Chain tension?

[J.W Younger]

Thanks a bunch for the info guys, much appreciated.

I grabbed a new chain from my local Stihl dealer, compared, yup, chain is stretched.

I couldn't figure why all my chains were stretched. I remember now that last fall, there were a few days in a row that I was bucking some huge oak logs. Bars buried. I swapped the bars and chains around, one to the other on those jobs. That must have been it.

I'll swing over to my dealer and have em take out a link.

I run my oilier wide open, always have.

Hey, learned something new today. Didn't realize that a chain could stretch that much.

Thanks again.

Up untill last week I did'nt know one could either. I asked the guy how he kept it on and he told me it was loaned out and returned that way. I anit never had one streched enuff it would'nt adj and don't think i'd want to use it even with a link removed .

 

[jus2fat]

Thanks a bunch for the info guys, much appreciated.

I grabbed a new chain from my local Stihl dealer, compared, yup, chain is stretched.

I couldn't figure why all my chains were stretched. I remember now that last fall, there were a few days in a row that I was bucking some huge oak logs. Bars buried. I swapped the bars and chains around, one to the other on those jobs. That must have been it.

I'll swing over to my dealer and have em take out a link.

I run my oilier wide open, always have.

Hey, learned something new today. Didn't realize that a chain could stretch that much.

Thanks again.

If your chains actually did stretch that much...
you might ought to have a look at your chain sprocket and bar sprocket.
If chain ain't "riding right" on those sprockets...not a good thing

J2F

 

[galde]

A quick way to check for excessive slop at the rivets is to hold adjacent teeth and push/pull to see how much motion is there. A new chain has no noticeable slop in the rivets. It is common on long bars to remove a link before the chain is worn out, since there are many rivets that wear as the chain is used -- four thousandths at each rivet and 200 rivets is already one link of stretch.

 

[madrone]

If it's anything like my 361, it just doesn't oil that much even with the oiler set to max. I've removed the oiler and cleaned it out but still the same issue. I'd say I go through maybe 1/3 of an oil tank to a tank of mix. The bar suffers a bit from lack of lube but I deal with it cause I like the saw a lot and have lot's of bars.

If your 361 is similar, and maybe even a little clogged up, maybe it's the cause of your chain stretching that much. Just a guess though.

How much oil do you go through per tank of mix?

 

[cpr]

Something else is going on here. Even on 108 DL chain, I've stretched them about 1 full turn on the screw. On a 20" bar burning up all the travel tells me something is going awry.

 

[J.W Younger]

In my opinion and I'm old and a little senile, the problem of not gettin enuff oil is these dang newer bars.
It can be fixed but its still a pita.
I have solid bars in oregon, stihl and windsor and they are all restricted.

 

[SawTroll]

If it's anything like my 361, it just doesn't oil that much even with the oiler set to max. I've removed the oiler and cleaned it out but still the same issue. I'd say I go through maybe 1/3 of an oil tank to a tank of mix. The bar suffers a bit from lack of lube but I deal with it cause I like the saw a lot and have lot's of bars.

If your 361 is similar, and maybe even a little clogged up, maybe it's the cause of your chain stretching that much. Just a guess though.

How much oil do you go through per tank of mix?

Sounds like you need to put some high capasity MS460 oiler parts in your 361....

 

[J.W Younger]

Sounds like you need to put some high capasity MS460 oiler parts in your 361....

Something else that will cause clogging is if the tangs on the drive links are damaged such as from a worn drive sprocket.
If you can't see those tags tru the oil hole they won't keep the passage clear.

 

[masculator]

Sounds like you need to put some high capasity MS460 oiler parts in your 361....

or take it back to the supplier and make them fix the obviously faulty oil pump!!!! you should almost empty the oil tank on a tank of fuel at the full setting, on the E setting you should only be left with about an eighth of a tank or less of oil after a tank of fuel. if you are not using this much then your oiler is faulty and needs repairing. have seen it a fair bit on ms660s, then the bloke shells out for the HO oiler when really it should have just been fixed under warranty.

 

[masculator]

I would be concerned about the pitch of the chain in relation to the pitch of the bar sprocket, and the drive sprockets. There aint no way a chain should stretch that much, if it does you are doing damage and it should be removed and both the chain and sprocket replaced and possibly the bar as well. just make sure that you are not running .325 chain on a 3/8 bar or drive sprocket. I have used chain in damn hard wood at full bar depth on a regular basis and have never stretched one like that even on a ms660 magnum, It just will not stretch that far and if it does you are probably lucky it hasn't broken and done some damage to yourself or a bystander.

 

[Jed1124]

or take it back to the supplier and make them fix the obviously faulty oil pump!!!! you should almost empty the oil tank on a tank of fuel at the full setting, on the E setting you should only be left with about an eighth of a tank or less of oil after a tank of fuel. if you are not using this much then your oiler is faulty and needs repairing. have seen it a fair bit on ms660s, then the bloke shells out for the HO oiler when really it should have just been fixed under warranty.

My 310 and 460 are both set to max on the oil setting. Neither empties the oil tank past half way to a full tank of fuel. By far this is my biggest complaint about the Stihls. Way to stingy with the bar oil.

 

[SawTroll]

or take it back to the supplier and make them fix the obviously faulty oil pump!!!! you should almost empty the oil tank on a tank of fuel at the full setting, on the E setting you should only be left with about an eighth of a tank or less of oil after a tank of fuel. if you are not using this much then your oiler is faulty and needs repairing. have seen it a fair bit on ms660s, then the bloke shells out for the HO oiler when really it should have just been fixed under warranty.

That is not the case with the newer Stihl saws! :msp_wink:

 

[thomas72]

I have seen a many of "stretched" chains, that had chisels that were only worn 25%. The common problem I see is the use of motor oil. The chain does not get the proper lubrication and goes to crap quick. As the chain wears it then varies in pitch and takes a lot of life out of the rim sprocket. Look at your bar. If it is good get a new Stihl chain and a gallon of Stihl bar oil along with a new rim sprocket. Run for a few hours and report back.

 

[Currently]

=> SawTroll

Slight thread jack but related to this subject ...

The MS390 uses a half tank of oil with the screw set to max. I bought the saw used but in like new condition, doubt if it burned more than three tankfuls and the bar was blued from overheating.

The MS362 uses a quarter to a third of an oil tank per tankful of fuel. No evidence yet of blueing.

390 has an "E"bar and the 362 has an "ES" bar.

Both saws are set to max oil delivery.

What are my options?

 

[jasoutside]

I have roughly 1/4 oil tank left per tank of gas so she seems to be oiling fine.

I'll take a closer look at my bar to make sure nothing is going on there. May be time to swap that out.

Sprocket is basically new.

Thanks again guys.