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1
Equipment / How to fix oiler?
« on: November 13, 2009, 06:42:36 PM »
I have a Homelite chainsaw with a non functioning chain oiler. Anyone have any idea how to get it working again or what the problem might be?
2
General Discussion / I took an oil bath
« on: October 18, 2009, 03:15:37 PM »
So I'm splitting away today, having a good time, working by myself, when the low pressure return line on my splitter ruptured, spraying hydraulic oil all over the splitter, my saw, gas can, and my left pant leg. What a mess. I know it was wearing out but I didn't realize it was that bad. It's always something.
3
Electronics / Pumps not running
« on: September 29, 2009, 03:15:50 AM »
We tried to start my Hardy H5 last night. It ran fine when we shut it down this spring. When we started it last night the circulation pumps would not come on. I have 2 of them-one on the furnace and one in the cellar on my preexisting oil burner. There are 2 little "jumper panels" on the back of the Hardy that the pump and blower are plugged into. You can unplug the pump from the jumper panel and put it onto another slot and the pump on the Hardy will run steady but the one in the basement will not run. All my power switches are turned on, the plugs have power, we ruled out the basics. The thermostat in the house is turned on. Also, my low water light is on and will not shut off even though the furnace is full and the float is not stuck.
Anybody have any ideas? Anyone ever have similar troubles?
Anybody have any ideas? Anyone ever have similar troubles?
4
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Summerizing
« on: May 22, 2009, 08:14:26 PM »
What do you guys usually do to summerize your setups? I usually just shut the power off and throw a bucket over the stack but I have grander plans for this summer. Of course, it's memorial day weekend and we still have oats and corn to plant and we haven't made a bale of hay yet, but I can dream...
I think I need grates. Mine are warping a little. They're still working fine-I just would rather change them now when the furnace is cold and the house is warm than in the winter when just the opposite is the case. I want to find some type of rain cap and I might replace the gasket rope around the doors and the gasket on the door for the blower fan. But really that's about it. Oh, and I need a new baffle for under the stack but I'll probably make that myself. It's just a small piece of stainless bent up on both ends.
I think I need grates. Mine are warping a little. They're still working fine-I just would rather change them now when the furnace is cold and the house is warm than in the winter when just the opposite is the case. I want to find some type of rain cap and I might replace the gasket rope around the doors and the gasket on the door for the blower fan. But really that's about it. Oh, and I need a new baffle for under the stack but I'll probably make that myself. It's just a small piece of stainless bent up on both ends.
5
General Discussion / Getting to know one another
« on: March 20, 2009, 08:19:23 PM »
This thread may bomb, but I figure it's worth a shot. I imagine some privacy hounds may not want to play along and that's fine, but I was thinking that a lot of us have become regulars and we really don't know much about each other so I'm going to come up with a few questions and my answers, and we'll see what happens from there. This is my 100th post so I figured I'd get a little crazy with it.
1. First name?
2. Age?
3. What do you/did you do for a living?
4. Interests/hobbies?
5. What brand/year truck do you drive?
6. What brand of chainsaw do you own?
7. Married/kids?
and my answers:
1. My name really is Jason
2. just turned 33
3. I tear down old buildings for a living.
4. Weight loss. I'm down almost 30 lbs since Feb 1st and am in the process of totally reinventing the way I eat/exercise.
5. '03 Dodge Dakota. Also have a '92 F150 that I'd like to get running again.
6. I have a Stihl 029 FarmBoss, a Poulan WildThing, and a goofy little Homelite arborist's chainsaw that I can't seem to find parts for.
7. Married for almost 2 years to a great girl who hunts, fishes, and farms, and we have an 8 month old son, Wyatt.
1. First name?
2. Age?
3. What do you/did you do for a living?
4. Interests/hobbies?
5. What brand/year truck do you drive?
6. What brand of chainsaw do you own?
7. Married/kids?
and my answers:
1. My name really is Jason
2. just turned 33
3. I tear down old buildings for a living.
4. Weight loss. I'm down almost 30 lbs since Feb 1st and am in the process of totally reinventing the way I eat/exercise.
5. '03 Dodge Dakota. Also have a '92 F150 that I'd like to get running again.
6. I have a Stihl 029 FarmBoss, a Poulan WildThing, and a goofy little Homelite arborist's chainsaw that I can't seem to find parts for.
7. Married for almost 2 years to a great girl who hunts, fishes, and farms, and we have an 8 month old son, Wyatt.
6
Fire Wood / the Holy Grail
« on: February 27, 2009, 04:11:54 PM »
Well, I may just have run across the wood cutter's holy grail. A buddy of mine from work was out for a drive today when he saw a sign that said "free firewood". Thinking of me and another coworker who uses a little wood for an indoor burner, he stopped and asked about it. Here the place is a fairly large scale tree service. He had probably a few hundred tree trunks and branches lying there that he's desperate to move before he gets busy this year. He said I could use his bobcat to load the truck and if I needed it, one of his one-tons to move it home, along with our one ton. Then the kicker happened. He told me to work up a price. He's going to PAY ME TO TAKE IT!!! The place is a solid half hour from home so it will take a lot of gas to move it all and I have to get on it here pretty quick, but it'll really be a blessing to get it all. He probably has 2 years worth sitting on the ground right now, and more is soon to come. I love it when this kind of thing happens.
