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Muddy42

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Everything posted by Muddy42

  1. Muddy42
    Yes as above, all three (bar, chain and sprocket) wear together so to get the most out of your new (expensive) bar its best to replace all three together. You could always keep the older part worm trio for rougher work and stumps.
  2. Muddy42
    No sprockets are specific to the pitch of the chain not the width of the chain. Within reason. Use the sprocket/bar/chain selector on chainsawbars.co.uk to be double sure of compatibility.
  3. Muddy42
    Yes its fine to cut it now. I wasn't clear what height you wanted the hedge to be? Assuming just head height, I'd start by cutting the high bits off, that should encourage sprouting lower down. You could create some gaps in the hazel and transplant 'impenetrable' and evergreen rhododendron? You can make a rhodo bush by simply placing a heavy log over a small rhodo branch, roots will sprout where the branch is in contact with wet ground.
  4. Muddy42
    Thanks for the additional confirmation of rust. I just need some dry weather now for treatment! Yes I agree, no need to persecute the non-ponticum varieties. I have also heard that many were grafted onto ponticum rootstock by the victorians. I understood that the ponticum simply takes over anyway without human intervention and sprouts from the roots, smothering the ornamental variety. Although I have never actually seen this happen. Here ponticum grows pretty strongly, so you can use whatever means possible to eradicate it with a clear conscious - chop, bonfire, pull up by the roots, glyphosate. Some people even use diggers, bulldozers, chippers or organic bailers. Its pretty tenacious though, if you leave a few roots or seedlings it will quickly come back. Its a non-native species that ultimately closes up the understory and prevents hardwoods regenerating.
  5. Muddy42
    yes I currently plan to feed, remove the fallen leaves and give it a few courses of various garden fungacides. Thanks
  6. Muddy42
    Well done. Now you need to make the gate! I often use oak immediately if its going to be used outside. On the third mystery cut where you got stuck, could you have maxed out the width of your mill and some part of the saw/mill come in contact with the bark or a branch? Its easy to do and I have done it a few times.
  7. Muddy42
    Yes here in west Scotland, I spend a fair bit of time burning and killing the common rhododendron ponticum (grows like crazy, purple flowers) but nurturing the less common garden varieties, with are much less invasive. Yes ponticum is poisonous and produces a mild narcotic smoke when burned I believed. But I'm not afraid of it, nor do worry about over shading of the garden varieties. Its taken 30+ years to grow 10 foot high!
  8. Muddy42
    Thanks. The area is fairly open and mixed in terms of trees, there are single spruces 500m away and blocks of sitka spruce about 1/2 a mile away. Happy to rake off dead leaves if you think that will make a difference. It was growing healthily for about 30 years. It was quite rare when planted, but less so now. Can you treat rust? I will google this also. thanks both
  9. Muddy42
    Pictures below of my Rhododendron Campylocarpum. Normally it has yellow flowers. For the last three years or so it has slowly wasted away. It has very few leaves and those few that remain don't do well. My working assumption is that it is some kind of fungal infection and I have treated it once so far (yesterday) with Triticonazole. I have also removed over-shading trees and branches and fed it some well rotted manure and a sprinkle of fertiliser. I have ordered some Ericaceous feed also. Any further diagnosis or advice would be gladly received! Thanks in advance.
  10. Muddy42
    That looks really odd. Are you sure the flue is clean, not broken somewhere inside and the liner is connected properly at the top? There appears to be two vents at head height, can you get one of them removed to have a look in? Try looking up at the flue with binoculars when the fire is lit in a range of weathers (rain, cold, damp, wind directions). Do the same at night with a bright torch, to see if there are any reflections of moisture running down the flue or wall.
  11. Muddy42
    I do use motomix in 2 strokes and find it works well,but this esso fuel is for my old quad
  12. Muddy42
    thanks I’ll stock up
  13. Muddy42
    is it still the case that Esso Synergy+ in England is ethanol free? Specifically near Luton? Im travelling for work and have brought some empty fuel cans, in case! Thanks
  14. Muddy42
    good idea
  15. Muddy42
    I agree it sounds like a fuel starve issue. You say the issue has reappeared, so I would try checking the whole fuel system again, for example sawdust or gunk could have got back into carb (tiny guaze filter). there are plenty of youtube videos showing you how to clean out a carb. Or as above the impulse line has come off. Also eliminate the simple things. Replace fuel and air filter, clean out the fuel tank, check tank breather is sucking air.
