amberg
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Anybody using their auto-tune saws on their chainsaw mills, any thoughts or opinions?
Auto-tune saws
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amberg
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Sorry, forgot to mention the saw in question is the husky 576 xp at.
Any one have this saw?
Any one have this saw?
mn man
ArboristSite Operative
i have used my stihl 661 that has the m-tronic and i had no issues with the m-tronic stuff, just a bad chain tensioner that i had to replace.
IyaMan
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I have been in the market for a new saw and had the exact same consideration. I looked high and low and only found a small amount of info on 576xpAT milling. There's a couple videos out there showing people doing it, but I wanted to know about long term usage and wear, and there was little to be found. Mind you, I only intended to mill softwood less than 15" wide. This is what I determined:
The 576AT will certainly mill well on softwood less than 20" (it has quite high torque), but like with any milling saw one shouldn't overdo it. The biggest concern would be heat. As the saw automatically adjusts, running it "a bit richer" as suggested may not be possible. People say that one needs to slightly "de-tune the saw" when milling, and the additional fuel helps with cooling.
Also, guys tend to increase the fuel/oil mix to 40:1 and even 32:1 (and then, as mentioned, richen up the carb to compensate for this). Though 32:1 might be a little too much (BobL on here suggests staying at 40:1 or even 50:1, and he is clearly experienced in milling) I would wonder if the AT will have long term issues with 40:1. However, I've heard that someone once accidentally put bar oil in the gasoline tank of their 576AT and the autotune actually compensated for it and the saw ran! B ut generally, you may want to keep it between 40:1 and 50:1, and this is assuming that it is not a saw dedicated only to milling (if it is, go with a bigger saw).
Another heat factor is bar length. I intended to only run a 20" bar and this would probably have been fine. The longer the bar, the more power needed to pull it, and therefore the more heat created. I'd say that 24" and less would probably be OK. Over 24" would put a lot of strain on the saw in a mill, especially over the long-term, and you probably shouldn't be milling that wide of wood with 73cc anyways.
Of course there's also the chain, and like the bar, dull chain sucks more power and causes more heat. So keep it sharp and get ripping chain.
So I concluded that the 576AT would be fine for occasional milling of not too wide of wood (and not too hard of wood if over 12"), but to take it easy and let the saw cool well between cuts. Maybe even pause part of the way once or twice during cuts to also allow itself to cool. And its important to understand that letting the saw cool itself does not mean turning it off: just let it idle and allow the internal fan cool the engine, maybe for two minutes or so (turning it off will actually increase the temperature the first minute or two. This may cause overheating and seize the engine while off). And in that regard, be sure to keep the fuel tank full enough. Running out of gas halfway through a cut when the engine is hottest would therefore be bad.
Ultimately though I opted with a slightly bigger saw and its being delivered at the moment. I seriously considered the 576AT for a while, but due to lack of dealer support for me I opted with not getting an autotune saw. But I hope my input was of help. Good luck!
The 576AT will certainly mill well on softwood less than 20" (it has quite high torque), but like with any milling saw one shouldn't overdo it. The biggest concern would be heat. As the saw automatically adjusts, running it "a bit richer" as suggested may not be possible. People say that one needs to slightly "de-tune the saw" when milling, and the additional fuel helps with cooling.
Also, guys tend to increase the fuel/oil mix to 40:1 and even 32:1 (and then, as mentioned, richen up the carb to compensate for this). Though 32:1 might be a little too much (BobL on here suggests staying at 40:1 or even 50:1, and he is clearly experienced in milling) I would wonder if the AT will have long term issues with 40:1. However, I've heard that someone once accidentally put bar oil in the gasoline tank of their 576AT and the autotune actually compensated for it and the saw ran! B ut generally, you may want to keep it between 40:1 and 50:1, and this is assuming that it is not a saw dedicated only to milling (if it is, go with a bigger saw).
Another heat factor is bar length. I intended to only run a 20" bar and this would probably have been fine. The longer the bar, the more power needed to pull it, and therefore the more heat created. I'd say that 24" and less would probably be OK. Over 24" would put a lot of strain on the saw in a mill, especially over the long-term, and you probably shouldn't be milling that wide of wood with 73cc anyways.
Of course there's also the chain, and like the bar, dull chain sucks more power and causes more heat. So keep it sharp and get ripping chain.
