Best way to break in a chainsaw??

What's the best way to break in a brandy new saw? Had this discussion a little while ago, and we could'nt agree.
I personally have more experience with breaking in new top ends, and don't know if there is a big difference.
I've only had 2 brand new saws (MS270, MS260 Pro), and both times i babied it for the first tank and a half...ish Then treated it like a chainsaw. No problems ever came of it.
Buddy tells me he babies his saw for 3 full tanks (owner's manual), then gradually treats it like a chainsaw.
My father says to just treat it like a chainsaw... made fun of me while breaking mine in.

Is there a solid method for breaking in a saw as quickly and efficiently as possible?

just dont run it wide open out of the wood until you get a tank or two through it then dont let it go wide open for more than a few seconds until it is completely broken in. The local dealer here takes care of the first part by running a tank through every saw they sell before they go on the shelf

I run a-lot of new saw and just run em like the ones that are a couple years old which is the way I ran those when new. Just run em.

The first few tanks through my ms460 (new in 07)were flush cutting big stumps. Didn't have time to baby it.
It has been used as a saw from day one. I do faithfully keep it clean as new
and it is a great saw

baby my saw, let it idle alot and just find small stuff to cut just to play with the new toy and break it in because when somthing comes up that has to be done I just run it like a saw to get the job done regardless of how new it is. my saw did not seem fully broke in until about 15 hours

MaddBomber said:

Is there a solid method for breaking in a saw as quickly and efficiently as possible?

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Cut as much wood as you possible can.

Just go cut wood... seriously.

But make sure you soak your chains overnight first! :biggrinbounce2:

Gary

cjrenegade82 said:

baby my saw, let it idle alot and just find small stuff to cut just to play with the new toy and break it in because when somthing comes up that has to be done I just run it like a saw to get the job done regardless of how new it is. my saw did not seem fully broke in until about 15 hours

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Idling is not good for a new engine--it doesn't come up to proper break in temperature. The best way to break in a saw is run it like it was meant to be run--don't abuse it, but don't baby it.

dont babied saws stay babied saws.

when building motocross bikes, my own and customeres we also broke them like we stole em. wide open all the time. let em cool off ounce inm awhile though and youl be good.

<---------------------------------- Has special secrete breaking procedure. Send it to me with return postage and I'll send it back all broken in!
































No, seriously, run it. Machining now days is so much better than yester-year. Tolerances are closer, tooling is better, and Quality Control (QC) automated measuring machines or Concordant Measuring Machines (CMM's) that removes much of the human error. I don't know if it's done in the saw industry, but I know that the auto manufactures match pistons to the varying tolerances of the cylinder bore. Being able to match slightly different sized pistons to slightly different size bores removes a lot of variables. I mean we're talking in the tenths difference here. (.0001-.0009 for example) At least that is what Saturn in TN did when I was there a few year ago. A human hair is around .003-.004.

Dan

GASoline71 said:

Just go cut wood... seriously.

But make sure you soak your chains overnight first! :biggrinbounce2:

Gary

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That was a good one but you forgot to tell him which oil works best when breaking the saw in. Your slippin!

GASoline71 said:

Just go cut wood... seriously.

But make sure you soak your chains overnight first! :biggrinbounce2:

Gary

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So what would you soak "em in Gary......... OIL?

My uncle once got a v-8 totally built for performance from the block up. The guy that built it said run it like you stole it, if it don't blow right away then your good.

I agree run it like you stole it, saws are made to run wide open, I have broke in all my saws and string trimmers that way with no issues. Stihl white bottle mix with 2 gals of AV gas, and give it hell, if it's going to break, break it under warranty.

MaddBomber said:

What's the best way to break in a brandy new saw?

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If you can't find an open window, try picking the lock.

This will come down to opinion in most cases.

My first new Sachs Dolmar 112 in 1986 had a break in period in the instruction manual. The saws were running 25:1 then, and it was recommended to run a bit heavier on oil for several tanks of fuel mix. If I can find that manual I will post the exact instructions.
I followed the instructions, and that saw still had 150 lbs of compression when I sold it last year. Sorry I did, but that's another story.

When I got a new Dolmar 7900. Low and behold, no break in period, no run heavy on oil mix. Could that be fear of the dreaded EPA. DON'T TELL THEM TO DO THAT. IT WILL SMOKE.

I broke that saw in with 32:1 and a little richer on the carb for 10 tanks, and was careful about revving the saw out of the cut.

But that's just me.:greenchainsaw:

I go easy on mine for a bit, not cause of the motor, but because of the clutch.

Warm it up,and run it like a saw should be run,just dont load it up.

stone69er said:

Warm it up,and run it like a saw should be run,just dont load it up.

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Bingo

Use the Mfg. 2 stroke mix recommendations (use mfg or other top qual. 2 cycle oil) and run the saw like you normally would, avoiding hi revs for several tanks of fuel. Give the saw a workout, albiet avoiding the full open throttle, and allow the saw to break-in over the course of an hour or two of use.

I'd let it warm up a bit before cutting, and I'd avoid doing ridiculous cuts on the first tank if possible.

I wouldn't take a brand new saw milling as its first outing...but I would be content to cut up a tree in my normal enthusiastic fashion....