Does bogging down hurt anything?

[ole-bucky-boy]

Hi All,

When cutting wood and the chain saw bogs down and you keep pushing it, or even cause it to stop.... Is there any permanent damage being done? Just curious because it seems once I've done that a number of times the saws seem to have less power and bog down more easily.

Not that it matters to this question, but I'm using a Stihl 026 and Poulan 380.

Thanks,
Larry

PS. I am really glad this site has spell check but isn't it interesting that the spell checker has never heard of the words Stihl or Poulan? I wonder if the webmaster can add them cuz they are common words here.

 

[fishhuntcutwood]

Well I wouldn't imagine it's too terribly detrimental, but I wouldn't guess it's a good practice to let it bog, and then keep pushing it. I like to either change the bar's angle of attack, or back off a bit and let the saw remain in it's happy spot in it's power band and run free like it should. If anything, your clutch is what's getting the short end of the deal.

Jeff

 

[SawTroll]

I agree with Jeff.
Do as he says, and don't just keep pushing!

Are your chains sharp?

 

[Ekka]

I would say from an engineering point of view that it would be placing a lot more stress on the crankshaft seal, drive sprocket, bar nose sprocket, big end bearings and gudgeon pin.

Other things are you're outside the power and torque band, insufficient engine rpm in a 2 stroke could lead to plug fouling, coking of piston top.

Just lighten off the load a bit like the other guys said ... you'll cut more timber anyway.

But, I wonder, you haven't filed those rakers (depth guages) on the chain down too far have you? Because if you have the saw will grab like buggery and put a lot of load on the engine.

 

[Lawn Masters]

If you keep the carb tuned right, the chain sharp, the rakers set correctly, and dont lean on the saw, you wont have to worry about bogging. If it starts bogging, let off the saw a little and let the engine come back up to speed, then keep cutting, just with a lighter touch.

 

[stihltech]

bog

When you bog down:
The saw is working too hard due to dull chain, overloading the saw, mechanical problem, or pinching.
YOU are working too hard (remember, the saw is supposed to do the work).

When you bog, you just took the engine rpm from approximately 12,000 rpm to less than 8000. No power, less work accomplished.

Sharpen, repair, and make more wood.

Besides, what satisfaction is there in having a saw run at less that it's peak performance?

 

[Molecule]

-have you ever seen the bluish metal burn on a smoked-out clutch and burnt-out clutch drum, and wondered what might have caused that?

-if the clutch starts to "slip a little" from excessive "pull" in the bar, and its temperature raises up to a smoking blue-hot, is there any reason some of that concentrated heat might become transmitted down the crankshaft (to which the clutch is directly connected), where the heat could burn (as in make bubbles) the rubber in the seals, and the lube in main bearing?

-have you ever seen the rubber of a burnt out crankcase seal?

--how an overheated bearing seizes onto its own bearing race, causing either (a) the inner sleve of the bearing to spin on the crankshaft (ruining the crankshaft, and saw) or (b) the outer sleve to spin inside its precisely made crankcase well (ruining the crankcase, and saw)?

-if the saw is "pulling" too hard in a cut (probably in a soft wood, as a hard wood would have already just stopped the saw) ... if the chain is pulling too hard for the design capacity of the clutch to dissipate the heat of normal slippage, then you might consider (a) raising the the rakers back up to their specification (e.g. dramatically file the cutters down, e.g. probably throw the chain away), or (b) get a half-skip or full-skip (as in the case of pulling too many cutters on a long bar for the design of the clutch).