Gunner Quinn
(Continued from Part 3. This concludes the article.)
Critical Replacement Parts for the Long Term
The single most common reasons small engines fail to operate at all or correctly is attributed to their fuel system that include water in the fuel, old fuel, or cracked fuel lines. And number one for chainsaw problems: old, dry and brittle fuel pump diaphragms inside the carburetor. At one time the only affordable way to correct these problems was to install a rebuild kit. However, there are other causes that make a carburetor less able to function such as fine deposits and internal corrosion. The whole replacement of the carburetor is now economically the best choice with the advent of inexpensive carburetors that come as part of comprehensive kits that may also include an assortment of a fuel filter, bar oil filter, an air filter, spark plug, replacement fuel lines, and other critical parts at price between $12 to $20 per kit. An OEM or brand-name carburetor will sell for between $50 to $75 the last time I checked and that will be the last time I do check.
New Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) carburetors are often sourced from the same Asian or Chinese manufacturer of these comprehensive parts kits. They typically include a complete carburetor that is also pre-tuned. I have dissembled them and the common names such as Bing and Walbro are often seen. There are three different materials used for the gaskets. The better carbs use silicone gaskets. The modern gaskets are now resistant to degradation if an ethanol blend gasoline is used. However, when modern automotive gasoline with additives evaporates, it still leaves behind a sticky or gooey residue that can plug the very small and fine passageways of these tiny carburetors.
I keep three of these kits per saw and I have many saws. As a test of the quality of these kits, I installed six carburetors supplied by different vendors on the same saw one after the other to check the function and to tune the carb before removing and installing another new carburetor. All six carburetors functioned fine and all six were tuned well enough that no other but a fine adjustment might be needed. After removing the carburetors, they were disassembled and all the fuel from inside was removed before they were put away for the long term.
These kits can be found in great numbers on eBay and elsewhere. I buy kits that have different combinations of spare parts and hopefully are made by different manufacturers since there could be defects in a certain line of product and I do not want to buy multiple copies of a bad carburetor or kit. So I diversify across several suppliers. If you can purchase these replacement carburetors in this kit form, then you have the parts to fix most of your saws in the future, but there are still other parts that will be needed as the saw receives wear and tear.
These parts come in kit form or separately: the clutch drum, chain sprocket, clutch bearing, and oil pump. Other high-wear or high-loss parts include the chain guide plates, chainsaw bar, igniter, bar attachment nuts, Bar oil and fuel tank replacement caps, spark plugs, and all rubber components. Think long and hard about parts and tools that might be needed because of a loss of function or outright loss in the field, and get them now while the getting is good and easy.
Conservation of Resources
Literally by the Grace of God have I already dodged seven bullets in the form of major heart attacks, yet by God’s hand, I am becoming yet stronger and healthier than I was 20 years ago, even as I age. Praise the Lord! Even my brain fog has cleared up to a large extent. This disease was a curse on my life for the last 20 years. And just in time for the End of the World as We Knew It. All the males on my father’s side live well into their 90’s and I figured I might be the exception.
My previous estimated life span may prove to be incorrect and I shall be stuck on this planet. longer than expected. Once we surpass the age of 83, the odds of living into our 90s increases. May I have a rocking chair, a blanket, and plenty of firewood. I’ll also need the help from others who can cut wood using my chainsaws should I become elderly or infirmed. I shall have at least provided my caretakers with the means to put up with me longer than they would have expected. Yet they will also have the means to heat their home as well as the means to cremate my dead body when the time comes. Of course, digging a hole would be better than wasting all that cordwood.
Longer Wood = Less Expense
To minimize how much wood is needed, our long-term chainsaw sustainment plan can heat a humble home. I would reduce the square footage needed to be heated by closing off unneeded living space. And I will use a wood stove with a longer firebox that can accept 24-inch long log rounds instead of 16-inch long rounds or split wood that require more expense to produce per cord. These measures would reduce the amount of wear and tear on the chainsaws, and could add 30% or more the service life of the saw and reduce the number of chains, spare replacement parts, and fuel needed to keep the saws operational by one-third.
Cutting longer rounds is a sensible approach. It is efficient cost-wise and labor-wise by one-third the wood that needs to be cut, transported, split, and fed into a wood stove. Time and expense are reduced not only in the current year, but if measured over many years, that is significant. But only to mention that the wood stove and its chimney system itself would experience a longer service life, as well. Any cost-cutting and labor-saving measures are well worth pursuing. In the large scale, if a used, fuel-efficient modern wood stove could be found that is where most of the cost of cutting and handling wood is reduced.
Conclusion
My threat analysis of the new age 5th generational asymmetrical warfare — the like of which mankind has never yet experienced — is that a high tech multi-prong and comprehensive set of threats is in progress and unfolding as we speak. I am preparing for an extreme worst-case scenario that will probably exceed my ability to imagine or fully anticipate. Another way to fully appreciate the dire and extreme situation we face is to characterize it in terms of what is the Bible’s depiction of the End Times. In my humble opinion, we are faced with a threat of Biblical proportions and an enemy force that sadly very few people can appreciate.
Just to be certain that I do not underestimate the threat to life as we know it, I base my preparations on the worst-case scenario that I can rationally justify. I would rather overestimate a threat and an enemy, and work to a higher threat scenario standard, and be disappointed, rather than underestimate a threat and be defeated. The coming collapse will not be a multi-year event, but a multi-decade event. It will be a marathon where logistics will be key to our success. The best way to survive and the best place to survive will be remote regions where it is difficult for the unprepared masses to survive without the prerequisites that include the correct equipment and the knowledge and skills (such as firewood-cutting), to not only fill in the gaps or deficits but to perform the basic tasks that were once a part of the daily lives of our forefathers.
At the very least I would like to have the ability to cut wood with a chainsaw until I am good and dead, cold in the ground. As for those who are more youthful, they will inherit my crosscut saws and everything else. Let the youth become Luddites as idealists, or as a rationalization, because of the lack of a chainsaw. Therefore, I must devise a plan to keep my old chainsaws running for the next decade or two. I might live longer than expected and I surely will have a continued and strong desire to be warm and cozy.
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