Chainsaw troubles

[Kevin]

No thanks to Henry and Kevin... You two can go back to leaning on your shovels!

 

[woodtickgreg]

Now that's funny!

 

[Mike1950]

View attachment 36178

Wow I need one of those- I bet if I drug it out in the spring Kathie would not ask me to do any more digging!!!!!

 

[DKMD]

As if you would have taken any advice from an administrator, regardless of how much you were running into a brick wall.

It's been my experience that administration generally is responsible for erecting the wall in the first place...

 

[DKMD]

What kind of fuel/oil mixture you running?
Gas old?
Gas have ethanol in it?
40:1 or 50:1?

I run Stihl's.....

Both run like crap on old gas(low octane w/ethanol) and 40:1(standard mix oil crud)
They will both run at WOT with no issues without a load on the above, but drop the hammer even in a piece of pine and I get the same!

Both run like super hero's on steroids on fresh gas (highest octane no ethanol I can find) and 50:1(synth)
Start second pull, idle all day, WOT in any wood I choose to stick it in...as long as the chain is respectable and such.



See what I'm getting at...maybe? Sometimes the simple things are the easiest to check first.
The saw should have been set up by the shop you bought it from. Carb adjusting should not have been necessary?




Scott (WOT = wide open throttle, before someone asks) B

Standard mix(40:1), low octane, no alcohol. This can of fuel is less than a month old, but I don't suppose it would hurt to swap it out though. Any downside to running a leaner mix?

I'll drop it off at the dealer and let them tune it up, too.

I'm also gonna look for one of those shovel launchers... That looks fun!

 

[SENC]

Touche. I'd respond that such walls are generally only constructed to protect staff and others from hard-headed, my-way/highway surgeons, but that would just touch off a string of tit-for-tat that would consume bandwidth and bore everyone else while amusing only us. Glad you got your chainsaw humming. In all seriousness, I was going to make the same recommendation as Greg but knew you'd then do the opposite and foul it up. See, I'm looking out for you.

 

[SDB777]

Depends...

Newer saws(2012 and younger) like the 50:1 mix, the dealer should have told you. Ethanol free fuel is best for saws, well everything actually..... I wouldn't think just a month of sitting would make the fuel bad, unless there is water in it?

Which model saw are you 'sportin'?



Scott (between a Stihl and a hard place) B

 

[Mike1950]

I wonder if they used some of the stimulus funds for that- it looks like a shovel ready sort of contraption...........

 

[DKMD]

Depends...

Newer saws(2012 and younger) like the 50:1 mix, the dealer should have told you. Ethanol free fuel is best for saws, well everything actually..... I wouldn't think just a month of sitting would make the fuel bad, unless there is water in it?

Which model saw are you 'sportin'?



Scott (between a Stihl and a hard place) B

Shouldn't be any water in it. The saw is a farmboss(290), but the dealer is the only game in town... Less than helpful actually. The only thing they told me when I bought it was the price. I'll check with my arborist buddy before the dealer... He's running a bunch of Stihl saws, and I believe he does all of his own maintainence/repair work.

 

[woodtickgreg]

There should not be any noticeable difference running 40:1 or 50:1, I run 40:1 in all my saws, the carbs have all been tuned for this mix. Oil is cheap, motors are not. If you have been running 40:1 I would not change it. When you said can, are you running the store bought cans of pre mixed fuel? the reason I am asking is they do not have alcohol in them and that would eliminate that problem from the equation. Some manufacturers are doubling the warranty if you use those cans of fuel mix. The fuel is a little on the pricey side for someone like me who goes through gallons in a milling session. But for an occasional user it is good stuff, already has fuel stabilizer, no alcohol, and quality oil pre mixed.

 

[SDB777]

Guess I'm lucky here, plenty of good knowledge in the backroom of my dealer....

Would love to know what the arborist says?




Scott (290 is a fun handfull) B

 

[woodtickgreg]

Shouldn't be any water in it. The saw is a farmboss(290), but the dealer is the only game in town... Less than helpful actually. The only thing they told me when I bought it was the price. I'll check with my arborist buddy before the dealer... He's running a bunch of Stihl saws, and I believe he does all of his own maintainence/repair work.

Then give it to him! I would trust him more than a dealer that just see's dollar signs and is full of bs. It's a shame there are so many dealers out there like that.

