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RandyMac
Stiff Member
MCW
Somebody's talking crap here & it ain't the tree!
Google can't find that video and have certainly tried a fair few different beers with no noticable effect, even a fair few tonight
It saddens me that I may have to grow extra head hair and do a comb down to earn your respect Randy.
RandyMac
Stiff Member
Google can't find that video and have certainly tried a fair few different beers with no noticable effect, even a fair few tonight
It saddens me that I may have to grow extra head hair and do a comb down to earn your respect Randy.
Matt, you have my utmost respect, even with that melon head.
MCW
Somebody's talking crap here & it ain't the tree!
Why thankyou once again Randy and I do indeed have a 63cm melon which is quite generous. Only two people had 63cm melons when I was at school and luckily the other kid was a foot shorter than me so he copped the "fathead" tag.
RandyMac
Stiff Member
MCW
Somebody's talking crap here & it ain't the tree!
Which head did you think I was talking about Randy?
RandyMac
Stiff Member
As mentioned in the other thread Brad I'll have to trim the limiter tabs to richen it up anymore, it's as rich as she'll go at the moment. When I get it back off the tree crew I'll do that.
In all honesty though I can't see why a 261 can't run 3/8" properly when even an old 029 can run it fine in our hardwoods with bars up to 20". Not to mention my 5100-S will pull it fine.
I'm sure that richening it up will help, I've known it's been too lean (14,200rpm no load), and I haven't given up on it yet
I really don't think I'll need to run .325" on this saw once it's setup properly.
If it can't run 3/8 chain without bogging out,then how is it supposed to be faster than a 5100? it cant have the grunt of a 5100, mine pulls 3/8 with authority all day long, i think the 261 has been over rated just a tad, still a good saw but...
MCW
Somebody's talking crap here & it ain't the tree!
No man should have to work while at work Randy.
Yeah I'm yet to see the supposed increase in power output but we'll wait and see. I know richening it up will help and I know running it in will help as well. Hopefully a combination of both will work.
Easy power curve. The 261 is stronger faster period, and I'm no Stihl head lol. I really don't see the big deal in having to pull the limiter to tune the saw correctly. My dealer always test the saws before the leave his shop, well not when I buy a saw, but that's a different story lol.
Like I said put some run time on the 261 and see how she feels. I agree 3/8 chain is too much for the saw, the 5100 simply has a different power curve, we even somewhat proved it in testing as it cut faster with 3/8 and slower with .325 and the opposite for the 346, but overall the 346 was quite a bit faster. None of this is really to say which saw is better that's up to the individual, as they all cut wood lol.
MCW
Somebody's talking crap here & it ain't the tree!
Andy - please tell me how to easily do the H tab on this 261. It's encased in alloy and not quite as obvious as the others
Otherwise I'll just lay into the H screw with my impact wrench until the tab breaks off I don't think it's a massive deal either but on a brand new stock saw that is obviously running too lean it is certainly a concern of things to come regarding the EPA etc.
MCW
Somebody's talking crap here & it ain't the tree!
Righto gents.
Finally I got around to trimming the H tab and richening it up a bit.
Before I get into it it's quite obvious that Stihl do not want you playing with their saw's mixtures. Not sure what other guys here have done but I removed the carb for ease of access (needed to grind down the diameter on an 8mm socket to get it into the super tight nut holes). I then pulled the alloy H tab out with a self tapping screw screwed into the hole (quite easy so far), but the actual alloy "sleeve" the jet sits in also has an alloy stop that mates up with the alloy insert your screwdriver goes into for tuning. Hard to explain but the Dremel and a carbide bit removed that in quick succession. Not sure what I did wrong but I then had to epoxy the adjustor back onto the H jet as it would no longer hold on by itself. Also its a Chinese made ZAMA carb. Gee, who'd have thought (but so are the Dolmar's carbys). Next time some people want to whine about me buying a Chinese 365 knock off they'd better start looking at the bigger picture as I can guarantee the Carby wouldn't be the only Chinese part on this or other big name pro saws...
I can't help but think I did it the hard way and I'm sure there are others here that have done it a lot easier and faster. Once again they are a mongrel to work on compared to the Dolmars and Huskys, particularly all the garbage around the carby. All of the linkages are a pain in the arse to work your way around and the cables for the on/off switch had no play at all, making it difficult as all switch gear had to be removed to get the carb off easily without stressing any cables.
Other saws I've done H tabs on have involved a pair of side cutters and a quick tidy up with a sharp knife.
Anyway, I did a bit of a guess on the H setting and she pulled 10,000rpm and was as rich as hell. Leaned her out to about 14,000rpm and sunk it into a hardwood log with the 17" bar and 3/8" semi chisel. Ended up richening it up to 13,700-13,800rpm, played with the L and idle a bit and this thing now is a completely different saw. It pulls and pulls hard without bogging like it was previously - in fact the torque is like no other 50-60cc saw I've used.
