Stihl Chain Question

[jack-the-ripper]

The other day I stopped by the local Stihl dealer to pick up a full chisel chain for my new Dolmar 5100S. I wanted the RSC and he tells me OSHA has new standards on chains because the chains are causing white knuckle syndrome due to excessive vibrations. He didn't have the RSC so he hands me the RSC3 and says this is what they are selling from now on. He said all chain manufacturers will have to comply with these standards soon. Is there any truth to this? I ended up buying one chain but I am going to grind the extra anti-vib rakers off.

 

[Taxmantoo]

OSHA might prefer reduced kickback chain, which is the -3 stuff, but the green link safety chain is usually marketed for homeowners and the yellow coded stuff is for 'pros'.

The RSC is reduced vibration chain, that's why Stihl calls it Rapid Super Comfort.

 

[THALL10326]

The other day I stopped by the local Stihl dealer to pick up a full chisel chain for my new Dolmar 5100S. I wanted the RSC and he tells me OSHA has new standards on chains because the chains are causing white knuckle syndrome due to excessive vibrations. He didn't have the RSC so he hands me the RSC3 and says this is what they are selling from now on. He said all chain manufacturers will have to comply with these standards soon. Is there any truth to this? I ended up buying one chain but I am going to grind the extra anti-vib rakers off.

Haven't heard anything about that. Alot of dealers don't want to sell the full chisel RSC chain. Stihl seems to be againist it as well for they try to get us to sell only the RSC3 chains to everyone cept the pro's. We sell more RSC chain than anything else.

 

[Evanrude]

Sounds like a line of bull to me. Dont let them bully you into getting something you dont want, get a different dealer.

 

[Erick]

Sounds like a line of bull to me. Dont let them bully you into getting something you dont want, get a different dealer.

:agree2:

 

[Mama Tried]

I had a dealer tell me that they didnt make yellow chain for my 290 that if I wanted yellow chain I had to get a 310 because thats what they made yellow chain for lol

 

[kruege84]

Sounds like a line of BS to me.

The dealer I usually go to doesn't stock RSC very often. But that's only because the tree guys in the area prefer RSK. I picked up up a loop, and now I prefer RSK as well. He had no problem selling it to me.

 

[spankrz]

go back to the dealer and show him your colorful vocabulary, your extensive use of hand gestures, and don't go back to that dealer.

that is a bunch of bull.

 

[ShoerFast]

Sounds like a line of BS to me.

The dealer I usually go to doesn't stock RSC very often. But that's only because the tree guys in the area prefer RSK. I picked up up a loop, and now I prefer RSK as well. He had no problem selling it to me.

We are on the same page in song book.

I like the ol RSK just fine, but thought they were phasing it out to go to RSC for there pro-chain?

Carlton has some fine chain if all Stihl goes to RSC3 chain.

 

[Philbert]

It's called 'white finger disease' (aka 'vibration induced white finger', 'hand-arm vibration syndrome', ' Raynauds' syndrome', sometimes misdiagnosed as carpal tunnel syndrome, etc.). And its real.

It does NOT, however, have anything to do with the low-kickback chains which are so dearly loved on A.S.

Both STIHL and Oregon have developed chains that reduce vibration through the shape of the cutters, tie straps, etc. If you think about each tie strap slamming and slapping against the sprocket each time it passes by at 12,000 RPM, and against the bar rails each time the cutter digs in, you can appreciate how all those little bangs add up to quite a buzz. The low vib chain versions reduce some of that via engineering magic.

Again, even though some low kickback chains may also be low vibe, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BUY A LOW KICKBACK CHAIN TO GET A LOW VIB CHAIN (sorry, was I getting worked up there?).

That said, you will do more to reduce vibration exposure by:
- keeping your chain properly sharpened and tensioned so that it cuts smoothly, rather than bounces;
- get rid of sloppy bars and sprockets;
- keep your saw tuned so that the motor runs smooth;
- get a saw with good anti-vibe mounts (springs or bushings) - getting better on newer, high quality saws.
- consider good quality anti-vibe gloves

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/83110_38.html
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/97-141/ergotxt5c.html

Some vendors for A/V gloves:
Ergodyne http://www.ergodyne.com/
Impacto http://www.2protect.com/
Decade http://www.chaseergo.com/CHASEERG/PRODUCT/vibthum.htm


Philbert

 

[dingeryote]

We are on the same page in song book.

I like the ol RSK just fine, but thought they were phasing it out to go to RSC for there pro-chain?

Carlton has some fine chain if all Stihl goes to RSC3 chain.

Stihl still sells thier dealers RSC on the spool, or at least was.

I'm eyeballing Carlton and Bailys pretty hard lately, as the Stihl chain prices are darn near 2X higher per link than Bailys all of a sudden.

