dolmar 5100 p.o.s

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Haha. Well I wouldnt call it a "turd" saw. :p Its a hell of a lot better than say a Poulan, Homelite or big box saw.

Im not sure what its like over in your part of the world, but here its about 30% cheaper than the 5100. For me, it was a no brainer, but for my dad, he felt he didnt need the extra $100-125.

Saws cost a lot more over here than they do in the US - the differences you are talking about isn't much money here, so it is hard to relate to them! :givebeer:
 
Sure, but I still see absolutely no reason that anyone would want one of those "turd" saws??? :confused:

The 5100S/5105 are cheap enough, so no reason to go even cheaper???

Well,ST,i dont see where it would make any diff where your at cutting peckerpoles..may as well save the money..buy gas and chains..
my 510's may not be as fast as a 5100 but with little moding they dont get put to shame by a 346..
and if money is no object why dont you just BUY wood and not have to bother cutting it ??
my two ps510's have served me better than any other saw i own or have ever owned...
your milage may vary..
wish i had the video of the 510 in wood but i lost it but this is what a GOOD one sounds like..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZtU5glTEXk
 
I have a 5100S that I hardly use, as I have better saws in the same class - for just cutting firewood logs in the yard it is a good saw though!

To be honest, I sure wouldn't want to use a 510 for anything! :greenchainsaw:
 
I have a 5100S that I hardly use, as I have better saws in the same class - for just cutting firewood logs in the yard it is a good saw though!

To be honest, I sure wouldn't want to use a 510 for anything! :greenchainsaw:

Sorry to say,there is NO better saw in the class.. :)
i like my 510,wouldnt trade it for a 346,have one,rather use my super smooooth runing 510..had two diff people use the 510 last week,they asked about it because they couldnt believe a saw could run that smooth..
one guy said " i cant even FEEL it running ! "..
means something to me..
if i want to out cut a 346 i use my ryobie :)
and i got video proof..
 
Sorry to say,there is NO better saw in the class.. :)
i like my 510,wouldnt trade it for a 346,have one,rather use my super smooooth runing 510..had two diff people use the 510 last week,they asked about it because they couldnt believe a saw could run that smooth..
one guy said " i cant even FEEL it running ! "..
means something to me..
if i want to out cut a 346 i use my ryobie :)
and i got video proof..

My exprience is that Dolmars only shine in inflated specs sheets, and in the hands of fans, but others may differ....
 
My exprience is that Dolmars only shine in inflated specs sheets, and in the hands of fans....

I wasn't a "fan" until I used a few. I'd been using mostly Sthil for 40 years until recently. I've got two Makita branded Dolmars and a Dolmar 7900. The Makitas are the DSC6401(64 ccs) and the DCS510 (50.5 ccs). All have been great saws. As to the stories of the new Dolmars burning out? I'd like to hear the real story. Any saw can be burnt up if run too lean.

I doubt Stihl makes anything any better when the saws are compared size-to-size, and durability level to durability-level (homeowner, pro, etc.). There is no magic when it comes to the Stihl brand name. Some are great, and some are not. Many are overpriced. And, Stihl is one of the worst when it comes to giving on-line information like parts breakdowns - so you can see what is inside the saws before you buy. That was one of the main reasons why I tried some new Dolmars and Efcos (my 56 cc Efco has also been great).
 
Well, this has been an interesting read...or should I say, linching.:clap:

Some of you guys here are real pieces of work. I'm sure your parents are proud of you.

Better get some hip waders to read this thread, the BS is getting deep!
 
Well, this has been an interesting read...or should I say, linching.:clap:

Some of you guys here are real pieces of work. I'm sure your parents are proud of you.

Better get some hip waders to read this thread, the BS is getting deep!

Did you miss the " unsubscribe " option ??
do that and not get notified of new post's to this thread..
i wish my parents were still alive :(
 
Did you miss the "interesting read" part?

My business is none of your's my friend. So mind your own.

I will read what I want and post what I want. Heck, this dude (op) might have an actual malfunction that was'nt caused by user error for all you guys know. Why jump all over him for no reason.

Maybe instead you all can walk down the street smacking people in the face as they walk by and see how long it takes for one of them to lay you out.
 
let me say this one thing: a 026/260 will not keep up with a 346. it may weigh a few ounces less, but it doesn't handle better. a 5100 will keep up with a 346, but is not as easy in the hands. a 510 is a nice saw for a HO, but is less powerful and handles even more poorly than a 5100. look at my sig, i am not a cheerleader for any brand.
 
Heck, this dude (op) might have an actual malfunction that was'nt caused by user error for all you guys know. Why jump all over him for no reason.

From what I gather from the original post, he had two saws that failed and one, after he "tuned" it. He also titled his post alluding to the Dolmar as being a "P.O.S." That in itself is a bit of blanket-statement with little substance.

I could be wrong, especially since there is so little verified data to go on. I do know that many Dolmars are great saws in their class, including my 50 cc. saw. I doubt many of them fail as described, by error on Dolmar's part. If so, Dolmar would be out of business pretty fast. If he did indeed get two anomalies in a row, that is a rare thing to happen.

Whoever took those saws apart ought to have seen what actually caused the problem. If it was from running lean, it should not even be covered by warrranty. Pistons sieze by lack of lube, improper fit, or some foreign object lodged in there. Whatever the cause, it should be easy to see. If it IS lack of lube due to running lean, it's not Dolmar's fault. Anybody who knows how to run a saw should be able to hear and feel it - when it's running lean. Anybody who burns up a saw from running lean should not be getting any warranty. That is, unless the high needle was turned out as far as allowed by the stop and was still too lean. Then, if I was doing the repair work, I WOULD blame Dolmar, the EPA regs., etc.