To probably make a few guys choke on their .325" cornflakes I also ran it with a 20" Tsumura with aggressively setup 3/8" Carlton semi chisel buried in the same hardwood log and it did very very well. I could lean on it a lot more than I thought I'd be able to. Not a rocketship but certainly not struggling either. It even balanced OK with a 20" bar and I will likely run one on it a bit more as I have a lot of ex rental 72DL .063" 3/8" chains here that have been gathering dust.
I'm still not sure how it would fare against the 5100-S in outright cutting speed on softer green wood/limbs but you can certainly lean on it a lot more. If I was simply limbing green wood and the filters were up to scratch I'd still take the 5100-S anyday, but when it comes to a combination of felling, ground cutting, and limbing the 261 is excellent...
So much so that the 5100-S will be on eBay soon.
My biggest concern (and I know some of the more tech savvy guys here will disagree) is the fact that to get it to run like it should took a fair amount of stuffing around.
Blame the EPA all you want but the way Stihl seem to have set these saws up from the factory is pretty lame. Even making the H tab more accessible would have meant they at least partly cared. I could be wrong but I sense a run of cooked saws if they get worked too hard (particularly if the 261's destined for the hot dry, harsh, Australian environment are tuned the same) and hope they don't get the same undeserved criticism the 5100-S got. If I'd have run this 261 from the factory in 110°f buried in our dead, dry hardwood all day I'd sense a few issues or premature engine wear at the very least.
Anyway, it's now made me happy
Finally I got around to trimming the H tab and richening it up a bit.
Before I get into it it's quite obvious that Stihl do not want you playing with their saw's mixtures. Not sure what other guys here have done but I removed the carb for ease of access (needed to grind down the diameter on an 8mm socket to get it into the super tight nut holes). I then pulled the alloy H tab out with a self tapping screw screwed into the hole (quite easy so far), but the actual alloy "sleeve" the jet sits in also has an alloy stop that mates up with the alloy insert your screwdriver goes into for tuning. Hard to explain but the Dremel and a carbide bit removed that in quick succession. Not sure what I did wrong but I then had to epoxy the adjustor back onto the H jet as it would no longer hold on by itself. Also its a Chinese made ZAMA carb. Gee, who'd have thought (but so are the Dolmar's carbys). Next time some people want to whine about me buying a Chinese 365 knock off they'd better start looking at the bigger picture as I can guarantee the Carby wouldn't be the only Chinese part on this or other big name pro saws...
I can't help but think I did it the hard way and I'm sure there are others here that have done it a lot easier and faster. Once again they are a mongrel to work on compared to the Dolmars and Huskys, particularly all the garbage around the carby. All of the linkages are a pain in the arse to work your way around and the cables for the on/off switch had no play at all, making it difficult as all switch gear had to be removed to get the carb off easily without stressing any cables.
Other saws I've done H tabs on have involved a pair of side cutters and a quick tidy up with a sharp knife.
Anyway, I did a bit of a guess on the H setting and she pulled 10,000rpm and was as rich as hell. Leaned her out to about 14,000rpm and sunk it into a hardwood log with the 17" bar and 3/8" semi chisel. Ended up richening it up to 13,700-13,800rpm, played with the L and idle a bit and this thing now is a completely different saw. It pulls and pulls hard without bogging like it was previously - in fact the torque is like no other 50-60cc saw I've used.
To probably make a few guys choke on their .325" cornflakes I also ran it with a 20" Tsumura with aggressively setup 3/8" Carlton semi chisel buried in the same hardwood log and it did very very well. I could lean on it a lot more than I thought I'd be able to. Not a rocketship but certainly not struggling either. It even balanced OK with a 20" bar and I will likely run one on it a bit more as I have a lot of ex rental 72DL .063" 3/8" chains here that have been gathering dust.
I'm still not sure how it would fare against the 5100-S in outright cutting speed on softer green wood/limbs but you can certainly lean on it a lot more. If I was simply limbing green wood and the filters were up to scratch I'd still take the 5100-S anyday, but when it comes to a combination of felling, ground cutting, and limbing the 261 is excellent...
So much so that the 5100-S will be on eBay soon.
My biggest concern (and I know some of the more tech savvy guys here will disagree) is the fact that to get it to run like it should took a fair amount of stuffing around.
Blame the EPA all you want but the way Stihl seem to have set these saws up from the factory is pretty lame. Even making the H tab more accessible would have meant they at least partly cared. I could be wrong but I sense a run of cooked saws if they get worked too hard (particularly if the 261's destined for the hot dry, harsh, Australian environment are tuned the same) and hope they don't get the same undeserved criticism the 5100-S got. If I'd have run this 261 from the factory in 110°f buried in our dead, dry hardwood all day I'd sense a few issues or premature engine wear at the very least.
Anyway, it's now made me happy
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bcorradi
Arboristsite.com Sponsor
Glad to hear you were able to get it honed in and are happy with it. Good job and keep us updated.
Glad to hear it's running to your liking. BTW, I leave a 20" B&C on my 261. Of course it's .325 though I'm only running a 7-pin with the 20" bar. If I were running a 16" I'd run a 8-pin. On a stock though, I'd run a 7-pin on a 16" bar. There's more in that saw Matt, lol
Come on, just try it and tell us what you think. Actually that would be good info, as I've yet to try 3/8 on mine.
