Dolmar 5100s melting down

[CHEVYTOWN13]

I was hanging out with PasoRoblesJimmy yesterday and we cut some firewood at 7,000'

Whoever talks smack about not being nimble in the forest is a fool. I sure had fun thinning that tree:greenchainsaw:

BTW, it didn't blowded up.

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[Tim Carroll]

I think I'm going to change my signature to "official member of the 5100 s survivor club and support group" seeing how I'm in denial on how it's going to gernade at any moment and I should be ashamed to own one.:hmm3grin2orange:

 

[pops21]

My 5100 is my "go to do it all saw". I bought it from a local that straight gassed it. I have $80 into the whole saw. I also got a husky 55 and a sihl 025 from the same guy. They just needed a few fuel lines and carb kits. Got all three saws for $100. I thought I died and gone to heaven on my way home from that pick.

 

[jimdad07]

Ran my 5100 today, clearing nature preserve trails of blowdowns. Ran it most of the morning and used up a fair bit of gas. It didn't melt down, suck air, or explode. Imagine that.

You must not be using it right!!!:hmm3grin2orange:

 

[computeruser]

Came home early today, as the neighbor was having a huge Ash taken down (damned EAB). Tree company pieced the tree down, and was going to collect and chip the twigs and stuff <3". 3 tanks through the 5100 and 1.5 through the 7900, and it was all cut up. Three hours of loading the garden cart and all the good wood was in my yard.

The incredible thing: the only time the 5100 ran less than perfect was when it ran out of gas. Who would have figured?

 

[WetGunPowder]

Came home early today, as the neighbor was having a huge Ash taken down (damned EAB). Tree company pieced the tree down, and was going to collect and chip the twigs and stuff <3". 3 tanks through the 5100 and 1.5 through the 7900, and it was all cut up. Three hours of loading the garden cart and all the good wood was in my yard.

The incredible thing: the only time the 5100 ran less than perfect was when it ran out of gas. Who would have figured?

But if you never start it-it will never run out of gas! Or blow-up!!

 

[Fastcast]

YOU are the guy that got the other good one!!!

I was beginning to wonder if I had the only one 'til now!



Mike

Well damn, so much for believing I had the only good one. :censored:

Now where's my orange & silver pom, poms? :monkey:

 

[jwales21]

I'm still looking for those blown up ones to show up on Ebay, haven't found any yet, They must put them on the days that I don't look. Steve

I think the reason you don't see them on ebay or pictures is because they blow up (alot of times while still under warranty), get taken back to the dealer for repairs, picked up when done and back to cutting wood.

I posted a few months ago about my 5100 that did blow up while under warranty. I didn't take pictures because I wasn't about to take the saw apart and do anything to void that warranty. It's not on ebay because I'm still using it.

I've run two tanks of gas through it since I got it back and it starts fine, idles fine, revs OK, but is really sluggish in the wood. Definitely not the same as when I first purchased the saw. I did have the dealer set the RPMs at 14,000. Should I expect this sluggish performance after a rebuild?

 

[JustinM]

I've run two tanks of gas through it since I got it back and it starts fine, idles fine, revs OK, but is really sluggish in the wood. Definitely not the same as when I first purchased the saw. I did have the dealer set the RPMs at 14,000. Should I expect this sluggish performance after a rebuild?

No. At 14,000 it shouldn't be noticeably sluggish. Pardon the obvious question but are you sure your chain is good & sharp?

Depending upon what they did at the dealer, its possibly you're back to "break-in" stage with the first 2 tanks of gas, but even then, when I broke mine in I didnt find it sluggish at all. certainly not as fast as it is now, but not what i would ever call "sluggish"

 

[jwales21]

Yes, the chain is good and sharp, fresh gas. It's throwing nice chips, but it's certainly not going through the wood like before the repairs (when the saw was new). I'm gonna try to tweak the carb some and see if that helps.

 

[Fastcast]

Pardon the obvious question but are you sure your chain is good & sharp?

Uh, oh .....:dunno:

Bet it's gonna melt down again!.....I've worked with people that could ruin an anvil. :bang:

 

[jwales21]

Uh, oh .....:dunno:

Bet it's gonna melt down again!.....I've worked with people that could ruin an anvil. :bang:

I'm certainly not the best sharpener out there, but I can hold my own when it comes to sharpening. I definitely ruined a few chains along the way, though. (best way to learn IMO), but never an anvil LOL.

 

[belgian]

Uh, oh .....:dunno:

Bet it's gonna melt down again!.....I've worked with people that could ruin an anvil. :bang:

that is pure speculation on your behalf and not appropriate. If you have read the ordeal this dolmar customer has gone through, I think he deserves some genuine support instead of critique on his sharpening abilities.

 

[jwales21]

that is pure speculation on your behalf and not appropriate. If you have read the ordeal this dolmar customer has gone through, I think he deserves some genuine support instead of critique on his sharpening abilities.

