starting a MS361

[windthrown]

LOLOL. Dayummm I just got my mop cut not long ago, don't have much to flip back Wind,LOLOL

Well, hey, post that video here that you made sawing with the Elvis music in the background then. The one you did the hair flick comb job with and then started the saw... I cannot seem to find it in the sea of AS blogs. I forget what saw or saws you used in that video. These new guys are sure not to have seen it.

 

[THALL10326]

Well, hey, post that video here that you made sawing with the Elvis music in the background then. The one you did the hair flick comb job with and then started the saw... I cannot seem to find it in the sea of AS blogs. I forget what saw or saws you used in that video. These new guys are sure not to have seen it.

Haha, man that was way back when, back in the good ole days of pink caddies and girls galore. I'm all pot belly now just waiting for the fatal moment when I'll croak on the pot,LOLOLOL

Here ya go,,

 

[HorseShoeInFork]

Bring it to me.....I'll get it started....

 

[Dan_IN_MN]

Good example of drop starting

Haha, man that was way back when, back in the good ole days of pink caddies and girls galore. I'm all pot belly now just waiting for the fatal moment when I'll croak on the pot,LOLOLOL

Here ya go,,

That vid is a good example of drop starting. My preferred method of starting. If the saw is stubborn, I'll drop down to the ground and put a knee on it and hold the throttle open and give it a few pulls. When it starts one can tell it has a bit too much fuel in the crankcase.

Dan

 

[davefr]

6-8 pulls in my experience. PITA. But do not run your saw dry on gas. That will create a lean running condition, and you can fry your engine if you do it often enough.

Thanks. The only time I do it is when I store the saws for an extended period. I just dump the tanks and let them idle their way out of gas until they die out.

 

[LHJim]

Well I sold a 361 last week for 589.00. If Jim was that man he sure didn't tell me. I had no clue who he was. Had I known I would have sold it to him for 550.00, call it a AS perk. The man I was dealing with was deaf. Real nice guy but with the way I talk and as fast as I talk he may have had a tuff time reading my lips on the starting procedure but I did indeed point out how to fire that baby up.

If Jim was the man I will find him $39.00 more worth of discounts on chains or whatever he needs. He can also relax far as the saw goes, he's in good hands with HallState,haha

Wait a dayummm minute, my customer said he was deaf. That may explain the starting problem. If he can't hear it fire that makes starting more difficult for him, he has to feel it fire.
In that case, much as many disagree with it, drop starting may be the only way he will be able to realize the saw has fired. On the ground I'm not so sure he will be able to feel it fire, hmmmmmmmm. This is new terrority for me. We gotta come up with a way for him to know when it fires since he can't hear it, any ideas guys??

Tommy...if you had the pink Caddy in your lot...I would know you were there and came up to you and said "hey I am the guy on AS talking about a 260 and being swayed between a 260/361". I did not see no pinkie LOL on the lot and thought you may not have been in that day. Yeah you talk fast and I thought you were a NYer transplanted to VA LOL. I told you I could not hear when looking at the saws but it never occurred to me that you had to hear to start a saw. Back in my youth me and a mechanic friend overhauled a a abandoned tractor on my old man's farm and he is a do-it-all and has been able to get everything to run. I have no doubt he would be able to start a saw although me may flood the saw like me and others do (yeah even hearing folks can flood a saw). I have read that hearing impaired people use their sights and feel sense well because they compensate for their loss of hearing. I felt the saw fire although it was very slight. Will see if I can feel this again when I try again in a few days.

I think I will get this to run because I felt the saw turn on the second pull with it at the cold start. And I tried this on the ground because primarily this is my first time with this saw and wanted to get the feel for this saw. I saw you start the saw it outside your shop so I know another way to start this saw. I just wanted to be on the dafe side even with the manual starting that I can start the saw standing upright. I am not dumb when learning new equipment and always err on the safe side and my limbs (chuckle) are important to me LOL. I am fairly certain I know what to look for when trying to feel the saw when I crank it.

I will try again this Thursday. I will be stopping over to see my mother (from out of town) as she watches my 4 neice and nephews ( age 7 and 5 and a set of 2.5 y/o twins) while BIL is out of town and my sister works the 2 shift. I will let you know how it goes.

I think you did your job so no worries. But if you going to talk to me you got to look at my so I can read your lips. I am an excellent lip reader and I lost my hearing at age 5 so I talk fairly well. I used to wear a hearing aid but all that noise bothers the crap out of me LOL. I cannot believe what you guys have to endure. But hey you can use the phone... (winks). Years ago I bought a 300WM rifle to go on a elk hunt with my dad and the dealer asked me if I became deaf cuz I was shooting w/o ear protection LOL...and no I did not become deaf from running saws all my life LOL...

