Muddy42

Can you just clarify that you are not just lining an existing chimney, but putting in a totally new run in what is presumably a modern house? Assuming its the later, I agree with you that visible twin wall flues look horrible. Personally I would go with single wall in the house and twin in the roof. BUT you need an installer that you can trust, that should be able to advise you. This also should make it compliant with the various regs and you have more justification to go back to them should something go wrong. Unfortunately (and I've posted about this ad nauseam) modern stoves have very precise tolerances for draft, flue height, flue insulation etc. Get it slightly wrong and the stove will smoke into the room. The stoves operating manual will advise you. Plus because modern houses are airtight, stoves sometimes need a dedicated piped air supply from the outside. I spoke to these guys before buying and they were really helpful. Search results for: 'liner' WWW.STOVESPARESLTD.CO.UK UK premier supplier of woodburning & multi fuel stove spares & parts at LOW prices with fast delivery.

Thanks for all your help. As its the only gas I have, I used this and swapped back to normal wire on the mower deck. Yes there was splatter, but I can tell the weld is penetrating better and is stronger. For the remaining holes, I stopped trying to do fancy but joints and made patches to overlap the holes and welded them from both sides. Its a mower so strength and function is more important than looks. Back to the gas, I guess that explains why I was getting amazing results with this heavy gas on thicker metal then. But for thick stuff I was also getting pretty decent results with flux core. So once this is used up I'll get some 5% stuff. Thanks again.

Ah OK, its good that you have seen it in person, ignore me then. Maybe I am just seeing problems that aren't there. I've just welded some extra metal support onto a stove that had buckled slightly at the back (probably because I overheated it).

If you are getting one saw I would go for the MS400, its amazing BUT you mention storm damage (where branches are often tangled or up in the air) wanting to reduce weight and vibrations. You can probably get a vehicle close. Your cutting sounds very similar to me. This is classic territory for two saws - a small one for cutting out brash and smaller stuff, then swap to the big saw to log the trunk. At this stage access has been improved, you can use the big saw close to your body and the weight matters less. Keep the 08 for this. I always say that everyone should have a 50-ish cc saw like the MS261 and saw a say a 14/16 inch bar. Light as a feather (4.9kg), so you can use it all day and punches way above its weight in terms of power.

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.

Yup, if its an old saw the carb could probably do with a good clean out with carb spray and new diaphragms. There are plenty of youtube videos about this. Clean the screen, jets and check the metering arm height.

brown carpet? no mess and hoover-able.

Does it start quicker with a shot of fuel in the spark plug hole? If so Id guess it has a fuel delivery issue. Have you checked the fuel tank vent is clear, replace fuel filter, check fuel lines are intact, or try replacing the air filter. It could benefit from a carb kit and cleaning out the little filter in the carb.

I might be wrong, but don't modern two stroke engines use more advanced materials (in the fuel line/impulse line/carb diaphrams) than older machines? This is why the manuals say you can use pump fuels below a certain ethanol content. I still keep an eye out for fraying or cracks. Its annoying that esso premium fuel now contains 5% ethanol. One day I might start removing the ethanol with coloured water.

I have diesel cars, so I fill the car with diesel, return the hose and then wave a 5l petrol can at the cashier and make a sign for them to reset the counter and then I pay for both. If they see me they generally play ball. You are on CCTV so you can't do a runner.

That's a very good explanation. I found the problem with my eco stove was lack of control - I couldn't give it enough air when starting up but I couldn't close it down enough (without stopping the air wash) when it was thumping along. Hence why I have opened up the air intake and temporarily closed the permanent air holes on the back with a bolt.