jsmith40004
ArboristSite Operative
A while back I asked a few questions about setting a saw up for ethanol and like I expected, most people said it would do nothing but give troubles. I went ahead and built an old p-42 pioneer I bought off ebay with some new parts I had and parts off of another donor saw.
I ported it with the exhaust opening at 98* ATDC and the transfers at 120* ATDC. This meant raising the exhaust .110 and raising the transfers .050 as 7.5 thousandths equaled 1*. I haven't milled the cylinder .060 and cut a .075 pop-up on the piston yet so I only have 127 pounds of compression.
I ran the saw after porting an gas at 16:1 with a wj series and the needle settings were 1 1/4 L 3/4 H. I drilled a Tillitson HS carb that would have been right for methanol, and it was way to big for E-85. The wj went back on, stock, and the settings went to 2 1/4 L, 1 3/4 H. Both sides 1 turn out from the gas settings.
I thought this was odd so I had to try it in a ported 036 I have with 207 psi, again exactly one turn out for both sides of the carb. Interesting.
Back on the subject, the old pioneer gained 1400 rpm, consistently on ethanol even with the low compression it has. When I get to machining and the compression raises I have the gut feeling that it will become a greater amount.
I've put 3 gallon of fuel through it so far and it hasn't shown any signs of problems yet. I even left fuel in the tank and didn't notice any ill effects. I also found out that the black new style replacement fuel line for a Stihl TS400 is alcohol compatible and sold by the foot at any dealer if anybody cares.
Now the down side, this saw is a fuel hog. Could almost run two tanks of fuel to one tank of bar oil. If the temperature got below 15*, it had to be primed to ever start with gas mix. It is cold natured, even worse than pioneers were to start with.
In conclusion, this is a fun project saw but I wouldn't use it in an everyday saw that I made a living with as the fuel consumption is so great. Besides, with the Klotz and the alcohol no one could stand to be around you for very long even though I personally like the smell.
James
I ported it with the exhaust opening at 98* ATDC and the transfers at 120* ATDC. This meant raising the exhaust .110 and raising the transfers .050 as 7.5 thousandths equaled 1*. I haven't milled the cylinder .060 and cut a .075 pop-up on the piston yet so I only have 127 pounds of compression.
I ran the saw after porting an gas at 16:1 with a wj series and the needle settings were 1 1/4 L 3/4 H. I drilled a Tillitson HS carb that would have been right for methanol, and it was way to big for E-85. The wj went back on, stock, and the settings went to 2 1/4 L, 1 3/4 H. Both sides 1 turn out from the gas settings.
I thought this was odd so I had to try it in a ported 036 I have with 207 psi, again exactly one turn out for both sides of the carb. Interesting.
Back on the subject, the old pioneer gained 1400 rpm, consistently on ethanol even with the low compression it has. When I get to machining and the compression raises I have the gut feeling that it will become a greater amount.
I've put 3 gallon of fuel through it so far and it hasn't shown any signs of problems yet. I even left fuel in the tank and didn't notice any ill effects. I also found out that the black new style replacement fuel line for a Stihl TS400 is alcohol compatible and sold by the foot at any dealer if anybody cares.
Now the down side, this saw is a fuel hog. Could almost run two tanks of fuel to one tank of bar oil. If the temperature got below 15*, it had to be primed to ever start with gas mix. It is cold natured, even worse than pioneers were to start with.
In conclusion, this is a fun project saw but I wouldn't use it in an everyday saw that I made a living with as the fuel consumption is so great. Besides, with the Klotz and the alcohol no one could stand to be around you for very long even though I personally like the smell.
James