If they go all RSC3/RMC3 it would be a shame, and I would have no further reason to support the local Stihl dealer.

Stay safe!
Dingeryote

 

[rngrchad]

I had to do it once and only once:

Step up, get close to his face, and call him out on this as politely yet firmly as possible. If he treats you like a jerk, walk away from his store for good. Until my local dealer realized I had "A CLUE" so to speak, he no longer tried to "hoodwink" me with bs statements like you just experienced, and trust me I let many complete BS dealer statements go before he overstepped my boundaries and I had to let it be known. My dealer no longer acts like a car-salesman and more like a pro-arborist(that's what he is and he really does know his stuff suprisingly, just plays dumb sometimes to move stale products).
We now have an awesome relationship.

My dealer just ordered, specifically for me and a friend, a whole roll of rsk and said he'll just charge it out to us by the link rather than the roll. What a nice guy!

 

[Philbert]

That said, you will do more to reduce vibration exposure by:
- keeping your chain properly sharpened and tensioned so that it cuts smoothly, rather than bounces;
- get rid of sloppy bars and sprockets;
- keep your saw tuned so that the motor runs smooth;
- get a saw with good anti-vibe mounts (springs or bushings) - getting better on newer, high quality saws.
- consider good quality anti-vibe gloves

Just re-read my post and I should clarify. I LIKE the low vibe chain, and would choose it over the other stuff all things equal. But I would not rely on it only to reduce my vibration exposure. I would use it IN ADDITION to all that stuff I listed.

Philbert

 

[TreePointer]

That really steams me when any store tries to sell me what they have in stock instead of what I want/need.

Once, I went to a dealer wanting RMC chain. The parts counter tech tried to tell me that all of Stihl's semi-chisel chain was safety chain and what I really wanted full chisel RSC. I stood my ground, but wasn't hostile. I said, "Hmm, I thought RMC was semi-chisel yellow chain. If you have a Stihl catalog, I'll show what I mean...." A little discussion went on and he finally admitted that all he had was RSC for yellow chain and the rest was green RMC3 and RSC3.

I now go to the other Stihl dealer in town, get whatever I want and am pleased.

 

[RED-85-Z51]

Low Vibe chain is totally useless after the bar gets worn in, sprocket breaks in, and the user grinds/files the chain once...

Grind the rakers off and cut off every other cutter...might vibrate more, but you'll be cutting for less time...:monkey::monkey: Its one theory...

 

[Fl_Airboater]

So is the RSC3 not worth a crap? I just bought 3 loops of it. Waiting on it to come in the mail. Let me know and I'll put it on CL and try to get my money back out of it before I use them.

 

[jack-the-ripper]

I am going to stop in there today and see what kind of story he is going to come up with. I thought it smelled like bull:censored: too!

 

[computeruser]

Yawn. What the hell is wrong with these idiots who sell chainsaws and accessories? Tedious, really. I had one shop (which primarily traffics in lawnmowers) run that game once, way back when. I was told I needed to prove my "pro" credentials to buy "pro" chain. WTF?

Perhaps if you took it back and asked to exchange it for RSLK...

 

[Jon E]

Wow, I can't imagine you guys having such a hard time with dealers. What ever happened to "the customer"? You're in business to satisfy your customer, right? And if your customer is happy you make money.

I have at least four Stihl dealers, two Dolmar dealers, two Jonsered/Echo dealers, a John Deere dealer (who doesn't sell Stihl but his brother in CT does), and at least one Husky dealer all within 25 miles (plus Tractor Supply and Home Depot) and I can pretty much get anything I want from any of them. If they don't have it they'll order it, in a timely manner.

 

[SawTroll]

We are on the same page in song book.

I like the ol RSK just fine, but thought they were phasing it out to go to RSC for there pro-chain?

Carlton has some fine chain if all Stihl goes to RSC3 chain.

RS (not RSK) is the one that is replaced by the RSC.

The other day I stopped by the local Stihl dealer to pick up a full chisel chain for my new Dolmar 5100S. I wanted the RSC and he tells me OSHA has new standards on chains because the chains are causing white knuckle syndrome due to excessive vibrations. He didn't have the RSC so he hands me the RSC3 and says this is what they are selling from now on. He said all chain manufacturers will have to comply with these standards soon. Is there any truth to this? I ended up buying one chain but I am going to grind the extra anti-vib rakers off.

What that dealer said is pure BS, RSC3 is the "safety" variant of the RSC - both are low-vibe chains (the "C" tells that tale).

The low-vibe design originally is an Oregon design, that Stihl started copying in 2003 or so (RSC in 3/8" was the first one).

I don't think other brands have copied it (yet) - but not sure.