Inside the Stihl MS500i - SNELLERIZED Style

[svk]

Very well done Brad!

Also it’s very nice to see that you can do a build thread around here again and not get trolled by knuckleheads.

 

[EngineNoO9]

Wonder if you could put a micro squirt stand alone ECU on that for kicks. I'm sure it'd run it and you'd gain full control

For $1700 though plus the ECU, I'll stick with my cheap carbs and used saws though.


Does the ECU use any kind of battery to turn it on prior to starting the saw or does it run only off of the voltage of the stator?

 

[Huskvarna hotellgäst]

The more saws that go high tech will run hotter, the heat has to go somewhere. With no way to keep it cooler longevity could be a problem. I don’t see them pushing the envelope any farther.

High tech ≠ high heat. It's because saws are still relatively low tech that this correlation remains valid.
If, and it's a big if, you could electronically control a saw engine so that it could seamlessly transition between traditional spark ignition when under low-load and spark-augmented (shock wave triggered) compression ignition when under high load, far less latent heat at full power would be produced due to the almost instantaneous combustion.
But...electric saws may come to the fore before then

 

[Andyshine77]

Wonder if you could put a micro squirt stand alone ECU on that for kicks. I'm sure it'd run it and you'd gain full control

For $1700 though plus the ECU, I'll stick with my cheap carbs and used saws though.


Does the ECU use any kind of battery to turn it on prior to starting the saw or does it run only off of the voltage of the stator?

I'm not an electronic technician or engineer, but I would guess the capacitors store some energy, ran off the flywheel stator.

 

[Andyshine77]

High tech ≠ high heat. It's because saws are still relatively low tech that this correlation remains valid.
If, and it's a big if, you could electronically control a saw engine so that it could seamlessly transition between traditional spark ignition when under low-load and spark-augmented (shock wave triggered) compression ignition when under high load, far less latent heat at full power would be produced due to the almost instantaneous combustion.
But...electric saws may come to the fore before then

Exactly. Saws do not make enough power stock or woods ported for heat to be an issue, you see that on saws with pipes and saws ran on alcohol and other fuels. Water cooling will never happen on a saw, way too much added weight and bulk.

 

[EngineNoO9]

I'm not an electronic technician your engineer, but I would guess the capacitors store some energy, ran off the flywheel stator.

Well I'm not sure how the auto tune ones operate either. Assume there's some basic battery for the ECU that keeps things stores but it's powered off of the saws motor once running. Never seen one up close to study it.

 

[Andyshine77]

Well I'm not sure how the auto tune ones operate either. Assume there's some basic battery for the ECU that keeps things stores but it's powered off of the saws motor once running. Never seen one up close to study it.

Everything is sealed/potted in the coil, and the module on the carb. It's been decades since I worked for an electrical engineer. I think everything is stored on a rewritable chip, don't know if a battery is nessairy wonce the perimeters are set, my guess is not. But I really don't know.

 

[pavel408]

It is funny that a good Stihl 064 30 years old although a little heavier still probably will beat them power to weight or close.

Not true.
064 - 4,8 kW - 7,1 kg
066 - 5,0 kW - 7,3 kg
500i - 5,0 kW - 6,2 kg

 

[av8or3]

The saw has a generator built in behind the flywheel. Provides 56V to the system the instant you pull on the rope.

 

[DND 9000]

There is not battery or capacitor in it. When the engine gets turned by the rope starter, power is created by the generator. Wakeup process and syncronisation is done in 150ms.

 

[av8or3]

There is not battery or capacitor in it. When the engine gets turned by the rope starter, power is created by the generator. Wakeup process and syncronisation is done in 150ms.

OK, almost instantly

 

[Andyshine77]

There is not battery or capacitor in it. When the engine gets turned by the rope starter, power is created by the generator. Wakeup process and syncronisation is done in 150ms.

along my line of limited knowledge of thinking.

 

[bayard]

on the stihl web site they are saying for sale this winter!

 

[EngineNoO9]

The saw has a generator built in behind the flywheel. Provides 56V to the system the instant you pull on the rope.

Cool. I figured it needed something extra.

 

[Woody912]

The power this saw is putting out, I wouldn't hesitate to try a 36" on it. You'd have to try it though. I don't have that size of wood here.

I'll bring ya some real man sized wood in return for a saw!

 

[epicklein22]

I bought a ms500i earlier this summer and use it doing tree work ~3 days a week. It’s been an absolute tank. Not one single hiccup from it. Lightweight, instant throttle response, good power and it handles very nicely. Starts easily when cold and then it’s one pull once it’s hot. Stays primed for a long time. Filtration has been good too.

 

[ShneaSIG]

Alright, Stihl! It's October! Where the 500i's at?!?

 

[cary911]

Still looks like a Blender?, … or a Vacuum Cleaner, idk!

Nice work, as always though!

 

[Austin Billings]

Could it be stroked?? Maybe throw a pipe on it... would be interesting to see how far it can go

 

[woodfarmer]

Could the TS 500i be modded the same way?

My dealer says the TS 500i is a PITA, very small concrete dust gets sucked through the filter and blows up the ecu at a cost of $900 to repair.
Hopefully the filtration will be good and this won’t happen with sawdust, time will tell.