Downsides to ported saws?
- Thread starter weedkilla
- Start date
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RiverRocket
ArboristSite Guru
"but some day both my 261 and my 562 will likely be ported."
There are two words in that sentence that say your not gonna do it.....SOMEDAY and Likely...
I've always been taught that when someone uses the words Maybe, If,or Some Day....they'll never do it....
Some day.... means No day.....Procrastinator....:msp_tongue::hmm3grin2orange:
Last edited:
Locust Cutter
Sawing for Sanity
:hmm3grin2orange:
Actually in this case "someday and likely" are used to indicate that I am married w/kids and therefore broke. If I was still single they would both be done in less than a month!!! I will be modding the muffler on the 562 as soon as she gets loosened up a bit!
Ironworker
Addicted to ArboristSite
A ported saw generates more power which creates more heat with less material to dissipate the added heat, which in turn will affect the reliability of the engine. With all that being said I still plan on having a saw ported, just haven't decided which one yet.
old-cat
Fir Man
I HATE wimpy engines!
Roll Tide
Trolltide
Ported saws?!?! Thats just a fad!!! By the end of the year noone will be running "ported" saws. What's wrong with you bunch of nuts !!:hmm3grin2orange:
imagineero
Addicted to ArboristSite
dozerdan
Addicted to ArboristSite
Much truth in what you say. I love ported saws, but saws like the 7900 came from the factory ported.:msp_tongue: IMHO it has more to do with sloppy execution by the manufacturers than the EPA or anything else.
Anytime you raise power you more than likely shorten the lifespan of the engine. Hell you're removing the plating on the port chamfers.Sure you may get more wood on the ground, but lets be honest, who has the hard numbers on that? I honestly haven't seen anything 100% conclusive. IMHO the best thing you can do to a work saw is mod the muffler.
otstir:
The Devils advocate I play.:smile2:
One of the local loggers here has ran the 372s since they first came out. He is 59 years old and he has cut timber since he got out of school. A few years ago I let him run a ported 372 for a week. He returned after that week with a new 372 for me to port. He has ran the ported saws now for roughly 6 years. He claims he gets an average of 5-6 more trees on the ground, limbed at the end of the day with the ported ones and is less tired. That doesn't seem like a lot but at the end of the week that's 25-30 trees. Ad that to a crew of 5 people cutting. Keep in mind that these guys get paid by the load so the port work is paid for in the first half weeks worth of extra trees. His only complaint with the ported saws was the noise. He used ear plugs under his ear muffs and it still bothered him. I now just open up the top outlet on the muffler for him and he claims that he can live with that.
Later
Dan
Just do it
Take a saw, and pay someone to port it. Preferably one of the members here on AS. Then after you can set the saw down for a minute, you write back and tell us why you like it and why you will never be satisfied with a stock saw ever again. Some things are beyond logic and relate more to the experience as a whole. Its like riding a big motorcycle. If I have to explain it to you, you will never understand. Go ahead, jump in with both feet. Get your saw ported. :msp_thumbup:
Warranties are not a reason to live life stuck on the on ramp.
Peace
Take a saw, and pay someone to port it. Preferably one of the members here on AS. Then after you can set the saw down for a minute, you write back and tell us why you like it and why you will never be satisfied with a stock saw ever again. Some things are beyond logic and relate more to the experience as a whole. Its like riding a big motorcycle. If I have to explain it to you, you will never understand. Go ahead, jump in with both feet. Get your saw ported. :msp_thumbup:
Warranties are not a reason to live life stuck on the on ramp.
Peace
imagineero
Addicted to ArboristSite
Warranties are highly overrated in my opinion. I only ever had one warranty claim on a saw, and it was a pole saw. It came from the factory missing parts. In the end they screwed up the repair and accused me of stealing the parts and it cost me more than the saw was worth renting one for the downtime anyhow. It never ran right so I sold it at a loss and bought another one at full cost.
There's very little that can be broken on a saw and still be a warranty repair. Parts on saws are pretty cheap anyhow, even if I had a warranty I'd still probably just buy the parts and do it myself. I don't trust most saw shop guys. Most of the things you're going to damage aren't covered by warranty. Even if porting did shorten the life of a saw (it doesn't) I'd still do it. Saws don't really cost that much compared with trucks, chippers, heavy equipment, ropes and rigging etc... they're a small consumable item. I buy 3 or 4 new saw each year but we spend more on pretty much anything than saws... fuel, chain etc.
