Spent the afternoon cutting Oak

I will buy that. Another technical item about this fuel ( Tru-fuel) is it's octane rating. On the can it's stated at 92. I tested this and it does meet this rating. DM
 
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I use premium when I can (local station didn't carry it for a while when gas was pushing $4 here - local means within 50 miles :D ), also use a steel gas can - plastic breaths and your fuel turns to varnish if left more than a few months.

The thin, dry air around here is really hard on 2-cycle engines, or any air cooled engine really. After seeing many local guys going through a saw in 3 years or so under moderate to heavy homeowner use (not pro use), I started running 32:1. Seems to help, I don't have any of the compression problems I see with neighbor's saws (and no one's worried about a bit of blue smoke out here - that 50:1 deal is for cities in my book).

EDIT: I may have to look for some of that Tru-Fuel. Seems expensive, but if it helps your vastly more expensive equipment last a lifetime, then I figure you're ahead.
 
That's the way I saw it. You don't have to mix anything and no ethanol & it gives you good power. Near me it's sold at Tractor Supply & ACE
Hardware. After Harvey hit it was hard for us to get premium grade. DM
 
serotina said:
I use premium when I can (local station didn't carry it for a while when gas was pushing $4 here - local means within 50 miles :D ), also use a steel gas can - plastic breaths and your fuel turns to varnish if left more than a few months.

The thin, dry air around here is really hard on 2-cycle engines, or any air cooled engine really. After seeing many local guys going through a saw in 3 years or so under moderate to heavy homeowner use (not pro use), I started running 32:1. Seems to help, I don't have any of the compression problems I see with neighbor's saws (and no one's worried about a bit of blue smoke out here - that 50:1 deal is for cities in my book).

EDIT: I may have to look for some of that Tru-Fuel. Seems expensive, but if it helps your vastly more expensive equipment last a lifetime, then I figure you're ahead.
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TrueFuel is readily available in Canada but the darn stuff runs $9 - 12 (tax incl) for a quart (950 ml). So we're talking a substantial chunk of change even if you only go through a couple of gallons every year. Premium gasoline is expensive enough as it is ($1.35 litre in Ottawa) but if you only buy 4 litres (a gallon) at a time and get in the habit of running small engines dry and pouring 3 month old fuel (mixed or not) into your car/truck you can't go wrong.
The idea of a metal gas can to address evaporation is a good one but when you change out fuel on a 3 month basis there shouldn't be any real need.
 
Thank you all for your information. We use premixed fuel or we mix it here, there is not common to see ethanol users. They sell it in few places but have never seen anybody using it.

What do you mean when you refer to premium fuel? We have two types of gasoline here, the difference is in the octane rating not in quality. We use lower grade gasoil for agricultural use, do you mean simmilar gasoline?

My question about David's chainsaw comes from our local myth. Here the vast majority of users want and prefer Shtill over anything, if you ask for any other branches they say it's not comparable to it. I see people so close minded it looks like a religion. I wanted to know real user experience.

David I love when you said you cut your wood with axe ans saw for years. Great experience. Have you read about cordwood challenge?


The wood I cut in the video is poplar, easy to cut wood.
 
Ugaldie said:
Thank you all for your information. We use premixed fuel or we mix it here, there is not common to see ethanol users. They sell it in few places but have never seen anybody using it.

What do you mean when you refer to premium fuel? We have two types of gasoline here, the difference is in the octane rating not in quality. We use lower grade gasoil for agricultural use, do you mean simmilar gasoline?

My question about David's chainsaw comes from our local myth. Here the vast majority of users want and prefer Shtill over anything, if you ask for any other branches they say it's not comparable to it. I see people so close minded it looks like a religion. I wanted to know real user experience.
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There are three common grades of gasoline in Canada: 87, 91 and 94 octane. 94 is usually referred to as 'premium' or 'hi-test'. Many folks mistakenly believe premium contains more energy but in truth it merely contains additives that prevent premature detonation in higher compression engines. However 94 octane is the sole remaining gasoline that has not been adulterated with ethanol. 25 years ago 5% ethanol gas became available but nowadays 15% is standard fare in the lowest grade. Already 20 years ago I discovered my carbureted Ford pickup truck wouldn't start (or even re-start) whenever temperatures dipped below -20C. Ethanol does not vaporize (remains a liquid) at that temperature and won't atomize through carburetor jets! Switching back to non-alcohol gasoline immediately solved the problem.

It's interesting that the Japanese never got into the chainsaw business! You would have thought Suzuki, Yamaha and Honda would have taken over the entire market had they entered it. Stihl has become the industry leader for construction and forestry engines out this way. At one time Jonsereds was highly regarded for commercial purposes but I haven't seen any lately. I melted the pistons and ruined the engine of a Homelite during an emergency cleanup of a huge maple tree that fell over a house and immediately bought a Stihl. 25 years later it's still serving me well. As far as I'm concerned these guys make first class stuff!
 
yep, if you guys got enough wood, the cordwood's coming around again. i dont have nearly enough small wood for that. all i got is 18" and thicker. looking forward to see if you guys do it though
 
Ugaldie said:
My question about David's chainsaw comes from our local myth. Here the vast majority of users want and prefer Shtill over anything, if you ask for any other branches they say it's not comparable to it. I see people so close minded it looks like a religion. I wanted to know real user experience.
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coming from one of my canadian friends that has used saws since he was 12 (now almost 49), old mculloch saws have more torque, husqavarna's run smooth and stihls get the job done. they're a good all around saw from what i'v heard.

i guess the church of stihl came by because it was the mid 70's, in the middle of the "revolution" (just when saws started cutting like modern saws) and in comes this fancy clean looking saw that could keep up with the best. im not sure but it was probably comparably priced in order to be competitive.

