Tim McCarthy recently accompanied both Warren Lucas and Ian Schulz from Lucas Mill to the Solomon Islands for EFI training.
Lim Wei Cyan (Kohler Area Manager, Singapore) also accompanied Tim, Ian and Warren on the trip where they were able to meet the locals and see the Lucas sawmills and Kohler engines first hand.
At the Honiara Farmset Branch, Tim trained current users of Kohler powered Lucas sawmills on the correct procedures relating to maintenance and service of the Kohler ECH749 EFI Engine.
Tim also trained a class on fault finding and using both the blink code and software system. Many of the attendees who were present during 2016 had returned for an update and refresher course.
During their spare time Tim, Warren, Ian and Lido (Farmset Manager) travelled to the island of Gizo in a 20 seater plane. The trip took 1 hour from Honiara to the islands airport where they then had to travel to the main island in a banana boat! The banana boat is the only means of transport on the island of Gizo and is used every day to get to the engines and sawmills.
The first day on the job involved fitting a new set of coils to a well-used 30HP carburettor Kohler engine and rebuilding a starter motor. Tim and Ian took this time to show the locals the correct procedure for servicing the engine and also demonstrated how to install the new coils.
The second day in Gizo was spent demonstrating a Kohler EFI fitted to a 10/30 Lucas sawmill. The demonstration took place in the middle of a forest which meant dragging the mill up a very steep mountain (30 degree incline!) in 40-degree heat.
Once the set up was complete, Tim demonstrated a complete service on the unit, showing the locals different service intervals and procedures.
Ian then spent the next 2-3 hours milling a large log into smaller pieces of timber, which were to eventually be used to build a house.
Upon return from the forest, training commenced on the EFI fault diagnosis. This included demonstration of both the blink code and laptop methods. This was a good opportunity for the current operators to learn about maintaining the engine and different fault finding methods.
Overall the locals in the Solomon Islands were very thankful for the demonstrations and advice Tim, Warren, Ian and Lim had given over the duration of their stay.
Tim would like to thank Warren and Ian from Lucas Mill for arranging the trip and both Lim from Kohler and Lido from Farmset for their support on the trip.