also ok in longer bars >25 inches ?

Ive been struggling with Rotatech over the past few months to be honest. Its the 25 litre one - ISO 100 Universal Chainsaw Chain & Bar Oil. Bars, chains and nose sprockets were poorly lubricated, hot and I had a few situations where everything siezed up completed. Damm nearly ruined a few bars as it left the nose sprockets stiff. Ive got the bar tips submerged in a mix of bar oil and diesel at the moment and I turn the teeth periodically in the oil with a screwdriver. I think its working. I should add that before and after this I was using Oregon bar oil and everything was fine. I think the Rotatech oil is just too thick.

We're splitting hairs here - what ever saw the OP uses this job will be slow and hard work. Petrol saws are probably still cheaper, which seems to be a big consideration.

Sorry if I sounded condescending, you clearly know what you are doing! Yes get a small petrol chainsaw. Any of the Stihl MS1s will be fine. I have a professional stihl MS261 which is great but five times the price new or three times if second hand. The case for cheap saws is quite strong. Have fun with the firewood. It doesnt sound the most efficient in terms of handling wood, but satisfying never-the-less. I process wood on an industrial scale for 4 days of the year with hired heavy machinery but I still handle the odd blown tree to tidy up. maybe have a bag or two of firewood delivered to tide you through while the wood dries?

You can buy a stihl MS162 for £140 or so. It should be fine for wood that small. Please buy protective clothing too. Carrying out even small firewood will be brutal, and probably the reason why it was only "part cleared". Can you find a quad and trailer or rent a large power barrow? Finally you mention chopping and putting on the fire in the same sentence. Please please ensure wood dries to <20% moisture on the inside. In the UK this normally means it needs to be split, stacked in the sun and wind for minimum of a dry summer but realistically a year is required. If you're cutting it now, the sap is in full force and you are probably too late to burn this winter.

Agreed. I can think of few places where one person could control the deer properly on 25,000 acres. Sure you’ve put the right number of zeros?

Will do, I can easily run off some into a jar at the AGA end. The tank is under cover, so yes pretty unlikely.

Ah gotcha, modern air vents. This is the kind of draughty victorian house where you feel the wind indoors, so I don't think that'll be a problem. Thanks for your help, I'll check the flue, clean everything get it level and try again.

Where do I look for air vents? If I run it with the door off (supervised like the photo above) the flame still misbehaves and presumably it would get masses of air with the door off.

OK. I did clean the flue at xmas, but will check again as I do have jackdaws. I didn't realise that could send the flame off.

Please accept my apologies then, I thought you might be referring to the smudges of dirt or food ! I'm pretty sure its just a gravity fed smudge pot then (is that what I refer to as the regulator tank sitting next to the AGA?). Its a 1990s model, always was oil, not a converted. There is plenty of oil in the tank and plenty of oil getting to the burner.

I suspect you are extracting urine, but the various wires are either the sensor for the temperature gauge above (the dial has clouded up so no use now) the flow control (works fine) or the safety shut off thingy.

Can anyone help me get my oil AGA burning better? Picture below. I have serviced it myself for the past three years - cleaning out all the black carbon from the burner/pipes, replace wickes with cut outs etc. I only normally only turn it on during the winter months (and even then very low) but recently the electric cooker broke and I needed to turn it up to cook properly. However its not getting that hot. Oil seems to be flowing fine, but the flame flickers and is an uneven shape. I suspect its something to do with level-ness. I check with a spirit level, but the level is a bit big, maybe I need a smaller two directional level? Also sometimes the fuel line seems to push the burner out of level. Any suggestions gratefully received.

Thanks. I will and Im keen to see if others have this experience with Rotatech bar oil Also I think older threads like this dont get the same profile - not on todays posts nor my notifications. Weird?

Very true, luckily often thick line wont fit in the tap-n-go heads . I spent years p1ssing around trying to get underpowered strimmers to cut knee high grass - thicker string and blades. its slow, frustrating for the operator and not good for the machine whatever thickness line you use. I think electric strimmers or <30 cc (that nearly everyone seems to have) are fine for neatening up the whiskers on the edge of a lawn but for 'long grass' that only gets cut once, twice or thrice a year - you need 45cc or above and thick string. Same for brambles and weeds.

me too. I start off on the top two slots but if the line jams, I use the bottom pair as backup. I have some non desert extrusions 3.9mm string too. But it doesn't come close in terms of durability, you have to try this stuff.

I think I followed your recommendation. Epic combination that obliterates grass and brambles. Occasionally one of the two strings gets jammed or the stub gets too short to extract, but the beauty of the four string head is you can carry on by using the spare slots. Its easy to strip, grease and replace pawls and springs, if like me you lent it someone with a ham fist.

Old raspberry cane wire, a dog's gravestone, markers for the water main, brass bedstead, lots of treestumps, buckets - I've hit the lot!

I find over time blades cause a lot more mechanical wear and damage than string. Eventually you will hit something or something goes off centre, extra vibrations, more damage to machine, even with a big strimmer. The tri blades are a bit worse for this than the circular blades, Seriously consider an oregon jet fit head and some 4mm square Diamond Edge line. With my husky 555rxt, this cuts as well as a blade and lasts for ages. If you think about it the give provided by a string does a similar thing to a clutch. String is cheaper to replace than mechanical parts!

hi there. I'm reviving a 15 year old thread to show I can use the search function but also because this is happening to me on a few stihl chainsaws. The common factor is I'm using Rotatech Premium Bar oil and Stihl chains in all the saws. - Stihl 088 with 25 and 36 inch Rollomatic ES bars .404 .063 - Stihl MS460 with 20 inch rollomatic bar 3/8 - Also to a certain extent in the MS261, but it has a short 16 inch bar The 460 has had oiling problems in the past (solved by suggestions here) but I'm pretty sure these are fixed. I replaced the pump, worm drive and cleaned out the lines and bar oil tank. Oil pump screws turned to max. The saw gets through nearly as much as oil as fuel. It doesn't appear to have any leaks, but oiling is just poor. I can't get oil to flick off the end of the bar. Unless the bar groove and oiling hole is kept scrupulously clean, the nose sprocket seems to jam up with dust and heat. I can get it going again with WD40 and brute force in the workshop, but I worry about doing some damage. I don't do plunge cuts and this is not in extreme temperatures. Has anyone had this happen with rotatech oil? Should I thin the oil or try a thinner bar oil? Any suggestions gratefully received.

If the plants are going free and they are nice and old, maybe take one and make a bonsai tree? they are excellent for that.