Beefing Up a saw, squeezing more power out of it

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Here is what I propose...Play with it. Hell, lean it out till it screams so you know what that sound is. Cut with it, blow it up if it happens. Buy another saw with a few more cc's, learn to put a killer edge on a chain, and don't treat it like the last one. It's only a ms 250. Learn on it. LOL
 
Here is what I propose...Play with it. Hell, lean it out till it screams so you know what that sound is. Cut with it, blow it up if it happens. Buy another saw with a few more cc's, learn to put a killer edge on a chain, and don't treat it like the last one. It's only a ms 250. Learn on it. LOL

OK guys, no BS. I simply said that I have rebuilt top ends of saws and then as I stated I don't mess with carbs no knowing what I am doing and screw them up. I left that to the Stihl dealer who has the tools (tach) and the expertise to do it right. After all he is very capable and only charges $75 an hour Ha ha! But he does not charge much to do that.

By porting I assume its like on a car, you match the output opening on the cylinder to the gasket and flange on the muffler so there is a smoother flow as it exits the combustion chamber?

Does anyone have a pic of their muffler mod? I intend on maybe opening up the exit hole another 1/8 of an inch from the 3/8 it is now and then maybe try leaving the screen off and cutting away or trimming back some of the lovers on the cover.

Carl
 
By porting I assume its like on a car, you match the output opening on the cylinder to the gasket and flange on the muffler so there is a smoother flow as it exits the combustion chamber?

That's really blueprinting. Porting is a change in the size/shape of the ports. Lots of threads on it (a few already have been mentioned). Do a search. There's also copies of Jennings' "Two-stroke tuners handbook" available in Word and PDF format to give you an idea of the considerations for porting a 2-stroke. Just use Google to search "Jennings 2-stroke".

Does anyone have a pic of their muffler mod? I intend on maybe opening up the exit hole another 1/8 of an inch from the 3/8 it is now and then maybe try leaving the screen off and cutting away or trimming back some of the lovers on the cover.

Don't even need the search function for that one. There are 2 threads on muffler mods that are "stickies", i.e., they always appear at the top of the list of current threads.

You'll get a lot of help on this forum, but you should do your homework first.
 
Plenty of info on this site.

OK guys, no BS. I simply said that I have rebuilt top ends of saws and then as I stated I don't mess with carbs no knowing what I am doing and screw them up. I left that to the Stihl dealer who has the tools (tach) and the expertise to do it right. After all he is very capable and only charges $75 an hour Ha ha! But he does not charge much to do that.

By porting I assume its like on a car, you match the output opening on the cylinder to the gasket and flange on the muffler so there is a smoother flow as it exits the combustion chamber?

Does anyone have a pic of their muffler mod? I intend on maybe opening up the exit hole another 1/8 of an inch from the 3/8 it is now and then maybe try leaving the screen off and cutting away or trimming back some of the lovers on the cover.

Carl

Hi Cruze,

All kidding aside, you can learn most of the stuff you need from AS and other sites. On tuning the carb, go to Madsen's (www.madsens1.com) and check out the section on tuning a carb. They have WAV files so that you can hear tha actual sound you're looking (listening, really) for. As others have mentioned, be careful, 'cause running the saw too lean will seize it.

On the muffler mods, go to the "DIY Muffler mod" sticky thread. Lots of good pictures here. Also the "Lakeside 361" thread. Some mods look like real pieces of crap, but if you know how to cut metal, weld, or braze, you can do an excellent, clean-looking job. Better believe it, muffler modding makes the saw more powerful, run cooler, and last longer. It also sounds great!

If you like Stihl, they have factory replacement mufflers which have more exit area. They call 'em "Fire-Safe Mufflers," but they are really "Non-EPA" mufflers which allow the saw to run as it was designed.

Finally, get a tach, even if you get a feel for what the saw should sound like. Tuning is no big deal. You should do it every so often anyway. I find that sometimes I need to retune if I switch brands of gas. People at higher altitudes need to tune differently than at low altitudes. And, of course, you need to tune differently for summer and winter.

Paying attention to the tuning and keeping the chains sharp are the two best things you can do to get the best out of a saw. The muffler mod is a given. All saws sold today have muffler exit ports which are too small.

Good luck and stay safe.

Greg
 
I didnt read all the posts before writing this, hoping I'm not repeating too much info.

I too have a ms-250 and I opened up the muffler. To readjust the carb you'll need to remove the limiters on the H as the stock tuning is already on the limiter. I dont remember how many turns I went as I was listening for 4 stroking when out of wood. Porting the muffler really woke this little saw up. Obviously no 60+cc saw but it does well for itself. And they are right, it will make you want a 60+cc saw as I went out and bought a ms440 in need of a rebuild.
 
I didnt read all the posts before writing this, hoping I'm not repeating too much info.

I too have a ms-250 and I opened up the muffler. To readjust the carb you'll need to remove the limiters on the H as the stock tuning is already on the limiter. I dont remember how many turns I went as I was listening for 4 stroking when out of wood. Porting the muffler really woke this little saw up. Obviously no 60+cc saw but it does well for itself. And they are right, it will make you want a 60+cc saw as I went out and bought a ms440 in need of a rebuild.

Thanks, I actually have a 044 Magnum which is really powerful but I like the light weight of the MS250 its a great limbing saw and you can swing it around all day and not get tired. What does 4 stroking sound like, I keep hearing that phrase but not sure what it means. Making a 2 stroke sound like a 4??

How did you open the muffler up and how did you go about porting it?? Smooth out the inside of the port? As for the muffler my game plan so far is drill the exit hole of the muffler from 3/8 to about 1/2" leave off the spark arrestor screen and open up the louvers a little. I don't want it to be too loud so I may be conservative at first.
 
Thanks, I actually have a 044 Magnum which is really powerful but I like the light weight of the MS250 its a great limbing saw and you can swing it around all day and not get tired. What does 4 stroking sound like, I keep hearing that phrase but not sure what it means. Making a 2 stroke sound like a 4??

How did you open the muffler up and how did you go about porting it?? Smooth out the inside of the port? As for the muffler my game plan so far is drill the exit hole of the muffler from 3/8 to about 1/2" leave off the spark arrestor screen and open up the louvers a little. I don't want it to be too loud so I may be conservative at first.

Everything you need to know can be found by clicking:

http://www.arboristsite.com/search.php
 
OK guys, no BS. I simply said that I have rebuilt top ends of saws and then as I stated I don't mess with carbs no knowing what I am doing and screw them up. I left that to the Stihl dealer who has the tools (tach) and the expertise to do it right. After all he is very capable and only charges $75 an hour Ha ha! But he does not charge much to do that.

By porting I assume its like on a car, you match the output opening on the cylinder to the gasket and flange on the muffler so there is a smoother flow as it exits the combustion chamber?

Does anyone have a pic of their muffler mod? I intend on maybe opening up the exit hole another 1/8 of an inch from the 3/8 it is now and then maybe try leaving the screen off and cutting away or trimming back some of the lovers on the cover.

Carl

I wasn't BSing either. Experiement.
 
not to drag up old s#$%

I've got a couple 025/250's that I'm gonna rebuild and play with.

I too like them as a camp saw! big enuf for any firewood for camp, yet small enuf to handle easy. great for felling 12" trees with limited area.

good luck!
 
my thougth

sometimes little saws like the 250 just need a non safety chain added. i would not screw with a major muff mod, i just open the fins a little and call it good:popcorn:
 
The 025 is a good little fire wood saw i just finnished up putting a new set of rings and wided the intake and exaust ports and drilled out muffler on my 025 and got a noticeable increase in power and rpm in cut.
 

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