DIESEL chainsaw?

[Gab250]

hey, I am just curious to see if anyone has ever made a chainsaw powered off Diesel? I realize that one characteristic that you want in a chainsaw is a high revving motor, which diesels are not, so I doubt it has been done, but I am just curious lol.

Cheers, Gab

 

[barneyrb]

Model Profile: XA

 

[w8ye]

Diesels can be high rpm

I would think that they would be a little heavier?

The are model airplane diesels that use #1kerosene - ether - oil They've been around 70 years or so.

I can just see the scenario where you have an adjustable compression contra piston in the head.

When you first start the chainsaw it surges until it warms up somewhat.

In use, it would perform much like current chainsaws.

 

[hanniedog]

Can't be many of those puppys around.

 

[Little Al]

The Comet semi diesel saw was produced in Norway around 1949 starting was by a propane gas[ contained in the handle] glow plug to facilitate starting. It weighed approx 19 lbs so was competative weight wise in it`s day, designed by [not sure who actually manufactured it] by one Rasmus Wiig. Have no idea if it was successful, or for how long it was produced I seem to remember reading somewhere that the company was bought out, or maufacturing was taken up by one of the companys producing petrol/gas chainsaws, not sure who though maybe Huskvarna,Jobu.or some other scandavian company since taken over

 

[036Pro]

hey, I am just curious to see if anyone has ever made a chainsaw powered off Diesel? I realize that one characteristic that you want in a chainsaw is a high revving motor, which diesels are not, so I doubt it has been done, but I am just curious lol.

Cheers, Gab

Hi! I saw this same saw in video-can't remember where though... It was snowing & cold- the operator took a lighter and pre-heated it before start-up. Different...

 

[Gab250]

Model Profile: XA

That thing is sweet !

 

[Fifelaker]

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/hXR3ZOPlRys" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> It should save you money on bug spray.

 

[bikesandcars]

You could probably make an up-sized 2-stroke diesel chainsaw as an upscale RC engine relatively easily, but those glow-plug engines actually burn a special nitro mix that from what I understand is crazily expensive (to the point where some folks go back to 2-stroke gas). I think nitro makes trufuel look cheap. Since I've never seen a large 2-stroke glow plug nitro engine I imagine there are several reasons as to why it isn't used.

To me the hard part is the injection system, both the difficulty of making it and the expense. To make a 2-stroke that uses diesel fuel you would need to not only make a cylinder, piston, and case strong enough to handle the high cylinder pressures, but you'd also need to get that fuel in there.

How would I do it? Maybe start with a 70CC saw and sleeve the cylinder down to 50cc, then find a way to screw a fuel injector in the spark plug hole that had a steel thread insert.

Another issue might be personal safety, you get really intimate with a chainsaw, I wouldn't want a 22:1 compresion diesel going off in my hand!

 

[z71mike]

You could probably make an up-sized 2-stroke diesel chainsaw as an upscale RC engine relatively easily, but those glow-plug engines actually burn a special nitro mix that from what I understand is crazily expensive (to the point where some folks go back to 2-stroke gas). I think nitro makes trufuel look cheap. Since I've never seen a large 2-stroke glow plug nitro engine I imagine there are several reasons as to why it isn't used.

Number one reason is cooling. Those little R/C engines get super hot, and that's WITH 50mph wind blasting across the cooling fins - which are clean, and not covered in bar oil / wood dust sludge.

Nitro fuel is extremely expensive. If I remember from years ago, I think it was like $20-$30 per gallon roughly. And you need to use it up quickly unless it's vacuum sealed in a steel bottle. All that alcohol grabs water real quick. I think, right on the label, it would say something like: once the seal is opened, contents must be used up within a month (or something close to that).

Man does that stuff make power though. Some of the cars we used to have....... especially when the 2-speed trans came out...... we could get them close to 100mph. For a engine the size of a pack of Marlboros to be able to make a 20-lb monster truck do 50.......

There are a few 2-stroke gas RC vehicles out there. I've only seen one of them in person: #110192 RTR Baja 5B
Pretty freakin kewl. It was BIG!

 

[SawTroll]

The Comet semi diesel saw was produced in Norway around 1949 starting was by a propane gas[ contained in the handle] glow plug to facilitate starting. It weighed approx 19 lbs so was competative weight wise in it`s day, designed by [not sure who actually manufactured it] by one Rasmus Wiig. Have no idea if it was successful, or for how long it was produced I seem to remember reading somewhere that the company was bought out, or maufacturing was taken up by one of the companys producing petrol/gas chainsaws, not sure who though maybe Huskvarna,Jobu.or some other scandavian company since taken over

Jonsereds made parts for the Comet, and they transferred the design into the Jonsereds XA etc....

Read this article by George Blake; Diesel Chainsaws.

 

[bikesandcars]

Why did I just get the idea to build a RC car out of a used chainsaw..?? sorry to off-topic

 

[FergusonTO35]

Diesel chainsaw, man that thing would rip your fingers off trying to start it. I think the nitro powered model engines are closer to a hot bulb engine than a diesel.

 

[SawTroll]

Diesel chainsaw, man that thing would rip your fingers off trying to start it. I think the nitro powered model engines are closer to a hot bulb engine than a diesel.

They were only 49cc or so....

 

[z71mike]

They were only 49cc or so....

.....like diesel generators. They're not too bad to deal with.

 

[w8ye]

My experience with converting model airplane glow fuel engines to diesel . . .

The two stroke glow engines have people that make conta piston heads for them

They will run the original glow fuel carb but will not run with the carb beyond about 3/4 throttle.

They run a bigger prop at a lower rpm and seem to have tremendous torque.

The four stroke glow engines can be run on diesel with a hot bulb replacement for the glow plug.

I have not seen any over the .5[SUP]3[/SUP] inch size

 

[struggle]

I was thinking Bill G has one?

 

[Bob95065]

I was cutting wood with my friend Ted once. We both stopped to refuel at the same time and he ran out of mix for his saw. He brought 2 gallons of gas from home that morning and mixed up a fresh batch of mix. I went back to where I was working and we started cutting.

I thought he must have started his truck because I could smell diesel exhaust. We both have Cummins powered Dodge Rams. I turned around and saw a huge smoke cloud where Ted was working. He tried to shut his saw off but it kept running, but poorly. With the ignition off he could rev the engine. Finally it died. Turns out he grabbed the wrong can when he left the house and he now had 2 gallons minus one chainsaw tank of 40:1 diesel 2-cycle mix. I had plenty of proper fuel so we were able to load out and head home.

Does that count?

 

[zogger]

I was cutting wood with my friend Ted once. We both stopped to refuel at the same time and he ran out of mix for his saw. He brought 2 gallons of gas from home that morning and mixed up a fresh batch of mix. I went back to where I was working and we started cutting.

I thought he must have started his truck because I could smell diesel exhaust. We both have Cummins powered Dodge Rams. I turned around and saw a huge smoke cloud where Ted was working. He tried to shut his saw off but it kept running, but poorly. With the ignition off he could rev the engine. Finally it died. Turns out he grabbed the wrong can when he left the house and he now had 2 gallons minus one chainsaw tank of 40:1 diesel 2-cycle mix. I had plenty of proper fuel so we were able to load out and head home.

Does that count?

that's funny!

I haven't built up the guts yet to try it, even in a cheap saw, but always wondered what would happen using diesel instead of mix oil. 30 weight car oil is what we used in the olden daze, just wondering if the diesel would have enough "oily" to it to function as mix oil. Like in a pinch.