Piss reving a cold saw is a bad idea?

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Okie294life

Brush Popper and Amateur Tree Butcher
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I just watched a video from Steve’s small engine saloon where he advises against piss reving a cold saw. I’m not sure I get it because saws need to be choked, and 90% need to be at high idle to start anyway, don’t really see what the difference is. You would think if it has to start at high idle and idle down that’s the worst possible time to be reving anything, come on winter….lol.
 
High idle cold yes. High reving RPM’s no. On any cold engine.


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I’m not so sure. I’ve seen lots of info on cars at least that state once your oil pressure gauge gets to normal let it rip. Not sure how long it takes a piston to expand when fired on but you wouldn’t think it would be more than a couple seconds.
 
I never use "high idle." I use full choke until it pops once, then turn choke completely off, then pull until it starts.

Running a cold/non-operating-temperature engine fast is something I avoid whenever possible, as much as possible.

There's no oil pump (at least not for the engine bearings) in a 2T engine, so comparing a 2T and 4T engine in that regard is kinda meaningless IMHO.
 
Lets say your muffler bolts or flywheel is loose, and you fire it up and stab the throttle, now you got bad problems! Just based on the myriad of factors that could go wrong its a terrible idea to piss rev a cold saw.
The theory behind "cold seize " (probably the original reason) is that the piston and cylinder should warm to operating temperature to give proper clearances and keep the piston from rocking in the bore . The rings tension is always going to be there but the cold piston is actually smaller when cold.
Its alot cheaper for me to buy a saw from the scrap yard though... so let the piss rrrreeevvviinngg! Begin!
 
It might be better to ask why this obnoxious act is displayed so prevalently.....

Can you pose any reasons why it might be beneficial, in any way?
Yeah I piss rev all the time between cuts to keep the bar oiler clear…..I don’t piss rev my saw when it’s cold. I just have to understand why everyone makes such a big deal over it. Newer technology stuff is at high tolerances and you are already flooding the cylinder with oil anyway when you choke it, not sure where the rub is. If it’s not designed to run at high idle cold it should have been designed to start at low idle.
 
Revving in operation, inbetween cuts isn't really an issue. It's when cold.

As has been said, high idle is not the same as wide open throttle. I bet you could put a tach on your saw to verify that.

This might be a poor analogy, but think of cranking amps vs. running amps in a battery. It might crank higher, but only for enough time to start before settling down. Except I suppose the saw motorwould be the opposite....

If not for expansion and contraction of metal, it might not be such a big deal.
 
You've obviously never seen a 4 point cold seized piston. For the reasons stated above, the piston and cylinder don't warm up at the same rate, it takes a little longer for the heat to get in the cylinder. Flooding the engine with lube also is little help, when you go from piston to wall clearance to near zero, to press fit. This is most noticeable in cold weather. Summer temps ah, not so much an issue. You can do the same thing in automotive as well, just mush less likely ad they use a different piston casting technique that holds to much tighter tolerances then our typical cast or forged pistons we see. Our saws being low performance end of the 2 stroke spectrum, don't have near the issues others engines do, if not warmed up properly. But it can and does happen. After it's warm go rev it as much as you want. Heck go rev it ad much as you want, whenever you want. It's your saw.
 
Cold starting a chainsaw....
Cool fuel mixture cooling on one side of the piston while hot gasses exit the other side of the piston.

One should allow the piston to reach operating temperature for the piston to not be a oval scaring the cylinder wall.(No matter what the ambient temperature is)

How long this takes for you varies.

As mentioned above it is your investment use it as you want.
 
Cold weather I start my equipment let them warm up before ever touching the trigger.
Vehicles I start them and never touch a pedal until the idle drops down to normal.
 
Let the saw warm up. In the colder months my saws and winter blend bar oil are kept in a woodstove heated garage, then they go into a warm cab in the truck. I shake the gas can to remix the fuel and oil Incase it seperate.
 

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