u/BossmanSlim

I looked through some of the threads on chaps and they're older. What brand and style of chainsaw chaps do people recommend? I am not looking for pants as I want to take the chaps off once done cutting. I have used the cheap Stihl chaps, but I find them super hot.

What is the latest in the fall and earliest in the spring I can take cuttings from a blueberry plant in order to start new plants?

I am putting a heat shield behind my wood stove as added layer of safety. I believe the stove will be exactly the single wall distance from the wall, I think this is 19 inches. If I recall correctly, putting a heat shield cuts this number by 66%, so that would be 6.5". The heat shield need a 1 inch air gap, so adding that and another inch for margin, the stove to heat shield distance should be 17 inches.

Does anyone know the surface temperature of the wood stove itself, the heat shield at 17 inches or the wall at 19 inches? The google say 600 max at operating, but can overfire to 800. If you use the overfire temp and 17 inches the AI says the temp will be 370F, which seems way high. Forcing AI into a corner results in the surface temperature that should be 417F to hit 160F.

Here is my situation. I currently have a 75hp tractor I am not fond of.

Things I don't like

• Non-shuttle shift 8x2 transmission
• Loader is slow and bent (out 2-3 inches side to side on bucket), which annoys me to no end
• It is light in the rear end even with fluid filled tires.
• Drawbar is not rated for any tongue weight, maybe 500 lbs.

I recently did a full service, changing all the oils and filters. It is under 600 hours, runs well, and doesn't have any real issues. I am fairly sure I could get 1/2 to 1/3 of the value of a new tractor when trading it in.

Other than the next year, which will be more work intensive, I suspect the tractor will be used mainly for bushhogging 8 acres once a year, handling IBC totes for about 1 cord of wood and some blade work to maintain ditches and roads.

On one hand, I feel like I should swap tractors before I do a bunch of work, on the other hand it seems like a fair amount to spend for something that will revert back to a more manageable work load in the near future. What do people think?

In the US, the current tractor HP break points are as follows:

• Under 25 is no emissions
• 25 to 75 is typically some king of catalytic convertor (DOC) or particulate filter (DPF) with exhaust gas recirculation (EGR)
• 75 to 750 is EGR, DPF and selective catalytic reduction (SCR) that requires DEF
• Over 750 is a different set of standards, so is falls back to just EGR for emissions.

DEF costs averages $6 per gallon, which under typical consumption adds an extra $0.15 per gallon.

The question is, how much more HP do you think should be in a tractor before it justifies going to the next level of emissions? Assume it is in the same frame tractor.

Examples from Deere:

• 2025R (1.3L 3 cyl) to 2032R (1.6L 3 cyl) or 2038R
• 3025D (1.6L 3 cyl) to 3035D (1.6L 3 cyl) or 3043D
• 5075E (2.9L 3 cyl) to 5090E (4.5L 4 cyl) or 5100E
• 5075M (2.9L 3 cyl) to 5085M (4.5L 4 cyl), 5095M, 5105M, 5120M, 5130M

Personally, I tend to think that if needs to be at least 30%. Most of the time, the next size up engine is the same size with more fuel.

I saw a youtube video yesterday showing that sales of tractors YTD are down this year.

• Under 40 hp, down 15.7%
• 40 to 100 hp, down 6.1%
• 100+ hp, down 16.8%

The general tone is that consumers are only buying if required, not if nice to have. The tone in the comments is that all tractors are overpriced junk due to too many electronics and the emissions systems.

At the same time, the major brands are pushing incentives, which massively reflects the need to move units. Almost every major manufacturer has some kind of 0% for 36 to 60 month deal currently going on.

I am thinking about upgrading my angle grinders. I would mainly do home projects that need grinders and I am getting tired of changing wheels constantly. My current thought is a corded 7 inch and a battery 4.5 to 6 inch FlexVolt. I have the FlexVolt system and need another 9 or 12AH battery and there seems to be deals on the grinders quite frequently.

What are peoples recommendation on a good 2 grinder setup?

