Smoking bar

[Diesel Pro]

Using my XP372 to cut up some big oak for the neighbor. The diameter ranges from 28 to well over 36" depending on how lobey it is. The kind of stuff where you have to gas up every 8-10 cuts. So I noticed a haze of smoke from the bar mid cut and it lingered after the cut. I cranked the oiler wide open and it still did it. It doesn't seem to be heating too bad, just enough to make the bar oil smoke. No blue or apparent wearing on the bar. With the oiler wide open I can evacuate well past 1/2 of the oil tank (hard to guesstimate but I'd say its at 1/4 full or below) to a tank of gas so I know it's oiling. There is not excessive leakage into the clutch area so it's all getting to the bar. Oil is summer weight specific and we are in the 60's right now.

Do I chock this up as normal? Go to a lighter oil to get more flow? Can I blow backwards through the oiler with a blow gun? Port the oil hole in the bar? Bar is OEM 24".

I need to get after my own oak pile and most of it is well into the 20's as well.

 

[mdavlee]

Is it an oregon bar painted husky colors? The oil hole may be a little small and wouldn't hurt to open it up just a touch. If the bar isn't baking crud on the edges by the rails then you're probably fine as is.

 

[peacmar]

I just experienced a similar issue and am still waiting on the parts to show up. My issue was mostly caused by a stripped worm gear that drives the oil pump off the clutch bell. I had another issue with the pickup screen breaking down and going into the pump and the load wore on the worm gear until my oiling was first slow, then intermittent, then stopped completely. This was on a 20" bar so it took longer for the oil to be scarce enough to notice.

I may be on the wrong track here but now having taken it all apart and seeing how simple it is, and also knowing how much oil pours out at just 4 turns out I feel its probably mechanical. And having searched on here it seems that the worm gear is pretty common but easy to fix.

 

[dl5205]

When cutting large, thick-barked oak (especially red oak), I find I have to clean the chain groove and oil holes in my bars more frequently than normal. Crud will also accumulate around the clutch/brake band area more than when cutting other wood.

 

[Diesel Pro]

Is it an oregon bar painted husky colors? The oil hole may be a little small and wouldn't hurt to open it up just a touch. If the bar isn't baking crud on the edges by the rails then you're probably fine as is.

Not sure who makes the bar, but the hole does look a bit smallish. The saw is relatively new low hours. I sure wouldn't think anything would be failed that quick? When new it needed a diaper in storage, now it seems to have stopped leaking.

 

[SawTroll]

How long is your bar?

Check if the bar is spraying oil off the tip of the bar, like the manual says. The Operator manual can be found on Huskys web-site, if you don't have it.

If it does, your issue likely is a dull chain.

 

[Diesel Pro]

It does fling oil so I know it's oiling, but it just doesn't seem right. It probably could be flinging more. It seems so stingy on the oil, but then again is is dropping the level of the tank. I'll see if maybe my winter oil flows a bit better.

There was enough of a light plume that she could see it from a couple hundred yards away.

I'll have the 359 along as a backup.

 

[514mach1]

if the depth gauges (rakers) aren't filed down enough or if the chain is just a little dull, it'll smoke and heat up in wood like dry oak or osage orange. With big osage, I'm doing a touch-up file job of my chain twice per tank of gas.

 

[SawTroll]

The oiler of the 372xp is not "stringy" if everything is in order, and the bar length within reason.

 

[Diesel Pro]

I'm not a pro at filing chain by any stretch of the imagination, but I can get it done. I use a Sharp Force so the rakers come along with the teeth. and I managed to make probably 30 cuts through this beastly wood.

 

[angelo c]

Were ya using wedges on the big wood?
Just thinkin maybe the bar was pinching in the cuts?
If yes then im going with "chain dull"

 

[Swamp Yankee]

Question

Was the chain feeding itself through the cut, or was it necessary to use the dogs to get the saw to cut?

A "sharp" chain has two criteria, a keen edge and the correct tooth geometry to so the edge can do it's job. One without the other does not a "sharp" chain make.

The higher the chain speed the more heat is generated at the bar to chain interface, I really see this happen when using the 9 tooth sprocket and 17 inch bar on my PS7900. If the chain isn't biting, the hp put in the cut turns to heat, not removing wood.

Heat transfer is a huge problem when a bar is completely buried, especially a long one, as in stumping. There is significantly reduced air flow around the bar to carry away heat build up. Compounding this, because the chain is rubbing the entire length more friction is generated, therefore more heat. The chain to wood interface actually gets very hot, and minimal air is available to remove the heat. Remember, wood is an excellent insulator, think ice in the ice house packed in a thick coating of sawdust years ago when people cut ice in winter for use in the summer. This is a one of the drawbacks of using a long bar on a saw that is marginal in power for it's length. All things being equal the more powerful saw is going to get you through the cut faster so the bar and chain isn't in the cut as long absorbing all that extra heat.

Green wood with a high moisture content, such as red oak, will actually produce steam as the water / moisture content boils off at the chain to wood interface. This may also be part of what your seeing as "smoke".

Take Care

 

[andrewhanson]

My votes on dull chain. I know from experience that a dull chain buried in big green oak will smoke as it warms up. I wouldn't be worried about it but keep a eye on that bar for wear and sharpen that chain up!

 

[sawfun9]

Smokeless oil ? A sharp chain and regular bar oils should work on a 32" or less setup. As long as your oiler is working correctly you should be good to go. Check the oil holes in the bar and make sure their clear and lined up. Also if the wood is frozen that may be steam that comes off of it.

 

[anlrolfe]

Never had a saw that didn't go through 1- tank oil per 1- tank gas.... Did I read it correctly that you only go through 1/4 the oil per fill up?? Have I been wasting oil all these years??

 

[SawTroll]

1/4 would mean something is wrong. I would consider anything from a little over halv a tank to a little less than a full one could be normal, depending on the saw model and cutting conditions and oiler adjustment.

 

[514mach1]

Never had a saw that didn't go through 1- tank oil per 1- tank gas.... Did I read it correctly that you only go through 1/4 the oil per fill up?? Have I been wasting oil all these years??

I go through 2/3 to 3/4 tank of oil per full tank of gas.

 

[Diesel Pro]

Well I filed the chain and went to our wood pile yesterday. Cut really good and no smoke. Got down towards the end of the day's project and it started to cut slow so I knew it was dull. Guess what-started smoking again.

I managed to cut about 1 full cord of large oak. Much of this however has hollow spots where the heartwood has rotted. Some has even rotted down to black dirt/worm bedding.

I'll get her filed back up again and hopefully we can get another session in soon. Unbelievable how much moisture these old logs still hold. Thankfully I can lay my 3pt splitter on the ground to roll them on as I cut at 20" and they are a beast to wrestle.

 

[farmboy53]

Open the oiler Up

I like plenty of oil in big wood. Open it up with the adjustment screw located under the saw. keep that chain sharp . Maintain the bar.

How to Sharpen a Chainsaw: 13 Steps (with Pictures) - wikiHow

 

[DoubleBit]

Glad the "issue" has been resolved, and a couple of things I want to chime in about.

First, I totally agree with this "Heat transfer is a huge problem when a bar is completely buried, especially a long one, as in stumping. There is significantly reduced air flow around the bar to carry away heat build up."
Big hunks o' wood and burying the bar makes tons of heat happen.
This makes a great excuse for having at least one big-azz saw in the collection!

Second, an odd heating problem on an old Echo cs451vl was baffling me until I finally noticed that the chain was rubbing the guide plates (name?), thin stainless plates between the bar and case/s. That bar was so worn down the link rivets were too low into those guides.