Nasty little rumor about new Huskies shutting off without proprietary 2-stroke oil

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CREC

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Howdy.

I heard a nasty little rumor from the fellow at our local saw shop about new Husqvarna chainsaws having some sort of chip in the carburetor that must sense Husqvarna brand 2-stroke oil or else it'll shut the saw off.

This sounds incredibly farfetched to me -- I suppose it'd be possible to include some sort of chemical in the mix that could be measured digitally, but I can't imagine Husky would actually do that. I'd think adding that feature to the carb would add extra manufacturing expense and reduce the perceived value of their saws. It also seems they'd have to advertise that the saw would only operate with their 2-stroke oil, and even then, it seems they'd be inviting a serious decline in business and potentially an antitrust lawsuit.

So. What do you guys think? Have you seen any recognition of this on the part of Husqvarna? Are you seeing saws in your shops that have shut off from other brand 2-stroke oil? Is this the dawn of a new logistical and financial headache for outfits that have mixed saw fleets, or is this guy just trying to give me the hard sell on Stihls? We're currently invested to the tune of a couple thousand dollars in Stihl 2-stroke oil, so if Husky's actually gone in that direction, it may be a determining factor.

I'd greatly appreciate your perspective. Thanks so much!

In case it matters -- our fleet is something like 60 saws strong, with Stihl 440s, 361s, 3 early 441s (that have performed dreadfully), a few 460s, and then on the Husky side of things, we've got quite a few 359s supplemented with 365s and 372s. Many of our saws have a thousand hour or more on them, and our newer ones have hundreds, so we're continually buying more. Evidently, the 359s and 365s are off of the market, so we're looking to purchase 12 or so 372s to fill out our saw sets. We've already got enough models in the rotation that managing a parts inventory is a bit of a chore, so I'd rather not wind up with a model we don't already have. From what I've read here, the newer 441s really are good saws, but we remain a little suspicious after getting burned on those three a few years back. Additionally, while I've never run anything with an Autotune or M-Tronic carb, I'm suspicious -- we run saws everywhere from 500 feet above sea level on the lower Colorado river cutting nasty crap to 10,000+ feet in the San Francisco Peaks cutting 30"+ white pine. We typically run our saws stock with 20" bars and full comp chains. Our crew supervisors have electronic tachometers as well as pretty good ears. We try to use OEM slugs, jugs, seals, and rings for rebuilds, so it's helpful that those parts are available for most of the saws we're running.
 
A Husky dealer told you that?

I don't think I'd visit that place any more - or at least not buy anything there.

I'm also pretty sure there's a law on the books somewhere that if a manufacturer states that their specific brand of oil is needed and nothing else will do, they need to supply it. At no extra cost. So maybe I would go back - and ask for them to supply me their oil that they're telling me I need.
 
NSMaple1, he's not a Husky dealer, exactly. I think he's certified to work on them, and he's told us before that he can get whatever we need, but there aren't any Huskies on the shelves.

He's a tricky fellow, as it turns out, and I had plenty of other reasons to be suspicious. Unfortunately, there's a tragic dearth of saw shops here in these parts -- market's ripe for disruption, if any of you all are looking to expand.
 
I would ask this clown to show you the override technology on the saw that shuts it off. You will quickly see he is full of B.S.

Husqvarna isn't an oil producer, they contract with a refiner to package it for them. It is the same formulation that is undoubtedly bottled under other brand names. In the grand scheme of things Husqvarna oil is a mere drop in the bucket and I doubt any refiner is running a separate line for their limited production.
 
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This is getting bad. The site is becoming a chainsaw version of some afternoon "reality" show. The amount of ignorant posts is almost astounding anymore.

It's called "oil guard". It's a protective feature available on the power cuts to protect the saw from DUMMIES who might be inclined to run straight gas in them.

Think before you post. :msp_rolleyes:
 
taken straight from Husqvarnas website....

The Husqvarna K 760 Oilguard is specially designed to prevent engine damage resulting from an incorrect oil-fuel mixture. The K 760 Oilguard uses specially colored OilGuard oil, developed specifically for dusty environments like construction sites and ideal for air-cooled two-stroke engines. It is also possible to use standard two-stroke oil in a K 760 Oilguard, as the OilGuard feature can easily be deactivated. An optical detection system indicates if there is a sufficient amount of the correct type of oil in the fuel. The K 760 Oilguard also has features like the new generation of Active Air Filtration™, one of the market’s most efficient centrifugal air cleaning systems that delivers up to one year’s operation without a filter change and SmartCarb™, built-in automatic filter compensation and a highly efficient vibration dampening system. It is also outfitted with an X-Torq®engine, which reduces emissions up to 75 % and lowers fuel consumption by 20 % and DuraStarter™, a dust-sealed starter that boosts reliability and product life. Air Purge and a decompression valve make it very easy to start.
 
