tips and tricks?

[Stumper]

$2.98 per gallon at our local Wal-Mart.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Well, I wuz kinda rounding up...

 

[Koa Man]

Bar oil is $2.64 a gal at our Walmart. I usually buy 10 gals. at a time.

 

[Stumper]

Amazing, one would expect the price to be higher out there in the middle of the Pacific!

 

[Davidsinatree]

Bar oil used to be more costly than motor oil so I would use motor oil back then, now its the other way around.

The only gismo I can think of is the wood box I biult under the living room floor right next to the fire place. The lid is covered with carpet so it blends right into the floor. Have a small handle on it to open it up to grab some fire wood when needed. I fill it from the basement, as there is a door close by leading outside to the wood pile.Keeps about a days worth of wood at your finger tips & out of sight. NO WOOD CHIPS GETTING DROPPED all over the carpet from bringing wood in. I burn at least 4 cords a year. Not many people notice its there but those who do think its really cool.
If you have a skill-saw, hammer & nails biuld yur self one you will like it.

 

[TimberMcPherson]

Husky spanners are smaller than the stihl ones and easy to keep in the pocket of your chainsaw pants so its always there to adjust chains, pry apart tight knots, use to stop a cut from closing up, dig out fencing staples, edge wetas out of crevasses, and open fuel caps.

The amount of time you save from having one on you at all times youll notice big time when you work with others.

When doing alot of top handled saw in a tree I take camping fuel bottles up, the rings on top just snap into biners and they are a good size for the task if you only need a couple of fill ups. They are pretty easy to carry in the tree to.

 

[Tree Machine]

Timber, That's a good one. Sometimes when you know you're going to be in the tree a long time, bringing up an extra fillup can keep the momentum moving on.

For me, this doesn't really happen all that often, but when it does I have two emptied 2-cycle bottles, wired together. One gets gas, the other gets VO. I like the idea of having the fuel and VO in camping fuel bottles, though. Those caps will never leak, and I know they pour well. Are the caps tied on so they won't drop to the ground? Also, they come in colors and are virtually indestructable.

Do you tie them off in the first crotch as soon as you get into the tree?, or do you tie em high so they won't get possibly whacked with a falling limb?

Hey Timber, I'll tell you what VO is if you tell me how the heck you edge a weta out of a crevice with a spanner. -TM-

 

[TimberMcPherson]

Well you have to kinda get the point behind the weta to convince it out of the hole, Tap them on the back legs. it can be differcult but it beats trying to get them out with your hand.

I attach the lid with some light cord and attach it to the bottle with a tight zip tie to the neck of the bottle. I put it in a central station of the tree on a sling, or sometime on the tail of my climbing line so i can have it in my hands as soon as I need it.

VO is vodka and orange?

 

[Tree Machine]

How to beat a weta

Ohhhh...... that's a weta. I'm real clear now, and I have a feeling a few other guys are too.

I don't have wetas. I don't have anything in the trees short of flying mammals that are as big as your weta. I have to say your weta is pretty frickin scary. Rocky J Squirrel comes across some fierce beasties in the trees, but I don't know if even he has wetas.

OK, back to tips and tricks. No, I don't bring vodka and orange up into the tree. VO is vegetable oil. Thought I'd throw that in as an environmental plug. I used to use my used chipper oil in my oil tank, but it STINKS. I thought I was doing some environmental favor by reusing my waste oil, but Stumper laid it out real well. It's much worse than clean, regular bar oil.

As long as we're on tips and tricks and oil, here's a way I drain the oil from a used oil filter from the chipper. -TM-

 

[rbtree]

Yep taking a VO and mix in similar bottles aloft could cause gastrointestinal problems, or worse, if one also lit a cancer stick....


...boom!!!

 

[Koa Man]

When changing oil filters on my truck or chipper, I place a ziploc bag over the filter after I loosen it, then take it off. Keeps everything nice and clean.

 

[Tree Machine]

Now THAT is a good tip !

Loosen the filter a bit, then sleeve a Ziplock over it, then spin it off. Koa, I thank you, the environment thanks you.

Let's stick with the Oil issue for a few replies. If you're smart, you have someone do your oil for you. If you're like me, you do your oil yourself. This practice needs to be doneresponsibly so as not to spill a drop. Used oil gets taken to your local mechanic shop, and is eventually recycled. The act of transfering oil from machine to container (and vice versa), and the storing of it, is something that affects all who change their own oil. I'd like to hear some tips and tricks for dealing with this issue.

My chipper has a 1 gallon oil capacity, making it convenient. I change the oil regularly as that is the life-blood of an air-cooled engine. I change the filter every second or third oil change ( I am NOT recommending anyone do it like that).

Here's a funnel I came up with one day. It uses an Arizona Tea bottle for it's unusual heft as a plastic bottle. And it's pretty good tea. -TM-

 

[Koa Man]

Over here all of our combustible trash is taken to H-Power, which is burned to provide electrical power. The county recommends pouring the used oil in oil change boxes, which is filled with a plastic liner and absorbent material, and then placing it in the trash to be burned. The oil change boxes sold here will hold about 5 quarts. They cost about a couple bucks each. My chipper holds about 15 quarts of oil. I usually make a few bags of wood chips and pour the used oil over that to be sent to H-Power.

