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Trailoftears

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Everything posted by Trailoftears

  1. Trailoftears
    It depends of course on many factors-rootstock/variety/available space/customer requirements and so on.I see so many Apple trees that have been 'clipped' on their top growth until they resemble elevated witches brooms.Always a good starting point-dead/diseased/badly placed branches-remove.Also ideally,allow as much light into the interior of the tree as possible to facilitate ripening of the interior fruits.Also ideally,you need to 'know' the individual-does it fruit heavily but with low-grade fruit?In which case,less is more-its far better to have 80 top quality apples as opposed to 250 mediocre fruits for most people.Also,a healthy Apple tree will react aggressively to over-heavy pruning.Look at the shape, don't shorten branches-but rather, within reason remove them entirely with a view to the heart and shape of the tree.Then be prepared to revisit the tree nxt spring to regulate and thin the inevitable unwanted basal shoots.
  2. Trailoftears
    It does look fungal-rust being the obvious culprit.It saddens me that peeps now seem to equate Rhodies with evil.Yes,Ponticum needs careful management/monitoring-particularly on the West coast of the U.K.Even so,its one of the few large shrubs that will flower well even under heavy shade in say,dark beechwoods.The worse thing you can do with ponticum is cut it right down-then it will re-trench and spread swiftly.If you want it gone,cut it down and immediately dig it out-shallow-rooted so easy to do. The saddest thing I've seen working in fairly historic Gardens is where new owners come in,heavily chop down beautiful hardy hybrids and don't understand they have just let the the old ponticum understock run riot.Whilst Rhodies are generally 'uncool' these days. There is no finer sight than Mrs furnival/pink pearl/sappho,nobleanum etc,etc at their peak on the edge of a woodland glade.
  3. Trailoftears
    I foolishly bought a ms 250 a few years back thinking it looked good on paper.An absolute pig,never ran properly or reliably in spite of going back to the stihl dealer more than once under warranty.A friday afternoon built saw/or just a pile of junk?Who can say,just shows Stihl products can occasionally be dismal too!
  4. Trailoftears
    Admittedly being a happy owner I have a dog in this race,but I find the 261 an absolute pleasure to use,reasonably lightweight,flexible with suprising power for its 50cc class.Its also a nice bonus to be able to buy the older picco super kit really cheaply and again it races thru most wood types on that particular setup.
  5. Trailoftears
    Just to repeat many comments on this thread,they got hold of me years ago-pushy salesman/expensive etc.Glad I didnt go down that road!Frankly,if you're in the place of being newish/keen to drum up business etc.Print out a couple of hundred flyers,give up an evening or so distributing them locally,from then on word of mouth will swiftly do the rest.
  6. Trailoftears
    A 1 bar stud setup will be more than adequate for your saw.You're right,the tooless system DOES feel sloppy.I think these plastic covers as fitted on stihls budget saws dont deal at all well with the inevitable heat build up over use and deform slightly.
  7. Trailoftears
    So I note with interest that the heavier stihl clearing saws now come with 12 point? Splined solid shafts as opposed to the square ended shafts as previously supplied in older generation stihl clearing saws.As an ex engineer,I find it hard to see why this is actually anywhere as robust as the old square,female,male shaft system?Also,the new sealed gearbox with no proviso for end-user lubrication makes me somewhat nervous given the heat/ workloads these gearheads can be exposed to?
  8. Trailoftears
    What I do know,the 4 wheel mowers drive/gearboxes rarely fail-if ever.If anything fails,it will be the friction clutch/ plate system,and that will rarely happen unless your regularly driving them up cliff-like slopes on a regular basis.I work mine hard on slopes and most do a good 3/4 year regime before the clutch slip becomes annoying.Even then,a clutch pair is about £35 on fleabay- no drama in my book.Had zero gearbox issues in spite of regular incline work in fairness.
  9. Trailoftears
    That may be true re:the rear roller models-I wouldnt know,but I would never buy ANY rear roller lawnmowers anyway-heavier/more complex rear axle/gearbox systems.Amusingly,some manufacturers recommend you push them gently to start-v.amusing in my book!Buy a £1000 mower and gently push them to start-methinks not.
  10. Trailoftears
    As an acterthought re: the mowers,honda-back in the day did an (almost) equally legendary series of mowers-the hr series-loads of parts still available for them-cables/carbs/blades etc.The kaaz mowers were/are better in 3 respects I would say, 1:open top viewable grass box with dust cover. 2.a much stronger hexagonal drive shaft. 3:a metal faced plastic impeller above the blade-so fan-assisted grass collection-important in the wet.Sadly,the cables aren't q. The same-but can be 'adapted' lol.However,the blades,carbs,air filters are all interchangeable.
  11. Trailoftears
