smcdonald
ArboristSite Lurker
Hello all
New to site.
Have 12 yr-old Stihl MS 290. Never had any issues with it. Have tried to take decent care of it. Does not get constant use. Has maybe 25 hrs on it. Recently the saw has run into an issue of wanting to quit under load. I always sharpen, and or put a new chain on each season. New plug BOSCH each season. Change air filter (fleece style) and clean after every use. Rotate bar after long runs. Have always used engineered fuel (50:1) and use premium bar/chain oil. Saw starts fine. Idle's fine and rev's fine. It just wants to die when biting into a log to cut. I pull saw out of cut and it slowly catches back up to speed. Sometimes it just dies. I pull the spark plug out and it is wet. I put new plug in and got same results. For piece of mind I did a compression test on it and it was well over 180 psi on the 4th pull. Not sure if this is a clutch or fuel problem. I did have my stihl dealer sharpen the chain, the raker's look a bit low but it was running and cutting fine when I put the chain back on. It wasn't until a few cut sessions later that it started the bogging down issue. I will try a new chain, but fear I will get same result of it quiting. I did pull the idle speed down (after I encountered the issue). Borrowed freinds Stihl tach and it was registering around 3125. I put it back to 2800. In addition, both the Spark arrestor and Muffler are both very clean. Does this sound like a clutch or fuel issue? Would love to hear feed back.
Again, this saw has been great and has not had or needed any service work until now. Everything on the saw is original except chains, air filter, spark plugs and fuel filter. Clutch sprocket is now starting to show signs of wear and I do have a brand new one on hand that I will install.
Thanks kindly,
Sean M.
New to site.
Have 12 yr-old Stihl MS 290. Never had any issues with it. Have tried to take decent care of it. Does not get constant use. Has maybe 25 hrs on it. Recently the saw has run into an issue of wanting to quit under load. I always sharpen, and or put a new chain on each season. New plug BOSCH each season. Change air filter (fleece style) and clean after every use. Rotate bar after long runs. Have always used engineered fuel (50:1) and use premium bar/chain oil. Saw starts fine. Idle's fine and rev's fine. It just wants to die when biting into a log to cut. I pull saw out of cut and it slowly catches back up to speed. Sometimes it just dies. I pull the spark plug out and it is wet. I put new plug in and got same results. For piece of mind I did a compression test on it and it was well over 180 psi on the 4th pull. Not sure if this is a clutch or fuel problem. I did have my stihl dealer sharpen the chain, the raker's look a bit low but it was running and cutting fine when I put the chain back on. It wasn't until a few cut sessions later that it started the bogging down issue. I will try a new chain, but fear I will get same result of it quiting. I did pull the idle speed down (after I encountered the issue). Borrowed freinds Stihl tach and it was registering around 3125. I put it back to 2800. In addition, both the Spark arrestor and Muffler are both very clean. Does this sound like a clutch or fuel issue? Would love to hear feed back.
Again, this saw has been great and has not had or needed any service work until now. Everything on the saw is original except chains, air filter, spark plugs and fuel filter. Clutch sprocket is now starting to show signs of wear and I do have a brand new one on hand that I will install.
Thanks kindly,
Sean M.