So I concluded that the 576AT would be fine for occasional milling of not too wide of wood (and not too hard of wood if over 12"), but to take it easy and let the saw cool well between cuts. Maybe even pause part of the way once or twice during cuts to also allow itself to cool. And its important to understand that letting the saw cool itself does not mean turning it off: just let it idle and allow the internal fan cool the engine, maybe for two minutes or so (turning it off will actually increase the temperature the first minute or two. This may cause overheating and seize the engine while off). And in that regard, be sure to keep the fuel tank full enough. Running out of gas halfway through a cut when the engine is hottest would therefore be bad.
Ultimately though I opted with a slightly bigger saw and its being delivered at the moment. I seriously considered the 576AT for a while, but due to lack of dealer support for me I opted with not getting an autotune saw. But I hope my input was of help. Good luck!
I wouldn't stress to much about it, any pro grade saw should be up to the task so long as your cutting within the capabilities of that saw. Many people told me I couldn't run a 42" bar on a 660. I didn't listen and have put close to 50hrs on that combo and still pulls as strong as always.
A lot of people on here seem to get all worked up over modding and tuning saws and the like, if that's what your into great. I very rarely touch the tune on my saws and have had no problems. My old man bought his 066 over fifteen years ago and it has never seen a saw shop, tuning screw driver or even a new spark plug and has had hundreds of Litres of fuel put through it both firewood cutting and milling
A lot of people on here seem to get all worked up over modding and tuning saws and the like, if that's what your into great. I very rarely touch the tune on my saws and have had no problems. My old man bought his 066 over fifteen years ago and it has never seen a saw shop, tuning screw driver or even a new spark plug and has had hundreds of Litres of fuel put through it both firewood cutting and milling
amberg
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Good info. This is my first auto-tune saw, just bought it back in October from a well known saw builder on this site who suggested to run 40:1 mix which we have always done. Always used to running the old stihls, 042, 038 mag's and the 044's, 046's etc. I will say that I have not put the tach on it yet, but it seems to scream through a log with the 24" bar with RM chain, much faster than the 044 with a 20" bar with RS chain. If I ever get to do some milling it would be ERC about 10 to 18". I have also noticed that the saw muffler will get pretty hot esp. when cutting through a 37" dead white oak. I don't remember any of the old stihl mufflers very hot. Seems like the muffler needs to be opened up a little.
IyaMan
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If its softwood under 20", you'll be good. There's lots of good info on other threads on milling with mods, so you should do some searches.
There are different schools of thought, but it appears that most agree that mods make an engine run hotter, including most muffler mods (though heat escapes quicker when opening up the muffler, more gasoline is allowed to be pulled through due to increased exhaust flow, which therefore makes hotter combustion. Some say they offset each other in temperature, others say it actually increases temperature. Might just depend on the type of mod, but don't just assume it'll automatically help cool the engine). Again, if milling only sometimes you'll probably be fine (just let it cool between cuts), but if its a dedicated mill saw, most people suggest leaving it stock.
Please give updates on your milling adventures, we'd all love to know. Have fun!!
There are different schools of thought, but it appears that most agree that mods make an engine run hotter, including most muffler mods (though heat escapes quicker when opening up the muffler, more gasoline is allowed to be pulled through due to increased exhaust flow, which therefore makes hotter combustion. Some say they offset each other in temperature, others say it actually increases temperature. Might just depend on the type of mod, but don't just assume it'll automatically help cool the engine). Again, if milling only sometimes you'll probably be fine (just let it cool between cuts), but if its a dedicated mill saw, most people suggest leaving it stock.
Please give updates on your milling adventures, we'd all love to know. Have fun!!
amberg
Addicted to ArboristSite
I am very impressed with this saw so far, As is three other sthil only guys that I know. It still has less than 12 tanks through it yet. I guess I need to tach it out in a cut to ease my mind. Will keep it stock and keep running the 40:1 also. As for the milling adventures I will be lucky to even get started, I do have a lot ot ERC and walnut that I could mill, as we just select cut 40 acres of oak, poplar, ash, cheery, and a few 25" DBH walnut. which exposed a lot of the cedar. As I do have the equipment to get the logs out, My health does not look like it is going to work until my knees get back where I can use the saws with out stumbling and falling on the saw. Also if I were to mill with the chainsaw it would have to be on a carriage type mill as I can not use my knees any more. Going to keep trying though!
You don't have to be on your knees milling with a chainsaw. You say you have equipment to get logs out; use it to get your logs up off the ground and sloped. Check out BobL's advice.
