Stihl 023 Chain Size and Sprocket Set Up

[nidstein]

Hi,

I have recently bought a second hand stihl 023 chainsaw for my first chainsaw and it has a .325 pitch chain, 15 inch chain bar and 7 tooth sprocket.

I have ordered a new chain bar that is 16 inch and 3/8 pitch, i am wondering what tooth sprocket to use, i have seen you can get a 6 or a 7. I was thinking about going the 7 tooth as that is whats on it but i am unsure which one would get the most out of the chainsaw.

From what i have read the set up at the moment isnt the normal set up for the 023 and the reason i got the new 3/8 pitch 16 inch chain bar is when i entered the details of the chainsaw that is what it said it should be.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Guido Salvage]

You need to stick with .325, your saw lacks the power to spin a 3/8" chain effectively.

 

[Philbert]

Welcome to A.S.!

Most people probably run .325 chain and a 16" bar (may only measure 15") on that saw; same as on an 025 or MS250.

The Oregon part finder:

http://www.oregonproducts.com/pro/lookups/selguide.aspx?BusId=OCS&SellReg=USA&LangId=ENG

suggests 3/8" low profile chain. This can be confusing when new to saws and chains, but 3/8 inch low-profile chain should be thought of something completely different from standard 3/8 inch chain. They are not compatible.

The chain and bar specified in the Oregon selector is 3/8 low-profile chain. Since you are switching chain sizes (.325 to 3/8 low-pro) you have to also switch sprockets to match the chain.

The standard 3/8 low-pro sprocket for that set up is 6 tooth. The .325 chain uses a 7 tooth sprocket, due to it's shorter length cutter links, to achieve a similar chain speed.

Philbert