What's In DFB's Cabinet?

[DFB5.0]

Are you consulting to Bowden's?

Yes, yes I have..................................

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[kilobravo]

That's a 38 year old chainsaw by the way.

WOW!!!

Saw looks great, but man, 38 years!

 

[50ALM]

That's a 38 year old chainsaw by the way.

That's quite impressive.

I chucked my 13 year old Stihl MS180 in the bin the other day.
Had a gutful of it being a bastard to start, and bogging down.
Pulled it apart, cleaned everything, mesh filter, carb, new plug.
A 2-stroke is a pretty simple thing.
And it was still being a dog.
Time to go to the train station.

Went electric with an EGO 18" chain saw. It totally exceeded my expectations, and I would never go back to a petrol saw again.

I'm telling myself this will offset the CO2 emissions from the Coyote V8.

 

[DFB5.0]

That's quite impressive.

I chucked my 13 year old Stihl MS180 in the bin the other day.
Had a gutful of it being a bastard to start, and bogging down.
Pulled it apart, cleaned everything, mesh filter, carb, new plug.
A 2-stroke is a pretty simple thing.
And it was still being a dog.
Time to go to the train station.

Went electric with an EGO 18" chain saw. It totally exceeded my expectations, and I would never go back to a petrol saw again.

I'm telling myself this will offset the CO2 emissions from the Coyote V8.

Two strokes are more complicated than you would think. It only takes one minor air leak and they simply won't be happy. If you went through the whole thing and still wouldn't run, I'd say you had a leaking gasket or crank seal. Thing is, to deal with that in terms of parts and labor would exceed the value of the saw..............................most people throw them away.

As for going battery, I totally get it. I have four saws, guess which I grab the most..................a battery powered Stihl MSA140.

For the average occasional user, not having to manage a petrol engine is a huge benefit. The only thing that I have found is when needing sustained performance, like when cutting through larger limbs, I find they tend to run down and stall too much. I get the feeling that has more to do with the thermal management of the battery system and not the actual power of the motor itself. Having said that, I managed to drop this tree mostly with the battery saw, but switched to petrol for the main trunk.

The convenience and quietness of the battery gear is very handy. But I'm not going to lie though, there is a certain charm to a screaming two stroke chainsaw.

 

[50ALM]

... But I'm not going to lie though, there is a certain charm to a screaming two stroke chainsaw.

Not to mention the aroma of a running two stroke!
Yes, I will miss that, a bit like boarding an aircraft via the rear stairs or at a regional airport... ahh, that smell of Jet A-1.

Electric has no ambience about it, but it "just works".

 

[DFB5.0]

Not to mention the aroma of a running two stroke!
Yes, I will miss that, a bit like boarding an aircraft via the rear stairs or at a regional airport... ahh, that smell of Jet A-1.

Electric has no ambience about it, but it "just works".

I'm hugely driven by scent, it something that will always take me back to certain times in my life. The smell of a Victa two stroke reminds me of my grandfather and his green Victa Mustang, which he gave to me before he died.......................



Those full crank engines would rev to the moon, and consume copious amounts of fuel in the process. The nostalgia, the smell, the smoke, the sound, the performance...................I have a small fleet of two stroke Victa's at my disposal for all those reasons. When they announced the end of that engine, I went and bought a new Mustang, and later a MasterCut 460.

(Yes, it is that clean!)

This is what the two stroke excells at, powering through thick, wet grass without stalling. Note the wispy blue smoke................that's normal on a 25:1 fed Victa.....................

I actually used that mower today.

What I really want to find is the rare Victa Twin. This had a horizontally apposed two stroke twin cylinder engine. They were exceedingly noisy and thirsty...................just my thing....................hence they didn't sell well. Finding one today is somewhat tough. Actually, they sound somewhat scary!





Just listen to it power through...........................oh, and the smoke!

 

[kilobravo]

It only takes one minor air leak and they simply won't be happy.

SO true, D!

But I'm not going to lie though, there is a certain charm to a screaming two stroke chainsaw.

Not to mention the aroma of a running two stroke!

Amen, brother.

This is what the two stroke excells at, powering through thick, wet grass without stalling.

That double pumper SCREAMS, D...HS and it IS kind of a scary sound. But dude, don'tcha know that you're not supposed to mow when the grass is wet? <smile>

I had both an Echo trimmer and edger go south on me about ten days ago. Re-injured my damn right arm trying to get them both running again and said FI! Went to the local Northern Tool and picked up my first battery powered lawn tool last week, a Milwaukee line trimmer, and I too was surprised at how well it compared to my Echo trimmer in terms of performance. Even on the low RPM speed it was more than fast enough.

