Newbie with some questions

[Sheriff420]

Thanks for the rep.

I dunno about the get together for sure just yet, I do have a lot of crap I need to get done on my days off but I might be able to make it up there.

I'll get pictures of the 2500 a little later.

How do you upload pictures on here?
I use Myspace to host all my pictures on a Dodge forum so they show up in the post but I just tried through the insert image icon and it just had the link to the pictures from Myspace and Flickr instead of having them in the post.

 

[derwoodii]

Postin pics help

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=65204

Carbides good but kinda not for general wood work heres how I mistreat my 29

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=105193

 

[Sheriff420]

I wonder how many people on here would cringe if they saw you intentionally stick the bar in the dirt. But hey, it works. And using an axe to remove stumps sucks, even the small ones.

The picture uploading tutorial is a good one, it looks like you host pictures on AS and just copy them over to the post. So I'm gonna give Flickr a shot, if it doesn't work then I'll edit and do it that way.

The Poulan with chain tension issues

And my sharpening job on the Stihl. Opinions on the raker grind please.

 

[Dan_IN_MN]

On the chain tension on your 2500......

How loose is the chain when it's loose? Are the bar nuts still tight? What is the condition of the drive sprocket? Condition of the bar/chain?

When I got my 2550 the chain cover was broken out where the screw goes in it. It looks like someone cranked on the adjustment screw without loosining the bar nuts. I replaced the cover.

 

[derwoodii]

Great pictures you do learn fast. Your poulan chain tension hmm all I can think is the adjust screws threads stripped and so after fitting it just slides. A condition formed as Manyhobies suggested.
Saw sharpen looks fine, rakers a tad low for me but your US soft woods should make it okish.
I fear another CAd suffer is in the making just think what your grand kids will say in years to come when they inherit 100+ saws in a shed.
Why I asked about NC is below.
http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=148045

 

[Sheriff420]

When it is loose, the chain is not snug against the bottom of the bar.

I don't believe the threads on the adjusting screw are stripped, I'll have to go back out there and take a look.

The bar nuts are still tight when it happens.

The bar and chain are new.

I have two new bars, one 18" and one 20" (for the 2775) that both have the built in tensioner that I haven't used on either saw.

I have one new chain, one newish chain and one old chain for the 18" bar.

The old chain was actually flared out on the drive links and would bind in the old bar because the sprocket had a groove worn in it and the chain was slipping on it.

The housing is broken out next to the head of the adjuster screw as you can see in the picture so I'm going to see if the 2775 has the same size cover and try it out if it does.

One thing I've thought about doing is taking a couple pieces of 400 grit or 1000 grit wet/dry sandpaper and putting it on both sides of the bar for some traction, what do y'all think about doing that?

I can't run the saw to test it until I get a tiny fuel line because I can't seem to get the 3/32" fuel line through the hole in the housing to get it into the tank. The fuel line that broke off was the same diameter as the 3/32" line but it was about half that size where it goes into the tank at.


I thought the raker grind was a tad low too (maybe 1/64" or just a little less) so I don't know if I'll use that Husqvarna guide again. My dremel was eating the guide up anyway so it wouldn't have more than 1 or 2 grinds left in it anyway.

I did test the saw out after sharpening and it cuts great, doesn't bog down in the cut and when cutting a log on the ground it doesn't try to grab and pull the log so I guess it's ok until the next time I sharpen the chain.


That house seems like a pretty good one for the price considering all the amenities and the location. I didn't see how much land comes with it though.

 

[Sheriff420]

I think I did grind my rakers just a hair too low.
I cut off the stump of an oak tree that was about 24" in diameter and when I put a little pressure on the bar using the bumper spikes it would bog down. When I wasn't doing that it would cut great though.

How much are y'all paying for your safety chaps?
My local Stihl dealer wants about 80$ for the black ones and 100ish for the orange ones with a pocket.
I'm thinking about getting some off ebay for 60ish after shipping, are these going to be just as good as the pair I can get from the dealer? http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-36-Chainsaw...443?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35aa25471b

 

[little possum]

I think we gave bout 75$ a pair from our dealer.

Full wrap round the legs, and has a pocket. But they are hot.

 

[brages]

Your Poulan has the Oregon Intenz quick-tensioning scheme built into the bar. I'm guessing that's where your problems are coming from. I've got no experience with Intenz, so I can't help.


Maybe you are not supposed to run the Intenz bars upside-down...

 

[Sheriff420]

I think I've almost got it.

I finally had a little time to play with the chain saw and I got the fuel line in there.
I thought the old line was a 3/32nds but the new line I got didn't fit through the hole that goes into the gas tank. I tried and tried with a long bevel and just couldn't get it to go, even with WD-40 on the line for a little lube.
I took a 9/64" drill bit and opened up the hole that goes into the tank and with a little more fighting I finally got it to go. It is an extremely tight fit so I'm not worried about a leak there.
The fuel line also squeezes tightly onto the carb.
I believe the old line just had a thinner wall on it than the new Oregon line that I got (the yellow stuff).
When I fished the old line out of the tank it surprised me when I gave it a little squeeze and it just crumbled, no wonder it broke in the first place.

I think I figured out the tension issue too. I believe the head of the adjuster screw was being pressed against the bar and not allowing the bushings on the bar cover to squeeze it like they should.

The housing where the bar studs are attached isn't cracked by the way.

The cover was melted and mangled a little bit right where the head of the adjusting screw is at so I did a little pocked knife surgery and I believe I got it.

