Stihl Dealer full throttle on my new MS 391?

[mainer86]

I purchased a new MS 391 today from one of the local Stihl dealers. The salesman said he had to put oil and gas in it and go over the starting procedure with me....standard with every sale he says. As soon as it starts he brings it right to WOT and holds it there for probably 10-15 seconds. I was thinking why the heck are you doing that to a brand new cold engine. When he came off the throttle I said something but it didn't register with him and he lowered the saw and went right back up to WOT for another 5 seconds to see that the chain was throwing oil on the ground, then shuts it off.

Maybe this is perfectly fine and is what all the dealers do when they sell a new chainsaw. I know the owners manual says not to go WOT without a load on the saw for the first few tanks because of the break-in period. I'm one of those guys that follows the manufactures break-in recommendations, so I wasn't to pleased with how the start procedure demo went.

I'm probably stressing over it way too much, but just wondering if his going WOT the way he did will reduce performance or longevity of the saw?

 

[Rockjock]

Lack of training on the salespersons part IMO I will fire up every saw we sell and it is never WOT for more than a few seconds. It is policy to start every single saw, no start no warranty.

 

[Bret4207]

If it bugs you that much, I would have made a fuss and gotten a different saw Igor didn't have his hands on. I pretty much agree with you as far as his doing the wrong thing with a brand new saw.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Break in?

I've put together quite a few saws. Once tuned I run them like normal.

 

[blsnelling]

Standard procedure from everything I've seen. I don't like it either.

 

[mainer86]

If it bugs you that much, I would have made a fuss and gotten a different saw Igor didn't have his hands on. I pretty much agree with you as far as his doing the wrong thing with a brand new saw.

That definitely crossed my mind as soon as he shut it off and set it back on the bench.

 

[mainer86]

I ended up calling the hardware store where I bought it. I was hoping to talk to the salesperson to see if he was following some sort of checkout procedure they got from Stihl. He wasn't in so after talking with another person that really didn't work with the chain saws he put me through to the owner. The owner was great about it and understood my concern. He wasn't really familiar with the guidelines regarding chainsaw break-in or why his guy runs the new saws like that. He asked me to talk to Stihl and see what they thought about it.

So I called Stihl tech support and talked to Mark. He did not agree with how the start up went. He said all the dealer really needs to do is make sure it starts/runs and that the oiler works.....no need for WOT. He recommends taking it easy and avoiding any WOT without a load on it.

I called the owner back and told him what Stihl TS said and he was very receptive to it and made the comment maybe we both learned something out of it and suggested I come in and he would swap it out for another new one, but this one would be checked out in front of me without the WOT. I'm pretty impressed with this kind of customer service.

 

[HarleyT]

Just curious. What damage would be done?

If you want to have a hoot, take apart a brand new one and look at all of the nicks and scratches on the piston...

That is why I sell the whole block, customers would raise 10 kinds of hell if they saw the piston...

 

[user 122190]

Just curious. What damage would be done?

Excessive wear. Engines are designed to run in a specific temperature range for optimum power and reliability. Abuse of that can only shorten the life of the machine.

 

[fordf150]

Just curious. What damage would be done?

If you want to have a hoot, take apart a brand new one and look at all of the nicks and scratches on the piston...

That is why I sell the whole block, customers would raise 10 kinds of hell if they saw the piston...

dont even have to disassemble a saw to see it, pull the muffler and you'll see some scuffs and nicks on occasion.

 

[fordf150]

i dont like what they did and wouldnt do it myself but see no problem with it. We start em and let them idle/blurp the throttle for 15-20 seconds just to get some heat in them and get all the pockets of air out of the fuel system so we dont get a false reading when we tach them. If we arent in a rush we will do the idle/blurp throttle for a couple minutes before checking tune but that isnt always possible. Personally i would be more worried about stihl's recommendation of "make sure it starts/runs and that the oiler works.....no need for WOT". That method will NEVER be used at my shop, that means you are trusting stihls factory set carbs to be tuned correctly for your elevation, temp, humidity, and fuel and that is just asking for trouble IMHO. While we rarely have to tweak a carb much to get it to our satisfaction there is no way i would skip that step.

 

[HarleyT]

Excessive wear. Engines are designed to run in a specific temperature range for optimum power and reliability. Abuse of that can only shorten the life of the machine.

So a "broke in" saw has a different temp range?

 

[1Alpha1]

You take 5 different guys serving a new piece of Stihl equipment, and chances are, you'll get at least 2-3 different ways of doing it.

I've seen this kind of behavior first-hand. You'd think that someone in the business selling the equipment would have a clue. Not always the case though. The fault falls squarely on the shoulders of Stihl Inc. IMHO, they do a lousy job of watching over their dealership network.

From what I have witnessed over the years in regards to poor dealership behavior, that's the only explanation.

 

[HarleyT]

What damage does it do?

 

[Bret4207]

Do you take your new car out and hold the accelerator to the floor for 15-20 seconds with no load on it? No, of course not. Same thing with the saw. Rings have to seat, lube have to get whee it belongs, things need to warm up and start to mate to the surrounding surfaces. There's no way to know if it's going to hurt it, but why take the chance? Treat the saw decent and it'll last longer.

 

[bmwpowere36m3]

Honestly nothing... time is money, make sure it starts and check WOT tune. These are simple, inexpensive TOOLS... only members of the forum polish and baby their saws (being a bit tongue 'n cheek).

 

[blsnelling]

I suspect at least 9/10 shops will do exactly as yours did.

 

[fordf150]

I suspect at least 9/10 shops will do exactly as yours did.

exactly Brad...i can tell you for 100% certain that my local husky dealer does it, as soon as the saw fires he has it WOT and checks the tune, 1 Stihl dealer is the same way, couple other stihl dealers that I've been in when they sold a saw didnt even bother starting it, just hand an assembled saw across the counter and tell the customer to have a nice day.







give the saw 10-20 seconds to warm up and run it like you stole it. thats how i treat my saws and what i tell customers to do with theirs from day 1.....want to know how many have came back blown up or with issues that werent solely caused by owner neglect or abuse? a big fat 0. saws are a very rudimentary engine with so little engine mass that it only takes a few seconds of running to get the heat tolerance's up to where no problems will occur. When was the last time you saw a cold seize on a saw? for the vast majority of 2 stroke techs the answer to that will be 0 for their entire lifetime of working on saws. By the time a saw pulls fuel thru the carb, into the case, around the piston, up the transfers, before it finally enters the chamber so it will fire and run it has already touched every moving part/bearing, not even remotely close to make a comparison to a auto engine that requires pumping oil to the bearings and splashing oil on the cylinders/piston. Its a $300-400 throwaway saw that is designed for a homeowner to run it for 2-5 yrs without major issues and have a life expectancy of 10 yrs max in the homeowner arena, 15 seconds of WOT no load is not going to affect that in any meaningful way even on a $69 refurb homelite let alone a decent quality saw

 

[HarleyT]

I think that the chainsaw atoms and molecules like some time to get warmed up, time for a smoke and a cup of coffee,...
Like my car does.....

 

[Deleted member 135597]

So a "broke in" saw has a different temp range?

Next time you start your car, floor it soon as the engine fires instead of warming it up a little. Roflmao.