Re: (ET) Chainsaw used for Isabel -- etc.

["SteveS" <ssawtelle fcc net>]

Glad to hear it's running well. Sorry you lost a big tree...

About the only real maintenance would be to clean off all the oily sawdust,
sharpen the chain if needed, and check the chain tension.

The gears need to be repacked every few years or so, but that's only after 
a
lot of use. You do have new grease so you should be in good shape.

I should have made my rotary inverter available - we only lost power about
20 minutes, so I never got a chance to use it. Almost dissapointing! And I
lost no trees, so no chainsawing! And the driveway didn't wash out, so no
grading!

About the biggest strom 'damage' was the rain made the grass grow, so I
mowed it..... Doesn't make a very good storm story does it?

- SteveS
Leesburg, VA
E20


----- Original Message -----
From: <Jeremy Gagliardi com>
To: <>
Sent: Monday, September 22, 2003 4:15 PM
Subject: (ET) Chainsaw used for Isabel -- etc.


> I just wanted to let everyone know I got good use out of my elec-trak
chainsaw
> this past weekend in the aftermath of Isabel.  Thankfully, after being
repaired
> earlier in the year by Steve Sawtelle (Thanks Steve!), I was able to use
it to
> carve up a 70 footer than uprooted in my backyard.  Keeping the chain bar
well
> tensioned (i.e., firm but not too tight) and well-oiled will keep it
cutting
> well.  I cut off all the branches and sectioned up the trunk in about 5
hours
> (including breaks).  It got a little rough at the base of the trunk where
the
> diameter was about the same as the length of the saw, but I found that
cutting
> out wedges rather than going straight through helped a lot.
>
> I was wondering after heavy use like this, what maintenance should be
performed?
>
> In other news, I had my power disconnect switch go bad.  I ordered the 
> new
part
> (by that I mean not a refurbished old part) from Bill Gunn, and I'm still
> waiting for it.  I'm sure many of you have experienced or heard of this
problem
> before, but when you start losing power on your ET or notice weird
behavior like
> one component working, but not another, it may be a faulty disconnect
switch
> (either it's providing limited current or no current).  My symptoms
started as
> the tractor would drive, but occassionally the mower would drag or not
turn on;
> after resetting all switches, it would start working again.  At first, I
thought
> it was a sticky relay, and that it would unstick after I turned 
> everything
off
> and on again.  BUT, what it really turned out to be was the power
disconnect
> switch was slipping out of position.  After I turned it off and on again,
> everything would work again.  Then, about a couple of weeks ago, it
started not
> working at all.  The whole switch just didn't stay in position anymore.
So, I'm
> just waiting for my new switch...
>
> To use my chainsaw with the bad disconnect switch, I had to have my wife
hold in
> the switch while I sawed.  She wasn't too thrilled, but realized we had 
> to
do
> it...this with a 7-week-old snoozing in her stroller and our 3-year-old
running
> around doing what 3yo's do (I kept proper saw safety, of course; 
> afterall,
I did
> earn Tot'n Chip as a Boy Scout).  She told me my first priority was
getting the
> new switch installed as soon as it gets here...
>
> On yet another subject, after a long and exhaustive search trying to find
either
> a 12V or 36V inverter (rotary or otherwise) that could power a
refrigerator I
> finally gave up and bought a 3.75kW gas generator for emergency power
(Note,
> Bethesda, MD has suffered several power outages this year, and the
generator
> already paid for itself in food we did NOT have to replace from our
> refirigerators).  I tried to go the green route, but just couldn't find
any good
> inverters.  By the way, Home Depot was dumb enough to have a $700 
> portable
> generator on sale for $399 during the last major blackout (prior to
Isabel).  It
> came in handy for 2 days then and for 1 day this time, plus 1 day at my
mother's
> house.
>
> E20
> Bethesda, Md
>
> (---------------------------)
>  mailto:Jeremy Gagliardi com
>  http://Jeremy.Gagliardi.com
> (---------------------------)
>
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