Yeh, but every body does that!
Chain brake position for chainsaw storage ?
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cuinrearview
Red saw lover
Tom and huskybill should start PMing back and forth
I've heard the loosen the chain thing before. The theory is that if you tighten it while it's hot while cutting and leave it tight when it cools, it will contract and put too much pressure on the bar and bearing. I don't do it. I figure if you cut with about 1/8 to 1/4 inch slack when you pull up on the middle of the chain, it should be OK. I could see it with a new chain that has just stretched a lot, but I would think that once it has stretched, it's not going back to its original length.
It's just one of those Internet rumors, started by some silly engineers who work for an old company near Stuttgart. They print it, just for fun, in their wacky user manuals:
Philbert
cus_deluxe
Commie Satan turd
gettin an early start today eh? lol!
I wonder if they kept tightening the chain up till they created failure? Then posted it as fact. We were just a little 2-3 crew company. Ran 2 crews year round and added one in the busy season. We never had a bearing failure in any brand saw we used. Seals, air leaks, but never a bearing. Just think of all the big companies like Asplundh and Davey, they would be paying out millions in over time for some flunky to stay late to loosen, then come in early to tighten. Then, because he was just some flunky, he probably over tightened them in the morning.
Do you have a date on the the manual that came from. Just curious how many years we were doing it the wrong way.
You know what you did? Now I'm going to lock myself in my shop and start reading old Homelite, Mac, Poulan, and Echo manuals and see if I can find it. I didn't start buying Stihls till after Dad retired. When Dad passed mom found a file cabinet half full of all the old manuals, sale receipts and such from all of his equipment. When I retired I threw all that stuff away.
M5Pilot
ArboristSite Lurker
I bought a new MS 261 CM two weeks ago and it says the same thing on page 41. I also was reading the English version of the new MS 500i owners manual and it states the same thing. The first thing I thought was I've been doing it wrong all these years. First time I had seen it.
I pulled up copies of several STIHL manuals, from the 025 to the MS242, and found similar language in all of them. So not something new.
Some of it might have to do with how hot the user's chain gets, and how tight they tension it? Not sure if this is precautionary, or if they have a documented rate of service failures.
I generally pull the clutch cover off, remove the bar to clean, flip the bar, etc., after each use, so not a big deal or extra work. Some guys file their chains at the end of the day so that they are ready for use; that often involves adjusting tension too.
Philbert
I hear people say the 50:1 oil mix is a new EPA thing too, but It’s been recommended for at least 20 years?
Lol! Love that haha
I have the original ms260 owners manual and the saw is 18-20 years old and recommends 50:1?
kjalaska
ArboristSite Member
I could not help but have a good laugh at this one, though I’m sure you were not laughing at the time! Thats crazy stuff right there. What a wake up, first an earthquake which I’m quite familiar with in AK, then a chainsaw self starting and tearing up the kitchen!
I may be wrong, but I think he’s joking.
Take it with a grain of salt---
Dads procedure was if you dulled your saw you put it in his PU and he would touch them up every night. Every Christmas Eve he would scoop up about a coffee can full of filings and throw little scoops in the fireplace for a fireworks show. I'm sure if they were loose he would adjust them accordingly. If I do go back and read the old Mac and Homelite manuals it won't take long, they were only 3-4 pages, magazine size. I don't think I've ever read one of my Stihl manuals, seems like they are about the size of a cell phone and as thick as a phone book (remember them). Maybe that's why Dad's manuals wound up in a file cabinet and mine wound up in a round file.
I'd bet they had a lot of failures. I have friends and have met a lot of home owners that would have a bar smoking they were so tight. Right here on AS I've read, I don't know how many one saw owners, that have said they go through several bars a year. My retired dealer friend said so many people came in with dull saws saying they needed a new bar because the saw was cutting in a big arc, that he quit arguing with them and sold them a new bar chain combo. A lot of those bars were probably toasted from being too tight. My memory of saws goes back into the 50's with Mac's, Disston's, Mall's. Then when Dad went into business he had all Homelites till Echo came on the scene and he had 4-5 of them. In all of those years we never had a bearing failure. I'm guessing it's another case of a big company covering their butt, burdening the many, compensating for the few.
I will save you some trouble. An example of an Olympk manual is attached (PDF) before the lawyers got involved.
Some lack of basic knowledge. Bars also used to get refurbished more 'back in the day', because labor was cheap and materials were expensive. I also see inexpensive saws (Poulan, electrics, etc.) at garage sales, basically, because they need a new bar or chain.
Philbert
kjalaska
ArboristSite Member
Well it got a laugh out of me after a hard days work!
D
Deleted member 117362
Guest
Cannot stand putting my saws away dirty, or dull. I do the same.
I must ask @Philbert, the Knower of All Things Chains: Tongue -in-cheek all the way, but I can't tell which side of the argument you are spoofing.