Don't worry about the $39 in stuff you want to throw in. If I stop by you can offer that but don't worry about it. What is done is done.

Now my wife says when are you gonna get those stupid stumps out of the yard...one sticking 1 foot up the ground and one 2 foot out of the ground. She was perplexed that my $400 saw (yeah told her I was going to buy a saw in the $400ish range LOL) would not start haha.

My boy had his B-day party on Saw when I brought this 361 out of the garage. they were going to the community pool and his pals were gonna be there and he saw me bringing this out and he says "That is cool you got me a saw for my birthday!" And I replied...ya gotta put a bit more meat on ur bones before you handle this saw...he will be 6 years old and we had early b-day cuz my mom was here.

BTW...after I left and went to work it dawned on me that with your name on your shirt...you were probably the person everyone on AS were referring as Tommy the Piny Caddy guy. I came to your shop based on referrals and when at another shop near my home the guy there was pushing me on the 260Pro which was my original intent and he offered a few stuff thrown in. But I was just undeided at that point and was actually thinking it over. But after all the discussion on another thread...I felt the 361 would server my purpose and then more if I only wanted one saw. A simple bar change over will do the job. So I decided when driving up to your shop to get the 361! Tommy you did your job they way you were supposed to. I will get this saw to run but need to know the nuisances of how to start the saw.

So Tommy you are cool in my book

 

[LHJim]

Well I sold a 361 last week for 589.00. If Jim was that man he sure didn't tell me. I had no clue who he was. Had I known I would have sold it to him for 550.00, call it a AS perk. The man I was dealing with was deaf. Real nice guy but with the way I talk and as fast as I talk he may have had a tuff time reading my lips on the starting procedure but I did indeed point out how to fire that baby up.

If Jim was the man I will find him $39.00 more worth of discounts on chains or whatever he needs. He can also relax far as the saw goes, he's in good hands with HallState,haha

Wait a dayummm minute, my customer said he was deaf. That may explain the starting problem. If he can't hear it fire that makes starting more difficult for him, he has to feel it fire.
In that case, much as many disagree with it, drop starting may be the only way he will be able to realize the saw has fired. On the ground I'm not so sure he will be able to feel it fire, hmmmmmmmm. This is new terrority for me. We gotta come up with a way for him to know when it fires since he can't hear it, any ideas guys??

Yeah I am in good hands with AllHallState LOL

 

[LHJim]

I just posted a thread about the same topic with my new 361, but I think your main problem is "clicking" the throttle to change the choke position. If you move the choke manually, it will leave the throttle engaged, thats what I do and it starts 100% of the time (now). Just be careful not to flood it.

Travis,

I think you got to manually move the choke from Cold Start to Warm Start and then click the throttle to move from Warm Start to run. I did not think clicking the throttle will move from Cold to Warm. Heck you guys confusing me on a simple thing! So much for forums opcorn:

But I will check that out and if it works for you its gotta be something worthwhile to mention.

 

[spiffy1]

If you felt it before, now knowing to snap that control back [from "cold start" to "warm start" position] after it does (and after 2 or 3 pulls even if you don't feel it) you're set!

Doesn't $39 about cover the sawcase you couldn't decide worth getting?

Saw running, case decision made, everyone knows who sold who what, that makes for a happy ending.... well after your wife sees those stumps disappear :jester: .... all around! :greenchainsaw:

 

[LHJim]

I'm very serious. I recall after my customer left I wondered how was he going to hear that saw fire on start up. The light idea is a good one but it would lite every time the coil fired whether the saw fired or not. The coil puts out 20,000 volts. This is completely new for me and if Jim is my customer we gotta figure out a way to help him out. I have to give my guys at Stihl a call in the morning about this. A deaf man should be able to enjoy his new saw like anyone else. Gotta be a way to aid him in starting it, gotta be..

Yeah...some kind of LED light may work. There is probably a way to limit voltage to a electronic device like a Volt Regulator or transistor. I was educated as an EE in rochester, NY (nope never been to NYC and no interest in big cities) but that was a long time ago. Military Solid State devices would probably work with these kind of applications.

But I am going to try again and see if I can get it to fire up as is.

 

[LHJim]

Me as well. My hearing isn't very well either. That came from years of running loud saws with no hearing protection. I can feel a saw fire through the handle without listening to it. Main thing is to be focused on feel when starting it. Jim may not be my deaf customer though, we gotta find out if he was that man, I owe him 39.00 worth of discounts as well...