 

[JustinM]

that is pure speculation on your behalf and not appropriate. If you have read the ordeal this dolmar customer has gone through, I think he deserves some genuine support instead of critique on his sharpening abilities.

Agreed - and for the record, I wasnt questioning the sharpening abilities, so much as just making sure all the obvious things were covered.

A rebuilt 5100 should not be "sluggish" by any means, even if set slightly below 14k It seems odd, so if its idling & revving ok, then the next thing I would think of would be point-of-contact, or, the chain.

Sounds like that has been ruled out now too, so I'm at a loss.



Might be worth taking it to a different dealer & explaining your woes. You can bet it wont be free, but for $20-30 Im sure they'll look it over. That second opinion may be worth your sanity.

 

[blsnelling]

I recommend shipping it to one of our two sponsors that are Dolmar dealers.

 

[Fastcast]

that is pure speculation on your behalf and not appropriate. If you have read the ordeal this dolmar customer has gone through, I think he deserves some genuine support instead of critique on his sharpening abilities.

Yep, you're right it was speculation, my bad but how many of these 5100 posts are likely propaganda?

They are usually always new members. They always rat on Dolmar big time. They can never show any proof/pic. They never are willing to sell the saw to another member. You never see burned up 5100s for sale, oh I know they all happened under warranty but funny how most claim they can't even get the dealer or Dolmar to do anything.

I understand they may not want to tear their saw down to take a picture but come on, that's not at all necessary. How about just a picture showing a detailed receipt of a warranty claim? Nope, that is never available either......How convenient!

I'm not claiming they're all bogus but you'd have to be awfully naive to believe some of these threads. Funny how not one member who claims his 5100 blew up, knows how to use a digital camera or upload a picture to the internet. :monkey:

 

[jwales21]

Yep, you're right it was speculation, my bad but how many of these 5100 posts are likely propaganda?

They are usually always new members. They always rat on Dolmar big time. They can never show any proof/pic. They never are willing to sell the saw to another member. You never see burned up 5100s for sale, oh I know they all happened under warranty but funny how most claim they can't even get the dealer or Dolmar to do anything.

I understand they may not want to tear their saw down to take a picture but come on, that's not at all necessary. How about just a picture showing a detailed receipt of a warranty claim? Nope, that is never available either......How convenient!

I'm not claiming they're all bogus but you'd have to be awfully naive to believe some of these threads. Funny how not one member who claims his 5100 blew up, knows how to use a digital camera or upload a picture to the internet. :monkey:

Agreed that maybe some of the posts are bogus, but i can assure you that mine is not. My reasons for posting on here are to gather information from a great resource and yes to vent a little. My purpose is NOT to bash Dolmar. I haven't given up on this saw yet. I WANT this saw to operate properly and last for a long time. I DON'T want it to burn up again. I love the way this saw cuts and handles when running properly. The key is to get it running properly and keep it running properly. That's why I post. The frustration is more with my dealer than anything.

 

[Fastcast]

Agreed that maybe some of the posts are bogus, but i can assure you that mine is not. My reasons for posting on here are to gather information from a great resource and yes to vent a little. My purpose is NOT to bash Dolmar. I haven't given up on this saw yet. I WANT this saw to operate properly and last for a long time. I DON'T want it to burn up again. I love the way this saw cuts and handles when running properly. The key is to get it running properly and keep it running properly. That's why I post. The frustration is more with my dealer than anything.

Yep, bad dealers ruin good saws, no doubt about that....Good luck!

 

[belgian]

Yep, you're right it was speculation, my bad but how many of these 5100 posts are likely propaganda?

They are usually always new members. They always rat on Dolmar big time. They can never show any proof/pic. They never are willing to sell the saw to another member. You never see burned up 5100s for sale, oh I know they all happened under warranty but funny how most claim they can't even get the dealer or Dolmar to do anything.

I understand they may not want to tear their saw down to take a picture but come on, that's not at all necessary. How about just a picture showing a detailed receipt of a warranty claim? Nope, that is never available either......How convenient!

I'm not claiming they're all bogus but you'd have to be awfully naive to believe some of these threads. Funny how not one member who claims his 5100 blew up, knows how to use a digital camera or upload a picture to the internet. :monkey:

I read jwales complaint in the other thread and I really feel sorry for the guy he received such a poor support from his dealer. No wonder he turns to AS to vent about his ordeal and bad experience with his Dolmar.

Now both you and I know that there's basically nothing wrong with the 5100. It's very unfortunate however that the saw gets a bad reputatin while basically Dolmar and some of their dealers are not taking care about the proper tuning of those saws before they end up with the US consumers. You can't simply blame the customer in this case.

No need for pictures or burned up saws on Ebay ; there's simply too much evidence on this forum alone. For that particular reason, one should not always shoot the bad news messenger, unless he's real bogus. And there are, I agree with you on that one, but it usually is very easy to distinguish a bogus brand basher from a genuine complaint on AS.