    All I can comment on is the kaaz/sarp 4/stroke lawnmowers all made in Tokyo,Japan-rebadged+ re-coloured for lawnflite/danarm/kubota etc,etc.Basically the best mower(s) you can buy-hugely thick alloy deck,direct-drivechain,proper friction clutches and 2 speed,The finest honda engines-gx series.Not cheap but you'll probably never buy another mower.
  12. Trailoftears
    Speak as you find,the rotatech chains seem absolutely acceptable to me.Possibly/arguably they stretch a tad more on initiall use,but for most people they are absolutely fine.Also they are half the price of say,Stihl chains,if your just doing small fells/firewood/cleaning up trees,I doubt you'll be disappointed.
  13. Trailoftears
    I'd have to say get the 261, particularly if you have to buy all the infrastructure that goes with buying the battery one-charger,2/3 batteries etc.Also-I may be wrong on this,but I suspect the battery version may well come out heavier than the 261 with the recommended battery which I regard as a bit of a poisoned chalice tbh.The 261's sweet spot is probably a 16" bar,but it will cheerfully run an 18" too,also if you want to,it will feel bonkers on a 14" bar too.Probabably stihls best all round pro saw for most people's wants for q.a few years.
  14. Trailoftears
    Can only agree!viburnum and 2nd one deffo camellia-not necessarily japonica,could be williamsii,or reticulata or another 230 odd species!Japonica is usually a rounded shrub,Williamsii more upright and spreading- almost Ideal for up against a wall.If its Sinensis-have a cuppa tea 😁
  15. Trailoftears
    This is what I found,see gearbox base housing,that was black stihl grease when added!
  16. Trailoftears
    I must admit,when I open my gearboxes up there's generally far too much in there.Just renewed the blades on the stihl hl 94 c,which involved delving into greasy gearbox areas.So after imperfect 'cleaning' out of excess grease,have tried a minimal amount of blue/almost translucent car wheel bearing grease.Which I hope will be ok....gulp.
  17. Trailoftears
    I find it really shocking that the likes of J.deere can remotely switch off your shiny new state of the art tractor if you fail to make your monthly payment(s).Also repairing them is totally impossible
  18. Trailoftears
    Can I just reassure you that I DO have 2 peepers present+correct!More suprisingly to me all 10 fingers n toes too 😁
  19. Trailoftears
    Not strictly chainsaw gear,but took a punt on arbortecs waterproof smock for q.big bucks due to being terminally p*#ssed off with getting constantly soaked last couple of weeks.Shocked to see they use a crappy PLASTIC zip on the detachable hood.Failed on day 2.Wtf?Dont mind paying for quality gear but a PLASTIC zip on activewear.They'll not get custom from me again, thats for sure.
  20. Trailoftears
    I note honda have decided to retreat from the American market comeplety,which is q.a big shock given their quality gear
  21. Trailoftears
    So,a poisoned chalice-is 4 stroke gear the golden future where we all skip gaily into an environmently friendly future,or an absolutely short-term cynical move by major manufacturers to get round strict regs such as in California? Is mixing fuel as horrid and difficult as 4 stroke proponents claim?Why do stihl invite you to buy a 4 stroke where- horror of horrors you still have to MIX fuel!(yes,I know there's no sump involved!) Will we ever see a 4 stroke chainsaw?Are you happy to monitor the horrifically tiny amount of oil in 4 stroke machines+add complexity and valve clearance into your already busy life?Phew!
  22. Trailoftears
    Pondering too,with the best will in the world,I cant honestly think that any battery hedgetrimmer at this moment in time is either capable-or designed to deal with say,a 300 metre 8ft conifer hedge on a double building plot in comparison to a well-maintained big stihl single sided hedgetrimmer for which jobs like that are bread and butter.Hopefully that may change in the future,but leaving aside the luxury need of needing say6/8 batteries,I cant see a battery gearbox being designed for 4 hours non-stop work.
  23. Trailoftears
    As to battery gearboxes,I only have the cheapest 18v makita hedgetrimmer for sculpting stand-alone shrubs/bushes etc.Have sharpened the blades 2 or 3 times,inside the gearbox, there's an an almost transparent grease with no greasing point,so have left well alone.But given its useage,wouldnt expect to see extended use times/overheating issues needing new grease?
  24. Trailoftears
    As to saving money on any petrol gearboxes by the use of 'unsuitable' grease-seems a bit cheeseparing even bonkers behaviour given the minimal quantities required to me.Unless of course opening unfamiliar trashed gearboxes with several greasy sheared bits is your idea of a fun evening!
  25. Trailoftears
    Really uncomfortable that the stihl fs 40cc+models are now 'sealed for life' re: greasing the gear housing/heads.And it has to be said, I've heard some worryingly whiny noises on local authority contracters machines,which in my book is a sign of bad news coming! Intriguingly,there is a tiny allen grub screw on the gear head? Personally, I've now downgraded to the ms240 c due to a decent engine/1 kg weight loss over the entry level stihl clearing saws plus I get to grease the gear housing.The only penalty is a poorer 1 point a.v. system as opposed to 4 point on the clearing saws.

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