Heck...I am the customer you talked to. I was asking about putting a smaller blade on the saw since I was not sure I need a 20" blade and you mentioned that it is easier with a longer blade since I would not have to bend over when cutting. you also took a 18" blade in the box and showed me and the diff was only 2" from a 20" (and I thought what the heck...get the 20".) I agree with you that when I am starting the saw I got to know what to feel for so I think I have felt it and know what subtle clues to look for. Good point on bringing up what useful a longer blade can serve as my back is sore the day after I work in landscaping my yard! I ain't young anymore! LOL

 

[LHJim]

How about using the decompression valve? It is my understanding that when cold starting the saw and the thing firsts coughs,chokes pukes etc, the valve should pop back out. Why not just eyeball the valve?
You could get very clever and find a way to better indicate if the valve is in or out. Perhaps with some color/pressure sensitive material. Develop the valve , slap a patent on it and sell it back to stihl. Retire in style, sleeping very well everynight on a pile of money with many beautiful women.

Ha Ha...not sure many beautiful women will put up with a deaf guy cuz they like to talk...talk...believe me I know...BTDT.

However, from the folks here, they recommend not to use the decomp valve so I will attempt to start the saw without pressing the decomp. Question I have is will the decomp help in detecting/feeling the fire up? I felt the saw fire and had the decomp pressed in.

 

[LHJim]

BINGO, there it is, the deco valve does pop up when the engine fires, man your a genius. He needs to use the deco valve and watch it. When he cranks the saw he merely eyes the deco valve with every crank. He will notice it has pop up on some crank and then know when to get it off choke. Man your a God send,

So how many nanoseconds do I have to get it off choke? If its like clock work like every second or third pull then I can probably do it this way.

 

[spiffy1]

So how many nanoseconds do I have to get it off choke? If its like clock work like every second or third pull then I can probably do it this way.

Not a matter of nanoseconds so much as extra pulls; so no worry there.

 

[LHJim]

The only saw I start with the decom valve is my 3120 and it defiantly pops out the decomp when it firsts coughs. I am almost positive my 372s and 7900 will do the same. I don’t think I have ever used the decomp on my 361, but if the saw hits it should pop the valve back out. The real problem is the valve on the stihl. It is kinda difficult to tell its position. Hope his eye site is better than his hearing. Good luck.

All good posts and gives me some idea. Like someone says, its not the same with every saw in that the same pull for example 2 pulls, is the same with all saws. Each saw is an individual so my guess is I can test this out with the decomp on my saw and see if it pops up on the same number of pulls. If it does then I can know what to look for.

Now...how about if I do not use the decomp...how can I tell? Or will the same number of pulls using the decomp will be the same number of pulls if I do not use the decomp?

 

[spiffy1]

I generally push it, but often forget too, and can't really tell, but you'll have a try a few things and see what treats you the best.

It would seem though, if you want an additional visual (of course, the only way I can tell is to push it and see if it's still in) to see if giving it a 3rd pull on choke would be wise, using it may provide the check. OTOH, if you find it's more reliable without; why bother!

 

[LHJim]

If you felt it before, now knowing to snap that control back [from "cold start" to "warm start" position] after it does (and after 2 or 3 pulls even if you don't feel it) you're set!

Doesn't $39 about cover the sawcase you couldn't decide worth getting?

Saw running, case decision made, everyone knows who sold who what, that makes for a happy ending.... well after your wife sees those stumps disappear :jester: .... all around! :greenchainsaw:

Oh sure she will be happy. Heck I will not have to see an arrow in the stump with a sign that says "Please Saw Me"

I reckon I've waited long enough and decided to buy a saw and get this job done with. No more hand me downs But also in the next few months I will do some sawing on my tract in southern VA so might as well fork over the money for one now.

 

[THALL10326]

Tommy...if you had the pink Caddy in your lot...I would know you were there and came up to you and said "hey I am the guy on AS talking about a 260 and being swayed between a 260/361". I did not see no pinkie LOL on the lot and thought you may not have been in that day. Yeah you talk fast and I thought you were a NYer transplanted to VA LOL. I told you I could not hear when looking at the saws but it never occurred to me that you had to hear to start a saw. Back in my youth me and a mechanic friend overhauled a a abandoned tractor on my old man's farm and he is a do-it-all and has been able to get everything to run. I have no doubt he would be able to start a saw although me may flood the saw like me and others do (yeah even hearing folks can flood a saw). I have read that hearing impaired people use their sights and feel sense well because they compensate for their loss of hearing. I felt the saw fire although it was very slight. Will see if I can feel this again when I try again in a few days.

