would a chainsaw work if dropped in the water

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injun joe

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was at a friends house and an axe men commercial came on and the guy popped up from the water with a chainsaws in his grasp then he proceeded to cut the log whilst in the water. would this really work in real life??:confused:
 
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Prep would be vital!

was at a friends house and an axe men commercial came on and the guy popped up from the water with a chainsaws in his grasp then he proceeded to cut the log whilst in the water. would this really work in real life??:confused:

in thinking about it, it probably would do some damage initially, but as long as he went under with the intake at the lowest, and the piston up to compression, a check valve on gas/oil vent, and only a screen, or nothing for air filter... so prep the saw, and go under holding it muffler at 12 o'clock???

:monkey:
 
If the saw wasn't running when it went under, then it likely is fairly easy to get going. But you would need to spend a bit of time on air filter/intake for sure, and possibly the fuel itself. (at worst case maybe even the carburetor). But if it was not running then it should be ok. But to pop up out of water and run it, doubtful.
 
That's a maybe.

A year or two ago we had a big flood here, there was a long post about it with pics. My garage flooded and one of my chainsaws was on the floor in about a foot of water. When I was able to get back to my house the next day after the water went down I looked at the saw and thought it was history, but I gave it a pull to see if it would turn over and it fired once, a couple more pulls and it started. I cleaned it up and it still works fine.
 
I was in the water cutting up a log jam a couple of weeks ago (Northern Vermont, up to my backside - not much fun). My 7900 was never submerged, but the base was in the water at about 2" for 30 seconds. I haven't used it since, but will let you know if she cranks when next I need this particular saw.
 
The people who told stories of getting their saw knocked out of their hands by vine maple, and then the saw went in the river, are off for the winter. I'll have to remember to ask. I know they went in after the saw.

Now, does it matter that the river is full of glacial silt? :)
 
If the saw wasn't running when it went under...
It's not uncommon for motorcycles to get dropped under water while running.
The rider will try to get the motor shut down asap. If water gets sucked into the combustion chamber while it's running it can "hydro lock". The water can't be compressed and everything comes to an abrupt stop. Often this will bend the crank.
 
I was cutting a tree over pond once and lost my saw(361)(this had never happened before or since) the saw hit the water running and died I immediately got it out and pulled the plug and filter off and squirted the whole thing down with sea foam carb cleaner, it still took three days for it to get right though and I have not had a problem since. By the way this guy shelby lives about 5 miles from me he sells cypress that he pulls out of lake Pontchartrain. my friend knows him he said that he dropped the saw in the water on accident.​
 
I have an 020av that went through a house fire. The crankcase was filled up with water. Emptied it out put a 32:1 mix in it with a good synthetic oil. Fired it up and it runs great though.... I have to find a black plastic top of the handle as its all warped from the heat.
 
As Brian VT stated, motorcycles often get submerged.

I raced an enduro race in Delaware a few years ago and totally submerged my Honda CR500 (2 stroke engine) in a creek bed. I was able to get a few guys to help me yank it out of the creek and get it on shore.

I opened the airbox, removed the air filter and squeezed the water out. Then reinstalled it.

Next I removed the spark plug, turned the bike upside down, put it in gear and spun the rear tire. All the water in the cylinder came squirting out.

I reinstalled the plug, righted the bike and kicked it about 20 times before it lit. I finished the race and won my class. And only lost 11 minutes on getting the bike restarted.

A few days later I changed out the gear oil and found a little milkiness, but overall it wasn't too bad.

The bike ran great for many races after that. :clap:
 
Air, fuel and spark is what your saw has to have to run.

After you get all the water out of the crankcase and the air filter is dried or removed so air can pass and assuming that your sealed up electronics work when damp, your chainsaw will run after being submerged.

Back in the dark ages of off-road motorcycle racing, before proper shrouding of the intake and sealed electrical systems, it was not uncommon to be seen on the side of the trail after a water crossing with the bike turned upside down on its bars, sparkplug removed, pumping water out of the crankcase. After that, if it was a points and condenser system, you took the side cover off and hoped the engine heat that remained after the dunking would dry them while you wiped with a rag to help things along. Fifteen or twenty minutes later you'd be up and running again. Sometimes quicker.

Pretty soon though you figured out how to shroud the intake so this didn't happen so often. Which worked fine until you hit a slick rock and fell over in the creek and it sucked water while on its side. Or you picked the side of the trail with the 3 foot deep hole in the creek and went under. Then you got to push up on the bank and execute the procedure detailed above.
 
Snowmobile watercrossers modify their fuel tanks and chaincase to prevent water getting in, but those two strokes go down on a regular basis. They pull them out, pull the plugs to pump out the water and start them up. Doesn't seem to bother those motors much at all.
 
and the guy popped up from the water with a chainsaws in his grasp then he proceeded to cut the log whilst in the water.

I think we all agree that a submerged engine can and will function once cleaned up a bit and restarted.

But this part, which appears to be coming right out of water and using, may be a little tough to believe. Does not sound like it was cleaned up, water taken out, etc.. How did he start it, or was it running when he came up from the water !! :givebeer:
 
I fell through the ice on my 1996 mxz583 once.. I noticed that the rear end had dropped I nailed the throttle thinking I could save it.. They will run on open water with enough momentum going in. But unfortunately I was going to slow and it went to the bottom.. I got a boat snagged the rear grab bar and drug it out with the truck. Took several days of drying to get the seat even close to being not a huge sponge. The engine started right up with many spark plug removals and blow offs.. It scared me pretty good. I am just grateful that it was only 4 feet deep where it went in instead of in the deep water in the middle of my lake.
 

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