New DCS 540 Just arrived

[Norcal M5]

Picked it up Today

Picked 'er up and got 'er home. She started up really easy for the tech and oiler was working right. Not bad for a saw that's been collecting dust on the shelf for a long time. They sell lots of Stihl there, but to gardeners and they don't seem to be very interested in anything but Stihl and some Echos. Meeting my ranch hand and his 029 Farm Boss tomorrow to see how much of the huge fallen oak we can get out of there.

They have some more stock and I'll let you guys that asked first know the shop phone number if anyone wants to call them up and arrange to have something shipped. "Steve," the manager doesn't care to ship, but didn't rule it out, either.

 

[7sleeper]

All I can say is you got a fantastic saw for a fantastic price! Around here they have been discontinued but a dealer on a german site manged to aquire some(I believe 5) and was sold out real quick! You got a saw that will laugh at the farmer models.

Enjoy and don't forget forum rules it never happenend with out pictures! and remember to take the camera along for the oak!

7

 

[Norcal M5]

All I can say is you got a fantastic saw for a fantastic price! Around here they have been discontinued but a dealer on a german site manged to aquire some(I believe 5) and was sold out real quick! You got a saw that will laugh at the farmer models.

Enjoy and don't forget forum rules it never happenend with out pictures! and remember to take the camera along for the oak!

7

OK, I get that. Riley the cockapoo makes the Makita look pretty big. Nice!

View attachment 273656

Oak picture next...

 

[makguy]

So givin the fact its a discontinued saw I wonder if Makita would stand behind warranty on it? Just a thought

As long as you have a receipt from an authorized retailer, whether it's Amazon.com, or you local hardware store, Makita will warranty it for 1 year, but wont cover user abuse or error, like straight gassing it. The also wont cover it if you modify it.

 

[Norcal M5]

Getting Warranty Work Done Now

The saw was somewhat great on its first outing. It started up when cold and cut like a hot knife through butter. Problem was that trying to start it warm was an exercise in futility. Playing with the choke ended up helping, finally got it to idle and then with coaxing; to run again. I hope the shop can get that one figured out.

You want to see its first tree (and the one that helped my wife see I needed a bigger saw)?

View attachment 274354

That's John, my great farm assistant getting a bunch of free oak. Lucky guy, but he worked his duff off to get it up the steep bank.

View attachment 274355

I told you it was big!

 

[excess650]

Your saw is tuned too lean. The fix is to pull the limiter caps and retune. After your warranty is up, open the muffler up a little and retune again. If it came with that :censored:Oregon Vanguard chain, ditch it in favor of non-safety chain. Vanguard cuts great while its sharp, but the raker design makes it a PITA to make it cut like that again.

 

[7sleeper]

Nice pics (a little small but ok for the first ones )!

Normaly you don't need to use the choke when the saw is warm. Retuning is usually recommended after about 10 refills. By then conventional non strato saws are more or less broken in. But at the moment it sounds like the carb is a little bit out of tune.

Keep up the reprots & pics!

7

 

[Norcal M5]

Got It Out of The Shop

The shop called me to come pick it up and they mentioned on the call that they couldn't find anything wrong with it. Before I left the shop, I took it out back and let it run for about 5 mins and then tried to start it. No prob. I did that same when I got it home. No prob. They said maybe I put old gas in it. I don't think my gas is more than about 8 months old and I didn't smell anything unusual. Could I have caused the problem that day by flooding it? My Echo needs the choke after it's left to cool for any time at all. The Makita may hate the choke. Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next work day.

 

[7sleeper]

Nowadys gas is not recomended to be stored over 1/2 year.

My Dolmars hate the choke. They flood very easy. So on a cold saw only 2-3 x with choke and then with half choke.

7

 

[Norcal M5]

Half Choke?

Nowadys gas is not recomended to be stored over 1/2 year.

My Dolmars hate the choke. They flood very easy. So on a cold saw only 2-3 x with choke and then with half choke.

7

Hi 7Sleeper,
When you say "and then with half choke" are you saying start it with half choke later when the saw is still warm, or are you saying you start using half choke after full choke when cold?

Jeff

 

[7sleeper]

Hi 7Sleeper,
When you say "and then with half choke" are you saying start it with half choke later when the saw is still warm, or are you saying you start using half choke after full choke when cold?

Jeff

Depending on which saw. Usually when warm then no choke only start. But when cooled down half choke is enough.

7

 

[excess650]

8 month old fuel?:msp_scared: If your fuel has ethanol in it you should try to use it up in 6 weeks or less.

If your saw still needs some choke to start it warm or keep it idling properly, its tuned too lean!

 

[Kemper]

Their a good reliable saw, I still have a 540.

 

[Hedgerow]

Hi 7Sleeper,
When you say "and then with half choke" are you saying start it with half choke later when the saw is still warm, or are you saying you start using half choke after full choke when cold?

Jeff

If the 540 is tuned correctly, when cold, you should pull with choke on and it should pop, but not run... Then, after the pop, choke off, and pull till it starts...
A properly tuned saw shouldn't idle with the choke on. If it does, the low jet is too lean. When the saw is warm, it should require no choke for a re-start.
Please use fresh gas in that beautiful little Dolkita... It would be a shame to bugger it so early in it's life...
Congrats on the nice find...

 

[oldbat]

I just ordered a reconditioned dcs540, the last one they had at tool king but Ive run into some questions that puzzle me. Makita calls it a 21" bar and yet theas best as I can tell the chain specs (3/8 pitch, .050 ga, 72 links) are the same as what other manufacturers use on a 20" bar. Are they fudging a little? Can I use a stihl chain of the same specs without any problem? Thanks in advance

 

[excess650]

I just ordered a reconditioned dcs540, the last one they had at tool king but Ive run into some questions that puzzle me. Makita calls it a 21" bar and yet theas best as I can tell the chain specs (3/8 pitch, .050 ga, 72 links) are the same as what other manufacturers use on a 20" bar. Are they fudging a little? Can I use a stihl chain of the same specs without any problem? Thanks in advance

It really doesn't matter if they call it 21" or 20", what is important is that you get the correct pitch, guage, and number of drivers. The bar should be marked as such. Stihl describes their bar as 25" and Husqvarna 24", but both take 84 drivers.

Expect your saw to need tuned right out of the box. Mine was terribly lean until I pulled the limiter caps and made the adjustments.

 

[oldbat]

Thanks excess. Now for the hard part: waiting on the mailman.

 

[7sleeper]

Bar length is one of the last mysteries in chainsaws....

7

 

[Norcal M5]

DIY on The 540 Carb Tune

It really doesn't matter if they call it 21" or 20", what is important is that you get the correct pitch, guage, and number of drivers. The bar should be marked as such. Stihl describes their bar as 25" and Husqvarna 24", but both take 84 drivers.

Expect your saw to need tuned right out of the box. Mine was terribly lean until I pulled the limiter caps and made the adjustments.

Hi Excess,
It would be great to see a DIY on that adjustment (w pics?!). :msp_wink:

 

[barton174]

I really like my DCS-540! Mine was a $100 CL score.

Mike