Let’s talk chainsaws

[nonobaddog]

I got an EGO 56 Volt 18 inch saw for my cabin. It does remarkably well for what it is. Very thin kerf. I cut up downed stuff up to 12-14 inches with it, although smaller stuff is much more common, and do limbing.

When I have something big to do I always ask my neighbor through the woods if I can borrow his saw. He never lets me borrow it but he always comes over and does the job. Kind of a standing joke with us.

He used to to parachute down in the woods out west and cut BIG trees in front of the fires so he knows what he is doing. He uses a big Stihl.

 

[indyjohn]

Ive been looking for a new 362 c-m pro saw to add to my fleet but my local dealer and several surrounding dealers are having a tough time getting them it seems....damn rona

A Stihl dealer told me the pipeline has been a trickle since last fall. Orders he placed last year coming in half fulfilled.

 

[sparky32]

Well after my Chiro appointment stopped by another Stihl dealer and no 362 on the rack... guy comes up to me and asks what im looking for I tell him and 5 minutes later a ms362 appears from the back room. Said it was the display model and pulled it when they sold the last one. Now I got it

 

[kickbacked]

Crazy that you guys can buy pro saws. I stopped in at ace hardware to get some small things the other day, got to looking at the stihl saws and their salesman struck up a convo with me. i would never buy a saw from ace but i enjoy looking at what they have. Anyway I mentioned a saw and he told me I couldnt buy a pro saw because i am not a professional and dont have insurance. His suggestion you ask? Stihls new battery powered saw that has a 20 minute continuous run time. Boy was i excited when he told me it comes with a battery and a charger.

 

[sparky32]

Crazy that you guys can buy pro saws. I stopped in at ace hardware to get some small things the other day, got to looking at the stihl saws and their salesman struck up a convo with me. i would never buy a saw from ace but i enjoy looking at what they have. Anyway I mentioned a saw and he told me I couldnt buy a pro saw because i am not a professional and dont have insurance. His suggestion you ask? Stihls new battery powered saw that has a 20 minute continuous run time. Boy was i excited when he told me it comes with a battery and a charger.

Sounds about like the same type of conversations I sometimes have with guys at gun shops behind the counter.... most dont know what the f@#! they are talking about and have an 8 pound water brain. Sounds like that guy was an idiot.

 

[tmschuller]

Crazy that you guys can buy pro saws. I stopped in at ace hardware to get some small things the other day, got to looking at the stihl saws and their salesman struck up a convo with me. i would never buy a saw from ace but i enjoy looking at what they have. Anyway I mentioned a saw and he told me I couldnt buy a pro saw because i am not a professional and dont have insurance. His suggestion you ask? Stihls new battery powered saw that has a 20 minute continuous run time. Boy was i excited when he told me it comes with a battery and a charger.

This guy probably wear rubber gloves to change his flashlight batteries..geesh

 

[Nazgul]

And it only weighs 1 lb more than my 271!

Curious if you paid less than MSRP for it?

No, paid MSRP but got a case free and some oil.

Don

 

[indyjohn]

No, paid MSRP but got a case free and some oil.

Don

Those cases are around $50!

 

[BigRed]

View attachment 126621
Nothing special but threw some bigger dogs on my 271

Dang..... have not seen that before, but am going to have to look at those.

 

[kickbacked]

Dang..... have not seen that before, but am going to have to look at those.

It has a full chain catcher as well which is nice to have.

 

[BigRed]

So these may be stupid questions....

I've heard people mention elsewhere as well as here using aviation fuel for chainsaws. It sounds like it is better for not causing varnishing issues. Is that correct?

Are there other advantages? Are there disadvantages / drawbacks?

Is the oil mix ratio the same?

Can I leave the saw gassed up without problems? Sometimes somebody will ask me to help cut something up. When it is a small job, I will let the saw run out of fuel so it isn't sitting filled. Could I stop doing this with aviation fuel?

Are there other things I should know?

 

[indyjohn]

Crazy that you guys can buy pro saws. I stopped in at ace hardware to get some small things the other day, got to looking at the stihl saws and their salesman struck up a convo with me. i would never buy a saw from ace but i enjoy looking at what they have. Anyway I mentioned a saw and he told me I couldnt buy a pro saw because i am not a professional and dont have insurance. His suggestion you ask? Stihls new battery powered saw that has a 20 minute continuous run time. Boy was i excited when he told me it comes with a battery and a charger.