I get about 2 years out of a saw and then sell it used. First year it'll probably go through some minor consumables - clutch springs, starter pawls, maybe a starter cord. Heap of chain, maybe a bar. Second year it'll start getting tatty. Plastics a bit worn, clutch cover getting ugly. On the stihls they'll probably need a carb rebuild or new carb end of second year and a new air filter. On husky's the plastics over the muffler are melting, the muffler has probably cracked, the choke linkage may have worn out, probably needs a new carb too. On all saws, there's probably corrosion going on in the clutch cover and behind the clutch for inboard clutches, starting to eat away at the crankcase. Dogs might have cracked (husky), probably gone through a few rim sprockets and maybe some minor parts damage. It's probably starting to develop a bit of personality, and not the good kind either.
P&C are still good on all saws though, and no loss of compression or signs of wear there! I could hang onto them another year, maybe even two.... but there'd be nothing left to sell and the cost of owning them would keep rising in parts. After a couple years I strip'em, clean, tune and sell them used for a fair price, mostly to home owner types who'll still get 10~15 years out of them. I'm sure even after 10 years the P&C would still be good if they used fresh gas and synthetic oil (now I've said it!). It's the other stuff on a saw that wears out.
Shaun
Philip Wheelock
Finis Origine Pendet
My take is the advantages outweigh the disadvantages because of superior power/weight ratios and handling. Less weight to carry around means more cutting for less work and less time spent in the danger zone. My felling/limbing work day is limited to 4 1/2 hrs +/- by fatigue with stock 50-70cc saws, so I understand the value of less weight. I have not seen or read anything that would give me concerns about service life when running 32:1 fuel mix w/synthetic oil. Presumes that the crew is conscientious about proper operation and maintenance.
weedkilla
Ain't no guru of nuthin'
Warranties are of no interest to me on a chainsaw. There isn't enough time in a day to make sure I can take it into a dealer between 9 and 5, be without it for x days, and have to deal with the annoyance. Its easier, quicker and cheaper to work out the problem, order parts, get them couriered or posted and fix the saw yourself. Now if my local dealer was open at 7 when I drive past in the morning on my way out.......
If something needs to go to a dealer it either has to wait for a rainy day or I'm missing work to do it.
My struggle is that there is nothing without a downside in an engine, more power up top is less down low.
Now I'm prepared to believe that chainsaws have been strangled by the epa and the downside is noise and emissions, which are mostly irrelevant. Noise gets to me, but I understand that not everyone agrees.
If something needs to go to a dealer it either has to wait for a rainy day or I'm missing work to do it.
My struggle is that there is nothing without a downside in an engine, more power up top is less down low.
Now I'm prepared to believe that chainsaws have been strangled by the epa and the downside is noise and emissions, which are mostly irrelevant. Noise gets to me, but I understand that not everyone agrees.
I "port" mine by keeping the chain sharp.
old-cat
Fir Man
When you've got a HEALTHY 044/MS440, what else could you possibly want??????????????????
Trx250r180
Saw polisher
different builders do thing different ,that may be why your bikes didn't last or made top end only power ,i like one that makes good tourque to pull a long bar ,nothing worse than a pipey engine that falls on its face if you lean on it ,my saws are heavy ,so if i can cut faster and get the job done sooner ,its all the quicker i can set them down and have a cool one :msp_thumbup:
Philip Wheelock
Finis Origine Pendet
Fair enough. While a poorly-ported saw may be good only as a high-rpm cookie cutter, the builders on AS seem well aware of the advantages/necessity of low end torque in a work saw.
dozerdan
Addicted to ArboristSite
That is correct. He is trying to compare a ported cycle engine to a ported saw that he has never used.
I suggest the he runs a ported saw and then and only then get back to us on this subject.
Later
Dan
Dennis Cahoon
Addicted to ArboristSite
Biggest down-side I see to a ported saw, is who ports it.......Hahahahahaha!
