Someone level with me..... Please!

[griffonks]

I use fuel stabilizer in every gas can too and I leave the treated fuel in the saw unless it's going to sit a very long time. I clean and rebuild enough carbs as it is, I really don't want anymore. I wish i could find a source for alcohol free fuel in the Denver Metro area.....

 

[sefh3]

It sounds to me like you need to stop by your Stihl dealer if you have one close and pickup some premix. The sell a 50:1 mix ethanal free. I don't think it's a fuel related but a lean condition. If your saw was not tuned by cutting it in wood by the dealer, than it was lean.

 

[morgaj1]

I think it was good of your dealer to go to bat for you the first time. However, I do not believe for a minute that ethanol caused this. The 5100's are known to have lean related failures. My opinion is that this dealer did not set it up right to begin with, pure and simple. As for why your other saw lasted 20 years and this one did not - you can thank the EPA. Your 20 year old saw likely did not have limiter caps on the carb and did not likely leave the factory tuned too lean. Your 5100, however, did and your dealer should have caught it.

 

[Ifishsum]

I think there is a huge difference between running fuel out of the lines at idle speed and running out of mix at WOT or in a cut. Any advice to empty the tank and run the lines dry should include the caveat "at idle speed only". I don't see that hurting anything, and it's probably better than leaving E10 in the tank for months. Running out at cutting speed is very hard on the engine however. I don't usually bother to run them dry myself but I use ethanol free pump gas with stabilizer or TruFuel in my saws - but if E10 was all I could get then I would empty the tank and idle them dry for the winter months.

I agree with the majority that too much is being simply blamed on the ethanol fuel. Something else is going on.

 

[greg409]

Does Ethanol Cause Chainsaw Failures - Forestnet-Home of North ...


Interesting, I run old saws, almost never over 20min/time - 87 e10 pump, always adjusted a little rich loaded

All of my outdoor equipt may/may not get gas drained over winter - really hasn't been a problem

I just ran my generators for hours, one had 5gal of two year old e10 - ran great.

I don't know...

luck,greg

 

[Chris-PA]

I agree it can't be the ethanol - the common link is the tuning. I really believe everyone who runs a saw should be able to tune it, and it really isn't very hard although it can be a little tricky to hear sometimes. You might want to consider one of the Autotune or M-tronic saws - it might be worth it to not have to worry about the tuning anymore.

 

[Steve NW WI]

One more thing to consider. Try a different fuel supplier. Maybe the place you normally buy from has contamination problems.

 

[o8f150]

what you need to do is get a tach and learn,with the help of everyone on here,, to tune them yourself,, just like the 550p i tuned last night i set it by ear and then double checked it with my tach,, i was pretty close to the 13100 i was shooting for,, since i sold the saw and it was new i wanted to make sure it was a tad rich,

 

[Anthony_Va.]

Yea man, the only problems I've ever had with Ethanol fuel was white rust in my 660's carb from leaving fuel too long. You will need to tune for 10% Eth -vs- no Eth though. I agree with the majority that your saws must not be tuned right. I would just get a tach and tune them myself. Then try to learn how to tune by ear.

Never run a saw out of fuel inthe cut. Soon as you hear it sputter shut it off. You can actyally hear them go lean right before they run out if you listen for it. Not a good thing to happen in a hot saw buried in a tree. You'll learn alot more here than you can from a dealer that can't adjust a carb. Theres a whole bunch of dealers right here on this site, plus alot of chainsaw gearheads that can tune a carb like it's no one business.

 

[Andyshine77]

I'm not sure if it's been said yet, but the 5100 has a rev limited coil, when it kicks in it can sound like the saws four stroking. If your dealer doesn't know this he likely tuned the saw way too lean, I bet that's what happened.

 

[Nipper]

Again I will thank everyone here.

I do not post a lot here because I dont have much to offer but I have been following this forum for years because I know equipment needs maintenance and its somewhat of a hobby with me. I take care of my equipment.

I do not cut for a living but myself and two friends have 300 acres of woods and there is always something to cut. I usually spend weekends out there and we always need/use a saw. In addition to this we probably cut 7-10 cords of firewood each year.

