New Dolmar PS-5100S

[bigtrout]

Hi all,
I am new to the board, found this site looking up info on my new saw.

I started a few years ago with a Homelite Timberman 45cc with an 18 inch bar. Used it a few years, and this year between woodcutting for my new house in NW PA, and having 8 trees coming down in the yard in the past 3 months, I have taxed the poor thing to the limit. The last 2 trees were a pair of ash trees, both about 28 inches at the base, and the timberman cut them, but it took so long for that saw to go thru the trees with even a new chain, I was sore for days. In the middle of the biggest one, I would have to lift up the saw , let it rev up and cut a few inches and repeat...how frustrating!

After finishing, and much cursing, I came in the house. My wife told me there was an ad in the paper for a chainsaw, well it was a Dolmar 5100s new in the box for $275. I quickly did some searching, saw it was a good saw by the reviews given, called and bought it, turns out the guy who was selling it won it at a woodsman show, but alas he had a pacemaker and can not run small engines close to his body. It was not even put together yet.

It came with the 3/8 18" bar setup. I am moderately experienced running saws, and have cut lots of firewood for camp and buddies. So far this saw is like night and day. I tried it on the ash that the timberman stalled in and it ate right thru like butter.

Any advice on this saw, tips, tricks or maintenance issues? I am good at maintenance and repair on small engines(had 2 cycle motorbikes since i was 6) so am not new to 2 cycles. Oil recomendations? Gas? The manual states it needs 91 ROZ octane. What grade does that mean to us in the US that have the R+M/2 method(87, 89 or 91) plastered on the pump?

Thanks!:greenchainsaw:

 

[cjnspecial]

Welcome to the board Bigtrout. You got a heck of a deal on that saw. The best advice I can give you for increasing the life of that saw is to not loan it out, lol. For maintenance, clean the air filter after every tank of fuel and keep the saw tuned properly....especially if you hear it bouncing off the rev limiter(14,500 rpm). As far as fuel/oil mix.....that's like a ford/chevy debate amongst A/S members. Personally, I use avgas and stihl ultra synthetic. It's low smoke/odor and I don't have to worry about the carbs gumming up if they sit too long.

 

[ciscoguy01]

New saw

Sweet bro. It'll just get stronger as you use it too... After maybe 15 tank, get the carb re-adjusted. ALWAYS RUN 93 OCTANE!!!! It's cheap for just a saw. Never use gas more than 30 days old. Always use synthetic 2 stroke premium like Husky or dolmar or Stihl oil. Like the dude said, every tank or 2 blow out your filter. It comes apart with a flat head screwdriver. I usually blow out ever 4th or 5th tank and don't have any issues. Keep a spare chain for it too. Once a month I take the side assembly off and blow it out also to make sure the air stays flowing well. I turn my oiler up to the highest setting. It's on the bottom of the saw. I like more oil, seems to keep my chains sharp longer and they never turn brown like some other saws that don't oil as much from heat... Other than that, be careful. It's a fast little sucker. I haven't had a lick of a problem with mine in over a year now... Be careful and lets see some pix of that little bugger in the wood eh?

eh?

 

[toddstreeservic]

Seriously how many of youz clean your air filter after each tank of gas? At the end of the day is sufficient. Clean the whole saw before putting it up. A clean saw is a happy saw.

You got a great deal on a great saw. Be sure and get some PPE (personal protection equipment) if you don't already have it. Chaps, eye/ear pro, boots etc.

Welcome to the site!

 

[SawTroll]

Seriously how many of youz clean your air filter after each tank of gas? At the end of the day is sufficient. Clean the whole saw before putting it up. A clean saw is a happy saw. ......

I generally agree, but some combos of saw and conditions may require more frequent cleaning.

 

[Zodiac45]

Outstanding deal on one of the hottest 50cc saws made!

 

[meangreen92lx]

You got a great deal on that saw. I recently ran one at a GOL class I attended. It was the instructors saw. He was really pushing the Dolmar saws. Seems like a fast little saw. Dolmar dealers are few and far between around here so I never gave them much consideration. Nice saw though.

 

[litefoot]

I can't add much to what everyone else has said except to say welcome to the site. For cleaning your saw, nothing does it like compressed air. If you keep the crud from building up, it will look like new for a long time.

Also, find and make friends with your closest Dolmar dealer.

 

[SawTroll]

Yes, but be gentle on the air filters, blow from the inside, and don't put the nozzle too close.

 

[bigtrout]

Closest dealer is Cassadaga Edge and Engine, about a 60 minute drive, but they also sell parts online so I'm good there.

I'm a nut for cleaning small engines and keeping the crud outta all the good parts with compressed air, which is probably the only reason the Homelite cheapy has lasted until now. I think it will get relegated to the back of my daily driver, the road I live on always gets trees downed on the road in winter. Good emergency saw to keep in the back of the Bronco, without fear of it getting ripped off.

 

[brinkwolf]

Heck of a deal. Wish I could found a deal like that when I bought my little Husky a couple of weeks ago. The saws that people bought for Ike clean-up are starting surface around shops in these parts. Problem is the price they are asking for them. I found a Husky 455 Rancher that they sold for $399 and where asking $300 for it. After you cleaned all the dust and grime off it you would still need to put another bar and chain on it because the bar was black and I'm sure the chain was dull. I would have given them maybe $250 max for it.

 

[redwing2]

Big trout could you ask the wife to keep an eye out for anything that might even remotely be concidered a chain saw as my wifey has no interest in anything chainsaw related. She has a knack for spoting crap that no one has any use for,but a saw NEVER!
Maybe your wife could conduct classes on chainsaw spoting. As I only live a few hundred miles away from you I would be more than happy to ship her out your way for a weekend! Im going to give you some rep for having such an observent wife.