That is the funniest thing I've read all day. But makes me wonder if he knew he was incorrect in his statement.

 

[indyjohn]

So these may be stupid questions....

I've heard people mention elsewhere as well as here using aviation fuel for chainsaws. It sounds like it is better for not causing varnishing issues. Is that correct?

Are there other advantages? Are there disadvantages / drawbacks?

Is the oil mix ratio the same?

Can I leave the saw gassed up without problems? Sometimes somebody will ask me to help cut something up. When it is a small job, I will let the saw run out of fuel so it isn't sitting filled. Could I stop doing this with aviation fuel?

Are there other things I should know?

I can help with the gas related questions with one statement: "Ethanol is bad for small engines, m-kay?" I don't know for sure, but I would venture to say that Avgas is ethanol free and high octane.

The oil mix ratio differs from manufacturer to manufacturer. For instance - Stihl is 50:1, Poulan is 40:1. Will it kill your saw if you use the wrong mix? Well, it depends on which way you go- running Poulan mix in a Stihl will make the Stihl exhaust smokey and it won't run well, running Stihl mix in a Poulan could burn it up... maybe.

I've gone to using premix only in my saws and leaf blower. Yes, it's more expensive but it's high octane and ethanol free. And really, after you've found and traveled to a gas station that sells high octane ethanol free fuel and taken the time to measure and mix it, maybe it's not. AND you can leave it in your saw for long periods of time (at least I do and haven't had any problems).

TruFuel 2-cycle pre-mix fuel Edit: Ok, at $23.84 a gallon, maybe I should look into finding my nearest Ethanol-free fuel retailer.

 

[nonobaddog]

All you need is ethanol free premium gas from a gas station if you have it available. Sometimes they call it non-oxygenated as well. It only costs like a dollar a gallon more than regular.
When you use all gasoline without the ethanol your engine runs better, you will get more power and more mileage and fewer problems. Ethanol gives less energy than gasoline when burned so of course you get less out of it.

When I was helping my Uncle and Aunt in Frankfort Illinois I couldn't find any ethanol free premium there and the places I asked about it looked at me like I was speaking French. I never did find any. I wasn't used to that. Here in Minnesota we have ethanol free premium available all over - probably because of all the boats here. But that is the only thing I will use in small motors, boats, motorcycles and vintage cars.

 

[kickbacked]

So these may be stupid questions....

I've heard people mention elsewhere as well as here using aviation fuel for chainsaws. It sounds like it is better for not causing varnishing issues. Is that correct?

Are there other advantages? Are there disadvantages / drawbacks?

Is the oil mix ratio the same?

Can I leave the saw gassed up without problems? Sometimes somebody will ask me to help cut something up. When it is a small job, I will let the saw run out of fuel so it isn't sitting filled. Could I stop doing this with aviation fuel?

Are there other things I should know?

I use ethanol free gas. Its best from my experience in small engines because ethanol causes water in the line. However its not always easy to find close to you. If i remember right if you use under 85 in an echo small engine it immediately voids the warranty. they only know if you tell them and its hidden in their small print but its there. Im sure other manufacturers also have their guidelines.

 

[jrainw]

I've been a climber, bucket baby for decades, currently run a crane for a tree service that does alot of volume. we run avgas in all our handheld equipment. we have husqvarna, stihl, echo, i prefer whichever one has the sharpest chain. I will say that for the money nothing beats the Echo 590/600/620p saws, and the itty bitty 2511 is my favorite climbing saw even, and we have lots of the legendary 200t saws in our arsenal.

 

[sugarcreekbrass]

The Sunoco station. In Crawfordsville sell ethanol free gas. They call it Recreational fuel. I think most if not all Sunoco station carry it

 

[Timjoebillybob]

Here is a website that lists quite a few places to get ethanol free gas.

Ethanol-free gas stations in the U.S. and Canada

pure-gas.org is the definitive list of ethanol-free gas stations in the U.S. and Canada

www.pure-gas.org

 

[BigRed]

Thanks for the help, folks.

Could I let the saw stay fueled up on this stuff for couple of months or so?

Sounds like I could.

 

[kickbacked]

Thanks for the help, folks.

Could I let the saw stay fueled up on this stuff for couple of months or so?

Sounds like I could.

I do unless i can run it dry quick or its already empty but the dealership would say no.