As most saw warrantees state, Dolmar covers defects only. Dolmar does not cover "conditions resulting from tampering, misuse, improper adjustment (unless done by the dealer), alteration, accident, failure to use the recommended fuel and oil, or not performing the required maintence services."

I don't believe new saws simply locked-up from normal use with proper adjustements. If they did, then Dolmar has a big problem (which I doubt).
 
I wasn't a "fan" until I used a few. I'd been using mostly Sthil for 40 years until recently. I've got two Makita branded Dolmars and a Dolmar 7900. The Makitas are the DSC6401(64 ccs) and the DCS510 (50.5 ccs). All have been great saws. As to the stories of the new Dolmars burning out? I'd like to hear the real story. Any saw can be burnt up if run too lean.

Here is what has been figured out about the 5100s. For the most part they score the piston on the clutch side of the exhaust. Continuing to run them this way, which they will for a bit. Will casue scoreing on the oppsosite side on the intake. Also will cause wear on the inside of the piston from being crooked on the rod. The reason why this happens is due to the saws running so lean to comply with EPA specs and folks wanting them to scream. So if the saw is richend up it will run a tad cooler. On the 5105's they have a increased cylinder cooling by 30%. Thus it will improve the life of a on the edge lean engine. I am rebuilding a 5100 now and opening it up a bit to get ti to breath better. I will see first hand how it will run after that. I did have a 5100 new and ran it for 2 yrs. It was ran on 50-1 mix and was used as a firewood saw. It was fine when I moved it down the road.
Bob
 
The reason why this happens is due to the saws running so lean to comply with EPA specs and folks wanting them to scream.


I know that out of the box, my Makita/Dolmar DCS510 was too lean. I wouldn't run a saw that way. The high-jet moved a little but not enough to make it what I considered "safe." It was better, but not to a point where I trusted it in the long run. So, I cut off the plastic stops and opened it up another 1/8th turn and now it's fine. Breaks up just a bit on high-rev no-load, and smooths right out once cutting. Now, if these saws actually burn up when set as rich as they will go (with the EPA stops), then Dolmar DOES have a problem. I don't think mine was that lean, but I'm not willing to run any saw that way to find out. Very easy just to cut the stops off and run a little richer. Especially since I use cheaper outboard motor two-stroke-cycle oil (TCW)and not the pricey stuff. I've been running chainsaws since the 1960s when all we used was 30W motor oil and I haven't burnt up a saw yet. Worn them out- yes, but that is a different thing.

As to special lean tuning for top RPMs? That's something I don't get. Maybe for some sort of contest I can see it. But otherwise? I don't want to run anything at full capacity and ultimate RPMs all the time. If power is matched to the agressiveness of the chain - the few extra RPMs don't mean much in the long run. A good chain with rakers down where they ought to be will be cut down naturally in RPMs by the load of cutting chips. Now, if you've got a 100 cc saw on a 14" chain and rakers set at .030", things are different.

Back to the Dolmar 50 cc saw. One thing I did take notice right away with mine (in Makita clothing). The chain was very non-agressive. When I first used it, it relied heavily on top chain speed and perfectly sharp cutters. I then cut the rakers down (which wasn't easy with the super anti-kickback chain) and then, it ran like a different saw. Odd that they stuck such a chain on this saw, but who know? To the converse, my two Deere/Efco 56 ccs saws both came with very agressive chains, right out of the box.
 
let me say this one thing: a 026/260 will not keep up with a 346. it may weigh a few ounces less, but it doesn't handle better. a 5100 will keep up with a 346, but is not as easy in the hands. a 510 is a nice saw for a HO, but is less powerful and handles even more poorly than a 5100. look at my sig, i am not a cheerleader for any brand.

You got it right!

Another minus with the 5100S (and the 260) is that they rev up pretty slow, and that actually makes a difference, specially when used for limbing.

The somewhat clumcy handling and the slow trigger responce are the reasons that mine only is used in the yard, while the 346xp and MS361 take care of the "woods" duty.:givebeer:

The 5100S still is a very good saw though - far from a POS!
 
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Well, this has been an interesting read...or should I say, linching.:clap:

Some of you guys here are real pieces of work. I'm sure your parents are proud of you.

Better get some hip waders to read this thread, the BS is getting deep!

:agree2:

It has been a real charm reading all this great intelligence!:clap:
 
Well I bought a 5100 because of all the good reviews on this site, after I bought the saw I noticed alot of people having problems with them. well the fisrt saw I got went in for warranty work about 1 month after I got it. took about 9 months to get it back from the dealer. the dealer gave me a brand new saw, well this saw has less than 10 hrs, on it. it doesnt want to run anymore when warm. I tuned the this saw myself down to about 13,700 rpm for a break in period didnt even get past that. I will admit I have very poor dealer support but this is worst chainsaw I have ever bought, should of just went to walmart.

I bought an answering machine from Walmart the other day. Five minutes after I plugged the thing in it started making a buzzing sound. I tried unplugging it for a while, but it didn't work. I tried smashing it against the desk a few times, but that didn't work either. Finally i opened that back door and fired it into the woods.

The point of my story is that you get what you pay for. Dolmar makes quality products. Even if your local dealer is a total weiner, you can still fix it yourself.

I still don't have an answering machine, but my Stihl saw runs like a top!
 
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