So what did I do? Well, I promptly ordered the Quick-Loc Edger attachment which showed up day before yesterday. Pulled off the trimmer, stuck the edger on, and gave it a whirl and I was once again more than a little surprised that it could do the job. It probably wouldn't edge a lawn of St Augustine that hadn't been edged in years but other than that, it's good to go for my needs.

This is yours truly testing out the trimmer.

 

[DFB5.0]

That double pumper SCREAMS, D...HS and it IS kind of a scary sound. But dude, don'tcha know that you're not supposed to mow when the grass is wet? <smile>

If you are asking me as a horticulturalist, I'd say that you probably shouldn't mow wet grass.

As a business owner with a full schedule of lawns to get through, well, I say the job has to get done.

 

[skinnyb]

Got caught in a thunderstorm on Friday on my way back from the Doctor. SO, the Mustang needed a bath. Used Opticoat M wash again today. Man that stuff is awesome. Only gripe is you can't get in any other size than 16 oz which makes it terribly cost prohibitive. But I do like using it A LOT. Also spruced up the engine bay with a quick wash and a coat of KCx Motorplast.

Also ordered me self a new toy for my birthday. I have been using my Karcher 1800 cube for over a year now, and while it works OK its time to upgrade to a bit larger (and more GPM) unit. Active 2.0 incoming. I couldn't justify the cost of the new 2.3 (nor a Kranzle) and I think the 2.0 will do the job just fine for me. Can't wait for it to arrive and use it next weekend ...

 

[DFB5.0]

Got caught in a thunderstorm on Friday on my way back from the Doctor. SO, the Mustang needed a bath. Used Opticoat M wash again today. Man that stuff is awesome. Only gripe is you can't get in any other size than 16 oz which makes it terribly cost prohibitive. But I do like using it A LOT. Also spruced up the engine bay with a quick wash and a coat of KCx Motorplast.

Also ordered me self a new toy for my birthday. I have been using my Karcher 1800 cube for over a year now, and while it works OK its time to upgrade to a bit larger (and more GPM) unit. Active 2.0 incoming. I couldn't justify the cost of the new 2.3 (nor a Kranzle) and I think the 2.0 will do the job just fine for me. Can't wait for it to arrive and use it next weekend ...

Always love seeing pictures of your Mustang!

As for the Active 2.0, its the perfect solution for car cleaning. Nothing comes close to offering a Kranzle-like (1.9 - 2.0 gpm) flow rate at a fraction of the cost. While the 2.3 certainly has more flow, 2.3 vs 2.0 gpm, there is some concern regarding how small the pump is attached to such a large motor, I suspect they will be revising that pretty soon. Well shopped!

 

[DFB5.0]

Having ran the updated wide-mouth MTM foam cannon for a few months now, there is only one problem I have encountered, something I actually discovered very quickly.

I use a foam cannon with either soap or Brake Buster for wheel cleaning. I'm also seated when cleaning wheels, the stool and bucket on wheels so I can shuffle from wheel to wheel without getting up. This will sound like a first world problem, but with a bucket full of water and tools, there was nowhere to put the foam cannon when not in use. That was until Maxshine and MTM started offering a bracket to hang the foam cannon from the bucket. This of course was the perfect solution.

https://detailingshed.com.au/products/mtm-veloci-ventuno-bracket?_pos=3&_sid=9ee486336&_ss=r
https://detailingshed.com.au/products/maxshine-foam-cannon-bucket-mount?_pos=3&_sid=de8721563&_ss=r

Having searched for something like that for ages, I even considered having one made for me, you can imagine my disappointment when I discovered the updated MTM bottle and cap arrangement is not compatible with either the Maxshine or MTM bracket. :doh

I can't see how an updated version would work considering the lack of clearance between the foam cannon body and the black adaptor cap. So, I've been back to fumbling from wheel to wheel managing the stool, the pressure washer gun/hose, bucket and foam cannon.

My latest idea involves a foam cannon wall bracket that I spotted online.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CWP2CTJ4/ref=pe_386300_440135490_TE_simp_item_image?th=1

These work different to regular quick connect fittings in that they a simple push to engage-release rather than pulling down the outer sleeve. I can't link a video, but the Amazon listing has a video showing it in action. These are actually very slick, way more precise than the budget price would indicate.

The plan is to mount the bracket to my detailing stool, which will have the foam cannon resting between my legs for quick and easy retravel. I think this should work, but like anything, it will be a case of trial and error.

Problem solved!

 

[DFB5.0]

After a week of lovely sunny days, naturally, it just had to rain for my "weekend". :nothappy Rather than rearranging the garage and getting clean cars wet in order to get the Mustang into the wash bay (read - driveway), I decided to go rinse-less today.