7
Equipment / 12 volt sharpener
« on: January 29, 2009, 06:56:23 PM »
My dad was at Lowe's a couple weeks ago and he picked up an electric chain sharpener. Oregon makes it. It's 12 volt with both a cigarette lighter plug and a set of clips to run right off an automotive battery. It's basically a little router with a guide on it to maintain proper angle and depth. It came with 3 bits-3/16, 5/32, and I forget what the last one was. It was big. Anyway, it spins at 20,000RPM and seems to do a nice job. The motor case is red plastic. I think it cost about $20.00. I've seen replacement bits for like $5 a set. I like it so far. I like the 12 volt because (obviously) you can use it in the woods. So far, so good.
8
Hardy / Which model do you have?
« on: January 23, 2009, 08:54:14 AM »
For those people with Hardy heaters, which model do you have? Do you have grates or not? What is your overall satisfaction level with your furnace?
As for me, I have an H5 with grates, I burn a little coal but not much, and I like mine a lot.
-Jason
Pittsburgh PA
As for me, I have an H5 with grates, I burn a little coal but not much, and I like mine a lot.
-Jason
Pittsburgh PA
9
Here in SW Pennslyvania we are not used to these sub zero temps. My splitter would not start because the hydraulic oil was so stiff you could barely turn the motor over. We tarped it and put the redi heater on it for a while. After that we took the heater right to the springhouse to get water moving back to the house again. I know this is nothing for some of you real Northerners but it's unusual for us. Kinda fun in a weird way though. 
10
Equipment / Nail 1, Chain 0
« on: January 11, 2009, 03:51:57 PM »
I hit a nail the other day with my chainsaw. It was embedded deeply inside an oak log with a diameter of maybe 20 inches or so. I didn't even hit the thing until I was 3-4" into the log. As soon as I saw a couple sparks I quit cutting because I realized I'd hit something.
I have a Stihl FarmBoss saw with a Stihl chain on it. I'm not one of these people that says my brand of tool/equipment/whatever is the best and anything else sucks by any means, but I know that Stihl is one of the upper echelon manufacturers of this type of equipment. As such, I was a little surprised at how much I messed up the chain.
I realize that a nail is really hard on a saw chain but one little nail seemed to completely take the temper out of the chain. I sharpened the saw really carefully this morning and went to the woods. I cut 3 pieces off a small green locust tree that the township had pushed over (right along the road) and then I attacked an old dead elm that was almost rotted to powder in the middle. After about 5 minutes the chain was as dull as can be. A new chain is not a big deal-I'm about due anyway.
Has anyone ever done anything like this and totally slaughtered a chain? I've hit nails before and not had this problem. I just couldn't believe that after that the chain is shot. Oh well, off to the Stihl dealer for a new chain sometime this week.
That brings up another question: Do you guys use the brand of bar oil specific to your saw, or any brand of bar oil you can find, or just whatever kind of oil you have handy? I tend to be in the first category and my dad is comfortably in the third.
I have a Stihl FarmBoss saw with a Stihl chain on it. I'm not one of these people that says my brand of tool/equipment/whatever is the best and anything else sucks by any means, but I know that Stihl is one of the upper echelon manufacturers of this type of equipment. As such, I was a little surprised at how much I messed up the chain.
I realize that a nail is really hard on a saw chain but one little nail seemed to completely take the temper out of the chain. I sharpened the saw really carefully this morning and went to the woods. I cut 3 pieces off a small green locust tree that the township had pushed over (right along the road) and then I attacked an old dead elm that was almost rotted to powder in the middle. After about 5 minutes the chain was as dull as can be. A new chain is not a big deal-I'm about due anyway.
Has anyone ever done anything like this and totally slaughtered a chain? I've hit nails before and not had this problem. I just couldn't believe that after that the chain is shot. Oh well, off to the Stihl dealer for a new chain sometime this week.
That brings up another question: Do you guys use the brand of bar oil specific to your saw, or any brand of bar oil you can find, or just whatever kind of oil you have handy? I tend to be in the first category and my dad is comfortably in the third.
11
General Discussion / PA Farm SHow
« on: January 04, 2009, 11:24:39 AM »
My wife, son, and I are planning on going to the PA farm Show in Harrisburg on the 10th. There are going to be over 300 commercial exhibitors there, including, I'd bet, some outdoor furnace salesmen. I'll drop the word about the group here and try and get us some dealer feedback on here like somebody (I forget who right now) suggested a bit back. Can't hurt to try at least.
