My new Dolmar 5105

[Preston]

Some of you sound so cynical and dis-trusting. Do you not have faith in the very ones that built the saw? Do they really not care about you and the product? I know we are surrounded by thieves and con-men, but we have to trust somebody or we all will draw into a ball with a gun in hand.

I've had some sorry time with warranties, but I've had some outstanding one too. Some customer service really is in the pits but I've had some to really go out of their way to please. I guess it's all in who we deal with. :msp_sad:

 

[paduroiul]

I’ve recently bought a 5l can of Aspen Alkylate 2
Besides less smell and less smoke I couldn’t notice anything better in comparison with regular gasoline+oil

1. The saw doesn’t idle more than 20 seconds, sometimes not even for 5 secs – I think this is the effect of switching to Aspen, is this normal?
2. Normally, when warm, it should start without activating the choke, but it won’t start unless I pull like 5 times; if I put the lever on half choke position (off-on-choke-on) it will always start on the second pull – could this starting procedure damage the saw, it’s a lot harder and annoying to pull the rope 5 times to start, also this way usually it won’t stay running unless I rev it
3. The saw won’t rev when it’s running out of fuel so I can’t tell it is going to stop and a few times it stopped in the middle of the cut – afaik this is dangerous for the saw because it can overheat be damaged, any Aspen users do you have this problem?
4. Concerning the power of the saw I’m not that impressed, is there a way to check how many hp it has? Something doesn’t seem right, but I don’t think this has anything to do with the fuel because it cuts the same now as it was with normal gas. The only big mistake I've done with this saw is that the first few tanks I've cut with half acceleration (a frind's advice) - I don't know how bad is this for the saw
5. Can the first 3 problems be fixed with a carb setting?

 

[7sleeper]

7

 

[7sleeper]

I’ve recently bought a 5l can of Aspen Alkylate 2
Besides less smell and less smoke I couldn’t notice anything better in comparison with regular gasoline+oil

1. The saw doesn’t idle more than 20 seconds, sometimes not even for 5 secs – I think this is the effect of switching to Aspen, is this normal? Normaly it is importartant to change the settings of the carb after switching to aspen.
2. Normally, when warm, it should start without activating the choke, but it won’t start unless I pull like 5 times; if I put the lever on half choke position (off-on-choke-on) it will always start on the second pull – could this starting procedure damage the saw, it’s a lot harder and annoying to pull the rope 5 times to start, also this way usually it won’t stay running unless I rev it As said above the carb setting seems to be out of tune.
3. The saw won’t rev when it’s running out of fuel so I can’t tell it is going to stop and a few times it stopped in the middle of the cut – afaik this is dangerous for the saw because it can overheat be damaged, any Aspen users do you have this problem?
4. Concerning the power of the saw I’m not that impressed, is there a way to check how many hp it has? Are you talking about the Dolmar 5100 /5000? Something doesn’t seem right, but I don’t think this has anything to do with the fuel because it cuts the same now as it was with normal gas. The only big mistake I've done with this saw is that the first few tanks I've cut with half acceleration (a frind's advice) - I don't know how bad is this for the sawNot good definately, but maybe not too bad. Take off the muffler and look how the cylinder looks like. Hopefully no scoring. Normaly you don't get more power with Aspen or similar. It only burns cleaner. More important, how many refills have you had through the saw. It's usual for saws to need between 10 and 20 fillings before it's set.
5. Can the first 3 problems be fixed with a carb setting?

Yes



7

 

[paduroiul]

Dolmar 5105 and it has no cat, at least that's what they said at the dealership
I went trough about 12 tanks of fuel

 

[dolmarfan]

For Paduroiul!I have a dolmar 5000 with limited coil like yours 5105 and the best seting for carb I came so far is using a tach.At full trotle 12500rpm and the engine is 4 stroking, at idle sped 2600rpm with the bar and chain mounted.I use only 95 octane gas with dolmar oil 50:1.As for the power it has plenty.When warm I always start at idle at first pul and if I let her idle a full tank it wil idle!

 

[7sleeper]

For Paduroiul!I have a dolmar 5000 with limited coil like yours 5105 and the best seting for carb I came so far is using a tach.At full trotle 12500rpm and the engine is 4 stroking, at idle sped 2600rpm with the bar and chain mounted.I use only 95 octane gas with dolmar oil 50:1.As for the power it has plenty.When warm I always start at idle at first pul and if I let her idle a full tank it wil idle!

Sounds almost conservative the full throttle. As far as I remember 13500rpm is max. But if it works for you it's ok. I would check for unburnt carbon in the muffler every year to be sure everything is ok.

Dolmar 5105 and it has no cat, at least that's what they said at the dealership
I went trough about 12 tanks of fuel

Sounds like it should be almost broken in by now. What type of saws have you been using so far that you feel the 5105 is weak, if the carb settings are correct? I believe that that is the main problem you are having at the moment. Switching from gas&oil to Aspen/alkalyt without carb setting is not a wise idea. What is important is not to watch videos of highly tuned modifided saws here and expect you standard dealer saw to work the same. Then how good are your sharpening skills? Are you throwing chips or "dust"? Is your chain overteightend? Are you cutting pine or oak? Are the carb settings done at ocean level and you are cutting on the mountain top? Many things contribute to cutting experience.

I would go back to the dealer or any small engine mechanic and get the carb settings done correctly. It is important that the fuel tank is full with the fuel that you use! It won't help if the tank is empty and the mechanic does the settings on his fuel and you change back to yours and the problem starts all over again!