 

[Tree Machine]

I sort of 100% disagree with me, too, hence,

( I am NOT recommending anyone do it like that).

Dinking with the filter EVERY change, aside from being the messiest aspect, what can I say? It's a 4 cylinder, air-cooled engine that holds 4 liters of oil.

There's no question, Rocky J, that dirty oil will be left in the filter, which will immediately pollute the fresh oil you're about to put in. But if the integrity of the filter media does strain out, and hold the particles, the tainted oil does its job and gets dirty as engine oil will.

Remember, this is an every other oilchange thing. This practice is bunk for anything larger than a 6" capacity chipper, and so applies hardly to anyone but me. So,... on to more tips and tricks? Do you guys store it in a 5-gallon re-labelled gas can?

Anybody got any great dispensing methods for 'bar oil-to-saw'? I'm willing to bet there are a few above-average ideas out there. The best I've come up with is the cap spout for Gear Oil affixed to a cap of the Arizona Tea jug. -TM-

 

[Tree Machine]

Ooops, wrong image. I've had that one around for years just waiting to use it. Here's the right image. -TM-

 

[Stumper]

I also have a chipper with a small air cooled engine. The Manufacturor's recommended change interval is every 100 hours and change filter every other oil change. What TM never specifically mentioned is that there is a presumption that aircooled engines "wear out" oil quicker. Of course Brian is correct that the oil doesn't wear out but higher operating temps presumably break down the additive packages more quickly. Thus, the equipment makers want the oil changed faster than filters get clogged.

 

[Lumberjack]

On bad cuts I pull it open immediantlly and squirt it full of super glue and stick it closed. It works well for me. It also works for when you cut or bight a nail in the quick.


Carl

 

[Ax-man]

Since the subject of oil filters has come up. check into using larger capacity oil filters than what would be standard. It isn't possible to get larger capacity filters for all machines or trucks, but if you can it saves on intervals between oil changes and keeps the oil cleaner due to the increased filtering capacity.

If you have a filter that is vertical fill it with oil before installing, that way the oil pump can pick up the oil immediiately and start pumping oil into the engine, instead of having to fill the filter first then start pumping oil up into the engine. this eliminates that little dead spot in the oil flow after you change your oil and restart the engine.

 

[SilverBlue]

Dirt is only one problem with oil, gas dilution due to incomplete combustion and water contamination has to be factored in. heat is a factor to consider as well will break down oil and it’s additives which is why we have to change oil. What particle size does the filter handle? And you have to realize that a filter does not filter all the time, the bypass valve will open at a specific pressure, which means that you may not be filtering during cold starts or certain rpm.

Remote filter adapters will allow you to plumb two filters inline or even adapt a higher quality filter. Magnetic drain plugs can hold iron filings and there are screens that act as a warning system as well. Got an old speaker lying around? Remove the magnet and place it on the bottom of the oil pan near the drain plug.

 

[Tree Machine]

Thank you, panel. Most of us would rather never change the oil, but it's a reality in keeping your money maker making money.

"Every 100 hours and filter change every other oilchange"

My hour-meter broke the first month I had the chipper and has been stuck at 43 hours ever since. I change my oil intuitively, when it looks kinda grungy or when the weather is super hot and I'm asking a lot of the machine. Silver Blue gives a wealth, in a short space, that it's not only dirt (which a good air filter will keep from entering), gas dilution from incomplete combustion and water. Water is a product of combustion. As well, water comes in as humidity via the air intake.

Water is my main problem, much bigger issue than dark oil. You would think the running temperature of the engine would evaporate every molecule of water, but it's not true. My chipper engine has a long tube, into which you pour your fresh oil. When the temps are cool, this tube stays cooler than the engine temps, and water from the oil evaporates off and condenses on the inside walls of the tube as a white, creamy substance that looks like lithium grease. But it's water and whatever oil additives or detergents that keeps moisture dispersed in the oil and prevents it from recoalescing into pockets of water-water in your engine. The engine manufacturer told me this was unavoidable, happens to all air-cooled engines (loosly translated meaning ALL engines) and that it doesn't hurt the engine.

Hmmmm. That white, greasy looking stuff collecting on the inside of the oil tube will, when the temps get hot enough, 'melt' and flow back into the engine oil. This visual evidence doesn't happen in warmer weather, but I'm sure the actual process of the water being in there does happen. If I go too long, the oil will take on a slight opaqueness, and look slightly milky. Now it's time for an oil change AND filter.

I see merit on bigger capacity filters, or dual filters on the larger engines, but on the small, weenie engines like me and Stumper, frequent inspection and regular changes.

Hey, has anybody installed a petcock in place of the drain plug? A stainless steel ball valve? I understand the inherent potential dangers, but is anyone doing this? A valve, with a short tube coming vertically down off of it would allow you to stick that tube directly into the collection jug, open the petcock, and not a drop would be spilled. No need for funnels or tools. The wrenchless oil change. Anybody? -TM-