That guy is full of BS i've used Belray H1-R and Motul 800 2T in my 562xp without a problem.
 
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taken straight from Husqvarnas website....

The Husqvarna K 760 Oilguard is specially designed to prevent engine damage resulting from an incorrect oil-fuel mixture. The K 760 Oilguard uses specially colored OilGuard oil, developed specifically for dusty environments like construction sites and ideal for air-cooled two-stroke engines. It is also possible to use standard two-stroke oil in a K 760 Oilguard, as the OilGuard feature can easily be deactivated. An optical detection system indicates if there is a sufficient amount of the correct type of oil in the fuel. The K 760 Oilguard also has features like the new generation of Active Air Filtration™, one of the market’s most efficient centrifugal air cleaning systems that delivers up to one year’s operation without a filter change and SmartCarb™, built-in automatic filter compensation and a highly efficient vibration dampening system. It is also outfitted with an X-Torq®engine, which reduces emissions up to 75 % and lowers fuel consumption by 20 % and DuraStarter™, a dust-sealed starter that boosts reliability and product life. Air Purge and a decompression valve make it very easy to start.

Thank you!

How's Christine doing? :msp_razz:
 
oil guard

from the husqvarna website:

"Thursday, October 23, 2008
Husqvarna Introduces K750 Power Cutter with Oil Guard Feature That Ensures Correct Mixture

LOUISVILLE, Ky. [October 23, 2008] – Rental companies, landscapers and local governments often times must ensure that the right mix of fuel – with the right oil – is used on power cutting equipment to avoid seizures and costly product downtime.


Husqvarna is offering a new solution with the introduction of the K750 power cutter with Oil Guard™. The Oil Guard feature helps ensure that the power cutter is only operated with the proper oil and the correct mixture. A sensor detects if incorrect oil or if no oil is present in the fuel and automatically reduces the power cutter’s rpm to 3,800 (idle speed) to avoid engine damage. Husqvarna offers Oil Guard 2-stroke oil that includes a color additive only present in the Oil Guard oil which helps the sensor detect it. Oil Guard oil is a premium quality oil that is recommended for use in all 2-stroke machinery and is available at Husqvarna dealers nationwide.

The K750 power cutter with Oil Guard includes a two-year warranty against seizures when Oil Guard oil is used.

The K750 has a five horsepower engine with DualCharge, which produces more power with higher torque and 70 percent less emissions. "
 
from the husqvarna website:

"Thursday, October 23, 2008
Husqvarna Introduces K750 Power Cutter with Oil Guard Feature That Ensures Correct Mixture

LOUISVILLE, Ky. [October 23, 2008] – Rental companies, landscapers and local governments often times must ensure that the right mix of fuel – with the right oil – is used on power cutting equipment to avoid seizures and costly product downtime.


Husqvarna is offering a new solution with the introduction of the K750 power cutter with Oil Guard™. The Oil Guard feature helps ensure that the power cutter is only operated with the proper oil and the correct mixture. A sensor detects if incorrect oil or if no oil is present in the fuel and automatically reduces the power cutter’s rpm to 3,800 (idle speed) to avoid engine damage. Husqvarna offers Oil Guard 2-stroke oil that includes a color additive only present in the Oil Guard oil which helps the sensor detect it. Oil Guard oil is a premium quality oil that is recommended for use in all 2-stroke machinery and is available at Husqvarna dealers nationwide.

The K750 power cutter with Oil Guard includes a two-year warranty against seizures when Oil Guard oil is used.

The K750 has a five horsepower engine with DualCharge, which produces more power with higher torque and 70 percent less emissions. "

The incorrect oil they speak of is referring to transmission fluid, motor oil and ect. They're by no means stating this will only operate with Husqvarna special sauce
 
How do you start a rumour?

Howdy.

I heard a nasty little rumor from the fellow
.......

This whole thread should be deleted. This is trolling in perfection! Newly signed in with a rumour from a fellow. Let me guess who that is!?

I must admit that this site has lost a lot in recent years.

7
 
Thanks for pointing me to that bit on the Husky web site -- seems a likely source of the rumor, and a much more reasonable feature for a manufacturer to offer.

Since it's not advertised in their chainsaw line, though, I imagine it's a feature that may come down the pipe in the future and not current. A bit of a moot point anyway -- we could easily see if our oil worked and if it didn't, disable it. Haven't had any raw gas winding up in our saws anyway.
 
And sorry to disappoint, 7sleeper -- I'm just a guy working with saw crews who got lousy information from a shop in town, not a clever troller. Once again, thanks everyone for getting me straightened out.
 
How do you start a rumour?



This whole thread should be deleted. This is trolling in perfection! Newly signed in with a rumour from a fellow. Let me guess who that is!?

I must admit that this site has lost a lot in recent years.

7
.


If you don't like it......don't read it.
 
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