Big wood killing small saws?

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

MaddBomber

ArboristSite Operative
Joined
Mar 13, 2009
Messages
474
Reaction score
397
Location
NorthEast
I got a few small (35-45cc) saws in the last few weeks. All with scored p/c on exhaust side. All have been cutting 20+ inch oak, hickory, and maple for firewood. Chains were sharp...ish. Oldest saw was 3 years. Dang clamshells!! Told customers to not pay for repairs, but buy a 50-65cc saw.
My question; am I correct in telling them to buy bigger saw for firewood? Does large hardwood kill small saws.... if so, how/why?
 
All ran and had good 4-stroke at WOT. Idled fine until warmed up... don't suspect air leaks... one of them (echo 4400) was set as rich as limiters woud go.... is it quality issues? My 011av was burried in alot of big wood.... until coil crapped out... without burning up.
 
Does large hardwood kill small saws
Nope.

My cheap plastic Poulan/Craftsman saws will cut as long as I want them to with their bars buried. I like the ones with chromed bores, but even without that there isn't anything in the cylinder that should be harming the cylinder walls. The things that kill them are exactly the same as what kills pro saws - poor tuning, bad fuel, dull chains, bad air filters and general abuse. It's just that they are more common and it is more likely these things will happen to them.
 
Nope.

My cheap plastic Poulan/Craftsman saws will cut as long as I want them to with their bars buried. I like the ones with chromed bores, but even without that there isn't anything in the cylinder that should be harming the cylinder walls. The things that kill them are exactly the same as what kills pro saws - poor tuning, bad fuel, dull chains, bad air filters and general abuse. It's just that they are more common and it is more likely these things will happen to them.

And that they probably sit unused for periods of time.. start them up and run them like it was yesterday of the last use... that old fuel,,, yada, yada. Good for you making a few bucks, bad for un-informed users.
 
The saw doesn't care how big the wood its cutting. Obviously if your cutting with a 28" bar on a 40cc saw you are exceeding parameters the saw was designed to work well within.

I cut for many years with a 42cc saw. Ultimately I killed it from ignorance of quality oil, proper tune and poor chain sharpening.
 
The saw doesn't care how big the wood its cutting. Obviously if your cutting with a 28" bar on a 40cc saw you are exceeding parameters the saw was designed to work well within.

I cut for many years with a 42cc saw. Ultimately I killed it from ignorance of quality oil, proper tune and poor chain sharpening.

An admitted saw abuser... what is this world coming too...:)
 
Sounds like an overheat condition probably brought on by a stingy L needle and a cramped exhaust.
 
I doubt these little saws have a cooling capacity design to work that hard.
I suppose it depends on the particular saw - it is simply a matter of sufficient cooling fins and flywheel fan size. None of that has ever been an issue on any of my homeowner saws, although I don't have either of the ones from the OP. 42cc Poulans in particular have big flywheel blowers for their size.
 
I would agree with poor maintance/poor oil-fuel combo, chain care, ill informed ham handed user ?? , Its a reicepe done right all is great, too much of one and not enough of another, its a recipe for a new saw is all....
 
All ran and had good 4-stroke at WOT. Idled fine until warmed up... don't suspect air leaks... one of them (echo 4400) was set as rich as limiters woud go.... is it quality issues? My 011av was burried in alot of big wood.... until coil crapped out... without burning up.

My bet would be a tuning issue. With the colder weather comes lean mixture if not adjusted and those damn limiter tabs prevent a good tune in many instances. I almost burnt up my Echo but luckily noticed it was racing at peak RPMs before the limited ignition was kicking in. Pulled the limiter tabs and had to richen the H jet at least 1/2 to 3/4 turn past the max limiter position before I was comfortable with it. It really is an issue with these saws, get those things off of there and adjust properly.
 
My echo cs-4400 has cut a lot of 16-20" hardwood. Oak, Hickory, Walnut. No problems. Same for my brothers Stihl 011. His 011 has been his only saw for what, near 30 years? It's cut a LOT of big wood. Some very big.

On a recent visit to a local Stihl dealer I witnessed an older gent picking up his scored saws. Both were fried. He asked what would cause both to score? Dealer said its often from poor quality fuel mix. Customer admitted he used 87 octane ethanol blended fuel with the best oil they sell at Dollar General...

Good mix, good maintenance, and a light hand in the cut. Saws don't know how big the wood is. Also, maybe consider the duty cycle. I wouldn't try production logging with 42cc. But with some patience, proper tuning, quality mix and sharp chain it should last many years of firewood duty.
 
I doubt these little saws have a cooling capacity design to work that hard. Couple that with the fact that most saws come from the factory tuned on the lean edge, and you have the prescription for failure.
Little, unprofessional saws, often sold at Walmart and other discount retailers, die rather rapidly. Sad thing is that they are almost impossible to repair and usually wind up in the land fill. It's not that they have little engines as much as they are not well made and get sold for $125 or so. When they die, it costs more to repair them than their original selling price.
 
Back
Top