Chainbrake disaster

[Old2stroke]

Guy bought a new Poulan PR4218, one of Poulan's best new models and destroyed it after a few tanks of fuel, said it started smoking like crazy and locked up so he called it a piece of junk, sold it for parts and bought a Stihl. He had been trying to run it with the chain brake on and must have gotten the clutch drum red hot, it melted itself and the brake band into the surrounding plastic, the internal clutch spring was so soft the clutch fell apart and the main coil spring in the brake control was melted into the plastic. Oil pump was a melted mess and the side of the plastic engine case was also melted. The end of the crankshaft was blue but the seal was still good and the clutch drum bearing also survived. This is the MOST damage I have seen from a chainbrake mistake and I still can't believe how anyone could keep trying to run a saw as soon as it started smoking.

 

[MacAttack]

What a dumb F.

 

[jp233]

Folks should really read Operators/Owners Manuals, especially on a device that can kill you.... as an absolute minimum.

 

[46 Poulan]

Make room for his no good-won't cut wood Stihl thats coming your way....David

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Have seen it a few times.

It's surprising the brake is so built so poorly that a fairly gutless saw can overpower it.

Poulan's best models stopped being built 25+ years ago.

 

[pioneerguy600]

Harry homeowner comes by with a 025, bar is burnt black n blue, chain been roasted dark black and he claims it won`t oil. I figure its an oil pump problem but open the cap on the oil tank first as he is leaving. I yell for him to come back and ask him what kind of bar oil is he using. He looks at me funny and says its mixed into the gas, two stroke Stihl mix. I say no, the oil in the bar oil tank, he has never put oil in there....LOL Asks how often does it need oil put in that tank? At least he didn`t run it with the chainbrake on.

 

[HarleyT]

Guy bought a new Poulan PR4218, one of Poulan's best new models and destroyed it after a few tanks of fuel, said it started smoking like crazy and locked up so he called it a piece of junk, sold it for parts and bought a Stihl. He had been trying to run it with the chain brake on and must have gotten the clutch drum red hot, it melted itself and the brake band into the surrounding plastic, the internal clutch spring was so soft the clutch fell apart and the main coil spring in the brake control was melted into the plastic. Oil pump was a melted mess and the side of the plastic engine case was also melted. The end of the crankshaft was blue but the seal was still good and the clutch drum bearing also survived. This is the MOST damage I have seen from a chainbrake mistake and I still can't believe how anyone could keep trying to run a saw as soon as it started smoking.

Take it back to Lowes and demand a warranty repair!!

 

[RedneckChainsawRepair]

Right behind bench #1.

Brand dont matter on those types.

 

[Old2stroke]

It's surprising the brake is so built so poorly that a fairly gutless saw can overpower it.

This will happen with any saw. The brake was holding the clutch drum from rotating and the engine speeds up to the point where the clutch starts to grab but can't go any higher, at this point the entire power of the saw (minus noise energy, etc.) is showing up as heat in the clutch. Centrifugal clutches are poorly understood, my neighbour rented a chipper and stalled the cutter wheel by feeding too fast, centrifugal clutch go so hot it melted 2 V-belts, neighbour called me over because something was wrong with a "slipping transmission".

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Harry homeowner comes by with a 025, bar is burnt black n blue, chain been roasted dark black and he claims it won`t oil. I figure its an oil pump problem but open the cap on the oil tank first as he is leaving. I yell for him to come back and ask him what kind of bar oil is he using. He looks at me funny and says its mixed into the gas, two stroke Stihl mix. I say no, the oil in the bar oil tank, he has never put oil in there....LOL Asks how often does it need oil put in that tank? At least he didn`t run it with the chainbrake on.

Surprised they didn't put gas in the fuel tank and 2 stroke oil in the bar oil tank, expecting it to mix, like on a snowmobile.

This will happen with any saw. The brake was holding the clutch drum from rotating and the engine speeds up to the point where the clutch starts to grab but can't go any higher, at this point the entire power of the saw (minus noise energy, etc.) is showing up as heat in the clutch. Centrifugal clutches are poorly understood, my neighbour rented a chipper and stalled the cutter wheel by feeding too fast, centrifugal clutch go so hot it melted 2 V-belts, neighbour called me over because something was wrong with a "slipping transmission".

On the saws I was talking about, the brake isn't strong enough to hold back the gutless engine.
Or it is for a very short time, but then a bit of heat and the plastic deforms allowing the brake to easily slip.