details and help needed for my echo 3450 exhuast can mod, PLEASE?

[wideopen]

1st of all, much thanks to all who took the time to respond to my last post. This is my third time around, and it been about 45 minutes and I am still trying to post what I must. I am sorry I did not post a link for everyone to get an idea on specs. I wanted to post something thorough and complete so I can hopefully get more feedback on this, but just recently this pc is acting really bogged out. slow az hell, and I basically typed this info 2 or 3 times by now. I also came close to just taking the echo right down the middle of this computer and moniter....tor. ahh.
I went over the replies and noticed peaple that did "simple" mods to the 3400 models.[ I believe that the 3400 and 3450 have identical exhuasts, but then again, the website did say that the 3450 has only 1 ring,hmmm.?] I would check to see if even the 3000 is also equipped with the same exhuast can, but dont want to freeze this thing up now...oK, lets get to the point here David,[meeh!]
Can those who have modified there exhuast give me more details on how they went about hacking on their cans? Measurments for cuts, opening, anything. And also, how has the saw been up to this day? Still runnin well? I have tried to just "flip" the silencer piece so that the holes are facing the top of the exhuast can, but I guess it did bearly anything.. Then I tried to just take out the silencer and have the exhuast can "hollow."
It did a little bit better, I think.
Before I blunder, please help me accomplish this modification to increase performance and keep the motor cooler. Does the mod really accomplish these objectives, or are echo engines just not even worth all of this? I am thinking hollow would be better, but dont know how or where to go about taking cuts to open up exhuast flow.... I also want to prolong life of saw hopefully by doing this mod. Then again, should I even haggle with this?

Help me please, those of you who have done this and think it does work, please??

p.s. I read the posts about ratios and just decided to use 45 to 1 ratio,lol. Since some were with 40-1 and some with 50-1, I had to make my life easier and just meet both parties halfway...Is this acceptable though.

Hope to hear from yall soon, david........
I wonder if a chainsaw could go through a pc? lol....

 

[treeclimber165]

My current Echo 3400 is over 3 years old, and I use this saw to make my living. It runs perfectly, every day. It has to, or else I'd have to replace it.
If you remove the outer exhaust deflector held on with two screws, you are looking at the exhaust outlet hole. Mine is approx. 1/2"X3/4"+. The deflector you just took off I ground back to where the opening is 7/8" from the bottom. I never used a tape measure when doing this, I just did what looked 'right'. Trying to go back 3 years later to measure and remember what I did is tough.

(Where did the rest of this thread go? Or did you start a new thread?)
The site was locking up on all of us last night. It wasn't just you.

 

[buckwheat]

My mods were pretty simple on the 3450: I took apart the exhaust and drilled four new holes in that inner chamber box, then I removed the screen material from the outer chamber cover, and re-assembled.
I can't really say I noticed a power difference as this is my least used saw, but given the data and results of other saw mods, I figure it can't hurt, and will most likely improve performance. Overall, my opinion is that it is a great little saw that is excellent for clearing brush and taking off smaller limbs.

 

[dbabcock]

One thing you should definitely do is make some timed cuts with your 3450 before you make the mods. Many people succumb to the placebo effect of the louder exhaust and think their saws are a lot more potent because of this. Also, although opening up the muffler will definitely make the saw more potent, at some point too little backpressure will start to lessen the power output as well. Don't hog it out too much.

 

[wideopen]

thanks a bunch fellas. Hope to hear the other masters with their thoughts. I still dont know what to do, break this in just like how it was, or what! jesus, me and my ideas.
If anything, if I just went with leaving the silencer[ inside block piece with 1 square and some holes] out of the exhuast leaving it hollow, and started using and "breaking in the piston/cylinder fit, does anyone see this as bad? Maybe ill open up and hack on it later, but doing this fer now, that would be ok right?

oh, what are timed cuts?

Man, I wish I knew the real way on how one would go about modifying a lil two stroke engine like this....I used to play with rc boats, with little homelite wacker engines,[slow sucker], and also used to have a Zenoah g-23...These power those gopeds. 23cc only. We would mount jackets over the outer cylinder, the fins were machined off, and these water cooled jackets would let cold water pass through the jacket keeping things nice and kool via a pick up line on bottom of hull. Air cooled was just as good... THESE THINGS WOULD REALLY FLY with chainsaw carbs on em, any bigger carb really. We would just have to turn needles until things ran smooth. Now when I threw a pipe , a tuned pipe I guess, on the motor, it really did make a huge difference and made me real happy!! One day I forgot to hookup my water line for the jacket, onto my rudder, ya thats where it was at. This is where water would be forced up through line, through jacket, etc.. well snap, that day sucked. And I really cannot believe how fast that enginefailed due to overheating.
oK, sorry bout that drift off there, later yallz and thanks again. you guys are really helpful compared to other forumns Ive been in that is for shure...:}

 

[dbabcock]

Sorry about that. Timed cuts are when you take a log of a given diameter and actually time how long it takes you to cut through it. A lot of guys video the cuts, then review them later with a stopwatch. After a while, you'll get a feel for how much pressure to put on the saw to make it cut at it's most optimum rate. Usually, people average 3 or so cuts. Make sure that you use the same log, bar and chain for both the before and after-mod cuts. Since this is how the saw will be used after all, it makes sense to test it this way. Either that, or you can go out and buy a small engine dynamometer. Master saw builder, Ken Dunn, has a dyno but rarely uses it, preferring instead to test his saws under actual cutting conditions by timing the cuts. With a little bit of practice and by averaging the times of a number of succesive cuts, you can largely alieviate the "human" variable in this method.

I currently have an R/C boat as well. It's an Aeromarine cat with a .90 CID (15cc) nitro engine in it. They say she'll do near 60, but I haven't radared it yet to confirm this. It sure seems fast when it hits docks wide open. I'd rather have a pull start regular gas engine though; a lot easier to get going without all the extraneous junk like glow batterys, starters and nitro fuel. Ever hear of a Mathe (pronounced "mattay") engine? They are supposedly one of the best gasoline engines made for R/C boats. Some of these little 35cc motors can make well over 5 HP with a pipe, so they say.

 

[wideopen]

doug whuttup man!!

yeah I used to have the gator hull by marine specialties...it was a deep vee and turn really wicked, on the dime, on it!! specially when on the gas, it was bad. wish I still had it though. You know, nitro is too much for me.. for cars, I guess its ok, but in the water, nitro always acts up at any ???? time, and when its far out there, you know....grab the fishing pole, wait all day, blahblah.. But if you have that patience, the f(*^^%$in scureeeemmm. It was funny. one day a kid came to sunset parks pond and didnt know what he was really doing. Rechless teenager, and didnt care if he lost his boat at all, he just wanted to throw that 60 or was it 80 percent nitro!! in the tank and fly.. I love the sound of nitro 2 strokers though. My old buddy tried to syncronize 2 identical 80cc? was it?{ i forgot how those things are rated,hmm.}
anyway, he never got the brand new project to run. You would have to bump start 2 nitros, thats some hectic stuff. but everytime the nitro engine would cut off, due to the not perfect carb adjments he tried to perfect, all you would here is a loud ass- BBAHHHH, and then following after that, in back to back echoes-aeehhh, aehh, aeh, ae. Imagine a nitro chainsaw! [stoopid,lol.]
david.

p.s. So are you saying compare stock and modified exhuast situations to find out what really works best? It makes sence D, but what should I do about break in? I read that my saw should break in with the mods done first. And someone else said to break it in stock. what gives? bbaehhbaehbaeehheh later