I think I will get this to run because I felt the saw turn on the second pull with it at the cold start. And I tried this on the ground because primarily this is my first time with this saw and wanted to get the feel for this saw. I saw you start the saw it outside your shop so I know another way to start this saw. I just wanted to be on the dafe side even with the manual starting that I can start the saw standing upright. I am not dumb when learning new equipment and always err on the safe side and my limbs (chuckle) are important to me LOL. I am fairly certain I know what to look for when trying to feel the saw when I crank it.

I will try again this Thursday. I will be stopping over to see my mother (from out of town) as she watches my 4 neice and nephews ( age 7 and 5 and a set of 2.5 y/o twins) while BIL is out of town and my sister works the 2 shift. I will let you know how it goes.

I think you did your job so no worries. But if you going to talk to me you got to look at my so I can read your lips. I am an excellent lip reader and I lost my hearing at age 5 so I talk fairly well. I used to wear a hearing aid but all that noise bothers the crap out of me LOL. I cannot believe what you guys have to endure. But hey you can use the phone... (winks). Years ago I bought a 300WM rifle to go on a elk hunt with my dad and the dealer asked me if I became deaf cuz I was shooting w/o ear protection LOL...and no I did not become deaf from running saws all my life LOL...

Don't worry about the $39 in stuff you want to throw in. If I stop by you can offer that but don't worry about it. What is done is done.

Now my wife says when are you gonna get those stupid stumps out of the yard...one sticking 1 foot up the ground and one 2 foot out of the ground. She was perplexed that my $400 saw (yeah told her I was going to buy a saw in the $400ish range LOL) would not start haha.

My boy had his B-day party on Saw when I brought this 361 out of the garage. they were going to the community pool and his pals were gonna be there and he saw me bringing this out and he says "That is cool you got me a saw for my birthday!" And I replied...ya gotta put a bit more meat on ur bones before you handle this saw...he will be 6 years old and we had early b-day cuz my mom was here.

BTW...after I left and went to work it dawned on me that with your name on your shirt...you were probably the person everyone on AS were referring as Tommy the Piny Caddy guy. I came to your shop based on referrals and when at another shop near my home the guy there was pushing me on the 260Pro which was my original intent and he offered a few stuff thrown in. But I was just undeided at that point and was actually thinking it over. But after all the discussion on another thread...I felt the 361 would server my purpose and then more if I only wanted one saw. A simple bar change over will do the job. So I decided when driving up to your shop to get the 361! Tommy you did your job they way you were supposed to. I will get this saw to run but need to know the nuisances of how to start the saw.

So Tommy you are cool in my book

Well I'll be dayummm, it was you, cool beans. It was nice meeting you even though I didn't have a clue you was the Jim from here. When I saw this thread today I thought dayummm, that guy bought that saw over at Manassas, dayumm it,LOL

Back to the issue at hand Jim do me a favor. Load that saw up when you get a spare moment and come back to the shop. I will personally take some time with you and show you how you can start that saw using the deco valve as your guide. I'll have you running that baby in no time, I promise you that. If it takes us a 15 minutes or a couple of hours to get you down pat with it so be it, least I can do for you. I'll try to even talk alittle slower but I admit that for me is harder issue than your hearing issue,LOL

I really thought about you after you left wondering how your going to hear that saw fire on start up. You bring it back and together we will go step by step from start to finnish. You got a great saw there and its my job to make sure you enjoy it. So bring it back and let me help you with it. I owe you some goodies as well so come on back, I'll be looking for ya,

 

[madhatte]

Tried giving Thall Rep twice in one thread. No dice. Eitherhoo, my goal was to say "this kind of cooperation is why I like this board." Good job, folks. Keep up the awesome work.

 

[CentaurG2]

I tried last night using the decompression valve as an indicator for a hit on the cold start of a 361 and got a 100% correlation. Every time the saw burped with the valve in, it would kick it back out; so using the decomp valve as a visual aid should do the trick.
To make the position of the valve more visible, try removing the top cover of the saw and painting the wide base of the valve stem. Use a permanent metallic paint marker (like they use to mark parts from a bone yard) in some dayglow bright color. If done judiciously, you should be able to paint the base of the valve such that when the valve is pushed in, the paint will be behind the top cover, when the valve is out the paint should be clearly visible. Once you get the hang of the saw, the visual aid should not be necessary. Good Luck.