I may need to rip some 1x12 and sheet goods (4x8) in the future. Track saws seem to be the preferred method for this over table saws. I have tried to purchase a the DeWalt table saw kit in the past and returned it because they shorted me the small track. I've ripped with a regular circular saw in the past and I want a straighter edge than I can typically obtain.

Track Saw:

• Corded DWS520K = $507
• Flex Volt DWS520B = $429 (I have FlexVolt batteries already)
• 2x 59 inch track = $180
• Kit to join tracks together = $30
• Total = $639 to $707

Table Saw

• 10 inch corded table saw with stand is currently $650

Which option would people recommend?

I am currently working with a piece of property that does not have water on it but does have power. I am currently commuting once a week to do work I would like to stay overnight more, but the lack of a shower is the main issue. Drinking water can be brought in, but I don't really want to carry enough water in to take a shower.

Rain catchment info:

• Roof sqft = 1500
• Annual rainfall = 45 inches and is fairly evenly distributed most of the year
• Conversion factor of .623
• Annual rainfall catch = 42K gallons, ranging from 3000 to 4500 per month

Standard shower is 2.5gpm, meaning a 10 minute shower is 25 gallons. Assuming 4 showers per day with my family, that is 100 gallons per day, with probably 2 days max per week, call it 10 per month. Worst case math.

• Water per month is 1000 gallons
• Typically we would expect it to rain 1 inch every other week, it rains more, but rarely less. This makes about 2000 gallons of catchment per month, so I am good for positive water use.

I come with the following for costs:

• 1000 gallon tank with pump =$5K
• Drilling a 400 ft well with pump = $30K

Questions to the group:

1. Is my calculation correct?
2. What is the min size tank I should get, what is the max size tank you would go?
3. Any other information about water catchment.
4. Any other show options?

I have a bunch of thinning I need to do of which most of it will be less desirable species such as yellow pine, sweet gum and yellow popular. My question is what should I do with the wood generated by this thinning operation. Most of it will not be of the size to be suitable for selling to a saw mill and I don't have enough quantity to justify bringing in a logger for a thinning cut.

Options:

1. Keep enough for myself to be used as camp firewood or shoulder month firewood, burn the rest with the brush piles.
2. Process it all into firewood and sell it as non-premium campfire wood. Sell it as able.
3. Process each item into the best available product (saw log, firewood, etc.) and sell as able.

I'm not looking to get rich, but I would like to make some side cash if possible and not just burn the stuff up if I can sell some of it.

I am adding a wood stove to a detached shop space. I believe that an outside air intake would be beneficial if for no other reason that creating a draft. With that being said, 6 months of the year the wood stove will not be used. I was thinking of sizing the outside air intake such that it could support the exhaust of a portable air conditioner. Outside air in in the winter for the wood stove, inside air out in the summer for the air conditioner.

Has anyone done this? What do people think?

I am adding a wood stove to a detached shop space. I believe that an outside air intake would be beneficial if for no other reason that creating a draft. With that being said, 6 months of the year the wood stove will not be used. I was thinking of sizing the outside air intake such that it could support the exhaust of a portable air conditioner. Outside air in in the winter for the wood stove, inside air out in the summer for the air conditioner.

Has anyone done this? What do people think?

I need to buy a new top link because the current one I have is too long. I do not want to buy a piece of junk because I consider the top link to be a safety critical item. Is there a brand or place that sells good quality top links? I do not want a hydraulic top link.

Location: USA

Size: Category 2 with ability to be shorter than 27 inches

Beside Vermont Castings, are there any other manufactures that make a stove that can be loaded through the top? I've used multiple stoves over time and I like top loading; I also understand why it is not the ideal design, especially with all the EPA crap.

I recently picked up a new MS400CM. The saw is drilled for outer spikes, but doesn't come with them. Are these the correct part numbers?

• Outer spike = 1141 664 0501
• Screw = 9214 320 0700 or 9008 319 0960
• Hex nut = 9214 320 0700
• Roller catch kit = 1135 650 7700
• Inner, outer and roller kit with screws = 1135 650 7750

If the kit is correct, I'll just order the kit.