Dolmar PS-5105

[beerbelly]

beerbelly submitted a new Showcase Item:

Dolmar PS-5105

I've had this saw for a few years now and have cut about 30 cords with it. I use either an 18" bar 3/8 chain or a 16" bar with .325 chain. Both work fine. I use it only as a firewood saw. I use only SEF 50:1 or recently (as it became available in my town) ethanol-free 91 octane.

It is a very good saw and a pleasure to cut with. Very light, starts easy, plenty of power for a 50cc saw, very good throttle response, relatively quiet (cat muffler) and the anti-vibe is great especially when compared to my Homelite SuperXL! It is relatively thirsty for fuel, but that is okay.

My only complaint is the air filters. The first one was the screen type and it let a ton of dust in and it gummed up the epoxied non-adjustable carb. Dealer replaced it with an adjustable one under warranty. He also replaced the filter with a felt type. It is better but still lets dust through. I have washed the filter with 50:1 mix to get some oil in it, and put some grease where it connects to the intake around the seam where the filter splits. Dust still gets through, but not as bad as it originally did.

All in all a good saw. However it would be nice if Dolmar would come up with a better filter. My Stihl 020AVS (about 30 years), and my Super XL (about 25 years) have had the same filters since new and I have never had to replace or rebuild a carb. The Dolmar lasted about 8 months.

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[a. palmer jr.]

I have a Dolmar 5100S and, like you stated, it is a pleasure to cut with. Mine currently is running a 20" 3/8 skip chain, don't know why but the chain was new and didn't cost much but seems to cut quite well.

 

[ScottPoosh]

I have a Dolmar 5100S and, like you stated, it is a pleasure to cut with. Mine currently is running a 20" 3/8 skip chain, don't know why but the chain was new and didn't cost much but seems to cut quite well.

 

[ScottPoosh]

Great saw!!!

 

[porsche965]

/\ what he said. Sure like mine.

 

[dave mclennan]

beerbelly submitted a new Showcase Item:

Dolmar PS-5105



Read more about this showcase item here...

I know its been awhile since this post but my partner bought a Makita ea5000 [dolmar 5105] I tried to talk him into the dol mar 6100 [or Makita model they still make the 6100. its got the best air filter out there IMO, it HAS about 1 lb on it over the 5105, or so but if you get into big wood, it has more power although ive cut some large logs with my 5105. and 1 day we played around with some friendly competition and the dolmar 5105 blew this guys husky 550xp away everytime, my 5105 did have a better than stock muffler, in our area of bc Makitas are grtting very popular as well as the echo 501 model for firewood, I think regular family guys, heating the house w wood, like the 5 year warranty, dolmars are popular now as Makita spends money on advertising, and sale prices, make the pro models affordable, our dealer even had echo 590cc timber wolf models for 399$ cdn once that's like $300 us [that's CRAZY for a bigger saw like that, and lots of guys bought them, I hear there good saws heavy buy good power and durable. cut safe. dave mclennan bc canada

 

[a. palmer jr.]

The best thing I did for mine is remove the cat muffler and put on an older non-cat version..

 

[holeycow]

They sure run hot with that cat in there!

 

[a. palmer jr.]

They sure run hot with that cat in there!

I've replaced several sets of rings in those cat saws, I assume the heat weakened them..

 

[holeycow]

I had mine running perfectly one day. Tuned for limbing with incredible throttle response and just on the fat edge of lean. Man, was it running nicely! Then I did a few full-bar bucks and the next thing I know it’s so hot it’s popping (detonation). Had I kept going, I would have ruined the saw. Thankfully there was no damage. I’m pretty sure it is just fine based on a magnifying glass inspection of the exhaust side. The cat simply holds way too much heat!