13
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / safety and safety gear
« on: December 29, 2008, 06:53:43 AM »
This may come as a different angle than what seems to be the usual discussion here, but I feel that it's important enough to mention.
I'm in my third season of heating with a Hardy OWB and I really enjoy the thing. I like cutting and splitting wood in the winter and knowing that my family and I control how much money we spend on heating. We get good exercise and we are all outdoors oriented (we farm over 200 acres) so in short, for us this furnace was the way to go. That said, wood must be cut and split, no matter what... Read on and you'll see what I'm getting at.
On Dec. 7, I was throwing a fairly large chunk of a pine log into the back of my truck and I smashed my left little finger between the log and the corner of the truck bed. Thankfully, I was wearing mechanic's gloves. If it weren't for the gloves, I'd have lost about half of my little finger. I knew I did a number on the finger and when I slid the glove off, the tip of the finger (about the last half inch or so) was hanging down 90 degrees from where it belongs and the broken, ragged end of the bone was jutting straight out for all the world to see. My dad had just arrived to help and he walked me to the house and cut my sweatshirt off my arm. My wife drove me to the hospital and I got the first stitches I've ever had. They saved the fingertip and now, almost a month later it has almost completely healed on the outside. I just have a bandaid covering where the nail used to be and a splint for the broken bone, which may or may not reattach and is not a big deal either way (less than a quarter inch of the end of the bone broke).
My point is this. My wife, son, and I depend on the furnace for heat and I couldn't cut wood for almost a month. We have no way to cut a whole winter's wood in advance so maintaining the woodpile is an ongoing task. My dad is 61 and in really good shape and my father in law is almost 60 with some health issues and those two bailed us out. My wife is very active outdoors and loves to farm and work outside, but her bad wrists keep her from running the chainsaw and the all-natural feeding for the baby limits how long she can be out of the house right now. I am almost healed but because of the splint I can't start the chainsaw so my dad pulls it for me and I can run it ok. One second totally mangled my ability to do everyday tasks and depend so much on others. My dad and father in law help a lot with the wood anyway, but now they were the ones working and I was stuck in the house watching them split my wood. I felt crummy about it, but neither of them minded. It's just the point of the thing.
So remember, gloves, safety glasses, steel toe boots...all that stuff is important. Even some ear plugs. I don't mean to sound preachy, but it could mean the difference between self-sufficiency and having to depend on others. I am blessed to have family around, but some may not have that luxury.
Here's to a safe 2009!
-Jason
I'm in my third season of heating with a Hardy OWB and I really enjoy the thing. I like cutting and splitting wood in the winter and knowing that my family and I control how much money we spend on heating. We get good exercise and we are all outdoors oriented (we farm over 200 acres) so in short, for us this furnace was the way to go. That said, wood must be cut and split, no matter what... Read on and you'll see what I'm getting at.
On Dec. 7, I was throwing a fairly large chunk of a pine log into the back of my truck and I smashed my left little finger between the log and the corner of the truck bed. Thankfully, I was wearing mechanic's gloves. If it weren't for the gloves, I'd have lost about half of my little finger. I knew I did a number on the finger and when I slid the glove off, the tip of the finger (about the last half inch or so) was hanging down 90 degrees from where it belongs and the broken, ragged end of the bone was jutting straight out for all the world to see. My dad had just arrived to help and he walked me to the house and cut my sweatshirt off my arm. My wife drove me to the hospital and I got the first stitches I've ever had. They saved the fingertip and now, almost a month later it has almost completely healed on the outside. I just have a bandaid covering where the nail used to be and a splint for the broken bone, which may or may not reattach and is not a big deal either way (less than a quarter inch of the end of the bone broke).
My point is this. My wife, son, and I depend on the furnace for heat and I couldn't cut wood for almost a month. We have no way to cut a whole winter's wood in advance so maintaining the woodpile is an ongoing task. My dad is 61 and in really good shape and my father in law is almost 60 with some health issues and those two bailed us out. My wife is very active outdoors and loves to farm and work outside, but her bad wrists keep her from running the chainsaw and the all-natural feeding for the baby limits how long she can be out of the house right now. I am almost healed but because of the splint I can't start the chainsaw so my dad pulls it for me and I can run it ok. One second totally mangled my ability to do everyday tasks and depend so much on others. My dad and father in law help a lot with the wood anyway, but now they were the ones working and I was stuck in the house watching them split my wood. I felt crummy about it, but neither of them minded. It's just the point of the thing.
So remember, gloves, safety glasses, steel toe boots...all that stuff is important. Even some ear plugs. I don't mean to sound preachy, but it could mean the difference between self-sufficiency and having to depend on others. I am blessed to have family around, but some may not have that luxury.
Here's to a safe 2009!
-Jason
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