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I think Stihl recommends 89 octane minimum. I have fairly easy access to ethanol free 91 octane, so I always buy that and add Sta-bil to it. I haven't had any issues keeping it up to at least a year.Quote:
Originally Posted by mooseknuckle
I used to drain tanks and run dry in the winter, but I quit doing that with the ethanol free, stabilized gas. Anyone see any need for draining with good fuel?
Same here. Though I try, with mixed results, to remember to drain the saw and run it dry during the winter.Quote:
Originally Posted by zion zig zag
Wasn’t aware of minimum recommended octane.Quote:
Originally Posted by zion zig zag
I only use stabil at the end of the season to tide over mixed fuel I’m not going to readily use in 3-4 months. Try to run them dry, but don’t think it really matters if winterized with stabil or similar.
Knock on wood - have had zero carb problems since exclusively using non-ethanol gas in tractor and saws/small engine equipment. Going on 5+ years with the above protocol and no problems after a series of disappointments leading up to that as a result of my laziness in not seeking out the right gas.
My local Stihl dealer - they tend to serve the loggers and arborists around - was keen on using Stihl's pre-mix fuel if the saw is to sit. It ain't cheap, but they recommended it over the saw sitting dry. Is it legit? Dunno yet.
My two saws just had their chains sharpened, so I'm anxious to get back out and finish felling some small trees on the property. I'll get some 2-stroke power tools stoke soon.
http://bcforestsafe.org/training/fal.../training.html the BC fallers training vids are probably your best source of how-to in clear concise English ( buddy doesnt even say eh) no crackerese or depending on god to keep you safe
if you read the free manual that come with your saw it tells you to use 89 octane premium, if you need to run premium in a vehical that will cost you alot per year but in a lawnmower/ saw/ snowblower its a VERY small amount of money per year to run premium, as opposed to getting a carb rebuilt so I run premium always.
If I didnt use the 10 0r 20 liters of fuel in the jerry can its now winter I ain't gona use it instead of storing it I thro it in an empty truck dilute with RUG the truck don't care if there is some premix oil, so I turn my fuel over very often
all the Sthil are orange & grey, all the husky are plain orange, all the Jonsered are red, all the models from one maker look exfuckingzactly the same and the numbers don't mean shit to someone who doesnt know saws so a homeowner saw looks just like an industrial grade saw, if you want a goer that will rip and last forever go industrial and IME I need google to figure it out if a saw is a goer or a dog, often the model #'s people quote are not the goers
For winter storage I would spalsh a litte stabil in the tank run it a bit and dump out the excess
For better or worst, I’m still using av fuel in my small carburetor engines: generator, blower, saws, weedwacker. The saws and the genie get some use in the wet season. I’ve left mixed av fuel in a saw all winter and it fired right up and ran well afterwards. Other that the bottled pre-mix, it’s the only good source of non-ethanol fuel around. I don’t feel great that it’s leaded fuel, but...
I read on the can of bottled premix that it is stabil for 2 years after opening the can. Another reason to pay for it.
The reliability of all my small engines has increased significantly thanks to that stuff.
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I prefer to leave the saw with a full tank of non ethanol stabilized fuel. Otherwise condensation could get inQuote:
Originally Posted by Bobcat Sig
Timberridge did you try taking the rakers down on the still chain?
B-cat, 100% on the fuel-in-a-can stuff for overwintering. A carburetor is a terrible thing to waste.Quote:
Originally Posted by cat in january
CIJ, I did not...but good idea. I'll lay the Stihl and Husky chain side by side and see if I can tell the difference.
I recently picked up an Atlas 80V electric from Harbor Freight, they had it bundled with a lawnmower and I needed one anyway so got them both. So far it's been pretty useful but the chain it came with sucked (big surprise). I picked up a new bar and chain and it has been great for cleaning up downed stuff and small trees around my property. The lawnmower is pretty nice too, RWD for the win ;) Battery life is decent, the thing is pretty light so it's easy to handle for a dumbass like me and I don't have to deal with any of these ethanol gas problems anymore that have ruined every small engine I've had in the last 10 years.
D Doug Dent saysQuote:
Originally Posted by Meadow Skipper
Wait for it
Don’t cut that tree!
Attachment 347687Attachment 347688Just freshened up my Husky 395 with a new light weight Oregon bar (36”), new oil and gas caps, and new filters.
I got a new kill switch too, but haven't put it on yet. What came first the shitty switch or the overstock parts of the shitty switch? They have been using the same shitty switch for damn near 30 years. Parts guy didn’t even check the book for a number.
The lighter bar is way better.
Just switched to a 32" lightweight bar on a Stihl 462. What a difference. I think it has me making more precise cuts.
462 is a beast in the power to weight department.
Replaced my 362 with it this year. Great saw. Good balance, and nimble for the amount of power. Thinking about getting it hopped up, but almost want more to hold on to.
I was talking to a local faller who has been at it for 30+ years not a big guy either, runs 3 of those hopped up 461's, sez they are the best saws he has ever run, tells me its a > 6month wait to get them modifyed by the guy who knows
My 38 magnum's muffler just gave in. Starting to get hard to get parts, but other than an oiler, and a couple sprockets, it's cost me nothing but consumable parts. Not bad for a $800 saw bought in '95. I also liked the 44 it was shelved with, but didn't need 2 saws and the 38 was better for firewood, so the 44 got traded for a fridge at the cabin. Those stihls in the 70cc range just cant't be beat. If I replaced the 38 for a new 461, I expect it would be a candidate for the lifetime purchase thread.
anybody know of an attachment for sawing old dead snags while you stand back and don't get killed?