 

[JTElectric]

As far as cleaning frequency, I ran into a few downed trees that were soft in the middle, my chain was nice and sharp but it still spewed a cloud of powder, I checked my filter when I needed to fill up the tank and it had a pretty good coating of wood dust on it, the same color as the soft wood in the middle. I think I'm going to hit them with K&N filter spray just in case.

 

[bigtrout]

Big trout could you ask the wife to keep an eye out for anything that might even remotely be concidered a chain saw as my wifey has no interest in anything chainsaw related. She has a knack for spoting crap that no one has any use for,but a saw NEVER!
Maybe your wife could conduct classes on chainsaw spoting. As I only live a few hundred miles away from you I would be more than happy to ship her out your way for a weekend! Im going to give you some rep for having such an observent wife.

My wife takes care of me, unlike the first one! So far this year she spotted a great deal on a pellet stove and the Dolmar. As far as classes go, she'd be happy to conduct a chainsaw spotting class for your wife, but I think she wont be spotting anymore for me, I have 2 now, CAD might set in!!!

Thanks for the rep, I'll be sure to reward my observant wife

 

[rms61moparman]

My wife takes care of me, unlike the first one! So far this year she spotted a great deal on a pellet stove and the Dolmar. As far as classes go, she'd be happy to conduct a chainsaw spotting class for your wife, but I think she wont be spotting anymore for me, I have 2 now, CAD might set in!!!

Thanks for the rep, I'll be sure to reward my observant wife

If you have two saws and are hanging out here CAD is inevitable!!

Let me be the first to recommend a Stihl MS361, Makita 6401, Husky 372......

 

[drmiller100]

great saw, hard to do a whole lot to improve it.

you can remove the base gasket, which makes it a little faster.

you can open the muffler just a little. it doesn't seem to like a huge muffler outlet.

is your's kind of lazy when you first put it to the wood, then after about 3 or 4 seconds in a cut, she warms up and takes off?????

mine is that way, and the more I tweaked on it, the worst it got, but the faster it got once it warmed up.

 

[rbtree]

you can open the muffler just a little. it doesn't seem to like a huge muffler outlet.

You might be right.....dunno for sure.

When my second 5100 was new and stock, i did some timed cuts. Stock versus the ehp fully modded saw with a triple ported muffler (two extra holes only, I got on Ed's case about that sloppy work.) Of course the modded saw was faster. Then, I put the overly opened muffler on the new saw, and the cut times didn't decrease as much as other saws would have. (of course I know that the 5100 and 7900 have relatively unrestricted mufflers in stock form, and faster than most other stock saws, possibly that is one reason.)

That saw is really fast, though. Since then, I had Andy weld those two holes up, and add a single 9/16th tube to go with the stock port. I'm running that on the ehp 5100.....

I'll have to switch mufflers on the saws some day (if work ever slows up) and do another comparison.

 

[Saw Bones]

Hi all,
I am new to the board, found this site looking up info on my new saw.

I started a few years ago with a Homelite Timberman 45cc with an 18 inch bar. Used it a few years, and this year between woodcutting for my new house in NW PA, and having 8 trees coming down in the yard in the past 3 months, I have taxed the poor thing to the limit. The last 2 trees were a pair of ash trees, both about 28 inches at the base, and the timberman cut them, but it took so long for that saw to go thru the trees with even a new chain, I was sore for days. In the middle of the biggest one, I would have to lift up the saw , let it rev up and cut a few inches and repeat...how frustrating!

After finishing, and much cursing, I came in the house. My wife told me there was an ad in the paper for a chainsaw, well it was a Dolmar 5100s new in the box for $275. I quickly did some searching, saw it was a good saw by the reviews given, called and bought it, turns out the guy who was selling it won it at a woodsman show, but alas he had a pacemaker and can not run small engines close to his body. It was not even put together yet.

It came with the 3/8 18" bar setup. I am moderately experienced running saws, and have cut lots of firewood for camp and buddies. So far this saw is like night and day. I tried it on the ash that the timberman stalled in and it ate right thru like butter.

Any advice on this saw, tips, tricks or maintenance issues? I am good at maintenance and repair on small engines(had 2 cycle motorbikes since i was 6) so am not new to 2 cycles. Oil recomendations? Gas? The manual states it needs 91 ROZ octane. What grade does that mean to us in the US that have the R+M/2 method(87, 89 or 91) plastered on the pump?

Thanks!:greenchainsaw:

Welcome to the site.

I also started with the timberman, and for a while I was happy with it, until I started cutting bigger stuff. They guys here turned me on to Dolmar, and I got the 510 instead of the 5100. (A little cheaper) but you got a heck of a deal.

Read the manual, Keep the filters clean and the chain sharp. Use fresh fuel and mix a good quality 2 stroke oil (blended for Saws, not outboard motors).
you will enjoy many years of good service. (Mods not necessary IMO) That saw is plenty in stock condition.

You didn't ask but I will give you my 2 cents worth. Get some PPE if you dont have any. Chaps, ear protection and a hard hat with a face shield.
Read some of the threads and it will make a beliver out of you. The price of PPE is cheaper than a trip to the ER, or a funeral. Please don't worry about not looking cool. There is nothing cool about being seriously injured or dead. A saw is the most dangerous thing you will ever have in your hands.:greenchainsaw:

Happy trails

 

[bigtrout]

I hear you on the PPE:agree2: , I work as a construction/maintenance electrician so PPE is a given. I already have and use the hardhat and faceshield, steeltoe boots and ear muffs. I need some chaps, seeing pics posted in another thread convinced me of that!