Imported chainsaws

[Malaka * * *]

I am just wondering, are american and UK saws built to different standards? Iknow that to use a chainsaw in a proffessional capacity in the UK, it has to conform to certain regulations, but are american chainsaws for example made differently? Or do they just have different warning stickers? Thanks for any information on this.

 

[tree_beard]

U.S made saws, mostly the same construction , some have different mufflers to comply with EPA clean air laws. none are C.E marked and that is where the trouble begins with importing...

 

[Ironbark]

Saws sold in the UK have the "CE" mark on them, while in the US they have the "UL" mark on them. Effectively these are the same, and I've read that Husqvarna will be moving to the "ISO" mark which will be worldwide.

I'm sure there are minor variations on certain models, like the muffler (as already said), but from what I've found they are the same. You'll also find that 0.063GA bars are less widely used than in the UK.

Right now you could book a cheap ticket to the US, rent a car, stay in a hotel and as long as you bought atleast 2 pro saws, you'd still be quids in against buying at a UK dealer! That's just wrong!

 

[SawTroll]

Most Stihls from the MS361 and down , and the cheap US (Poulan) made Huskys, are rated .1 or .2 kW lower in the US than elsewhere - I believe it is mostly muffler related......

 

[sawsong]

i was under the impression also that in any saw bought from the united states NEEDS a retune at the very least if not new jets etc when its back on british soil. reason being it's tuned for US petrol being of a lower octane etc, and if used extensively on british fuel once here, it would run extremely hot and do it no good whatsoever.
perhaps the lesser octane fuel is partly to blame for the power discrepancy.

not to be taken as gospel, just what ive been told and seems to make a lot of sense. but by hell we pay for our 'higher quality' fuel

jim

 

[Ironbark]

That maybe so, but in the US they measure octane ratings differently to us. We us RON (Research Octane Number). Premium unleaded in the UK is 95RON and super unleaded is 97-98RON.

In the US they use a different method with means octane ratings are lower. 87 octane fuel in the US (what you fill your hire car up with) would be 91-92 in Europe. 95 (RON) is what most people run their cars and saws on in the UK would be 91 in the US. I think they do a 93 octane in the States which would be like super unleaded here.

I'm not a chemist and this is just what one of my buddies told me a while back.

 

[Ironbark]

but by hell we pay for our 'higher quality' fuel

jim

Yes, I'm deffinately gettting a diesel saw next :hmm3grin2orange:

 

[moray]

i was under the impression also that in any saw bought from the united states NEEDS a retune at the very least if not new jets etc when its back on british soil. reason being it's tuned for US petrol being of a lower octane etc, and if used extensively on british fuel once here, it would run extremely hot and do it no good whatsoever.
perhaps the lesser octane fuel is partly to blame for the power discrepancy.

not to be taken as gospel, just what ive been told and seems to make a lot of sense. but by hell we pay for our 'higher quality' fuel

jim

This is interesting about the different (higher) octane ratings across the pond. It would seem very unlikely that using a higher octane fuel would increase power, as you imply. The energy content of a pound of your petrol and a pound of ours would be virtually identical. The real benefit of higher octane is that it allows higher compression without fuel "detonation", which definitely does increase power. But for a given saw, the lowest (and cheapest) octane it can use should deliver as much power as an expensive higher octane fuel. At least this is what I learned about 4-cycle auto engines.