I'm only running a 7-pin with the 20" bar. If I were running a 16" I'd run a 8-pin. On a stock though, I'd run a 7-pin on a 16" bar. There's more in that saw Matt, lol Come on, just try it and tell us what you think. Actually that would be good info, as I've yet to try 3/8 on mine.
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MCW
Somebody's talking crap here & it ain't the tree!
Will do
There were too many respected members here praising this saw for me to give up on it easily.Glad to hear it's running to your liking. BTW, I leave a 20" B&C on my 261. Of course it's .325 though
Yeah it's amazing what tweaking the tuning can do. I know you want to get your grubby mitts on it and pull 10HP out of it Brad but I have to keep at least one saw in my arsenal that doesn't scare small children from 1/2 a mile away
I'll keep everbody informed as to be honest the wood I had the 20" sunken into is a very hard timber so no mean feat. I'd like to do a 3/8" and .325" comparo on this saw but unfortunately don't have a .325" bar in stock in this mount. I "may" look at altering an 18" GB UHL mount bar I have here but I think the bar tail may be too small...
Stihl now owns Zama, so I will guess all Stihl saws will end up with Zama carbs. Now Stihl doesn't own Zama directly because of monopoly legislation issues from other saw manufactures, most notably Dolmar, but In the end Stihl found a loophole and really does own Zama. The good news from this is Zama carbs for Stihl's will be a bit cheaper, for everyone else the cost will go up.
I agree Stihl's linkage in the master switch is a complete joke and a excellent example of over engineering, just like the flip caps.
I told you.
To probably make a few guys choke on their .325" cornflakes I also ran it with a 20" Tsumura with aggressively setup 3/8" Carlton semi chisel buried in the same hardwood log and it did very very well. I could lean on it a lot more than I thought I'd be able to. Not a rocketship but certainly not struggling either. It even balanced OK with a 20" bar and I will likely run one on it a bit more as I have a lot of ex rental 72DL .063" 3/8" chains here that have been gathering dust.
I'm still not sure how it would fare against the 5100-S in outright cutting speed on softer green wood/limbs but you can certainly lean on it a lot more. If I was simply limbing green wood and the filters were up to scratch I'd still take the 5100-S anyday, but when it comes to a combination of felling, ground cutting, and limbing the 261 is excellent...
So much so that the 5100-S will be on eBay soon.
My biggest concern (and I know some of the more tech savvy guys here will disagree) is the fact that to get it to run like it should took a fair amount of stuffing around.
Blame the EPA all you want but the way Stihl seem to have set these saws up from the factory is pretty lame. Even making the H tab more accessible would have meant they at least partly cared. I could be wrong but I sense a run of cooked saws if they get worked too hard (particularly if the 261's destined for the hot dry, harsh, Australian environment are tuned the same) and hope they don't get the same undeserved criticism the 5100-S got. If I'd have run this 261 from the factory in 110°f buried in our dead, dry hardwood all day I'd sense a few issues or premature engine wear at the very least.
Anyway, it's now made me happy
Glad to hear you're liking the saw more now that it's tuned, I think you'll get many yeas a use out of it.
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Will do
Yeah it's amazing what tweaking the tuning can do. I know you want to get your grubby mitts on it and pull 10HP out of it Brad but I have to keep at least one saw in my arsenal that doesn't scare small children from 1/2 a mile away
I'll keep everbody informed as to be honest the wood I had the 20" sunken into is a very hard timber so no mean feat. I'd like to do a 3/8" and .325" comparo on this saw but unfortunately don't have a .325" bar in stock in this mount. I "may" look at altering an 18" GB UHL mount bar I have here but I think the bar tail may be too small...
If you can do some timed cuts with the same chain on the 261 and the 5100.
MCW
Somebody's talking crap here & it ain't the tree!
I told you.
Yes you did Andy
...but I can assure you that there will be many disappointed purchasers of this saw when they "assume" it has been tuned to it's optimum from the factory. Prior to ripping the carby out and removing the H tab it was an absolute gutless slug, and let's be honest, 90% of people buying a chainsaw wouldn't even know how to do that or even realise it's necessary on this particular saw.
The saw itself isn't a disappointment once tuned but out of the box I'd have already sold it if I wasn't able to richen it up.
Yep it will be remaining in my arsenal for quite some time yet
Thats the plan mate. Sometime this week I hope
Yes you did Andy
...but I can assure you that there will be many disappointed purchasers of this saw when they "assume" it has been tuned to it's optimum from the factory. Prior to ripping the carby out and removing the H tab it was an absolute gutless slug, and let's be honest, 90% of people buying a chainsaw wouldn't even know how to do that or even realise it's necessary on this particular saw.
I find this with most new saws to some extent. On piece of the puzzle is the fact every saw is tune at the factory for the area they are being shipped. The fuel and possibly elevation is different here, but yes most new saws I've ran are set too lean from the factory do to the EPA.
Now get to work and make some chips.
