ZBM2 said:
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Your Poulan saw is shite. I will admit it I have bought poulan and knock offs-they are generic. And crap.
Advice for anyone in the market for a chainsaw, buy STIHL or HUSKY. You wont be sorry.
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I do believe I said as much about the Poulin above.
And you're right, as myself and others have said - STIHL and HUSKIE are excellent machines.
Although no longer in any of the professions you solicit input from, I do live in a fairly remote area of BC where power outages, road closures (due to floods, landslides, and snow) are common. "Emergency Preparedness" is not a case of "emergency" planning for us - it is simply a routine consideration.
There is ALWAYS at least one month's worth of non-perishable food in the house - we replenish as we consume it, thus achieving stock rotation. Although we heat normally with natural gas, the wood stove heats the house admirably, which we knew when we installed it, and proved a few times last winter. There is never less than a cord of wood stored on the place. There is never less than 20 gallons of gasoline available for use. This gas is normally used for my small garden tractor/snow blower and other small tools around the place, thus once again achieving "stock rotation". In the case of an emergency, the fuel would be available mostly for the (Huskie) chainsaw. We only store 10 gallons of water (once again rotated), as we live withing 750 meters of a clean fresh river (Kitsum-Kalum, if you're curious), and access to water would never be a problem - just a small irritation to collect should it come to that.
The only piece to the puzzle still missing is a good generator - with it I will power the well, basement sump, furnace, refrigerator and freezer, and a few chosen circuits in the house for lights and computer (computer equals comms - unless the local ISP is down, in which case it's no great loss - we'd receive news through the radio - including SW should it come to that). This lack of generator will be rectified this fall/winter when I complete my shop - I will house the gennie in the machine room of the shop, and have it hooked into the required circuits.
Last winter and late spring we experienced a few power outages/road closures (you may remember Terrace being "cut off" from re-supply of groceries and fuel). Our plans have been tested and found adequate - no worries here. The addition of a generator really comes down to convenience, although a longer power outage (more than 48 hours) would result in some food spoilage in the freezer - unless it was winter.
The point I'm making, I think - is that for some, personal emergency preparedness is not a matter of professional interest, but a routine consideration. In fact the only reason I even think of our own measures as "emergency preparedness" is because of my military background. My neighbours who have lived here all their lives don't think of it that way - they just consider anyone who is NOT prepared to be cut off for a while an idiot.
It really all just comes down to common dog - and I realize that those living in large cities have a whole host of other considerations to take into account. In some ways, being prepared is easier when you live in a rural area.
Roy
that saw, me. Pushes out rough 10' 6X6 douglas fir. Contemplating a Woodmizer type bandsaw or maybe an antique belt driven 20"circular run off a PTO from the tractor (Ford 9n). Picked up an electic Shindaiwa (laugh here,now) chainsaw for bucking firewood but its only 10A and my wife loves it for pruning the fruit trees and chopping/bucking up light alder and maple. Gotta admit I like it too.