You can see the missing paint in this picture from the adjusting screw rubbing the bar.

Here is my pocket knife surgery

Here is the adjuster sitting where it should

I also did a little newbie muffler mod with a flat head screw driver.
The exhaust port goes into a tube with some decent sized holes in it already and that is exposed to the inside of the muffler so there isn't much restriction at all, but the little slit in the side of the muffler had some restriction so I opened it up a little bit with a screwdriver.

Now that I have it back together I ran it and I have a running issue, I think I may have gotten something backwards on the carburetor.

I put the throttle cable and choke lever where it looks like they should go but I have an issue.

In the video you can see that it won't start with the choke off (it was already warm).
If you choke it then it will start and run.

With the choke almost all the way out it will idle.

Push it in and it revs up like you're hitting the gas.

Push it in too far and it dies.

Hit the trigger to release the choke and it revs for just a second then dies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GQGpGMove0


I also picked up an 80$ pair of camouflage Stihl chaps that cover the front/sides of my legs and the back is open. They have a pocket on them that holds the two wedges that I got yesterday perfectly.

 

[8433jeff]

Intenz bars are not meant to be used with the "factory" chain adjuster. Put a different bar on or use the Intenz; take the adjuster out/off, put the bar on with the chain, add cover and bar nuts, then turn the slot until the chain is tight, tighten the bar nuts. Simple. Chain looks ok, if its feeding itself smoothly through the cut you got it. Good luck!

 

[Sheriff420]

I know that you're supposed to take the factory adjuster out when you use that bar, but I have the intenz adjuster backed all the way out since it just wouldn't keep the chain tight.

It seems like it would be like any other bar if you have the intenz adjuster backed all the way out and used the factory adjuster.
Am I wrong in thinking that? I don't see how so please enlighten me, I'm here to learn from you guys that use chain saws to put bread on the table.

Also remember that I didn't know jack about chainsaws before I found this site, I knew about mixing the gas and how to tighten the chain and that's about it.

 

[8433jeff]

The adjuster, Intenz or factory, just adjusts. The bar cover and nuts keep it in place. Are you sure the chain isn't stretching, some of which is normal. Is the saw oiling? The bar should have some numbers stamped in it, I believe it should say A041.

 

[billmartin]

Your issue with it (poulan) running could be due to your muff mod...

Might need to fatten/richen it up a bit after giving it more breathing room. I'm fairly green too so wait for some more input before you start jacking around with the mixture screws.

It has made one of my saws run similar to yours till I got the mix set right. The rule of thumb seems to be turn both high and low out two turns and adjust from there.

Again wait for somebody that knows poulans to chime in before you go that route. could be a slight vaccume leake after assembly causing this also.

Good luck and welcome
Bill

 

[Sheriff420]

If you watch the video you can see that there is something up with the throttle cable or where the choke is connected or something. It's like the choke is hooked up where the throttle cable should be and vice versa.

The chain is oiling well, maybe a little too much because it'll leak when I store it sitting flat on a bench.

I don't believe the chain is stretching. I've got two or three chains for it. The old chain (the one that was on it when I got the saw) ended up having the drive links flare out and get stuck in the old bar because the drive sprocket had a groove in it and the chain was slipping on it.
After that happened I replaced the sprocket, bar and chain.

The poulan does have a pretty small bar (top to bottom) on it so that might be part of the problem. It's only like half as tall as the Stihl's bar.
But I do think I got it fixed now though, I just need to figure out the throttle issue so I can run it and see if the chain will stay tight.

 

[Sheriff420]

I figured out the throttle issue and feel a little dumb because of it.
The carb needs to be adjusted. I played with it a little last night and the best I could get out of it was running with the choke off but when I hit the gas it would bog down and die as if I had just hit the choke.

I read the carb adjustment thread from the FAQ and I'm going to try to get it to run and cut. I'm not ready to give up on this little saw yet.

 

[little possum]

Keep up the work, you will get it down in no time.

Try opening the oil cap then resealing before setting your saw on the bench for a while. Relieves the pressure and its supposed to leak less.

 

[Sheriff420]

I stored the leaky saw on the side opposite the bar cover and it didn't leak a drop since the oil hole was pointing toward the sky. The next time I run it I will crack the cap loose before putting it up though.

I got the 2500 running and I believe I got the carb adjusted correctly but I'm not too sure about the low screw. It runs and accelerates smoothly and has the intermittent burble at WOT but that burble goes away once in the wood.

I feel even dumber too because I was trying to figure out why that thing was running wide open after cranking the H and L screws as well as the LA screw out 1 turn then after reading the carb adjustment sticky in the FAQ section I saw where it was mentioned to run the LA screw out to close the throttle plate instead of turning it in.

I also messed with the moody Poulan 2775 (gapped the plug and changed the fuel filter along with giving the L screw about 1/8 turn counter-clockwise)
That thing runs good now too.

Then there was the Poulan Pro, I gapped the plug and forgot about the fuel filter.
That saw takes a while to get it to run at WOT without dieing. After a cold start I have to kind of feather the gas to get the RPM's up without dieing. If I just hit the gas after it warms up then it will bog down as if you pulled the choke out.

 

[Sheriff420]

I picked up a chisel chain today and now I see how you guys can cut so fast in the videos that get posted on here.
That thing is like night and day compared to the low kickback chain that was on it. I don't know if I'll ever throw the old chain back on there.