How long do your saws last?
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Altissimus
TreeHouser
I refuse to own one ... Sold the ones I had , give me Carb and Hi Low screws or give me death
SkwerI
Treehouser
Use a good synthetic mix oil and they have fuel stabilizers in them already. I use Stihl synthetic (grey bottle). The orange bottle Stihl mix is garbage IMO. I've opened up plenty of saws run on Stihl regular mix and they are always gummed up and cruddy inside. Use the grey bottle stuff. I buy it by the gallon and measure my own, much cheaper than individual mix bottles. About $65 for a gallon, makes 50 gallons of fuel.
Stumpshot
General Purpose
How about Opti? I ran that last winter, says you can do 100:1 mix, but we were doing 50:1 with it (usually 40:1 with the orange bottle Stihl 2-cycle -- got a case of it on a raging deal).
SkwerI
Treehouser
Opti is the same as the Echo branded oil. Or at least it was 30 years ago. Very good stuff. Even still, I wouldn't run any oil at 100-1.
Al Smith
Mac Daddy
I won't either . I even Stihl ultra at 32 to 1 .My saws my option .
Magnus
TreeHouser
I have a HVA44 that has been sitting 15 years+ now in a test to see when fuel get bad enough to affect cold start. It still starts and runs ok.
In saw fuel you have the cas and oil. Both are equally important. Alcylate fuel is a lot better for the saws and operator.
Some don't like the Aspen oil so they buy without and run their own. I run Aspen in most saws, even older. I make sure there isn't carbon in them and run them as usual.
Exception of the really old pre 1955. they get a squirt of 30 oil as well.
Main issue here is with the few that mix with gas station gasoline as they need a pretty good oil to mix well with the stuff in gas today. A esteric oil is needed to mix with alcohol so that must be in them in some way.
Yes. If you want to mess with ignition and fuel systems you need to be able to hook them up to a 'puter.
I only own one with a computer carb, an MS362. I wouldn't have bought it had I known prior that it had the electronic carb. It's 6-1/2 years old. Still runs okay, just a pain to work with. When you crank it, you have to give it a minute to get its act together.
pete mctree
Treehouser
I think the original solenoids did not cope well with the saws as they aged as they could not provide enough fuel. The newer ones have overcome this it seems.
Stumpshot
General Purpose
Our saw shop was attributing the 2nd death of the #2 372 to bad gas, particularly with Ethanol. We hadn't been working near ethanol-free gas stations lately, so been using super unleaded + the orange bottle Stihl 2-cycle oil. Probably a deadly combo for it, but it's odd that the other 372 has been working fine using the same fuel & mix. Maybe a particularly bad batch of gas or that it was sitting around a few weeks before called back into duty. That and it does have a muffler port mod. They met us halfway on the 2nd rebuild, enough to be livable.
SkwerI
Treehouser
Orange bottle Stihl oil is marginal at best. Really crappy stuff and not much better than the generic hardware store crap. Stihl does make good mix oil but they charge well for it. Get the grey bottle, not the orange.
This is for mix oil, not bar oil. Bar lube is a one-time-use drip lubrication system with 100% loss. It basically has to last one or two times around the bar and it's gone. I use the cheapest I can find. Currently using Tractor Supply bar oil that I bought for $7 per gallon.
This is for mix oil, not bar oil. Bar lube is a one-time-use drip lubrication system with 100% loss. It basically has to last one or two times around the bar and it's gone. I use the cheapest I can find. Currently using Tractor Supply bar oil that I bought for $7 per gallon.
Stumpshot
General Purpose
Thanks for the firsthand experience-based advice. We usually get Echo bar oil from the tractor store for $9.99/jug. Sometimes fill in with TSC Country Tuff or O'Reilly's MasterPro brand if on sale.
We keep it warm in the truck so it's of proper viscosity during these cold temps -- something you don't have worry about! Winter weight Stihl bar oil is a bit on the expen$$ive side!
We keep it warm in the truck so it's of proper viscosity during these cold temps -- something you don't have worry about! Winter weight Stihl bar oil is a bit on the expen$$ive side!
