The "Not So Pro" discussion thread...of course Pros are welcome!

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That second paragraph should explain the first question. But yeah, trucking is pretty profitable right now. Prices are up and diesel is less than half its price from 2011-2014 when I paid $4.82 in Ventura in July of 2013, but you know where that is.

Still, fuel prices are down and trucking prices haven’t come down from $120/hour for a quad axle dump.
Yeah... Trucks are paying the mortgage lately

Diesel is still around $3 a gallon out here.

Monday should be an all day gig in the log truck so that will be fun. At least its a nice log pile and not a scattered limby mess of pick up sticks
 
houses on decent sized lots

LOL - definition these days in Seattle suburban areas of 'huge lot' is if you cannot touch the back fence while still holding onto the back door's doorknob. $1 million 3500 sq ft houses on 4000 sq ft lot is the new house norm these days.

Even out in the forest land, prices are out of sight.
South of Mossyrock in 1978 a quarter section of land abutting paved road was $700 acre. 20 acre parcel nearby recently sold for $250K. Think there are 3X the number of houses on the road now than there were 30 years ago. 20 acres in rural areas is the zoning in Lewis Co for building a new house, that at least is a decent sized lot <G>
 
I hope I won't get thrown out for asking a tractor question (if it helps I do load small logs destined for firewood with it). My Deere 4710 is the first year Deere went from mechanical engagement levers to electro-hydraulic on their compact utility tractors. The pto, fwd, fuel shut-off, and diverter valve are all controlled by solenoids; I believe all require the switch to be on. Then there are all of the safety switches. And the 1 volt reading even in the off position (I am told that is for the later computer models). Anyway, my new battery goes completely dead after a week or two of sitting. And you get a spark which connecting the battery though everything is switched off. Any thoughts on what I should check first to track down the electrical drain? And how?

Ron
 
I hope I won't get thrown out for asking a tractor question (if it helps I do load small logs destined for firewood with it). My Deere 4710 is the first year Deere went from mechanical engagement levers to electro-hydraulic on their compact utility tractors. The pto, fwd, fuel shut-off, and diverter valve are all controlled by solenoids; I believe all require the switch to be on. Then there are all of the safety switches. And the 1 volt reading even in the off position (I am told that is for the later computer models). Anyway, my new battery goes completely dead after a week or two of sitting. And you get a spark which connecting the battery though everything is switched off. Any thoughts on what I should check first to track down the electrical drain? And how?

Ron
Honestly it could be anything, but keep an eye out for things malfunctioning even just a little bit, should be a small clue as to where to start

In the meantime, I suggest a battery disconnect switch. They are fairly cheap at any auto parts store, and will at the very least save your battery, and prevent theft to some extent.
 
Thank you again, NM, for getting my thinking going. Though it won't deter a determined tractor thief, it will cut off a current thief.
IMG_5614.JPG

By the way with guidance from another ASer, I was able to track my current thief to a bad relay. Little bugger powered two other relays and was drawing about 270 milliamperes. I still have a constant loss of .32 milliamperes that I could not trace, but I don't think that will cause be any real issue.

Ron
 
Thank you again, NM, for getting my thinking going. Though it won't deter a determined tractor thief, it will cut off a current thief.
View attachment 862691

By the way with guidance from another ASer, I was able to track my current thief to a bad relay. Little bugger powered two other relays and was drawing about 270 milliamperes. I still have a constant loss of .32 milliamperes that I could not trace, but I don't think that will cause be any real issue.

Ron
sometimes you just need to change which side your lookin at...
 
I pulled the trigger today and will pick up a 500i on Friday. I hope I don’t regret getting the regular model. I got inpatient and afraid my region wouldn’t get any much less an R anytime soon. I thought that since 99% of my actual cutting is bucking, the benefit of an R is likely more than offset in my situation by the .9# weight reduction – particularly since the weight of the 500i was a prime factor in my decision to get one. We will see. I also went with the 25” bar as 90% of my falling can be easily done with it, I have a supply of 84DL chains, and I have other saws already set up from 33” to 52”. Again we will see. I will report back.

