Big wood killing small saws?

[AKDoug]

Dull chains kill.

I was just typing that.. a big saw can sustain a longer run time on a dull chain than a small saw, but it sure is bad for a saw.

 

[weedkilla]

I have a husky 445 with 5 or 6 years of unrelenting abuse as the saw the "new guy" uses.
Stock muffler, sensible tune, chains mostly dull for the first couple of months till I can get it into them to learn to sharpen or at least just swap to a fresh chain.
I genuinely dislike the saw, but won't replace it till it dies - which for some reason it refuses to do.

 

[Tree Sling'r]

I was just typing that.. a big saw can sustain a longer run time on a dull chain than a small saw, but it sure is bad for a saw.

I concur. Sharp for some is dull for others.

 

[HuskStihl]

Of course its killing the saws, everyone knows that only a ported 90cc saw with square filed chain at least a 28" Sugihara bar will cut wood

Finally a sensible post! That's why I use my ported 394 with a 36" Sugi for all cutting, no matter how small. 32:1 with belray, and I pause every 2 seconds for the saw to cool. You just can't be too careful with these delicate instruments.

 

[Wood Doctor]

I must admit that I have a Craftsman 4218 inside a case that somebody gave me. It has good compression and still runs after five years of operation as a limbing saw--maybe 100 hours in total. I've never straight gassed it or asked it to do too much. Yes, it was cheap; yes, it was made by Poulan; yes, I hate the sharp nose, skinny bar; yes, everybody makes fun of me when I pull it out. However, it cuts wood, always starts, and never dies while idling. Dang it, how do I get rid of it?

 

[Chris-PA]

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.

At MalWart those are Poulans. I have repaired and ported several. They are easy to work on, dead solid reliable when tuned and maintained and parts are cheap and readily available. You can download the IPL from the factory web site. And they have had strato engines for years, unlike the much more expensive Stihl plastic clamshells. They sell Poulan branded saws without A/V and Poulan Pro versions with A/V.

Other than that you're right.

 

[MustangMike]

The only thing I'm thinking is if the fuel mix is marginal, and the tune is marginal on the lean side, U will know it sooner with a small saw cutting big wood because it will take a lot longer to do the work.

But if everything is right, they should run for a long time no matter what size wood they cut.

 

[MCW]

Finally a sensible post! That's why I use my ported 394 with a 36" Sugi for all cutting, no matter how small. 32:1 with belray, and I pause every 2 seconds for the saw to cool. You just can't be too careful with these delicate instruments.

I'm glad to see you utilizing the full 36" of such a fine bar

 

[Matt81]

Does large hardwood kill small saws.... if so, how/why?

more likely tuning. If you take your time, I would think a small saw would cut anything, the saw being properly maintained, oil mixed , sharp chain.

Long and short is No! A well maintained small saw will cut anything a much bigger saw will but much slower of course.

My first saw i bought was a Chinese Zenoah copy. $100 and 52cc and was listed as 2.2 kw but weighed over 12.6 lbs. Actual power i suspect is around 2.0 kw, so yeah pretty bad for the weight. Came with a joke of a 22" bar. I swapped it out for a farm tough Husky bar of 18" and 3/8 050. This so called "crappy" saw did very hard work several days a week felling and limbing and firewood duties around home. I used it for around 18 months but it had not died so i kept it but bought a much more modern and better saw. I was cutting large diameter hardwood with this Chinese saw that i would think twice about with my new modern bigger cc saws. It did a crap load of work in that 18 months and it still fires right up and still cuts well today. So no large hardwood is not to blame. Those saws you mentioned with the problems are better quality saws then my "Chinese Husky" (saw body is Husky orange). If my $100 saw can do it I'm sure a modern name brand saw could.

My bet would be on the tune of the saws in question being incorrect as well. That or the saw operator!

 

[wde_1978]

I don't think a (halfway decently built) small chainsaw will necessarily meet an untimely death just because its being used for tougher work then intended!
As long as the user pays just a little attention while working , a small saw will live just as long as a big one - she'll get the work done too , just slower.

My little 1.7KW Sachs-Dolmar 105 (top handle , 14" bar , 3/8 Low Profile , low kickback chain) did most of my firewood cutting (shared load with a deceased Sachs-Dolmar 285) from 1988. up until 2006.
She took all the beating (unskilled user, no clue in sharpening a chain, wood more than twice as big as the length of the bar, full throttle all the time).
Had her running so hot that she used to boil the gasoline inside her little aluminum belly - and I thought that to be a normal occurrence...

That little saw survived all of my stupidity and it was only a few Years ago , after I took the load off of her , that she started to behave extremely moody (won't start properly, won't idle, gets hot very fast)!
Tried to start her up on Monday for some small cuts - not a sound out of her.
Turned to the big Dolmar PS6400 to get the work done that day.

For the record , the electric Sachs-Dolmar 285 died due to plastic housing meltdown around the guide bar bolt from heat buildup caused by excessive cutting , engine and clutch are fine.

 

[XSKIER]

I see a lot of old timers dawg in modern saws. If a saw is designed to cut at peak power around 10k rpm, and you dog it down to 7k rpm, it won't last long. The carb can't compensate for the lower air velocity from dawging in hard. Less air velocity through the carb venturi draws less fuel and oil, combine that with lower cooling velocity from the flywheel, then all of the expert diagnosises will say: straight gas, too lean, over loading, or even too small of saw.

 

[weimedog]

All we have is Hard wood around here. One of the guys who hunts here also helps with the firewood with his Poulan Wild Thing.... old enough the pastel colors are fading. I have to wonder if safety chain kills those little saws.. That and technic. See a few try to "saw" with their saw and more than a few not put enough pressure to really load the saw as if effectively grinds its way thru the hard wood. Along with a possible lean condition those extended cut times can heat things up on any saw.

Pretty much everyone who has to do work and has the chance to run a real saw back to back with a Wal-Mart pink& purple Poulan comes away wanting to at least get a Tractor Supply Jonsered

 

[sunfish]

The owners are killing these smaller saws, not the wood...

 

[old-cat]

The owners are killing these smaller saws, not the wood...

Oh come on. Wood is MEAN stuff! Of course wood kills saws!!

 

[nk14zp]

Of course its killing the saws, everyone knows that only a ported 90cc saw with square filed chain at least a 28" Sugihara bar will cut wood

Dang it, Are you saying I need a smaller saw than my 2095 now.

 

[Gypo Logger]

Go big or go home.

 

[pioneerguy600]

View attachment 420895 Go big or go home.

090 all the way, 12" bar on up to 84" depending on the size of wood to be cut, I have never scored a 090....LOL

 

[CR888]

A poor quality saw will last a lot longer in the hands of an experienced user than a top quality saw in the hands of an idiot. Just my 1 cent. With the way the average homeowner joe sets up his gear and maintains it after recieving all the good advice at the big box store it's supprising many saws last as long as they do. l would not attempt to guess what the reasons are behind these failures, it could take three pages.

 

[mountainlake]

A Echo set as rich as the limiters will go is still lean 95% of the time. Don't be blaming the clamshell design on any saw burning up as a split case saw will burn up just as fast if not tuned right or not run right. If these saws were tuned right Id guess the operator is lugging them down way too far resulting in over heating. Steve

 

[tree lopper]

You're right to advise homeowners to buy larger saws for that sort of wood. They'll bog them down in large stuff. With that and poor tuning and maintenance it would just keep happening.