Good luck,

7

 

[dolmarfan]

The makita dealer in Romania said 12500 to 12700rpm at ful trotle.
Dolmar Germany said 13200 rpm at ful trotle.
From what I read here at ful trotle the chainsaw shoul 4 stroke and clean under load.
Aniway 12500 you can realy hear 4 stroke at 12900 is just a idea of 4 stroke, and like you said I like to be on the conservative side!

 

[shwinecat]

Have done a lot of cutting with the 5100 and really like the saw. We have several and use one for all our bucket truck cutting. We have had some issues with the saw when run hard for long periods of time either vapor locking or the ignition getting to hot and not wanting to start. We have not 100% nailed down the problem. We have enough saws that we can just switch to another saw which does not help finding the real issue.

I will say this. I have never personally ran a saw that gets out of tune so easy or so often. (ex-Tempature, fuel) I would not suggest the 5100 to average firewood cutter that cannot tune their own saw. I feel this is the biggest reason you have so many nay sayers on this saw. I feel the saw gets out of tune, runs hot, lean and then "pop". I am not putting the saw down it is what it is. I will not mention how many saws we have in this cc range because it is a bit on the ridiculous side and I still pick the 5100 in a lot of circumstances.

I got to ask to see if anyone else had issues. I struggled with the 5100 when I first used it to not over rev and get out of the throttle quick enough coming out of the wood. It might be just pure lack of talent in my part but I struggled with the throttle. I never had this issue with any other saw.

 

[Sabertooth]

Have done a lot of cutting with the 5100 and really like the saw. We have several and use one for all our bucket truck cutting. We have had some issues with the saw when run hard for long periods of time either vapor locking or the ignition getting to hot and not wanting to start. We have not 100% nailed down the problem. We have enough saws that we can just switch to another saw which does not help finding the real issue.

I will say this. I have never personally ran a saw that gets out of tune so easy or so often. (ex-Tempature, fuel) I would not suggest the 5100 to average firewood cutter that cannot tune their own saw. I feel this is the biggest reason you have so many nay sayers on this saw. I feel the saw gets out of tune, runs hot, lean and then "pop". I am not putting the saw down it is what it is. I will not mention how many saws we have in this cc range because it is a bit on the ridiculous side and I still pick the 5100 in a lot of circumstances.

I got to ask to see if anyone else had issues. I struggled with the 5100 when I first used it to not over rev and get out of the throttle quick enough coming out of the wood. It might be just pure lack of talent in my part but I struggled with the throttle. I never had this issue with any other saw.

Thats the reasons why they updated the 5100 to the 5105. Better air flow, limited coil among other small improvements. I hear the 5100 is hell of a saw, but its touchy like you said. Lucky the 5100 is off the market and replaced with its better half.

Haven't have one problem with my 5105 yet, and it has pull though a lot of wood already. I just dislike the small gas tank it has, but for its performance its something I can get over.

 

[paduroiul]

Is there a problem if I keep my saw indoor (20 + degrees, Celsius) and with fuel in the tank, can the fuel suffer some kind of alteration?

 

[7sleeper]

Is there a problem if I keep my saw indoor (20 + degrees, Celsius) and with fuel in the tank, can the fuel suffer some kind of alteration?

No problem at all with keeping your saw indoor. There are different ideas on storing fuel in the tank.

1. Keep the fuel tank full and run it every two or three months. Although many coment that this will still not stop the deteriation of the fuel, others say this prevents any problems. So as usual, no scientific data, just personal experience.

2. Empty the fuel tank and run the saw at idle, till the fuel line is empty. This method is recomended for long term storage.

3. Buy some alkylate type fuel (Aspen, etc.) and run it in the saw for the last filling, before storage. It usually has a shelf life of 5 years so it shouldn't give you any major problems. The problem with this method is that usually the carb has to be readjusted to alkylate typ fuel to run good.

good luck!

7

 

[paduroiul]

Went to a service (not from where i bought it) explained to the guy a full 10 minutes all the history and about Aspen fuel and so on.
Said to him to tune it for Aspen, and to do an all-around check. I gave it to him with the tank full and he called 3 hours later :
he said that he found some funny smelling yellow oil in the carburetor... and he decided to ignore my request, trashed the Aspen and tuned the saw with regular gas and green Husqvarna oil.Fortunately I've brought with my my 5 can of Aspen (sent to me from Spain by my aunt, because it isn't available in Romania) and asked him to refill with Aspen and try the saw. His method of checking if the saw is tuned properly is to engage the brake and run it full throttle and if the saw won't stop it's OK - I don't know to tune a carburetor but to me this looked barbaric, also he said that he didn't had his tachometer at the time to check the RPM but it is all good.
This is when i decided I would not take my saw to a service anymore for carb settings
So I need and advice, what kind of tachometer should I buy; I will probably order it from the U.S. because they are a lot cheaper and after I get it I will return with questions about how to tune it

 

[ancy]

This helped me tune mine

http://www.arboristsite.com/chainsaw/192423.htm

 

[paduroiul]

new problem/question )

I received a 5l can of aspen 2, but the problem is that it was opened and it is missing a little (long story)
the question is: is there a way you could tell if it's aspen 2 or it was replaced/mixed with regular gas, it looks the same but the smell differs ... so I'm not sure it it's worth the risk of using it in my saw
Any suggestions?

 

[bikesandcars]

Suggest (politely) a forum search, a new thread, or a thread that's on this topic

nothing worse than tuning in to see some new 5105 updates and getting a random question.

I have no idea how to answer your question, but I'd say that the person you bought it from is a good place to start.