Hope I don’t get kicked out of the MAC sticky thread for treason, but my MACs seem to be getting heavier each season.

Ron
 
I pulled the trigger today and will pick up a 500i on Friday. I hope I don’t regret getting the regular model. I got inpatient and afraid my region wouldn’t get any much less an R anytime soon. I thought that since 99% of my actual cutting is bucking, the benefit of an R is likely more than offset in my situation by the .9# weight reduction – particularly since the weight of the 500i was a prime factor in my decision to get one. We will see. I also went with the 25” bar as 90% of my falling can be easily done with it, I have a supply of 84DL chains, and I have other saws already set up from 33” to 52”. Again we will see. I will report back.

Hope I don’t get kicked out of the MAC sticky thread for treason, but my MACs seem to be getting heavier each season.

Ron
annnnnd now I'm jealous

I had the chance to get the first one through the local saw shop, but alas... I is broke at the mo... stupid feds and their stupid taxes... ruttin fussin galled durnd smither facking grease hammer.
 
Nm, I hope the $$ situation soon changes for you.

Haven't even touched a 500i yet, but I doubt it would take some of the tosses I seen you do.

Ron
Its a Stihl product, it'll hold up lol

On that note, I smashed the air filter cover on an 036 skidder saw recently, and I have no idea how it even happened, I'm assuming the winch line did something weird and caught it?

For the record me chucking saws has only resulted in one broken part (that is still being used) and that was a clutch cover that caught a rock just right and took a chunk off of the lower extension... saw was nearly new at the time too lol. I do generally try to aim for a soft patch... but sometimes I'm too busy just running away to give a **** about the saw.

One time, I was working over a sand cliff, probably 30-40' high, pulling logs up from the bottom, homeowner was hooking choker, needed a saw, so my old trusty MS260 got a good 3 sec air time... the look on the dudes face was priceless. (note this was for some neighbors and the skidder just happened to be home at the mo) Used that same saw to fell and buck a cedar last Sunday, cause it lives in the dumb truck now... still runs like a champ (this same saw has been smashed against the winch twice and ran over twice, ported by an idiot {me} and ran so hot bucking 4' dia white pine the cooling fins were smoking)
 
Nm, I hope the $$ situation soon changes for you.

Haven't even touched a 500i yet, but I doubt it would take some of the tosses I seen you do.

Ron
You did give me an idea for a vidjeo...

the money thing will get better, I have plenty of work in front of me, this last summer was pretty rough, low timber prices, and less then spectacular timber I was in didn't help much... Buying a log truck while a very good business decision, the timing could of been better... no one expects the covid 19 anyway, thats just whining.

I have lots of work lined up, just a matter of getting the jobs done, and keeping everything together long enough to make some headway.
 
I pulled the trigger today and will pick up a 500i on Friday. I hope I don’t regret getting the regular model. I got inpatient and afraid my region wouldn’t get any much less an R anytime soon. I thought that since 99% of my actual cutting is bucking, the benefit of an R is likely more than offset in my situation by the .9# weight reduction – particularly since the weight of the 500i was a prime factor in my decision to get one. We will see. I also went with the 25” bar as 90% of my falling can be easily done with it, I have a supply of 84DL chains, and I have other saws already set up from 33” to 52”. Again we will see. I will report back.

Hope I don’t get kicked out of the MAC sticky thread for treason, but my MACs seem to be getting heavier each season.

Ron
I'm betting you'll love it. Every day I first pick it up, the lack of weight is a pleasant surprise. It's significantly lighter than my 461 and 046, saws that are only a couple ccs less than the 500i. And the throttle response is even more fun...
Needless to say, I've been quite pleased with its performance. Now to figure out which saws to sell because they'll sit on a shelf from here on out.
 
Probably unrelated, but I noticed that the Religion forum was shut down, and now the rest of AS is booming again... Which I find more then a little amusing.

This post will probably be removed... Even though I've never set my fangers in the P-R thread... just seemed like a good way to get higher blood pressure
 

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