couple that with the idea germans design everything to perfection and you have yourself a fancy looking, german made chainsaw that could keep up with the best.

it was probably a status symbol too, you wanna be the guy with the run of the mill homelite XL95 that everyone and their grandma has or do you wanna be the guy with the new flashy german stihl 030AV
 
phantomknives said:
coming from one of my canadian friends that has used saws since he was 12 (now almost 49), old mculloch saws have more torque, husqavarna's run smooth and stihls get the job done. they're a good all around saw from what i'v heard.

i guess the church of stihl came by because it was the mid 70's, in the middle of the "revolution" (just when saws started cutting like modern saws) and in comes this fancy clean looking saw that could keep up with the best. im not sure but it was probably comparably priced in order to be competitive.

couple that with the idea germans design everything to perfection and you have yourself a fancy looking, german made chainsaw that could keep up with the best.

it was probably a status symbol too, you wanna be the guy with the run of the mill homelite XL95 that everyone and their grandma has or do you wanna be the guy with the new flashy german stihl 030AV
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Homelite chinzed on everything in the 1980s- 90s quest to remain competitive against foreign markets. I don't know what Stihl did but they were smart about it. Motors that are perpetually hard to pull-start and are unreliable are wonderful free advertising for competitor products that aren't.
By the way I've tangled with German engineering on Audis and VWs and have been less than impressed. Leave it to the Yankees (at least until 20 years ago) to be able to engineer something that is simple and is cheap and easy to fix. Japan and Korea were exposed to this philosophy in the 50s and took it to heart.
 
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I do not know about the cord-wood challenge. I have not owned a Stihl. So,--- can't comment. This Spring I will purchase a Stihl weed eater.
I don't want to get deeper into petroleum chemistry. As I wanted to keep it on wood cutting. Our grades of gasoline are 86-87 is unleaded, 88-89 Plus and 90-91 Premium. In our state we allow up to 10% ethanol blend in these gasolines. (it is a splash blend method) If over that we take enforcement action. We test a sample at the pump and it must meet or exceed the posted octane. I enjoy cutting wood & working outdoors. Thank you gents. DM
 
There are usually 3 grades here, all based on octane rather than quality per se. Usually I see lower octane grades offered at higher elevations - the 87 octane in AZ is 86 where I live, and I've seen as low as 85 in parts of Colorado. When I lived in Tucson and they first started using ethanol added fuel, it was only in the winter for smog reduction, and I seem to recall that it was across all grades (but that was many years ago so I wouldn't swear to it). Usually we can assume that premium does not have ethanol added however.

I tend to run Stihls, but more because there's a Stihl dealer in every town out here and just one or two Husky dealers that I know of. A lot of people get into brand loyalty between the two, but I'd still be using my early 1970's Homelites if the parts were easy to find!
 
serotina said:
I'd still be using my early 1970's Homelites if the parts were easy to find!
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while ago i found the perfect candidate for a bow bar, nice old homelite C-5. i guess its hit and miss with parts i found the parts i needed pretty quick
 
Miller, I've always thought cutting wood helps me get some winter exercise and it keeps our house warm. Which my wife likes. Then there is
that element of cleaning up the forest and helping it be healthy. Then the savings of heating our home. Here a cord of oak sells for 300$
and that doesn't include delivery, splitting and stacking. So, I figure we save 1000$ each year minus the cost of the saw, fuel and oil. DM
 
Hello DM

I definetly share in your reasoning for us and our small bit of wooded yard here, couple acres.
Yes here I imagine if I tried to get only oak it would cost about the same if not a little more. The sellers of cord wood around here primarily have hardwood mix...mixed with whatever they think is a hardwood.
My wife, my boys and of course I too love a fire in the fireplace. It's inefficient, but it utilizes 1935 technology of air flow called a heatilator. So I can close the glass doors and the lower vents draw in the cold, forcing it around the flue and back into the living room out the upper near ceiling vents. It's not efficient heating but for the living room, kitchen and up the stairs to the room at the head of the stairs it does the trick. Power outages happen and thankfully the fireplace keeps us and the pipes from freezing:thumbsup:
I sometimes get lucky and hook up with a guy or company that is limbing or felling, white oak sometimes elm or maple in a yard or roadside and will ask and take what i can load in the truck.
The past several years I would register with the state of CT forest service lottery to fell and or cut downed, selected trees and take two cords worth for $60 a cord.
This year they suspended the program due to budget constraints and lack of interest I read.
Which Is crazy because in the past five years I was never selected and I am most interested.
You live in beautiful country sir.
-Miller
 
I agree, thank you. Gees that sounds like a good program. Wish they hadn't stopped it.
Something that's done here is the farmers after trimming their pecan orchards (and we have a lot of them here) they will sell the wood
by the pick up load. All you can get on it for 70$. It's a by-product and they don't make anything on it. Just want it to leave their farm.
But it's PECAN. A good burning hard wood. It's mostly limb wood, no trunk unless a tree dies. Still, it's a good deal and people line up for
it. They trim the orchards after harvest this month. So, look around and find some. Then get on his list as a repeat customer. DM
 
I cut it, then split it at the site. Then loaded it and now my German Shorthair is making sure everything is good for the ride home. I have 1.75 cords on hand and January is nearly over. With not much winter hitting us this year, I think we'll be ok. The Hults Burks is my best splitting axe
with it's weight (4 lbs.) and cheeks. The Wards Master Craftsman is the best limbing ax I've used. It has more taper in the cheeks and weighs 3.5 lbs.. I'm lucky I have these 2 for cutting wood. DM
 
Looks like you're gonna stick your axe in the dirt and rocks splitting into the ground like that.
 
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