I don't care if you are running non stop with with gas station oil and 100 percent ethanol, you shouldn't be able to burn a saw up in a month. Sounds like they had the carb wayyyyy to lean at best, shitty ring and hone job at worst (if they even do that on saws anymore, i thought they pretty much just replaced everything anymore because the cylinders were tylon coated, hardened, or something, dunno). Shoddy work most likely, and i would bet it repeats.
Stumpshot
General Purpose
That's the basic working hypothesis at this point. Their shop may be 20 mins from us, but probably better to go into KC 30-45 mins to a better shop that does dependable work. Completely unimpressed at this point with the quality of repairs. Tractor place in town carries Stihl and can get any parts we need for self-repair.
But at least this kicks us into gear to only use good fuel and better 2-cycle oil and be more deliberate how we run & store the bigger, lesser used saws. Just winds up being a $$$ lesson.
But at least this kicks us into gear to only use good fuel and better 2-cycle oil and be more deliberate how we run & store the bigger, lesser used saws. Just winds up being a $$$ lesson.
Magnus
TreeHouser
There was a test they made here running on Ethanol. First problem they got was finding oil that mixed as they found out quickly most oils don't mix with alcohol.
They used a esteric oil. I think it was ricin oil (not sure if the word is correct).
They ran them a season here and has dome issues with cold nights but storing saws in logger cabin fixed issue.
I got to see pics of these as they were taken apart to see wear and measurements etc. You could not tell they ran much at all.
Magnus
TreeHouser
A thing to keep in mind is that the property's in fuels and oils vary and it can be consequences just from changing fuel/oil/gas even if saw is set and run right for the fuel it has.
We used to see that a lot here when Aspen was introduced.
I try to tell everyone to shift fuel/oil/mix when you start run saw new or tear it down and make sure its clean.
With clean I mean really clean. Combustion chamber, ports, crankcase, muffler outlet, intake, plug etc..
Its not worth the risk to take chances.
We used to see that a lot here when Aspen was introduced.
I try to tell everyone to shift fuel/oil/mix when you start run saw new or tear it down and make sure its clean.
With clean I mean really clean. Combustion chamber, ports, crankcase, muffler outlet, intake, plug etc..
Its not worth the risk to take chances.
Al Smith
Mac Daddy
I've heard the stories for years but can't subscribe to them regarding gasoline and oil .I've cooked one saw in my lifetime which was my fault .Primed it after a rebuild with straight gas .It was a mistake simple as that.I would suggest more of them get cooked by air leaks than gasoline or oil being defective .Many people are not aware of when an air leak is happening because it often comes on slowly .They blame the gas and keep on running them until one day it just stops .
Back when I was a teenager we ran those things with either motor oil or outboard motor boat oil and never had a problem .They smoked a little bit but never once burned one up .--just saying
Back when I was a teenager we ran those things with either motor oil or outboard motor boat oil and never had a problem .They smoked a little bit but never once burned one up .--just saying
Stumpshot
General Purpose
Highly, highly suspicious of the first rebuild, given how quick it burned up afterward and all other saws using the same fuel mixes. So the that points to the rebuild as the main variable. Lesson learned on that: get a new saw shop. But we do want to improve the other variables with as hard as the saws run and use better fuel & oil mix.
Cut4fun
Redneck Chainsaw Repair
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- Nov 27, 2007
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Who tuned the 372 after build to your mix? Did it just leave the shop and was left as they set it?
Some shops have no clue. I wouldnt let my locals tune anything for me. JMO. I bring home and tune myself.
Many things come into play. Just wondering.
Some shops have no clue. I wouldnt let my locals tune anything for me. JMO. I bring home and tune myself.
Many things come into play. Just wondering.
Altissimus
TreeHouser
Though I do simples and maintenance my Saw Shop excels !! Great dealer backing , meticulous service (yet they admit hating the Climb Saws). Would never send anything out that isn't ready to scream. Real shop owned by a Logger , there's two other hardware stores within driving that claim to be Husky dealers but they really suck.
