New Chainsaw Owner

[bweiser21]

Greetings,

I recently purchased some land which led me to purchase a new ms291 for moderate use. I had a few trees down in the lanes which I had taken care of and everything went well. After finishing I wanted to clean the chainsaw so I removed the bar cover, chain, and bar. My question is I found the clutch drum to be hot to the touch and wanted to make sure that it is normal? Also i want to mention after it cooled i ran it again with the same results. I've searched sites for a few days and cannot find an answer to my question. Thanks for reading and any advice offered.

 

[1Alpha1]

A hot clutch drum is very normal. Some will actually turn color from the heat.

BTW.....a clean and well-maintained saw is a happy saw. Sounds like yours is going to be very happy.

 

[bweiser21]

Thanks for the response Free Will. My thoughts were plastic and heat don't mix and had a concern with my new tool.

 

[Efisher26]

The clutch is a major friction point it will get hot from normal use every time


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[Honda_man]

It will get hot from use. Just make sure you are lugging it with partial throttle. The clutch engages with rpms and the faster it spins, the better it grips. Basically, don't cut anything of any size with it at half throttle. Twigs, limbs up to 2" or so you should be fine at partial throttle but not the large stuff. Learn the basics and it will help you. Ask questions like you are doing. You are doing great! Enjoy cutting and be safe!

 

[CoreyB]

Just make sure you are not leaving the chain break on. The will cause a melt. Down. But hot is normal.

 

[Honda_man]

It will get hot from use. Just make sure you are lugging it with partial throttle. The clutch engages with rpms and the faster it spins, the better it grips. Basically, don't cut anything of any size with it at half throttle. Twigs, limbs up to 2" or so you should be fine at partial throttle but not the large stuff. Learn the basics and it will help you. Ask questions like you are doing. You are doing great! Enjoy cutting and be safe!

I meant to say "make sure you aren't lugging it with partial throttle".

 

[bweiser21]

Just make sure you are not leaving the chain break on. The will cause a melt. Down. But hot is normal.

I thought maybe it was something I was doing which is why I ran it after it cooled down getting the same results, hot to the touch. I made sure I was not revving it with the brake on and snapped it off partial choke right away. I appreciate your reply and the rest of the members as well. Thanks!

 

[bweiser21]

I guess those plastic needle bearings are built to withstand the heat.

 

[Franny K]

I guess those plastic needle bearings are built to withstand the heat.

The needles themselves are metal. The needle bearing is at the crank/chain sprocket area both of which would conduct heat away. At least the way I envision it. The crank because of the vaporization of the fuel and perhaps the sprocket via radiation. The heat would be at the rim of the clutch drum at least from slippage. I do not think the issue you reference would happen before the plastic parts near the drum melt. It would be a good idea to remove the drum periodically and clean behind it especially if cutting some charred stuff.

 

[Iceboy]

The MS291 is a nice saw! I had one some years ago and it was the first saw to get everytime I needed to cut something. Keep it chean, have always fresh gas in it and a shapr chain and it wont let you dowm

 

[bweiser21]

What do you think drives the chain ?? Friction maybe ?? metal clutch metal hub maybe might make a little heat ? DUH!!!!!

If I worked on chainsaws for a living or even owned one previously I wouldn't have asked, I am very aware that friction creates heat, it is a matter of how much is too much. Now I know who the resident donkey is, thanks for the clarification.

 

[alderman]

Pay no attention to the a**holes. There seem to be some on every site. I can guarantee there is a lot of good people here willing to help you out.
And don't be afraid to ask for info. If you are afraid of asking a dumb question (and I don't think this one was) I can send you a list of all the dumb things inquired about in the past and can assure I will have more in the future.
I have a small wood lot and spending time there making firewood is definitely on my top ten list of things I enjoy doing.


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[Honda_man]

Only dumb question is one that is not asked. I can promise you each one of us knows something someone else doesn't.

 

[CoreyB]

Only dumb question is one that is not asked. I can promise you each one of us knows something someone else doesn't.

Temps on a bar alone can reach over 200 degrees. I don't know exactly how hot a clutch can get but you could cook on it. Lol

 

[Sepia]

I will never understand these people that feel they have to ridicule someone for not knowing something and asking an honest question. Do these so-called geniuses ever stop and think that at some point they didn't know the answer to something, or do they honestly believe they were born knowing everything there is to know?

Take a second or two try stepping into the new guys shoes for a minute, then reconsider your response.

 

[bweiser21]

I appreciate all the genuine feedback aswell as the support being new here. I myself have thick skin working in customer service and thought it was a legit question and feel it is was answered providing me peace of mind. I thank everyone for their response even the +1 fella.

 

[Millerhill520]

Bweiser,

Your question wasn't dumb at all. When I was working at stihl for a little while, there were 2 causes to top end failure I saw all the time. First one was of course straight gas running, because the customer wasn't explained to about mixing fuel with oil, and thought the bar and chain oil was the oil mix. Yes, this is a real response from customers who bought brand new saws somewhere else, and came back a week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks later and I dumped their fuel out in a jar to look at what they had in it.

The second one was overheating and melting the piston, because the saw was just completely caked in bar and chain soaked sawdust up around cylinder, clutch area, etc.. this happens after long long term use, but it does happen. When my tree crew Workers have a saw failure, the first thing I tell them is I won't fix their "favorite" saw if I open the covers and it's caked in sawdust. They will have to put it up on the shelf and I'll get to it when I get to it, unless it's nice and clean and I can dive right into the Repair. I also make em clean their saws every week, with a compressor powered air gun, and a long brake line fastened to it and pinched down so there's good blowing pressure. It gets into all the tight spots. So, keeping your saw clean is the best first step of a new saw owner, you are right on.

One thing I want to mention which is overlooked over and over on chainsaws is the little plastic shrouded needle bearing inside that drum you are looking at. Every once in a while, and I am not saying every week by any means, but every few months, pop that e clip off, pull the drum out, and take a little grease and coat that bearing. It sits on there and runs dry, and after prolonged heating, they will fail, making your drum egg out on the shaft (a wobble effect). And the needles will end up behind your clutch, scraping against the oil pump until they either disintegrate, fall out somewhere, etc... not too much grease, just a little coating on those little guys. Plus, if you pull it off every once in awhile, you can see if the cage is gonna fail, as the needle bearings will be very very loose or one may fall out.