  16. Muddy42
    Indeed! One is always broken/blunt/jammed into a tree so you need another to get it out!
  17. Muddy42
    Just to add to what I said earlier, a 565 would be excellent size as a second crosscutting saw when milling with a bigger saw. That way you don't need to keep swapping one saw in and out of the mill. If it really is a decent price, go for it and upgrade later, you can never have too many saws! Just be aware you don't overheat or stress the saw. Leave the saw to idle for a while between cuts to warm up and cool down, keep the cutters really sharp, take your time and keep the kerf open with wedges applied by hand.
  18. Muddy42
    Those trees look a bit small and fiddly to process with machinery, but to your benefit the site looks nice and level. I'm aware of local firewood processors in Scotland offering £24 per tonne standing for about an estimated 300 tonnes of firewood. Its a b@stard of a location though (steep banks, lots of wet bits and streams) and access is not great. You get about double that if the wood is higher quality and fit for the mill.
  19. Muddy42
    What width of wood are you trying to create and is it hardwood or softwood? As described above, when milling, you lose at lease 4 inches of useable bar, plus its helpful to have a bit of wiggle room to allow for corners, branches, lumps and bumps. Then factor in the fact that the bark and outer layers of wood aren't that decorative or useful. 70 cc is generally considered the minimum power for a small mill. Yes you can make it work with lopro chain or even skip chain, but you'll always be right on the edge of the saws capabilities, even with a super sharp chain. Millings is really hard on saws and there are plenty of examples of saws that get burned out by this form of torture. If you havn't bought the saw yet, I'd seriously consider a more powerful saw. When milling you can use some of the older and cheaper second hand brake-less saws.
  20. Muddy42
    Or Jackdaws? They don't tend to like flues that are in use, but I've had them move in when I've been away for two weeks. They can put sticks down the chimney to try and form a base for a nest. Or the sweep in October might have disturbed the chimney pot or liner, causing an issue? Or there could be something wrong with the outflow from the stove to flue - broken vermiculite panel or baffle plate. Personally I'd want to separate the stove from the flue, clean the flue and remove all the ash with a dustpan and brush and then a hoover. Check the air intakes are working correctly not filled with ash and then smoke test flue and stove in turn with burning newspaper (open windows). Is the base of the firepan designed for multifuel (a grate - metal bars with gaps between them) or wood (flat surface)? If its the later don't use coal. Coal needs air and for the ash to escape easily, otherwise it slumbers and could easily cause CO.
  21. Muddy42
    Do this first. It is quite hard to have a carbon monoxide issue if the flue is lined and clean.
  22. Muddy42
    How thick is your recess? You can get as thin as 10mm deep double glazing panes made to measure. These are designed to replace single glazing. Once decorated they look great. Please use linseed oil putty rather than mastic. It looks better and will be more airtight as it expands and contracts in a similar way to wood and glass. Edit: sorry I just saw that you are concerned about them misting up. Modern units are meant to be way better than 1980s double glazing.
  23. Muddy42
    Thanks, learn something everyday. I do season wood as full lengths to save double handling logs and avoid having hundreds of IBC cage space. I think the rot is pretty minimal, mostly hardwood.. I also have an eco angus so its a fairly big scale operation.
  24. Muddy42
    I've always been told that if the wood is still rock hard and bound together by sap or covered in bark, the inner parts can't dry out, the water simply can't get out. You need to wash out the sap and effectively turn the wood into a bundle of straws. I understand though that a semi rotten wood theoretically has less energy BTUs, but maybe that the price you pay for a clean burn? I guess you could test this - measure the moisture on the outside and then split the log and measure the inside. Really wet logs hiss when you burn them. Isn't it the fact that the wood is wet that makes it burn cooler and dirtier. Maybe a kiln can dry the inside of green logs? i have no experience with kiln dried logs.
  25. Muddy42
    Agreed. I believe seasoning wood is a two stage process. First it needs to sit outside, to let rain wash out all the lignin, sap and starts the rotting process, then it needs to dry out. By the end a good sign is if the bark and some of the outside wood is starting to flake off.

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