One of the things I love about detailing is that there are many ways to reach the same conclusion.................a clean, shiny car. After laying into the brakes pretty heavy yesterday, the front wheels were just too dusty to go untouched. Normally when doing rinse-less, I would give the wheels a blast with the pressure washer and either washed as usual, or give the wheel faces a wipe down with whatever rinse-less I was using. Not wanting to play musical cars, I left the car where it was, filled a bucket with a solution of NV Snow and my usual brushes, then without the machine turned on, I used the pressure washer hose and gun fitted with a rinsing tip. After a pre-rinse, I scrubbed the tyres with Green Star, then cleaned each wheel before rinsing again and applying Atom Mac to the rotors. This proved to be a relatively mess free solution.

For the rinse-less wash, I went with ONR again today, then dried with a few spritzes of Meguiar's Last Touch. The door jambs got a quick wipe over, again using Last Touch. Glass was attended to using True Vue, wheels blown dry and wiped with NV Boost, tires dressed with OG TD. Final step was a quick vac of the driver's floor mat and an interior wipe down with Carpro InnerQD.

Refreshed and back under its cover, all without moving cars and creating more work for myself.

 

[skinnyb]

Always love seeing pictures of your Mustang!

As for the Active 2.0, its the perfect solution for car cleaning. Nothing comes close to offering a Kranzle-like (1.9 - 2.0 gpm) flow rate at a fraction of the cost. While the 2.3 certainly has more flow, 2.3 vs 2.0 gpm, there is some concern regarding how small the pump is attached to such a large motor, I suspect they will be revising that pretty soon. Well shopped!

Thanks for the confirmation. I studied and studied and kept coming back to the Active 2.0 for price vs performance. I would love to have the 2.3 but not for double the price. The 2.0 will be a vast improvement over my current setup. Now the next upgrade will have to come to the DI setup I have. The one I have now works fine for my current PW, but its output on filter mode is only a little over 1 GPM, I will need double that. I found one I want to try, reasonable price, has a built in bypass and has reviewed quite well. I'm only at a little over 70 TDS un filtered so as long as I work quick in the morning before the sun comes out around my house I am good... And I can use the current one on a basic garden hose for the final panel flood...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C7K88VT...089TSIL5&psc=1&ref_=list_c_wl_lv_ov_lig_dp_it

 

[DFB5.0]

Thanks for the confirmation. I studied and studied and kept coming back to the Active 2.0 for price vs performance. I would love to have the 2.3 but not for double the price. The 2.0 will be a vast improvement over my current setup. Now the next upgrade will have to come to the DI setup I have. The one I have now works fine for my current PW, but its output on filter mode is only a little over 1 GPM, I will need double that. I found one I want to try, reasonable price, has a built in bypass and has reviewed quite well. I'm only at a little over 70 TDS un filtered so as long as I work quick in the morning before the sun comes out around my house I am good... And I can use the current one on a basic garden hose for the final panel flood...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C7K88VT...089TSIL5&psc=1&ref_=list_c_wl_lv_ov_lig_dp_it

Have you looked at the CR-Spotless? You can get them with or without a cart, both models will do up to 2.5 gpm.

DIC-10 Medium Output Spotless Water Rolling System – Spotless Water Systems (crspotless.com)
DIC-20 High Output De-ionized Water Filtration Rolling System – Spotless Water Systems (crspotless.com)

DIW-10 Medium Output Wall Mounted Spotless Water Filtration System – Spotless Water Systems (crspotless.com)
DIW-20 High Output Wall Mounted Spot Free Wash System - Deionized Water Maker – Spotless Water Systems (crspotless.com)

Actually, you could use the static version and mount it to a service cart with your pressure washer and a hose reel of some sort.

 

[skinnyb]

Have you looked at the CR-Spotless? You can get them with or without a cart, both models will do up to 2.5 gpm.

DIC-10 Medium Output Spotless Water Rolling System – Spotless Water Systems (crspotless.com)
DIC-20 High Output De-ionized Water Filtration Rolling System – Spotless Water Systems (crspotless.com)

DIW-10 Medium Output Wall Mounted Spotless Water Filtration System – Spotless Water Systems (crspotless.com)
DIW-20 High Output Wall Mounted Spot Free Wash System - Deionized Water Maker – Spotless Water Systems (crspotless.com)

Actually, you could use the static version and your pressure washer mounted to a service cart. You could also add a hose reel of some sort.

Yes, but $$$$$. I'm a weekend warrior and trying not to break the bank, I already do on all my chemicals and other toys The CR does not have a built in bypass, adding that makes it even more $$$$, especially if I order one from OG. The one listed in the link has the bypass already engineered into it. Plus I can order a couple of empty resin cans and make it easily refillable. And the plate with holes to mount to my cart. That's what I plan on doing, mounting onto the end of my cart and putting the PW under much like the picture... I actually could do a wall mount setup too, just taking baby steps at the moment.

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