Pull em down with a rope or cable.Quote:
Originally Posted by whipski
Hinge and start a back cut then pull.
I use a snatch block (logging pulley) so I can pull the tree away from me with a PTO logging winch behind a compact tractor.
Here you go.Quote:
Originally Posted by whipski
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kR-VTcN5Mes
that fucking thing should be called the Once-ler.Quote:
Originally Posted by Meadow Skipper
That was nuts.Quote:
Originally Posted by Meadow Skipper
They said they made the effort to keep the bear 'safe' by blocking its egress from either the den entrance, or into the saw blade above. Still not sure why they didn't just postpone the felling until spring. Hope little bruin was/is able find a new den before too long into winter.
I just got my new Stihl 462 back from getting tuned. All sexed up. Ya know. A little more power. Haven’t played with it much but the bitch neighbor next door gave me the perfect opportunity this morning at 7:03. After opening a wonderful (1000% condescending and super disrespectful to my mrs.) letter from her about a snag that snapped and fell like 8 months ago, that now she suddenly needs taken care of and has a proposal from the d bags in Rutland, I decided it was time to let her know the proposal was not needed and she could kindly go fuck herself.
Needless to say, snag is cut, her wall is safe and my saw... it’s stupid fast and powerful. And the cops told her she was up shits creek without a paddle... no noise ordinance and she shouldn’t of been so mean in her letter to us.... looks like I’ll be cutting wood a lot over the next few mornings.
That’s the way to get work done.Quote:
Originally Posted by SoVT Joey
Does it have to be felled to protect property or life? If not leave it be.Quote:
Originally Posted by whipski
I think that saw attachment is called “a proper sawyer”. Like somebody that actually knows how to cut it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Storm Hood
Bought some property and have been cleaning it up here and there with a small 435e Husq that does just fine for what I'm up to. But I also need to clear a bunch of very tall doug firs, some hemlock as well near my house that I am obviously under qualified to manage since I dont want my daughters' rooms to have sunroofs. Let's say I had 20 trees that I wanted gone, and while the eventual firewood would be nice, I am more concerned with keeping costs low. With that sort of volume, are lumber mills commonly interested in safely dropping trees in exchange for the wood?
Depends a lot on your local log market. Doug fir here is about $100/m3 and hemlock $90/m3 sawlog received at the mill. Another $30/m3 for peelers (fir). Truck holds 30-50m3 depending on axle config. Log market in the US is maybe 30% higher in values even before the exchange? Lumber is at all-time NA $ highs and log shortages are widespread here in the land of hewers.Quote:
Originally Posted by Art Shirk
Falling and loading are probably near $60 to $70/m3, depending on your property's location and layout. Then truck the log to the mill. If you have a half load of peeler Fd and a load of sawlog, logging contractor might take it off your hands at no cost to you but the site clean-up.
No idea your local market, but hit up any local log yards, woodlots, or community forests in your area, they should have a list of logging contractors that are geared for small lot harvest.
Thanks BCMH - I will call around a bit. I'm on an island in the Puget Sound so this all may be more hassle than its worth for someone else, especially based on the margins in your math.Quote:
Originally Posted by BCMtnHound
Sure, go ahead and throw coastal grading and island access costs into your estimate request!
Coastal sawlog Doug fir is about $200+/m3, hemlock about the same as the interior. Top price for Fd specialty grades could be much higher, maybe 3X sawlog value. Get a proper appraiser in for the Fd if their diameters are above 50cm/2'. Costs on getting it off your little island, I'll abstain from conjecture.
Big wind event in much of California this week. We had one of our neighbor’s beetle kill pondo pines fall onto our property. Broke about three feet above the ground. No damage, but it could have fallen on another neighbor’s house. It makes me glad that I cut down our very large beetle killed pondo a few years ago. Usually, the beetle kill ponderosa pines snap at their top and the rest of the trunk turns into a snag and rots in place, but occasionally, the whole thing will drop and make a mess.
If you had to remove this, how’d you do it? It’s a giant sequoia in Yosemite from the wind event.
Attachment 359031
^ Is it yours? Can you sell it? I imagine someone around there might want to have some sequoia wood. Maybe some salvage gyppos.
I saw some pics of the windthrow in Yosemite NP. Ouch. The campgrounds looked scary with several vehicles crushed. Didn't hear if anyone was hurt.
Not mine. Yosemite. Mine was a pondo pine. Maybe 28” dbh. It’s hard for me to understand scale of that sequoia. The Yosemite FB page said that it was a large one from the Mariposa Grove.Quote:
Originally Posted by Meadow Skipper
The root wad looks so small for such a large tree, and no big roots. Is that normal for sequoia, or maybe too much soil compaction from the tourists perhaps?
Good question. Supposedly, failure from wind events if the main cause of death for that species.
I imagine they’ll just leave it there.Quote:
Originally Posted by bodywhomper
yup
And just reroute that trail (or whatever that is that it fell across).