I dont mind working on my equipment and will purchase a tach or whatever is needed to maintain it but I want something good.

So let me ask this.......
If you were in a survival situation and could only have one NEW off the shelf saw that you had to purchase today, what make and model would it be?

 

[Muffler Bearing]

Stihl MS-460, w 20'' and 28'' bar.



Grab A Beer;


http://www.arboristsite.com/chainsaw/201514.htm

 

[WetGunPowder]

Two possibilities-Bad fuel or improper tuning. Everyone has their own opinion on ethanol fuel. We are always testing and many times find fuel with over 10%. Ethanol will burn hotter and you need to tune accordingly. As an end user you have no idea-except for the decal on the pump-how much ethanol is in the fuel you buy. Buy the best fuel you can get, use a good oil, and buy yourself a good tach.

 

[malk315]

Husqvarna has a section of their website dedicated to ethanol and gas. It's here:

Husqvarna: What is Ethanol?

Besides chainsaws I'm an RC plane guy and I've been running Quadra and Zenoah engines for over 20 years. This includes a Q35, Q42 and Zenoah G45, G62 and the new G20. I use Husqvarna oil in all of them and like the video above I run the fuel dry for long term storage, use fresh fuel, air tight storage can, shake the gas before filling etc. I've never had any problems with saws or planes.

To answer your most recent post I just bought a new 372XP a few weeks ago and if it was the last saw I could buy, I would buy it again!

This weekend I plan to do some cutting and flying -- cutting will involve 372XP with a 20+ year old 262XP for backup. For the flying part it will be a Laser-200 with Zenoah G62 (identical engine in Redmax EB7000 backpack leafblower) with 22" prop and 84" wingspan...

 

[Somesawguy]

Again I will thank everyone here.

I do not post a lot here because I dont have much to offer but I have been following this forum for years because I know equipment needs maintenance and its somewhat of a hobby with me. I take care of my equipment.

I do not cut for a living but myself and two friends have 300 acres of woods and there is always something to cut. I usually spend weekends out there and we always need/use a saw. In addition to this we probably cut 7-10 cords of firewood each year.

I dont mind working on my equipment and will purchase a tach or whatever is needed to maintain it but I want something good.

So let me ask this.......
If you were in a survival situation and could only have one NEW off the shelf saw that you had to purchase today, what make and model would it be?

It would be another MS290 Stihl Farm Boss. I've had mine for 7 years, and haven't had to do anything to it. It's dirt reliable, and always starts. It has enough power for everything I've had to do. I think you've opened a can of worms there.:hmm3grin2orange:

 

[KenJax Tree]

Again I will thank everyone here.

I do not post a lot here because I dont have much to offer but I have been following this forum for years because I know equipment needs maintenance and its somewhat of a hobby with me. I take care of my equipment.

I do not cut for a living but myself and two friends have 300 acres of woods and there is always something to cut. I usually spend weekends out there and we always need/use a saw. In addition to this we probably cut 7-10 cords of firewood each year.

I dont mind working on my equipment and will purchase a tach or whatever is needed to maintain it but I want something good.

So let me ask this.......
If you were in a survival situation and could only have one NEW off the shelf saw that you had to purchase today, what make and model would it be?

Honestly who can only have one saw if we only had one saw AS wouldn't exist.

 

[amert]

I think you need to consider the 441 m-tronic. Then your tuning woes would be gone.

 

[deye223]

So let me ask this.......
If you were in a survival situation and could only have one NEW off the shelf saw that you had to purchase today, what make and model would it be?

stihl ms 460 20" & 25"

 

[carym2a]

I too hate the new E-gas, and I have a place to get non-E-gas and use it in all my small engines. time seems to be the thing with E-gas, over time I'v seen it do all kinds of damage but mostly in saws that set for weeks at a time and gas thats been mixed for months. I know guys that run it everyday fresh mixed with no problems, adding more oil to the mix wont help it . As said early on sounds more like tuning or lack of it, get them tuned right with fresh mix and what they call for.

Cary

 

[blsnelling]

So let me ask this.......
If you were in a survival situation and could only have one NEW off the shelf saw that you had to purchase today, what make and model would it be?

The same one I grab everytime I have something to cut. A 346XP.