Lane, I personally don't know much about the Jonsered 525 but I know a couple of people who should be able to tell you everything you want to know about your saw. Call or e-mail Lindle at Chain Saw World located in Bowling Green, Kentucky (270) 843-3594 ; e-mail
[email protected]. Lindle has been in sales and service of virtually every chain saw you can imagine for over 25 years. Also, Rod at Simonian's Saw Service located in Three Rivers, California (e-mail
[email protected] and web site
www.theworks.com) is a Jonsered dealership and has been in bussiness since 1971.
As far as your oil mix ratio, go with 32:1 using a high quality oil. Ken "the HotSaw" Dunn recommends Maxima 927 racing castor which I also feel is a very good oil. I personally run Red Line 2 Stroke racing oil which is 100% synthetic and is recommend by many top notch 2 stroke motorcycle, snowmobile, and shifter kart racing tuners. Other oils which I feel are also very good are Motul 800 2T and Mobil 1 MX2T which are also both 100% synthetic. Don't believe any negative comments you may have heard people say about synthetic oils - it's not true. The main purpose of an oil is to lubricate the bearings, provide scuff protection to the piston and cylinder, and provide better ring seal. A good, high quality synthetic, like those I have mentioned, will burn cleaner, leave significantly less deposits, provide better lubrication to the bearings (especially in extreme high heat conditions) and a higher degree of scuff protection for the piston and cylinder than any other oil currently available (racing castor, like the Maxima 927 also provides very good lubrication / protection but I have found it to burn a little 'dirty' - i.e. more carbon deposits - although Ken Dunn claims it burns clean in the saws that he tunes). The Red Line oil I have to purchase directly from Red Line Oil phone # (800) 624-7958 and web site
www.RedLineOil.com. The Maxima and Motul you should be able to find at a motorcycle shop that cater to off-road 2 stroke dirt bikes and ATV's. The Mobil 1 can be found at many auto parts stores like Murrays's and Auto Zone.
To obtain a consistent gas/oil ratio I highly recommend the use of what's called a 'Ratio Rite'. A Ratio Rite is simply a measuring cup which has graduations for each different gas/oil ratio from 16:1 all the way to 70:1. There is a different graduation scale for 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 gallons of gas. So if you want to mix at 32:1 and you have 1.0 gallon of gas, just fill the Ratio Rite measuring cup with oil up to the 32:1 line under the 1.0 gallon scale. I've had my Ratio Rite for about 20 years and it sure takes the guesswork out of getting a consistant fuel/oil ratio for all of my two stroke motors (racing motorcycles, Lawn Boy lawn mower, blowers, line trimmers and chain saws). You can purchase a Ratio Rite at an off-road motorcycle shop and they cost about $6.
I see everyone is very concerned about the type of oil that they use and the ratio that they mix it at, but I don't hear anyone talking about air filter maintenance (cleaning and replacement). Air filter maintenance is at least as important as the fuel / oil ratio and oil type in regards to engine life. A little bit of dirt ingested into the engine will act a 'lapping compound' and quickly wear out your crank bearings, piston, cylinder etc. I really like the multiple stage filtering systems like Stihl uses in their larger saws and Honda uses in their Lawn mowers (foam pre-filter and pleated secondary filter on the Honda). Hope all of this helps.