Killed my Dolmar 5100S??

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
woodcutter69

woodcutter69

ArboristSite Operative
Joined
Aug 15, 2008
Messages
103
Location
sw Iowa
I did notice dirt on the inside of my filter, after I run only about 3 tanks full of fuel thru it. I was dead set on getting a ms260, now wish I would of spent the extra money and got one. I do not like getting a brand new saw and it is in the shop for 3 weeks until I hear that they just got the approval to work on it, that does not say much for there saws or there dealers. My dealer was a napa auto parts store, go figure. Any one thinking of getting a Dolmar, dont waste your money.
 
skinnykid02

skinnykid02

ArboristSite Operative
Joined
Nov 21, 2008
Messages
128
Location
NH
I was also dead set on a MS260 pro. I need to spend wisely and the least.

From all my searching and asking tons of questions, Dolmar seems to be a good value.
 
windthrown

windthrown

361 Junkie
Joined
Sep 24, 2006
Messages
10,885
Location
The longbar PNW
+1 The majority of 5100 issues stem from E10 or greater gas. The Mobil in town is at 6% and have had no issues with their gas but the Gulf and the no name chain store brand both have tested very near 9-10% which is in the danger zone. We have recommended richening the fuel mix from 50-1 down to 40-1 and strongly recommend the use of Dolmar's Synthetic Oil.

Scott

Well, just about all the gas that you can get out here in the west now is E-10 which is 10% ethanol. So if Dolmars have problem with that, then there is going to be an issue running them out here. I have run E-10 super in all my Stihls and I have had no big problems using it. I also only use full synthetic; Mobil 1 or Elf at about 45:1.

But again, that is in Stihl saws. :yoyo:
 
Last edited:
Kydan

Kydan

ArboristSite Operative
Joined
Oct 27, 2007
Messages
311
Location
Ohio
It sounds like the Dolmar 5100 likes to run wide open, and little richer hmmm. Does it state that in the owners manual I doubt, ? From what I heard it's a good saw. Maybe some bad one's got out in the mix? But with a little richer mix I've had good luck so far with all my saws. But I've never own a Dolmar' but wanted to try one out.
 
cuttinscott

cuttinscott

Addicted to ArboristSite
Joined
Mar 14, 2003
Messages
3,068
Location
Greenwich, NY
Yup, Missouri is mandatory E10 and on the Kansas City Kansas side, because it comes from the same distributor, it is also E10.

If your ONLY fuel choice is E10 then run it richer like 40-1, USE FRESH GAS no more that 3 weeks old and use synthetic oil and shake the gas can and or saw to blend the fuel before each use.

Scott
 
Lakeside53

Lakeside53

Stihl Wrenching
Joined
Dec 25, 2004
Messages
24,802
Location
Woodinville, WA
I can't see E10 being an issue UNLESS the saw was factory tuned on non-alcohol gas and set on the bleeding edge of "too lean", and the user didn't retune when using alcohol. The limiter caps are set (by EPA requirement) so no further enrichment is allowed by the end user. If this is the case, Dolmar needs to wake up to the market reality.


Stihl's have been tuned in VA Beach since Jan 2007 on E10 no matter the market destination, but even on earlier saws, I've seen few issues. I don't see issues with separation or excessively quick gas aging. We tell our customers 60-90 days, and I go way beyond that on some of my saws.

IMHO... E10 is way too easy a target for blame.
 
Last edited:
cuttinscott

cuttinscott

Addicted to ArboristSite
Joined
Mar 14, 2003
Messages
3,068
Location
Greenwich, NY
I can't see E10 being an issue UNLESS the saw was factory tuned on non-alcohol gas and set on the bleeding edge of "too lean", and the user didn't retune when using alcohol. The limiter caps are set (by EPA requirement) so no further enrichment is allowed by the end user. If this is the case, Dolmar needs to wake up to the market reality.


Stihl's have been tuned in VA Beach since Jan 2007 on E10 no matter the market destiantion, but even on earlier saws, I've seen few issues.

Dolmars are STILL made in Germany and no they don't tune on E10 at the factory. Its up to the SELLING DEALER to make sure the saw is tuned for his or her geographical area


Scott
 
fsfcks

fsfcks

ArboristSite Operative
Joined
Feb 10, 2008
Messages
259
Location
Kansas
cuttinscott...interesting. I think the limiter caps were set for regular gas. I could never richen the high jet. I'll need to talk to the dealer about that.
 
Lakeside53

Lakeside53

Stihl Wrenching
Joined
Dec 25, 2004
Messages
24,802
Location
Woodinville, WA
Cuttin - That's scary - some dealers shouldn't be allowed to touch a carb, any brand ;)

How can they get EPA approval to do that? Are they shipped to the dealers with limiter caps not set? Pulling the cap and setting them richer busts any EPA approvals (don't get me started on how stupid this is).

The Stihl factory in also Germany uses the specific EPA approved E10 (it's shipped from the USA) to tune saws (200, 441, 460, 660, 880 etc) sent to USA.


I suspect the Dolmars are factory set really lean to meet EPA... and dealers don't adjust them, or don't know how. Every one I've seen (yep, just a handful) are all set way too lean... (as are some small Stihls..)
 
Last edited:
cuttinscott

cuttinscott

Addicted to ArboristSite
Joined
Mar 14, 2003
Messages
3,068
Location
Greenwich, NY
Cuttin - That's scary - some dealers shouldn't be allowed to touch a carb, any brand ;)

How can they get EPA approval to do that? Are they shipped to the dealers with limiter caps not set? Pulling the cap and setting them richer busts any EPA approvals (don't get me started on how stupid this is).

The Stihl factory in also Germany uses the specific EPA approved E10 (it's shipped from the USA) to tune saws (200, 441, 460, 660, 880 etc) sent to USA.

I don't pull caps to get them adjusted right...
 
Bowtie

Bowtie

Gearhead
Joined
Dec 16, 2006
Messages
6,658
Location
Central Kansas
I think part of it is that most saws sold here in the midwest are sold to people that wont use them much. Thats what I think a lot of local dealers believe. Add in the lazy and "I dont give a flip" factor and there ya go. This isnt big logging country where it becomes a staple for new saws to be spot on due to the knowledge of the end user, so it seems to me to be normal for dealers for the most part to be idiots here. I called my dealer about a new MS440 2 weeks ago. (we all know they are all but gone) He said "Sure I got 2 in stock!" I said 440 or 441? he said "441 is the same thing, just 1 digit difference and flippy caps" :rolleyes:
 
Kydan

Kydan

ArboristSite Operative
Joined
Oct 27, 2007
Messages
311
Location
Ohio
Dolmars are STILL made in Germany and no they don't tune on E10 at the factory. Its up to the SELLING DEALER to make sure the saw is tuned for his or her geographical area

Very Good statement .problems could be buying mail orders, not a dealer
 
Airecon

Airecon

ArboristSite Operative
Joined
Oct 21, 2007
Messages
151
Location
US
I recently got a 5100 and both the H and L screws were almost all the way out to the limiter- the manual says this is the factory setting. I put a tach on it at factory setting, I forget the rpm, but it wasn't max. I leaned it out to 14,200 I think. I don't think I readjusted the L screw. Hope I set things right. I'm running Dolmar oil at 50-1. I was cutting today and ripping a few logs. Seems like it was fairly hot, but it might be normal.

Do you Dolmar dealers think I should go to 40-1 and richen up the H screw? If I do, you think I'll have to remove the limiter to set it close to max rpm?
 
Last edited:
Top