Heated handlebar - comments?

[nhawlman]

How do you rate heated handlebars?
Can the heat be turned off in summer,
or otherwise adjusted?

Thanks,
Nevin

 

[HiOctane]

You can turn them off and they are really great during cold temp.Many saws have also now heated carb with heated handles.The only drawback is in winter time,your mitts become wet when you handle logs between cuts,but its still a nice feature.

 

[SawTroll]

Very nice in the climate I live in, I have it on both my 353 and 361.

You can turn it off/on, but not adjust it - I have not missed that option.

The only downside is that it adds some ounces in weight ( about 3 to 7 depending on the saw model) and some money to the price.

 

[twistedtree]

I just got this on my saws this season (346XPG, and 385XPG). After freezing my hands off for years with my 262, I'm loving the heated handles. On the 385, it added 1/2 lb on a 15 lb saw, so it's not a huge adder.

 

[woodwiser]

Hot handle

Can you heated handle experts please help with a question or two.
How is the handle heated ?
Is it electrical or conducted from the engine block ?
Does it reduce power ?
Is it a maintenance problem?
If I wanted to use a saw to mill with would it make the saw last longer by taking excess heat and radiating it through the handlebar ?
Would it be uncomfortable in the summer ?

Thanks in advance for your upcoming answers

Woodwiser

 

[Lakeside53]

On Stihl: Heated handlebarshas nothing to do with engine heat... it's Electrical. The handles are heated by a heating element and powered from a generator inside the flywheel. Power "loss" is insignificant. No reliability issues, but don't see a lot of them in Seattle.
I figured it would be cool to put a set of LED lights on the handle bars and run them from the generator, but then again, who wants to cut in the dark!

 

[smokechase II]

Heated handlebars used to be a bigger deal.
Today, they are not as important because of the greatly reduced vibration in the modern saws.

(Wait a minute; is this guy smokechase II crazy, what’s the logic here?)

With greater vibration we had a thing called white finger. My Father-in-Laws finger tips would show areas at the tip of each finger where the circulation was so poor that they were white. They appear to have extremely poor capillary refill.
Poor circulation means you get cold easy. Heated handlebars were very significant.
Our modern saws are really huge improvements in many areas. The anti-vib stuff we have now allows our bodies to hold up a bit longer.

However, if you're in an area where it’s nice to have a walk-in freezer because it’s warmer in there than outside. You can still use the heated handlebars.

 

[woodwiser]

Thanks for the answers

I appreciate the heated handle answers.

By the way, anybody have any good tips on how to get a chainsaw running again if somebody forgot to drain the gas out of their chainsaw about a year ago ?

Any good chainsaw repair books or websites etc. you can recommend ?

Thanks

 

[smokechase II]

Drain the tank of the old fuel.
Check and possibly replace the gas filter.
Check and possibly replace the spark plug. Maybe let the cylinder vent if flooded.
Take the air filter off or get it ridiculously clean.
Put in good gas/Hi and Lo jets out to manufacturer’s specs, (usually 1 turn is OK)
Choke and pull till you get that first cough. Then choke off/saw still on and pull.
Hopefully this works.

 

[twistedtree]

The heating is electric on Husky's too, and there is an on/off switch so summer operation is just like with non-heated handles. The power for heating on mine is spec'd to consume 65 watts at full speed (max heating), so for one saw that's 2.5 kw, adn another that's 4.6 kw, 65 watts in nothing

 

[woodfarmer]

jonny 2171 with heated bars, 17 degrees F today so i thought i might just try them, hot in minutes had to shut them off, maybe it will get colder so i can try them again

 

[SawTroll]

On Stihl: Heated handlebarshas nothing to do with engine heat... it's Electrical. The handles are heated by a heating element and powered from a generator inside the flywheel. .....

It is a similar system on the newer Huskys and Jreds.

 

[bnew]

You guys must live in some cold a$$ climates. I live in michigan and would like heated ice fishing rods but not saw handles. Just kidding, I only cut firewood so I go out for a couple hrs and bust some out and call it good.