 

[DKMD]

There should not be any noticeable difference running 40:1 or 50:1, I run 40:1 in all my saws, the carbs have all been tuned for this mix. Oil is cheap, motors are not. If you have been running 40:1 I would not change it. When you said can, are you running the store bought cans of pre mixed fuel? the reason I am asking is they do not have alcohol in them and that would eliminate that problem from the equation. Some manufacturers are doubling the warranty if you use those cans of fuel mix. The fuel is a little on the pricey side for someone like me who goes through gallons in a milling session. But for an occasional user it is good stuff, already has fuel stabilizer, no alcohol, and quality oil pre mixed.

I haven't tried the premixed stuff. This is Stihl oil and gas from the pump... A gallon of gas and dump in the tiny bottle of oil for an instant 40:1. The pump said "no ethanol", so I'm assuming they're truthful. I don't run much gas through this saw at all... Maybe four or five gallons a year. I bought it in March of this year, and this is the third or fourth gallon of gas I've used. For somebody like me, the premix might not be a bad deal.

 

[woodtickgreg]

I haven't tried the premixed stuff. This is Stihl oil and gas from the pump... A gallon of gas and dump in the tiny bottle of oil for an instant 40:1. The pump said "no ethanol", so I'm assuming they're truthful. I don't run much gas through this saw at all... Maybe four or five gallons a year. I bought it in March of this year, and this is the third or fourth gallon of gas I've used. For somebody like me, the premix might not be a bad deal.

Agreed, but what you have been doing with clean pump gas and a good oil like the stihl oil is perfect as well.

 

[Kevin]

There should not be any noticeable difference running 40:1 or 50:1, I run 40:1 in all my saws, the carbs have all been tuned for this mix. Oil is cheap, motors are not. If you have been running 40:1 I would not change it. When you said can, are you running the store bought cans of pre mixed fuel? the reason I am asking is they do not have alcohol in them and that would eliminate that problem from the equation. Some manufacturers are doubling the warranty if you use those cans of fuel mix. The fuel is a little on the pricey side for someone like me who goes through gallons in a milling session. But for an occasional user it is good stuff, already has fuel stabilizer, no alcohol, and quality oil pre mixed.

I was chewing the inside of my cheeks not to make a similar response after the 40:1 vs 50:1 comment. The difference is negligible once you truly understand the topic. Which I don't really enough to explain it so I didn't try. But I've read numerous articles on it over the years by guys much smarter than me - and I have actually purposefully run both over the past couple of years with and without Star Tron and I think the only way to tell what works is to experiment with it like I have. Scott has too and 50:1 lets his Sthils run but 40:1 doesn't. So if your name is Scott B and you run Stihls, we know that 40:1 cannot work. If your name is Doc Bones I assert that it can.

 

[woodtickgreg]

Kevin, and for what it's worth, with today's fuel I run star tron in all my equipment, even my boat outboard. And I run 40:1 in everything except the outboard, it's oil injected.

 

[SDB777]

Not quite what I was trying to say....

I can tell the output of the saw using differing types of fuel mixes....that said. I have run 22:1 through my big saw while milling. It runs but it doesn't have the output like it would on 50:1

Does that make sense?




Scott (hope so...) B

 

[woodtickgreg]

Not quite what I was trying to say....

I can tell the output of the saw using differing types of fuel mixes....that said. I have run 22:1 through my big saw while milling. It runs but it doesn't have the output like it would on 50:1

Does that make sense?




Scott (hope so...) B

Yes it does. But let me see if I can shed some light on this topic and try to keep it simple so people that are not well informed on 2 cycles can understand it, with out some idiot like me getting all technical. lubrication of the internal engine parts is done by the fuel mix and fuel mix only. Why was old equipment run at 20:1 ? Because the materials and tolerances where not what they are today. And the oils where not as good as today's either. Why are 2 cycles run at 50:1 today? 2 reasons, better materials and closer tolerances in the bearings etc, and to meet emissions standards set forth by the government. Ever wonder why some of the manufacturers quit making big cc saws, they could not meet the emissions. Saws today are built so much better than the antiques, Chrome cylinder bores, better ring material, anti friction coated pistons, all to reduce friction and drag, better fan cooling helps too. The biggest thing we struggle with today is a quality fuel, we have quality oils but the fuel today is crap.

 

[SENC]

Thanks, Greg. Takes a lot of smarts and effort to make something simple enough for me. You did. Thanks!

 

[Kevin]

Thanks, Greg. Takes a lot of smarts and effort to make something simple enough for me. You did. Thanks!

Henry your tolerances aren't all that tight. Greg knows that. He was trying to pump as much neurological oil into your cranium as possible. For you it's about a 1:1 ratio. We know that, and love you anyway.